“There it is, yes? Right there?”

She could only nod.

“And what of here?” he asked as he thrust his finger inside her suddenly. He left his thumb to toy with her clit, refusing to abandon it. She moaned and nodded again.

“Good,” he said. “So long as I am doing it right.”

She had to laugh. “You have doubts?” she asked breathlessly.

“Not one. But it never hurts to check in with one’s partner when it comes to these things.”

“You are most considerate.”

“Now you do the same. Ask me what I like.”

She regarded him shyly, but his fingers inside her emboldened her. She drew her hand down a set of rock hard abdominal muscles and touched the elastic waistband of his underwear. Then she dipped her hand beneath and found her fingertips brushing against hard heat. She stroked the head of his cock gently.

“Do you like this?” she asked.

He shook his head and she bit her lip. She reached down and wrapped her hand around his length and stroked him root to tip. He growled softly, his hips surging forward.

“This then?” she asked.

He shook his head again. She frowned. He liked it. She could tell. They both could. So what was it he wanted?

She ran her hand down his length toward his body and cupped the soft sac beneath the rod.

“This?”

“Very close,” he said tightly.

“Well, what is it you want?” she asked with no little pique.

“I want it all. Everything. I am selfish and voracious. I will not be satisfied until I have you wrapped around me any and every way imaginable.”

“Oh,” she breathed. “Then let’s get rid of these.” She reached to snap the band of his underwear.

“As long as you can do it without me having to let go of you.”

An intriguing trick, but she thought she could manage it. She slid the material over his hips and pushed them down as far as she could without breaking his hold on her. He shifted and kicked them away. She immediately caught him up in her hands again, stroking him thoroughly, listening voraciously for every catch in his breath, for every low groan that escaped him. All the while his hand worked magic inside her. She panted with pleasure, rolling her hips up into his touch. His head dipped down and he took her nipple in between his teeth. He sucked it into his mouth again and again until the sensation combined with the stroking of his hand to bring her to her first blinding orgasm.

Her cries filled his ears and her hands clutched at his body. He was hard as nails with his want of her and he would not wait any longer to have her around him. He removed his fingers from inside her and pressed her legs further apart to make way for his hips. He slipped himself out of her hands and with a single thrust he sank deep into her body. He didn’t miss the slight wince that crossed her features.

“I’ve used you too well?” he asked, concerned.

“No. It’s nothing. A passing thing. I do not care so long as you stay inside me.”

“But you would let me know if I hurt you? Ever?”

“I would let you know,” she assured him.

“Good. Because I would not have you harmed in any way.”

“You do not harm me in any way. You pleasure me beyond all reason.”

He smiled at that. “Good. That’s as it should be.”

“Seeing you smile gives me pleasure as well,” she said.

“For you the effort is easy. And now…” He thrust smoothly into her and she smiled at the pleasure of it. “I wish to make you smile.”

“For you the effort is easy,” she said on a low purr.

“There will be nothing easy about this effort,” he promised her.

But all the same, he watched her carefully for the first few strokes to make sure she wasn’t in any pain. She didn’t reflect any on her face, so he had to be satisfied with that and the belief that she would keep her word and tell him if she was in any.

He reached to touch her breasts, his hand gliding over first one then the other, his fingers pausing only to tug gently on a nipple. When he had her purring like a kitten, he bent his head to her and took her mouth so he could catch her moans and sighs against his tongue.

He made love to her slowly and thoroughly, leaving no part of her body untouched. Later he would leave no part of her untasted. He vowed it to himself.

“Gods you’re so hot,” he growled against her ear.

“And you’re so hard,” she growled right back. It made him smile, hearing her so bold. He knew it didn’t come easy for her, but she was relaxing in his company and allowing herself to stretch her wings. Given a little time, her confidence would improve. But it would be a long road. The Wraiths had done quite a number on her, battering her down until she barely thought she had a right to any enjoyment in the world. Yet he saw her as strong. One had to be strong in order to survive. To survive and carve out a little place of pleasure. Her gardens were her haven and she had crafted her world to suit her so long as she was out there. Now she needed to realize there was far more to the world than just a little plot of flowers and a house full of mean-spirited people.

He wouldn’t let her go back there. Whatever happened, however all of this panned out, he would make her see that her little cell in Iowa was not the be-all and end-all of the world. That there were other places that would accept her for who she was without tearing her apart in the process. Whatever happened to him, he would see her have a better future.

Perspiration dampened his skin as he quickened his pace. Pleasure zinged through him in hot streaks, lighting his nerves on fire. He wondered at himself. Here he was having sex for the second time in a matter of hours after so many years of nothing. He should be exhausted—and he was—but his energy with her seemed to be boundless.

He rolled with her, flipping himself onto his back and having her straddle him. She raised herself up, her hands braced against his chest as his hand gripped her hips and moved her against him. He picked a rhythm to suit her and before long she was moaning in earnest. Every upward thrust set her breasts to shimmying and he longed to taste them. But he stayed focused on her impending orgasm. She began to ride him with energy, taking her pleasure instead of just allowing him to give it to her. It was a wondrous sight to behold, to see her grow so bold as her pleasure unfurled before him. She threw her head back and came hard.