I slid my hands around to the front of his shirt, untucking it so I could touch more of him. He slid one leg between mine and I bucked against him. He groaned before pulling his mouth from mine. He trailed his teeth down my neck, making me shiver.

I should stop. Should tell him that I didn’t sleep with people, hadn’t slept with anyone since Marty’s father, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. I needed what he was offering me. I needed Max. The man who created beautiful paintings. The man who had stood up to my father. The man who had whisked me and my son away to somewhere safe.

His hand left my breast, but only to lift me off the ground so that he was pressed between my legs. I ground against him and moaned into his ear while he kissed my neck.

“Damn it.” He groaned. “Door. Gotta close the door.”

He pulled me away from the wall and kicked the door shut before turning the lock with one hand. Pressing us back against the wall, he pulled my boots off and threw them to the side.

“What about Marty?” I lifted my eyes to his.

“He’ll be fine. I promise.” He set me down and ran a hand along my cheek. “I wouldn’t leave him if he wasn’t.”

He kissed me again, this time tenderly as he worked my sweater up over my body. When he moved back to pull the sweater over my head, I started working on the buttons of his shirt, quickly making my way down before pushing the shirt off his shoulders. Reaching behind him, he grabbed the collar of his undershirt and pulled it over his head, discarding it with my sweater.

Looking up at him, I worked his belt loose and pulled it from the belt loops before dropping it on the ground. His chest was perfectly sculpted muscle, and my mouth begged to run over it. He brushed some of my hair out of my face before leaning down to kiss me. One of his hands fisted in my hair at the base of my neck while the other reached around to undo my bra.

He slid the straps off my shoulders and I stepped back just enough to let the flimsy material fall to the ground between us. His warm fingers undid the button to my jeans and traced along the top of my panties.

One of his hands grazed my breast and I closed my eyes in pleasure.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered. “Perfect.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.” I gasped as his fingers dipped into my panties, teasing me.

Pulling me away from the wall, he worked my jeans down and I kicked them to the side. I had a momentary bit of fear as I worried about whether or not I had shaved my legs, but it was forgotten when he stood back up and caught one of my br**sts with his mouth. His tongue stroked my hardened nipple before raking it with his teeth.

His hand slid between my legs, teasing me, and I moaned loudly before biting my lip. It had been so long. So long since I’d been touched that way.

He lifted his head and pressed his mouth to mine, his tongue eagerly exploring. The sound of his zipper filled my ears and panic shot through me. Was I really going to do this? And then his hand was pulling my panties down and the cool air rushed across my bare skin. When his hardened shaft pressed against my skin, I sucked in a lungful of air.

Sensing my panic, his kiss slowed. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” I looked into his green eyes and took a deep breath.

“We can stop.”

“I don’t want to.” I said the words quietly. There, my barriers were gone. The truth was out. “I want you.”

“Thank God.” He pressed his mouth back to mine before lifting me in his arms. He laid me down on a small sofa before covering my body with his. Hungrily I pulled at him, eager for the feel of his skin pressed against mine. I felt like he had lit me on fire and only his touch would put it out.

His mouth covered my breast while his hand slid between my legs. I bucked when he dipped one finger inside and then groaned when another joined the first.

His mouth captured my groan as I writhed beneath him. Reaching out, I stroked along his stomach until I could wrap my fingers around his manhood. He hissed in pleasure before shifting so that I could stroke him better. He mumbled things in Lilarian as we touched each other; half words and phrases while lost in pleasure.

When I was nearing my peak, he pulled his hand away and moved so that he was hovering between my legs.

“Not yet.” He leaned down and tugged on my ear with his teeth. “I want to be inside you when you come.”

He rubbed at my opening before slowly filling me. The light streaming into the room made his eyes shimmer with a symphony of colors. My own eyes started to drift shut, but he touched my cheek.

“Watch me, Meredith,” he whispered in Lilarian. “I want to see your eyes when you finish.”

When he began to move, it was slow and steady. Long, deep strokes, as he pulled out and then filled me again. And again. My body arched with him, meeting him thrust for thrust. With the hand that he wasn’t using to brace himself, he cupped my breast, kneading it softly.

My eyes closed in pleasure and he gave a deep, masculine chuckle. “Not yet. I want to see you.”

I opened my eyes, giving him what he asked. I’d give him anything he asked for at that moment.

He shifted and I groaned loudly. He found just the right spot and I could hold on no longer.

“Yes,” I whispered as he picked up the pace. “Yes, please. Yes.”

His eyes clouded and I could tell that he wasn’t far from the end. Reaching around him, I grabbed his ass and urged him on. Faster. Harder.

I looked up into his eyes just as I fell over the edge. It was blinding; far more intense than I remembered it ever being before. Triumph filled his gaze as he stared down at me as he finished.