And then, as if she’d read him again, she slowly began to unbutton the silky blouse that was the exact green of her eyes. By the time she reached the second button that bared the upper curve of her breasts, he was lost. He had a better chance of doing that flying he’d thought of when she’d kissed him than to stop himself now.

He was barely aware of crossing the room, so focused was he on her. He pulled her upright, into his arms.

Just you kissing me would do it.

Her words echoed in his head, in the fraction of a second before he was doing just that. His mouth came down on hers hungrily. Still he held back, just a little, giving her a last chance to change her mind. Instead she met him eagerly, welcoming him, giving a tiny moan that fired every nerve in his body to wire-strung readiness. She tugged at his shirt, pulling it free of his jeans.

At the feel of her fingers sliding over his skin he went crazy in a way he’d never known before. He wanted more, he had to have more, and he broke the kiss just long enough to yank the shirt off. Then he took her mouth again, and when she slid her hands over him as if she liked the feel of him he nearly lost himself completely. He wanted to taste every inch of her, wanted to bury himself in her until there were no longer any boundaries between them. He wanted her free of that lacy bra, those lovely breasts rounding into his hands—

It hit him like a dash of ice water. There was no way in hell he’d be able to get her out of that bra. His left hand wasn’t coordinated enough, and he couldn’t reach the clasp with the right.

“Adam?”

“I...can’t...”

She took a half step back. And that quickly it was over, now that she’d realized how limited he was. For a very brief moment she just looked at him. He saw her take in the multitude of scars on his right arm, and the chill spread. But then she reached out to the thin scar that ran across his ribs, around from the back, where a shard of the plate glass window had caught him.

“Pretty, aren’t they?” An edge he couldn’t seem to stop crept into his voice.

“I was thinking admirable,” she said softly. “Badges of honor, all of them.”

Her words seemed to suck the breath out of him. And then she leaned forward and pressed her lips to the puckered end of the scar, just above his navel. A shudder he couldn’t suppress went through him, and his abdominal muscles contracted fiercely.