“They’ve never lost their mystique,” he told her in a gravelly voice. “Ever since I was a kid, it’s never failed to amaze me that sometimes, depending on what a woman is wearing, you can just casually see part of her underwear. Bra straps are freaking hot.”

“I’m sorry I robbed you of bra straps with my strapless bra last night.”

“Don’t be. That was hot too, a little mystery. Bras are girl-magic. So hot.”

As if to prove it, John’s hands were suddenly everywhere. Cupping her breasts over top of her bra, gliding and pressing, in almost-chaste second-base action. But then, in the blink of an eye, he tipped her to one side, flashed his hand behind her back and unhooked her bra smoothly. He didn’t pull it away yet, though.

“Wow,” she commented. “Most men fumble the clasp a little bit.”

He smirked at her. “I’m a bra expert, Mare.” Then he promptly tipped his head to one side, somewhat sheepishly. “My high school girlfriend held me at second base for about a year and a half. There was nothing to do but learn how to remove a bra really well.”

Mary did that laugh-groan-gasp thing again. Because she loved learning about his dorky past. And he’d called her Mare, the way only those closest to her did.

She craned up, needing to kiss him, and he obliged instantly. His lips were firm, his sweeping tongue soft and reverent. He groaned into her mouth, and Mary felt it down to her lungs. She deepened the kiss, their teeth clacked lightly and Mary grabbed at his hair. His hand slipped under the loosened cup of her bra, and they both made a sound akin to pain. When she opened her eyes, it was to see John’s clamped closed, the fringe of his black eyelashes almost disappearing. He pulled away from the kiss, his eyes coming open as his thumb strummed across her nipple, and Mary arched for him.

He sat back on his knees and tugged the bra away.

“Mary,” he whispered. “Jesus Christ, you’re gorgeous.”

She lay topless on his bed, her body burning under his bright gaze. She dropped her eyes and saw that he was tenting his basketball shorts indecently. She lifted one leg and planted the flat of her foot against his thigh. Her knee fell to the side and his nostrils flared as she opened herself to him.

He briefly covered his eyes with one hand. “You trying to get me to fuck you with your shorts still on?”

Mary went tight and liquid between her thighs all at once. “Is that an option?”

He laughed, but it was pained, harsh. He reached down and undid her shorts, tugging them away. “Someday. For now, let’s keep things simple.”