Page 59 of Catch and Release

“I’m serious,” Willa said.

“I know,” he responded with a grin. “Imagine growing up with her.”

“Also, no sleeping over,” she continued, and he tried to keep his face neutral. “No cuddling after sex. No dates or date-like hangouts. And no hard feelings if one of us isn’t in the mood or available to hook up.”

“Should I be writing this down?” Shawn asked jovially, trying to lighten the mood.

Willa chuckled, then bit her lip.

“One last thing,” she said. “I’m on birth control, but I’d still like to use a condom.”

Shawn nodded. Of course she would want that. He’d basically told her he’d slept with every tourist who came through the area in his twenties.

“Whatever you’re comfortable with,” he said. “I’m clean, but if you’d prefer using a condom, we can do that.”

“I’m clean, too,” she said. “I just would prefer to use a condom.”

“Alright,” he responded. “We can do that.”

A beat of silence passed.

“So… now what?” she asked. “Do you want to come inside and…?”

Shawn felt his brow furrow and he tilted his head in an unspoken question. Willa covered her face in her hands and groaned, then peeked through her fingers.

“I’ve never actually done this before,” she said. “The casual sex. Or even initiated things like this. I don’t… At the risk of sounding extremely full of myself, guys usually come to me. Wine and dine me.”

Amusement trickled through Shawn as Willa dropped her hands.

“I’ve had boyfriends since I was, like, 13 years old. I don’t think I’ve been single for longer than a few weeks since then, and I don’t really know how to ask you to please, for the love of God, fuck me before I explode without sounding like all I’ve been thinking about is how you made me come last night.”

She paused.

“Which, for the record, I have.”

Shawn walked toward her, then grabbed her cheek with one of his hands, running his thumb along her jawline.

“You’re cute when you’re flustered,” he said with a smirk.

She bit her lip.

“But for the record,” he continued, “all you have to do is ask. And hearing you say filthy things like that only makes me want to bend you over the closest table and make you come so hard that last night seems like child’s play.”

Her mouth formed that adorable O, then she grabbed his hand and trudged up the hill toward the back door of the house as he trailed closely behind.

17

Willa had planned to lead him to her room.

But the moment they closed the door to the house and stepped securely inside the kitchen, he grabbed her hips, turned her to face him, and pulled her into a kiss so ferocious she thought her knees would give out.

Since last night, a small part of her wondered if it was a one-off.

An isolated, unrepeatable, sexy-as-fuck one-off.

But this kiss was making it quite clear to her that it wasn’t.

His hands felt hot and firm on her hips, and she felt the press of his fingers into her skin, just firm enough that she thought she might swoon from the sheer possessiveness he was displaying. His mouth devoured hers with such ruthlessness that she felt completely consumed by him—like the only thing that existed was Shawn, his delicious lips, his wicked tongue. She clawed her fingers up his six-pack, marveling at the way they moved along the firm ridges of him. Her palms flattened across his chest, feeling the smooth curve of his pecks against her hands.

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