Binding 13

His thigh was swollen, purple in color, and the angry-looking, weeping scar was partially concealed by the fabric of his boxers.

"Oh god, Joh

"Don’t hurt me," he warned in an achingly vulnerable tone.

"I won't," I promised as I knelt between his legs and waited for him to give me the go-ahead.

Nodding stiffly, Joh

Gently, I reached for the hem of the leg of his boxer shorts and carefully lifted the fabric away from his flesh, only to gasp at the sight.

His thigh was hairy with the exception of a six-inch patch of skin.

And that particular six-inch patch of skin was swollen, angry looking, and a horrendous brownish, yellow in color.

"It's oozing," I whispered, smoothing my fingers over the bumpy, uneven trail where they'd stitched him back up. The fragile, barely healed stiches had clearly been ripped apart by the boot of the Royce player who had co

"I know," he bit out, eyes still clenched shut. "Doc told me."

Gently, I traced the scar and surrounding bruising with my fingers. "Does it hurt when I touch you like this?"

"It hurts," he replied, tone hoarse.

Exhaling a heavy breath, I stroked his thigh and fought the urge to press a kiss to his cut.

"For an entirely different reason," he croaked out.

And that's when I noticed what I was doing – what I had been doing for the last minute or so.

I was sitting on my knees between his legs, stroking his i

My eyes flicked to the danger zone and my mouth ran dry.

So that's why people referred to it as pitching a tent.

I wasn’t sure that statement applied to this particular breed of teenage boy because Joh

Releasing a low groan, he pushed my hand away and moved to close his thighs, but I stopped him.

I stopped him.

"No," I mumbled, voice breathy and soft.

I could feel the heat of his stare on my face.

He moved to close his legs again and I shook my head.

His eyes were open again, his pupils were dark and dilated.

"What are you doing?" he whispered, biting down on his swollen bottom lip.

I didn’t know what I was doing.

I didn’t know what I was thinking.

I couldn’t speak.

I could barely breathe.

I was losing my mind right here on my knees in the middle of a changing room in Dublin.

And it was all his fault.

A temporary slip in sanity caused me to lean forward a press a kiss to his thigh.

The sound that tore from Joh

"Sha

I kissed him again.

"Fuck," he grunted, legs shaking now. "I can't…"

The third time I kissed him, he fisted my hair and pulled my face to his.

"Sha

I silenced whatever he was about to say by putting my lips on his.

And just like before, he turned to stone.

"I'm sorry," I strangled out, pulling back. "I did it again."

"It's okay," he told me, breathing hard just like before.

"No, no, no," I strangled out as I scrambled to my feet and lunged for the door. "You're injured! You're waiting to go to the hospital for Christ's sake, and I just – oh god! I am so sorry."

"Sha

I didn’t wait.

Instead, I did what I should have done earlier.

I hightailed it away from Joh

Hurrying over to the door, I yanked it open.

It opened about four inches before slamming shut again – the palm pressed against it the reason- no doubt.

"Wait," he commanded, standing so close to me that I could feel his chest rising and falling against my neck.

With my heart hammering in my chest, I swung around and stared up at Joh

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, unable to tear my eyes off his. "I just…I…" Shaking my head, I exhaled a ragged breath and whispered, "I shouldn’t have done that."

He shook his head and used his crutch to step closer, pressing his body flush against mine.

"Me, too," he replied gruffly, gaze flickering from my eyes to my mouth.

"Why are you sorry?" I breathed, trembling from head to toe.

He cupped my cheek with his free hand and tilted my chin up.

"Because I shouldn’t do this," he whispered.

And then he kissed me.

The moment his lips crushed against mine, a fierce blast of heat coursed through my body, igniting a delicious, burning ache in my belly.

Unable to think straight, let alone breathe, I did the only thing I could do given the circumstance: I reached up and grabbed his forearms and kissed him back.

This was my first real kiss, minus the disaster in his bedroom, and I had no idea what I was doing.

I only knew that I never wanted him to stop.

When I felt one of his hands trail down my arm and settle on my hip, I lost it.

I completely and utterly took leave of my senses.

Shivering uncontrollably, I let my back sag against the doorframe as my hips thrust closer to him.

I was drowning in my feelings as they crashed through me like a wrecking ball.

The more he kissed me, the more my body trembled uncontrollably.

The more I sought.

I moaned into his mouth when I felt the tip of his tongue trace against my bottom lip.

Realizing he was waiting for me to open my mouth for him, I parted my lips and held my breath when I felt his tongue slip inside my mouth.

Gently, he touched his tongue against mine in slow, patient strokes.

Oh, God.

Oh, sweet baby Jesus.

I was kissing Joh

Joh

He had his tongue in my mouth, his hand in my hair, and my heart in his pocket.

This was…

This was…

Everything I had never expected and more.

Uncertain, I tentatively snaked my tongue out and stroked his.

Joh

Trembling, I wrapped my arms around his waist and tugged him closer to me, unsure of what I was doing, but knowing that my body needed more.

My confidence grew with every brush of our lips, with every massaging duel of our tongues, until I was purring in his arms, rocking my body against him impatiently, as we moved clumsily to the closest bench.

How was this happening?

Why was this happening?

I didn’t know.

I didn’t know and I didn’t care.

Joh

The impact caused a grunt of pain to rip from his chest, but he never took his lips off mine as he tossed his crutch away and pulled me between his legs.

His hands moved from my face to my waist, clamping down hard, and the move caused a moan to tear from my throat.

He responded to my small gasp of surprised pleasure with a low growl of approval of his own.

"Are you okay?" I breathed against his lips as I held onto his shoulders.

"Just keep kissing me," he strangled out. "I want you so much."