And when he pulled his lips away from her mouth and kissed his way down her neck, using his tongue to lick her throat and nibble at that oh-so-tender spot on her shoulder, goose bumps broke out on her skin. And she was anything but cold. She was hot. On fire. Her ni**les were hard, tight points of tingling pleasure, just waiting for his touch, his mouth, anything that would give them relief, because with every movement they brushed against his shirt—his chest—only torturing her more.

He stepped back and reached for the clasp on her bra, unlatching it and baring her breasts. Cool air slid over her nipples, but it was no relief from the heat blasting her body. She held her breath, needing his touch right there. And when he slid his hands over her breasts, his thumbs gliding over her distended nipples, she couldn’t hold back the moan of exquisite pleasure that escaped her lips. The rough contact of his hard, calloused skin against her soft ni**les sent shocks of sensation straight to her pussy. She arched her back for more.

“Like that?”

“Yes.” Her response had come out as no more than a whisper, a soft plea in the darkness. It was all she could voice. Her throat was dry, raspy from panting.

He put an arm around her back and swept another under her legs, lifting her, carrying her toward the bed. The room was pitch-black, the drapes drawn so no moonlight or neon from the Strip showed through. She didn’t know if she liked that they couldn’t see each other, or if she’d prefer the soft light of the room so she could see his face.

But this way, they had to rely on their other senses—on sound, on feel, on scent to guide each other.

He set her down on her feet next to the bed. She reached for his shoulders, laid her palms over his chest—a solid wall of muscle. She flexed her fingers in, then curled them, grabbing his shirt to lift.

This time, he let her, raised his arms so she could take off his shirt. After she discarded it, she laid her palms flat against his chest again. It was smooth, bare, and she let her hands discover his chest, his shoulders. Boulders of muscle that she traversed with her hands and fingertips, learning his body like she was reading a road map. His body was warm, hard all over. She wondered what he did with his time besides ride around the country. No man built like this spent all his time on a bike. He either worked out or worked physically for a living.

And now she could see the benefit of slowing down, of not being in so much of a rush for sex. How else could she get to experience the thrill of discovering his body, of running her hands over every plane, every muscle, sliding her hands down his arms and back up again, feeling the goose bumps rise on his flesh? It was such a heady experience, and empowering to realize that her touch elicited a reaction in him, gave him chills.

She rose on her tiptoes and wound her arms around his neck, pressing her br**sts against his chest. Her ni**les scraped his flesh and she couldn’t resist sliding them back and forth, even though the sensations aroused her to the point of madness.

Rick pulled her h*ps against him. His erection seemed harder than ever, if that was possible.

“You trying to tease me, woman?”

“You’re teasing me. It seems only fair to return the favor.”

“We’ll see about that.”

He pushed her, then, and in the dark she had no balance. Good thing she felt the bed against the back of her knees because she fell against the mattress, waiting for Rick to fall on top of her.

He didn’t. He was on the floor, pulling her boots off, pressing kisses to her feet as he gently removed each sock.

Her toes curled and she shuddered out a sigh. Okay, so maybe the tense frenzy she’d initially felt had dissolved into a puddle of delicious arousal now. Maybe Rick had been right about taking their time to enjoy the moment.

She hated being wrong.

He rose and undid the button on her jeans, and with a slow slide drew the zipper down. He tugged at the waistband and she lifted to help him as he drew her jeans down her legs.

That left only her panties. But he didn’t take those next. He leaned in, and she felt his warm breath caressing her bare belly.

“You smell good. Like cookies and hot sex.”

She smiled even though he couldn’t see her. “That’s an interesting combination.”

“It makes you special. No one I’ve ever known smelled like cookies and sex.” He pressed a kiss to her rib cage, and she shivered. When he went higher, just below her breasts, she stilled, not wanting to do anything to make him stop.

He didn’t stop. He cupped her breast and his lips covered one aching, desperate-to-be-sucked peak. Her body nearly shot off the bed at the first lash of his tongue against the sensitive bud. He curled his tongue around it, flicked it, then sucked, gently at first, then harder, and she could have cried it was so damn good. And by the time he moved to the other breast and lavished equal attention on it, she arched her back to feed more of her starved ni**les into his mouth.

