She nods, takes another kiss, fumbles to reach the hem of her sweater. I’m holding her too close, but I don’t want to let go. I whip off her shirt, then sit back to shimmy out of my jeans.

“I didn’t want to come,” I tell her. It sounds like an accusation, but it really isn’t. Coming in her mouth. Jesus fuck. Just fuck. She’d sucked me down, her hot mouth tugging at my dick as if she needed it to survive. It made me feel weak as hell and like a god among men. Because Fi had chosen me. Out of all prospects, she wanted me.

“You’ll come again,” she assures, nibbling at my neck. “I just took the edge off.”

More like unleashed my primitive side that says, claim her now and do it hard. Only I can’t seem to control my limbs. Hell, my cock is rising again. I’m pretty sure hard and ready is going to be its go-to state for days.

She’s laughing now, her voice all soft and husky. I know it’s because I’m stuck in my jeans, the fabric snagged on my ankles. Fi reaches out and pulls me free. I’m naked, and she’s not. This needs to be rectified.

“Off.” One, swift tug and her skinny little jeans are sailing across the room.

“Whoa, Big Guy,” she says with another laugh, her green eyes dancing. “Hold on a sec.”

I’ve been holding on for twenty-four years. But I take a breath, make myself calm. Whatever Fi wants, I’ll give her.

Swallowing with difficulty, I sit up, pressing my fists against my thighs so I don’t reach for her. Because she’s lovely, sitting there in her lacy pink bra and panties.

She ducks her head, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “I have an IUD.”

“Really?” I probably shouldn’t say it like that, all shocked and shit, but I’m distracted, and it slips out. That sounds like something a girl in a committed relationship gets. I hate the idea of Fi having been in a heavy relationship before me.

She gives me a look. “I know it sounds…extreme. But after Ivy…” She bites her lip and shrugs. “I just wanted to be extra careful.”

I nod because now I get it. Ivy and Gray got pregnant their senior year of college. It wasn’t planned, and then Ivy miscarried. It tore Gray up, and I spent many a night with him and Drew playing video games and basically distracting the guy. Later, when they were married and became pregnant again, Gray was a nervous wreck until Ivy reached her second trimester and he could actually see a sonogram of a live and healthy baby kicking around in her womb. I can imagine Fi witnessed a lot of Ivy’s pain as well.

Gently, I rest my hand on her bare thigh and rub it. “Okay.”

Fi puts her hand on mine. “I’m clean. Got tested after my last boyfriend. I have an email of my results.” She moves to reach for her phone but I stop her with a touch to her shoulder.

“I believe you.”

Oddly, she frowns. “You shouldn’t. Don’t believe what any girl tells you out of hand. There are too many liars and cheats gunning for professional athletes. Hell, you should check to make sure I have an IUD—”

I kiss her. No tongue, just a pressing of my lips to hers to stop her word spew. She blinks up at me when I pull away.

“Cherry, it’s just you and me. So stop talking crazy about other girls. I trust you, and I don’t really give a shit if you think I shouldn’t.”

Her lips purse, but she’s fighting a smile. “So touchy.”

“Yeah, well, it pisses me off when you imagine me with other women.”

“The thought pisses me off too, Big Guy.”

“Good.” I caress the tight little corner of her mouth with my thumb. “Now, is all this your way of saying you don’t want to use a condom?”

The thought does funny things to my insides. Makes me think about forever and exclusivity and finally being inside Fi.

“You’re grinning,” she points out.

“I am.” I grin some more, kiss the fragrant curve of her neck.

Fi tilts her head to give me room. “It’s your first time, Ethan. You ought to get the full experience.”

Delicately as I can, I run the tip of my tongue up her neck, loving the way she shivers. When I reach her mouth, I dip in to snatch a taste, and she moans, opening up wider. God, she’s delicious.

Mine. All mine.

My fingers thread through her hair, holding on tight. “Can I have the full experience now?”

She chuckles, the sound muffled against my lips, and her arms wrap around my neck to bring me closer. “You can have it all, Ethan.”

“Be warned, Cherry, I’m going to take it.” With that, I swing her onto my lap. A flick of her bra snap and it slips off. I palm her breasts, graze my lips over the stiff bud of her nipple before sucking it deep, taking as much of her breast into my mouth as I can. Greedy, so greedy, for her.

I love the way she moans and pushes into my touch. I want more of her sounds. My teeth bite down, just enough to make her feel it, make her squirm. Pain and pleasure.

I know how my confession must have sounded, how I’d pierced myself in the most painful place possible for the want of her. But it wasn’t entirely impulsive. I’d known that eventually the pain would fade and there would be only pleasure. Added pleasure for me and for whoever I was with.

Yeah, I’d been picturing Fi. Didn’t matter if I tried to move on. Eventually, my mind returned to Fiona. She’s my One, whether I want her to be or not. But want her I do. And now I’m going to have her. Like that, any lingering nerves about having sex for the first time dissipate like fog in the sun.