“A massage,” I say. “To relax you.”

Emery smiles and pulls her white shirt from her shoulders, tossing it on the floor. With the scent of mint and lavender hanging in the air around us, she lies down on the bed on her belly, her head to the side so her eyes are still on mine.

“Thanks for this, Hayden,” she says when my hands make contact with her skin.

I knead her stiff shoulders, pressing my thumbs between her shoulder blades to work out the knots I find. “Not a problem.”

I lose myself in the process, touching her shapely shoulders that I’ve admired for all these weeks. Pushing my fingers in along her spine until she’s nice and relaxed. She murmurs and lets out little grunts of satisfaction that are sexy as hell. I unclasp her bra and let the straps fall to the sides so I can continue rubbing her without the restrictive material in the way. Getting lost in my movements and her little groans, I realize I’m straddling her, my cock nestled against her ass cheeks, while my hips seem to be rocking against her on their own.

“Let me up,” she says, her tone suddenly stern.

Shit . I rise up onto my knees, and Emery lifts up too. I expect her to cover her chest with her hands, or to yell at me for being so presumptuous when I said it was only a massage.

But instead, she turns around on the bed so she’s facing me. Her chest is heaving wildly with heavy breaths and her skin is flushed. I can’t resist letting my eyes wander from hers. Beautiful . Her breasts are full and perky, with soft pink nipples that have puckered in the cool air-conditioning.

She’s looking at me hungrily, her eyes jumping between mine to where my cock is straining against my pants. In a heartbeat, everything has changed between us.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” I ask.

She nods, biting her lip.

“Tell me.”

“I want it,” she whispers, inching her way closer to where I’m kneeling on the bed. As she brings her hands to my belt, her eyes stay locked on mine. “It’s all I thought about all day.”

“Me too,” I admit. Sending dirty texts all afternoon has left my libido in high gear. All systems are primed and ready to go. I must seek and plunder.

Undoing my pants, Emery works one hand into the front of my boxer briefs. My cock hardens even more as I feel her hand curl around me. I lean forward and take her mouth with mine. Once we begin, there’s no awkward fumbling, no hesitation. Her hand strokes up and down while I suck her tongue into my mouth and fondle the prettiest set of tits I’ve ever seen. When my thumbs graze her nipples, Emery moans and breaks from my mouth.

“Do you have any condoms?”

I nod. “’Course. I’m like a Boy Scout.”

She grins, pushing my boxers and pants down my thighs.

“But you’re getting ahead of yourself. I already told you I wanted to eat that sweet pussy of yours.”

She lets out a little groan, trailing her fingernails along my shaft and down to my balls. Goose bumps break out along my thighs. Christ, I want her.

“Is this going to change things between us?” she asks.

Ah. The real reason she went from horny to apprehensive in three seconds flat. “You’re really going to ask me that when your hand is on my cock?” And expect an honest answer , I want to add, but don’t. I meet her eyes and see fear and desire and confusion buried in those wide blue depths. “It doesn’t have to. Friends ’til the end. Okay?”

She nods, lifting her delicate chin and still holding my eyes.

I’m not some douchebag who’s going to lie to her and promise her the world. This is me. This is what I can offer her. She blinks and nods again, seeming to make up her mind. Then her fist around me relaxes. I give her shoulders a little push so she’s sitting back against the bed. After pulling down the zipper of her pencil skirt, she lifts her hips when I give her skirt and panties a tug. Soon she’s naked, and I take a moment just to appreciate the view.

“Damn,” I murmur.

“What?” She looks down at herself.

“I’d say yoga paid off.”

She’s soft like a woman should be, but her stomach is flat and her thighs are toned. She’s perfect. And shaved bare—which I didn’t expect, revealing delicate pink pussy lips that I want to part and bury my tongue against.

Giggling, she swats my shoulder. I rise from the bed and ditch the rest of my clothes before I push her thighs apart and position myself between them.

“This isn’t going to be like with Fuckstick or whoever. If you don’t like what I’m doing, or you need me to change pressure or speed, you’re going to tell me. You’re going to tug on my hair and tell me to the left, or harder, or whatever you need to climax. Do you understand?”

She nods, smiling at me.

“Promise?”

I hate how some women would rather fake an orgasm with high-pitched squeals rather than just tell their partner, Dude, suck on my clit until I scream your name. It’s really not that hard, but guys can be dense assholes sometimes.

She nods again.

The goal is to make her feel like she’s in control. I’ve gotten to know her these past few weeks, and I know that she’s the type to overthink everything and get lost inside her head. If I make sure she knows she’s the one calling the shots, that’ll be less likely to happen.

Pushing her legs open just a little wider, I lean down and lick my way from top to bottom, tasting her and breathing her in. Emery squirms, and I have to grip her hips to hold her in place. I center my mouth right over her sensitive nub and flick my tongue up and down until I feel her body shaking.