My hands moved from his hair to the hem of his shirt, slipping under, and my fingers traced circles on his back as he groaned into my mouth, the growl vibrating against our duelling tongues. His hand smoothed down my waist and kept heading south. Long, experienced fingers stroked my thigh ever so slightly, and his mouth tore from mine.

Romeo’s gaze dropped down and I felt his hand travel north, passing the bottom of my nightdress. I immediately stopped his hand and he froze, his eyes shooting back to mine.

“I-I can’t. It’s going too fast,” I whispered and looked away in embarrassment.

He sighed, his hand moved from underneath my nightdress, and he took my chin between his finger and thumb. “Don’t do that,” he stated firmly.

“Do what?”

“Feel bad for stoppin’. Never feel bad for that. When I have you, it’ll be when I have you writhin’ in need, beggin’ me to f**k you. Never feel bad for stoppin’. When you give yourself to me, you’ll be so wet that you can’t f**kin’ stand it.”

“When I give myself to you?” I asked, slightly pissed off at his assumption that I’d be unable to resist his charms but at the same time so friggin’ turned on.

“When you give yourself to me,” he replied knowingly.

My mouth dropped. “You’re confident. I might refuse you.”

He shrugged dismissively and traced around my knee with his index finger. “We’re gonna happen. We both know it’s true, and I’m countin’ the days until I get inside you and make you come… over and over again.” He rolled his lips, moisture causing them to shine. “Fuckin’ countin’ the minutes…”

I struggled to think and I urged him back towards my hot mouth, desire trumping logic.

With a frustrated grunt he pushed me off onto the mattress, reproach in his stand-off posture. “I shouldn’t have pushed you. You’re not ready.”

“You didn’t. It’s just… It’s just that… I’m… not very experienced… and I…”

His eyes widened and he reared back. “Shit, are you a virgin?”

I pulled down the hem of my dress and kneeled up. His shocked eyes never left mine as I tucked my hair behind my ear. “No, not a virgin, but I’m not exactly skilled in all things… seductive. I’ve only ever slept with one person and only one time, this past year,” I rushed out in one breath.

A glimpse of possessiveness flickered across his face and his muscles bunched. “When did this happen?”

“When I was at Oxford. Oliver and I—”

“Oliver?” he snapped coldly.

“Yeah, Oliver Bartholomew.”

He lost his anger and fought a smirk. I narrowed my eyes. “What?”

“Oliver Bartholomew? Very… British.”

“He is British! As am I! Quit making fun!”

I rolled over and folded my arms. He dragged me back to face him, failing to hide his amusement. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” I unfolded my arms, unable to remain annoyed and took his hand in mine.

“So, Oliver, was he your boyfriend?”

“Yeah, I suppose. I tried to have him as a boyfriend anyway.”

“Tried?”

“Yeah. I… I don’t really get close to people. I tried with him, but, in the end, I just couldn’t do it. We’d been sort of dating for a few months—coffee dates, study partners, that type of thing—and I decided to just take the next step, just get it over with. He wanted it badly. I was indifferent. So I thought why not? Olly was sweet to me and I liked him well enough. The sex—not so much.”

He recoiled in horror, dropping my hand. “What? You didn’t like sex?”

I blushed in embarrassment, picking at the loose threads of cotton on my sheet. “It was awkward, fumbled, and not everything it was hyped up to be.”

Romeo ran a finger down the length of my arm, watching the skin bump in its wake. “Olly, just didn’t do it right.”

A second wave of goose bumps spread along my exposed skin. He noticed my traitorous reaction and smiled knowingly. “I imagine with you, Shakespeare, it’d be like nothin’ else. I’ve never wanted anythin’ so much in my damned life—to taste you, feel you… hear you scream my name.”

“Romeo—” I shifted to give us both space before things spiralled too far.

He reached out and held my arm. “I’ll stop, but I won’t hide the fact that I want it real bad, Shakespeare. Real f**kin’ bad.”

I groaned, dramatically slamming my pillow over my head, hearing Romeo’s throaty chuckle beside me. He pulled the pillow down, exposing my eyes, raising an eyebrow in question of my strange behaviour.

“We need to find something to do, Rome. I really need distracting right now.”

He smiled widely, teeth gleaming. “You’ve stolen my line, Shakespeare. Ain’t I the one that’s meant to say that to you?”

I giggled. “Probably, but I’m about ready to jump your bones and would prefer not to tonight if it could be helped. I’d like it if I didn’t go from near-virgin to slut after one night in your friggin’ company!”

Romeo threw his head back, barking out in laughter and I joined him, unable to resist. He took my hand and wrapped it in his. “What should we do, then, near-virgin, just so you don’t give in and jump my bones? Although, it’s mighty temptin’ for me to just let you do your thing.”

I slapped his chest playfully. “I have just the thing, if you’re game?”

Romeo tapped my arse as I jumped off my bed. I shook my head in admonishment and inserted a DVD into my player. Climbing back on the mattress, I laid a chaste kiss on Rome’s lips and sat back to rest against the head frame, butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

The film began and Rome nudged my shoulder, mirth in his chocolaty gaze. “Monty Python’s Life of Bryan?”

“It’s Python.”

Romeo lifted his arm and placed it around my shoulders. “If I don’t get to be inside you right now, I suppose Python is an okay substitute.”

Swallowing hard, I met his gaze, detecting the blatant lust in his eyes. “R-right… well.” He burst out laughing at my stuttering.

Shifting off the bed and straightening my nightdress, I pointed at Romeo and ordered, “Stay put. I’ll go grab the snacks!”