“This is it,” I say to myself, determination rising inside me.

Everything is about to change, and I’m ready. Whatever happens, I hope it means making things real with Donny.

As I step out onto the sidewalk, I raise my hand to hail a cab. One screeches to a stop in front of me, and I take a deep breath.

No time to waste. I’ve got a man to see—if he’ll have me.

20

Donny

I’m nearly ready tohead out of Carmen’s apartment when the door swings open. She bursts in, breathless, her cheeks flushed from the cold. Her eyes meet mine and don’t dart away as she shuts the door slowly, then twists the lock in place behind her back.

“I figured you might want the place to yourself, after your long day. Just wanted to see you again tonight,” I say softly.But even as I say it, I know I don’t want to go. Not when she’s looking at me like that, with intensity and something deeper swirling in her gaze.

Carmen takes a couple steps toward me, shedding her coat along the way and tossing it toward the wall, her eyes fixed on mine in a way that makes my pulse race. My cock jumps, heat stirringbeneath the surface, but I hold myself still while she continues inching closer to me.

She stops in front of me, close enough that I can feel the warmth of her body. Her hand rests on my chest, fingers curling around the fabric of my shirt as if she’s trying to anchor herself to me. “You’re wrong, she whispers, I’d really hate to see you walk out right now.”

Without waiting for a response, she pulls me forward, crashing her lips against mine. The kiss is fierce, urgent, but underneath it, I sense something more—a need. My hand finds the back of her neck, gently threading through her hair as I kiss her back just as hungrily. Every brush of her lips against mine ignites something raw inside me. There’s no way I’m letting this stop.

Her breath hitches when I tug the strands of her hair, gently so I don’t hurt her, and expose the expanse of her neck to me. She wraps her arms around my neck, her way of keeping me close, while I drag a trail along her neck with my tongue before sucking on the skin. When I pull away, there’s a mark blooming on her that only makes me more feral and I lift her up until she wraps her legs around my waist.

“I’ve been wanting this all damn day,” I grind out, then claim her lips with mine in another searing kiss.

She nods against it, agreeing to my statement, while I carry her through the hall and into her bedroom. I turn and shut the door with my foot, our lips still gliding together like they were meant for each other. Even though the bed is right behind us, I stepforward until her back is against the door and lift my leg up enough that it presses between her thighs.

Her body reacts to that immediately, hips grinding over my leg with need, and I smirk against her lips. “You’re desperate for a release. Aren’t you, Sunshine?” I glide my hands over her stomach, dipping them beneath the jeans she’s got on, and run my fingers through her slick center.

“Yes,” she rasps.

“One that only I can give.”

I apply pressure to her clit with my thumb, while teasing her entrance with another digit, and she throws her head back against the door with a gasp. “God, yes.”

“This is what you want, Sunshine?”

Carmen answers me by grinding her hips once more, moving herself along my fingers, and I happily watch her with fascination as she does it. She whimpers when I pull my hand away, but her eyes flash with heat when I hastily reach for the button of her jeans to tug them down her thighs.

She drops her legs from around me, places her feet onto the floor, and eagerly pulls the jeans off before tossing them across the room. I carefully reach forward, clutching the edge of her shirt, and pull it over her head. When I finish with that, she keeps her eyes on me while she unclasps her bra before reaching forward and grabbing hold of my jeans by the waistband.

There’s something incredibly intoxicating about a woman who knows what she wants and the way Carmen’s looking at me right now tells me she wants me. I groan when she drops to her knees on the floor, pupils dilating as she tugs my pants down, and my thick length bobs in front of her eagerly.

I try to step away, needing to press myself between her thighs, but she reaches out and clasps her hands around my thighs to keep me in place. She looks up at me, a hint of a smirk tipping the corner of her lips, and wraps her palms around me gently.

Her eyes are still on mine as she moves her hand up and down, my hips jolting at the pleasure that courses through with her touch. “I need to be inside you, Sunshine.”

Before she can protest, I pull her from the floor and lead her over to the bed. As she sits at the edge of it, I tug my shirt off and toss haphazardly onto the floor behind me. Her eyes trail over every inch of my skin, drinking me in, and I shiver under her gaze before stepping forward.

“Lie back.”

She obliges my demand, her legs still resting over the edge of the bed as she does, and I reach out, gently parting her thighs. Her arousal glistens, calling me closer, and I line myself up to her entrance. My hands grip her hips as I slowly sink into her, the sensation overwhelming, drawing a deep groan from my chest.

Her hands slide up my back, fingers pressing into my skin as I pull out, only to push back in, deeper this time. The way sheclenches around me drives me wild, and all I can think about is how right this feels—like she was made for me.

"God, Sunshine," I murmur, the words slipping out without thought, "you feel so damn perfect."

Carmen’s soft moan encourages me, and I hold her tight, savoring every moment as I move inside her, lost in the connection between us. Her hands come up, running along my spine, and I pull out before pushing back into her wet heat. I can’t deny how incredible it feels to have her walls clenching around me.