I felt his lips on the top of my hair.

There he whispered, “Faye, darlin’, I want you to hear this and get it, what you just gave me was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever been given in… my… life. What you’ll give me later I know from what I’ve already had, not just now but since I’ve known you, will be even more beautiful. With me, anytime, anywhere, you’re safe. But of the anytime and anyplace you’re with me, the place you’re safest is right here, in my bed. You never have to be embarrassed. You can ask questions. You can react how you want. You can be who you are. If I’m doin’ something you don’t like, you can stop me. Nothin’ will ever happen in this bed that you’ll be uncomfortable with. I swear to you, baby. You’re safe here and you always will be.”

These words were awesome.

But still.

I took in an unsteady breath, opened my eyes and started falteringly to ask his throat, “You don’t think that I… I mean, that I haven’t… uh –”

He cut me off to say firmly, “No.”

“But, at my age, the fact that –”

“No, Faye.”

I took in another unsteady breath and whispered, “Really?”

His fingers gave my neck a gentle squeeze. I read his message and pulled in another halting breath before I gave him what he nonverbally asked for and tipped my head back.

His was already tipped down and his eyes immediately captured mine.

My teeth immediately captured my lower lip. His gaze went to my mouth before coming back to my eyes.

“You didn’t hear me which means you didn’t get me,” he said softly.

I let my lip go and mumbled, “Um…”

He dipped his head closer, touched his mouth to mine and pulled back half an inch before he whispered, “Baby, you gave that to someone else, it wouldn’t be mine. Now it’s mine. No one can ever have it. It’ll always be mine. I love it. I think it’s beautiful. So I absolutely do not think the town’s sweet, cute, pretty, shy librarian who held onto that for as long as you did then gave it to me is anything but really f**kin’ good.”

I could tell by the seriousness mingled with serious warmth in his eyes he meant that. All of it. All he’d said.

Every word.

And because he did, I smiled at him.

His eyes dropped to my mouth before they closed slowly. That warm, raw thing I’d seen over pizza and deep conversation our first date was sweeping through his handsome features before he did what he did that night. Eyes closed, he tipped his head forward so his forehead was touching mine.

“Chace,” I whispered, watched his eyes open and his head went back.

Then he announced, “Time to feed you.”

I blinked. His body moved as if he was going to move away from me but my arms tightened around him.

“Chace,” I called again, he stilled and looked at me.

Then something else hit me and since I had his attention, I had to say something about it.

So I did, but I didn’t say it.

I stammered it.

“I… uh, well, um… you know… uh, that is,” I finished on a rush, “what about you?”

His features cleared and it was then he smiled at me.

It was a new smile. Wicked.

And also wicked hot.

Oh my.

Then he said quietly, “Just had my hand down your pants, honey, still gotta know, how real can you take it right now?”

“Real?”

“Real.”

I didn’t know the answer to that question.

But he told me I was safe in that bed and since Chace stopped giving mixed messages, I’d never felt unsafe around him.

So I invited, “Sock it to me.”

He kept smiling his wicked smile, but it was now tinged with amusement. He rolled partly into me so I had no choice but to go to my back. He was partly on top of me and he pulled one arm from around me to plant a forearm in the bed beside me.

Then he looked down at me, dipped his face back to close and he said gently, “Later, for you, I’m gonna take my time. I’m gonna do everything I can to give you everything you need to prepare to take me. What I couldn’t know is if you take care of you. If you don’t, like it just did, it could go fast for you so this wouldn’t give me time to prepare you. Now,” his lips tipped up, “you’re good. It’ll give me the time I need. Then it’ll be good again for you and also for me.”

Okay, maybe I wasn’t ready for that kind of real. I knew this because I felt my cheeks warm.

Still, I mumbled, “Oh. Okay.”

Chace chuckled so I knew he didn’t miss my blush. He bent and brushed his mouth against mine before he lifted away again and whispered, “We’ll work up to straight talk about sex.”

This seemed like a good idea.

“I’d appreciate that,” I whispered back.

Chace’s body shook a little with his amusement. I didn’t have the chance to feel much of it because he rolled over me then pulled me out of bed and onto my feet.

It was at this point I realized my jeans were undone and I was wearing nothing up top but my emerald green, satin, demi-cup bra with the little, tight diagonal pleats across the cups and tiny edge of dove gray lace.

Chace was bent to tag my shirt off the floor and my hands quickly went to my jeans.

He straightened, his eyes dropped to my torso and stayed there as his hand came out to offer me my shirt and I got the zip up.

“Take that, I’ll do this,” he ordered, his hand not holding my shirt coming out to curl into my waistband and he tugged me to him.

I bit my lip, took the shirt and started to pull it on.

It was over my head and Chace’s fingers had done up my button and were working my belt when he muttered, “When we work up to straight talk, I’ll tell you exactly how I feel about your bra.”

Oh my fraking Lord.

Well, one thing about that, it was good to know the bra was a worthwhile purchase.

I yanked my shirt down and avoided Chace’s eyes.

He finished with my belt but used a finger hooked in the buckle to tug me even closer and the intimacy of this sent my eyes skidding to him.

“I’ll amend my statement in a way since you’re safe with me anywhere but especially in my bed and also especially in this room,” he told me the instant he got my eyes.

“Uh… okay,” I whispered, happy to hear it, even if it was mostly a repeated statement though not getting why he said it.

Chace, who had demonstrated often he could read me, read me. I knew this when he kept talking.