She rose up on tiptoes and kissed him. The second their lips met, she felt his tense muscles go slack, and she could almost feel the relief that washed through him. And the laugh that vibrated against her lips from his. ‘I love it when you talk dirty physics,’ he said, and then the tension was back in his muscles, but it was the good kind, and he picked her up and collapsed backward to Pete’s neatly made bed, which bounced and creaked in protest. Claire let out a surprised burst of laughter, too, and straddled him to lean over and kiss him again, deeply, sweetly, with a core of heat that never failed to scorch but didn’t burn. It wasn’t that she’d forgotten how amazing this was, but that her body had deliberately hidden the memory from her to protect her from the longing, and now all those nerve endings were awake, remembering, and craving it again. His big hands held her shoulders, then slid up to caress her face in warmth, and as she unzipped his hoodie and pulled his T-shirt up, he shivered and arched against her. He let out a sigh as her own hands moved up over his abdomen and up to his chest. His skin felt amazing – soft and warm as satin against her palms.

He hooked a finger on the collar of her shirt, just about where the buttons started, and as she sat up, he said, ‘Mind if I help you with this? Because I think I need to see what you’re wearing under there.’

She smiled and moved his hand away, and unbuttoned the first button. ‘There,’ she said. ‘How’s that?’

‘I think I need at least – how many buttons do you have? Six more.’

She nipped gently at his full lower lip. ‘Only if you take off the shirt.’

He sat up as if he’d been jolted with a cattle prod, and the hoodie and T-shirt came off so fast she was afraid he’d pull a muscle. Oh God, he was lovely; even with the bruises, which made her ache inside, he was so incredibly gorgeous. It made her breath catch in her throat. So did the luminous light in his eyes as he settled back down on the pillows.

‘Your turn,’ he said, and put his hands behind his head. ‘Six buttons.’

‘Five?’

‘Only if you don’t want to keep that last one on the shirt.’

She smiled, and started unbuttoning. One at a time, slowly, watching the fire intensify in his eyes, feeling his body tensing under hers even as he tried to look utterly relaxed.

The cool air kissed her shoulders as she slipped off the blouse. ‘Pretty,’ he said. His voice sounded different now, low and rough as a cat’s tongue. ‘I guess I have to see if that bra has a matching set of panties.’

It did.

Neither of them stayed on very long, though.