“Umm… can I see the kittens?”

“With the way Soma is purring, I doubt she will mind. Let’s drop this stuff in the kitchen, and I’ll take you to the laundry room.” He holds out his hand to me and helps me stand.

We walk through the house, which is like he said—not much. The walls are bare, and as we pass by a living room, I see a few pieces of tattered furniture along with a too-big TV and nothing else. Then we get to the kitchen. It’s been updated recently, with new appliances, white cabinets, and a large island with cream-colored granite.

Past the kitchen, it opens up, and I’m stunned. The glass room that is so eye-catching from outside is just as gorgeous inside. Bright light and nothing but forest as far as I can see, with a comfortable-looking couch and a round table with chairs. If I lived here, I don’t think I would ever leave this room.

“This is beautiful.” I spin around to face Talon, realizing then I’ve wandered across the room, and now he’s leaning against the island in the kitchen, watching me.

“When I bought the house, the windows were boarded up and the kitchen had a family of raccoons living in it.”

“Really?” I smile.

“Really.” He walks toward me slowly, and my breath sticks in the back of my throat. “I thought about just letting it sit and building something closer to the lake in a couple years, but every time I came here, I would take down a board, and each time, more light came in.” He stops in front of me, and my stomach muscles flutter as his fingers wrap around my hip. “I already knew how perfect this house was, but the more I showed up, the more its beauty shined through.”

He dips his chin, and his lips touch mine ever so softly. The sigh that escapes is out of my control. It feels like I’ve been waiting my entire life for the moment he would kiss me. I sense him pull back, and my eyes flutter open, finding his eyes roaming over my features like he’s trying to memorize them before he lowers his head and kisses me again.

My lips part when his tongue touches my bottom lip, and I don’t hold back. I cling to him; my nails dig into his sides where my fingers have twisted in his shirt, and I open my mouth when his tongue seeks entry. The kiss isn’t hungry or greedy. It’s slow and sensual and nothing I have ever experienced before. It’s all-encompassing. I feel every pass of his tongue across mine, the way his hands part at my back, one traveling up to cup the back of my neck, the other dragging me closer. My skin tingles, and my nipples pebble.

A groan escapes his throat when he pulls away to rest his forehead against mine, and I whimper at the loss of his mouth. “Christ, I’ve wanted to do that since the moment I first saw you.”

“I wanted the same thing.”

He cups my cheeks, looking pleased by my admission. “Are you ready to see the kittens?”

Disappointment fills me, because what I really want is to kiss him again.

He chuckles then leans in, touching his lips to mine. “Good to know my girl likes my mouth.”

“Don’t be smug.” I try to shove away from him, but he wraps his arms around me and captures my mouth once more, nipping my bottom lip before sucking the top and licking into my mouth. I get drunk on his taste and the feeling of being surrounded by his strength. I should feel powerless in my need for him, but I know he’s feeling exactly what I am.

When his hands slide down my back and over my bottom to squeeze, my core clenches and stars dance behind my closed lids. I’ve never felt this before, this overwhelming desire for another person. He lifts me off the ground and holds me up under my thighs then. A moment later, he sits with me straddling his lap on the couch, our mouths never separating. I rock against his hardness without thought, and he pulls his mouth from mine.

“Jesus.” His eyes roam my face then drop to his hands as they move up my thighs. “I don’t know what the hell these things are called, but it’s agony seeing you in them and fucking torture feeling your heat so fucking close but so far away.” His hands curve around my inner thighs, and his thumbs move in unison over my covered pussy, making my hips jump. I watch his jaw tic then his gaze meets mine as he moves his hands to rest on my hips.

“Talon.” God, I sound needy. I feel needy, and wet, and so damn turned on.

Chest heaving, he shakes his head. “Baby, I—”

“Please touch me,” I cut him off before he can say something so him, like “I think we need to slow down,” or “This is just supposed to be dinner.” With any other guy, I would be thankful for that out, but right now, my body is on fire, and he’s not just any other guy.

“Fuck it.” He moves his hands up my shirt swiftly, and I lift my arms to help him out before he pulls the cups of my sheer bra down. When his hot mouth wraps around my nipple, my breath hitches and I slide my fingers into his hair. So lost in the sensation of his mouth on me, I’m not prepared for his hand to slide under the waistband of my shorts and down into my panties, where he zeros in on my swollen clit, and I cry out his name.

“You’re so goddamn wet, Mia.” He circles my clit then groans, sounding frustrated. “I love these shorts, but you gotta lose them.” Before I can prepare, he flips me to my back then stands over me and adjusts the large bulge behind his zipper. My mouth waters, and I reach for him, only to have him shake his head and move between my legs, where he fists my shorts and drags them and my thong down my thighs. “This is about you.” He spreads my legs, and I attempt to fight him, suddenly feeling vulnerable in my nakedness with him fully clothed. “Don’t try to hide from me. You’re perfect.” He urges my legs apart then smooths two fingers between the lips of my pussy. “So pretty.” His eyes lock with mine as he lifts those two fingers to his mouth. “So sweet.”

He pulls my hips off the couch then lifts one of my legs to his shoulder. I bite my lip so hard I taste blood when he kisses my pubic bone then hold my breath when he holds me open so his tongue can thrash against my clit. I writhe against him then cry out his name as he enters me with two thick fingers. The heavy weight that has been building in my lower belly releases when he sucks my clit, and just like that, my mind blanks of everything but the tidal wave of my orgasm. I shake when another one builds and follows the first like an unexpected tsunami. Slowly, I come back to myself as I’m moved, and then Talon wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head. As my orgasm fades and the reality of what I just did sinks in, I close my eyes.

I’ve never done anything like that with anyone. The guy I dated for a few years didn’t get me to the point where I would beg him to take me. God, Talon didn’t even get undressed, and when I reached for him, he said, “This is about you,” like… like I don’t even know.

“I should—”

“No,” he cuts me off and tightens his arms around me when I try to get up. “While you’re sitting here on my lap, in my arms, freaking yourself out, baby, I want you to know that was the hottest shit I’ve ever seen in my life.”

“What?” I whisper, tipping my head back to see him, and his hand comes up to cup my cheek.

“Mia, I want you. I think I’ve made that pretty clear,” he says, and I swallow against the intensity in his stare. “Having you so hot for me that you get off almost the minute I get my mouth on you is not something I consider a problem.”