And just as he’d done since they’d come into the room, he took his time, seeming in no hurry to move south, to f**k her, to do anything other than play with her br**sts and nipples.

The man was inhuman, his obvious intent to drive her to the brink of insanity—and over.

“Rick. Please.”

He lifted his head. She could only make out his silhouette in the darkness, but she knew he was looking at her.

“What do you need?”

How was she going to voice what she needed when she didn’t even know? “More.”

“More of this?” He captured her nipple in his mouth again and sucked and the rapturous pleasure settled heavy between her legs, teasing her, letting her know how damn good it was going to be between them.

“Yes. No. I don’t know.”

“Or this?” He took her other nipple between his fingers and rolled it. Heat shot to her pussy, making it quiver.

“Yes. No.”

He laughed. “Maybe I know what you need.”

He abandoned her br**sts and kissed her rib cage again, moving down to her belly, and lower. When he settled himself on the floor, then dragged her butt to the edge of the bed, she raised her head, wishing now for the light so she could see what he was doing—what he might do.

But she could only imagine, could only feel his breath against her thigh, his fingers parting her thighs, his hair brushing her skin. He dragged her panties slowly down her quivering legs, his hands moving over her calves, her knees, her thighs as he drew out the agony even longer.

And then she felt it—a light touch along her inner thigh. Hot, wet, she thought she had imagined it, but there it was again, and she knew it was his tongue, creeping ever closer to her—

Oh, God. He laid his tongue on her, and then licked along her pussy. Then there was definitely no mistake. It was real, and she was drowning in sensation—the most pleasurable, soaking sensation she’d ever felt. He gripped her h*ps and buried his face in her pussy, licking her like he was dying of thirst.

And she absorbed every lash of his tongue like she had never been licked before. Though she had—but not like this—not by a man who knew exactly what he was doing, who did it for her pleasure and her pleasure alone. She had waited so long for this. They had danced around each other, teasing, tormenting, and now that he was exactly where she wanted him, the floodgates had opened. His mouth and his tongue did the devil’s work on her cl*tand pussy—relentlessly stroking, licking, nibbling—giving her no time to think, to breathe, to process. She gripped the sheets in her hands and held on, but knew she had no hope of lasting. It was too good, too wet, and she was going to come.

“Rick.”

That was all she could say before she lifted her h*ps and fed him her pussy. And shattered.

Her orgasm was like a runaway train. She had no control over her wild response that took her completely over the edge. Rick’s fingers dug into her h*ps and held on while she bucked against him in a frenzy of pleasure. It had been so long . . . so long, and she rode this one out like holding on to a precious gift she might never receive again.

Even after it was over she still felt tiny quakes of sensation, pinpricks of pleasure that seemed to never stop. When Rick kissed her thighs and her belly, she smiled, certain she’d never been so content.

And they weren’t even close to being finished. They had just started.

Rick moved away from her. The loss of his body contact against her made her feel chilled. She lifted up to a sitting position and wrapped her arms around her legs. She could make out his form in the darkness as he stood at the edge of the bed.

She heard his belt buckle, then a zipper.

“How about some light?” she asked.

He leaned over and flipped the switch on the nightstand.

Ava blinked, forcing her eyes to adjust to the sudden light.

Rick stood in front of her, bare-chested, his jeans unzipped all the way. She swallowed—or tried to—but found nothing to coat her throat.

Da-yum. The man before her was a god, pure and simple. Tall, well muscled, bronzed, and gorgeous, with the kind of wicked smile that could make a woman hope and pray that he was thinking about her. Her gaze traveled down his chest, the wall of muscle at his abdomen, to the dark line of hair that led down to the hidden place where his jeans lay open.

How did she get so lucky to land a guy like this? Rock hard and sex on two legs.

She wasn’t about to question it.

Because for tonight, at least, he was all hers.

Rick looked down at Ava, at the way she stared at him with a mixture of satisfaction and need, her dark eyes saying a lot about what she wanted.

A man could develop a hell of an ego having a woman look at him like that.

