After his meteoric rise to superstardom, Jim O'Brien is no longer a small-town boy who plays in bars and dreams of success. His handsome face is plastered on the covers of celebrity gossip magazines, and his voice alone is enough to make girls swoon...
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I lay in bed, listening to the sound of the shower spray in the en-suite bathroom, with my mind still foggy after what happened between Jim and me.
He went to take a shower after giving me a long kiss, and I would have joined him if I'd had the courage.
Sighing, I moved into a sitting position and inspected my knees. The scrapes didn't look good. Subconsciously, I brought my hand to my neck, gliding my fingers over the spot Jim kissed.
"Let me see."
My eyes met Jim's. He was standing next to the bed in nothing but a pair of pants hanging low on his hips. Water droplets clung to his sculpted torso, and my cheeks reddened from the sight.
Jim sat next to me and moved my hair aside. Then, his gentle fingers caressed the column of my neck. "There's nothing, Beautiful. I was careful."
"I know," I whispered.
Jim pressed his lips to my forehead. "I'm sorry if it was too much before. I lost it, Ava."
"I didn't say it was too much. I'm just—"
Weird. Inexperienced. A virgin.
"You're just what?"
Jim took my hands in his and brought them to his mouth to place soft kisses on my knuckles. Despite the tender gesture, I knew he was waiting for my answer. "I don't have much experience," I said in a shaky voice.
Jim frowned. "How much is not much?"
My mouth opened and closed. I had to tell him the truth, but his frown felt like judgment. After today's events, dealing with rejection was the last thing I wanted.
"Just not tons of it."
Jim nodded. "Gotcha. Let's take care of your knees. Knees first, dinner later. You'll spend the night, won't you?"
"I will."
Jim's lips grazed my cheek before he rose to his feet and walked back into the bathroom only to return with a first aid kit.
I watched him open the small box and pull a tube of something out of it.
"It will keep the wound from getting infected," Jim explained, applying the cream to the scrapes on both knees. He covered them with a piece of sterile gauze after and kissed the skin on my legs above the white squares secured with some band-aids. "It might sting a bit, but you're good now."
"Thank you." I drew my arms around Jim's neck and planted a kiss on his jaw. "I can help you cook."
"No way." Jim patted my back. "I have to prove myself to you and show you I'm not that awful at cooking. So, it's gonna be spaghetti, take two. Does that sound good?"
I rubbed my nose along Jim's cheek. "It does."
"Come on."
With my hand clutched in his, Jim led me to the kitchen. I perched on a stool while he got the ingredients he needed from the fridge.
