Aiden had an effortlessly magnetic look about him... brown hair falling into his face, tattoos peeking through the loosened buttons of his shirt, and striking green-blue eyes that watched you with a calm intensity, making your breath catch.

You shifted closer and rested a hand against his chest. His heartbeat thudded strongly and steadily beneath your palm. For a long moment, neither of you moved, just feeling the weight of the quiet between you.

When you finally leaned in to kiss the hollow of his collarbone, Aiden drew in a breath, his lips parting slightly as his hand instinctively found your waist.

“You always know where to start,” he whispered, his voice a low rasp.

Smiling against his skin, you traced one of his tattoos with the tip of your finger, following the ink as though it was a map leading you exactly where you wanted to go. His muscles shifted beneath your touch, subtle but undeniable, and when you kissed lower, just beneath the line of his shirt, his breath came heavier.

You lingered there, savoring the way he reacted to your touch, before your lips drifted downward, tasting the warmth of his skin. His abdomen flexed as you kissed along the sharp cut of his stomach, your mouth finding the defined line of his V.

“God, you’re going to undo me,” Aiden murmured, his eyes half-closed, head tipped back against your pillows.

“That’s kind of the plan,” you teased, kissing the same spot again.

He reached for your face, brushing your hair back tenderly. “Don’t ever stop doing that. Don’t stop kissing me like I’m the only thing you need.”