Especially a woman as beautiful as Ava. With her clothes on she was distracting enough. Her face could stop traffic.

Naked, she was like a siren about to lure him to his death. Damn good thing the lights had been off earlier, or else he might have been afraid to touch her.

He and perfection? Yeah, they never occupied the same room—until tonight.

Ava was perfect, from her beautiful full br**sts with dusky, tasty ni**les right down to her luscious h*ps and thighs and the sweet pu**y between them. She was all woman. And tonight, all his.

He’d just had a taste of her, the sweetest honey a man could ever drink. And now he wanted more.

She sat in the middle of the bed, her legs pulled up, her arms wrapped around them. He dropped his jeans to the floor and her eyes went smoky dark.

“Come here.”

She shifted, scooted to the edge of the bed and let her legs dangle over the side.

Rick took a step forward, pulled her to her feet, and slid his arms around her. His erection wedged between them. God, it was tight, hot. He was ready to burst, especially after tasting her and having her come for him. He wanted her to come again—while he was inside her.

“I like having you na**d against me.”

She tilted her head back and offered up a smile, then slide her palms up over his shoulders. “It’s about time.”

He arched a brow. “Did I make you wait?”

“Seems that way.”

“Then no more waiting.” He took her mouth in a kiss—he really liked her mouth. Sweet, pliant, he could kiss her for hours. He turned, shifting them, and fell on the bed, bringing Ava down on top of him. She lifted her head and stared down at him, her hair like a raven waterfall across her cheeks. He swept it to the side, then rolled his hands down her back, grabbed her ass, and squeezed.

Her lips parted and her eyelids drifted partway closed.

Ah. So easy to tell what she liked. He’d have to remember to do this with the lights on again, so he could see her reactions.

And there’d be an again. He already knew once wouldn’t be enough. He’d already waited too damn long.

He rolled her over, pinning her by climbing on top of her. His c**k slid between her parted thighs, rubbing against her moisture-coated pussy. Like wet silk.

He reached over on the nightstand for the condom he’d pulled out of his pocket, tore open the wrapper, and lifted only long enough to put it on. Then, bracing himself on his arms, he watched as his c**k nudged against her pu**y lips.

Ava parted her legs, held onto his wrists—tight—oh, man, he liked the way she gripped him.

He slid inside her pussy, slow and easy at first, gritting his teeth because it was just so goddamn good. She pulsed around him, sucking him into the vortex of her hot, tight, pussy.

He lifted his gaze to hers. Her lips were clamped shut, her nostrils flaring. And when he rolled his h*ps she let out a soft moan.

Oh, yeah.

And still, she held tight to his wrists, dug her nails into him every time he pulled partway out, then drove in deep.

She liked it deep.

So did he.

He dropped down on top of her, careful to keep his weight off her slight frame, and slid one hand under her to cup her buttocks, tilting her up, giving him more access to her depths.

And then he thrust again.

She let out a gasp, a little louder this time, her pu**y rippling in response.

“Rick. Oh, God. Oh, damn.”

“Yeah, baby. I know. You feel good.”

He kissed her again, enjoying the feel of her br**sts against his chest, her ni**les scraping against him as he rolled his h*ps from one side to the other. He liked the sounds she made when he f**ked her. It made his balls tighten up, fill with the come he was going to shoot.

But first, he wanted to make her come. He intensified the friction, sliding against her cl*tevery time he thrust. Again and again until she tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and lifted her h*ps to cry out for more.

He gave her more, grinding against her until he felt her walls closing in around his cock, squeezing him while she dragged her fingernails across his back and called out his name as she cl**axed.

He wanted to hold on to this moment and watch her face, her lips parted as she cried out, her head tilted back, her eyes squeezed tighly shut as she felt it all course through her. He knew what that felt like because it took every ounce of strength he had to keep his own orgasm from bursting. But he couldn’t hold back anymore because his orgasm ripped through him, tearing through his nerve endings like a flash of lightning, so hot and hard he shuddered, buried his face against Ava’s neck, and let out a loud groan of pleasure that he felt from his head to his feet. He continued to rock against her, feeling her shudder as he emptied himself of everything he had.