He grins. “Do you like them?”

“Yes. Oh, yes.” After a beat, I stroke his cheek. “But I don’t care how many muscles you have. I care about who you are inside. The muscles are just a bonus.”

Emotion sweeps over his face. “Sarah. I—” A ruddy pink tinges his cheeks. “I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. Inside and out.”

If I had any doubt about falling, I don’t anymore.

As we finally, finally, come together, I’ve never been more sure about anything.

As Dante sinks deep inside me, filling me, nothing has ever felt so right.

At first, he moves slowly, stretching me, using his fingers to pluck at my sensitive bud until I’m moaning and begging him for more.

“I want to make sure you’re ready,” he murmurs between kisses.

Ready? I’m beyond ready.

“Iamready.Please.” Holding Dante’s gaze, I say in a throaty tone that doesn’t sound like my own. “I want it fast. Hard. Don’t be careful. Not now.”

And he’s true to his word. Ask for anything, and he’ll give it to me.

Our movements become frenzied, bodies colliding, Dante plunging deep and bottoming out every time.

I’m making these little sounds—something between a whimper and a moan—and Dante groans, “Shit, Sarah. That’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Please,” I beg, “I’m so close. I just need?—”

“Yes.” And he lifts my hips, tilting them so he goes impossibly deeper on his next thrust, hitting a spot I thought only existed in romance novels.

And that’s all it takes for me to fly over the edge, crying out in ecstasy.

It’s fireworks on the Fourth of July. A supernova. A galaxy bursting to life.

Seconds later, Dante shouts out his pleasure as he explodes along with me, throwing his head back and stiffening as he pulses inside me.

Still joined, he flips us over, draping me across his chest as the aftershocks ripple through us. We’re both breathing hard, his heart jackhammering in rhythm with mine. One hand traces lazy circles on my back, the other strokes my hair, and he presses a soft kiss to the top of my head.

It’s so perfect, I almost blurt it out—I’m falling in love with you. But if he’s not there yet, it’ll make things awkward, and I don’t want to ruin this moment. So instead, I lay my head on his chest, listening to the gradually slowing thump of his heart. And I think to myself,how lucky am I? To have found this in all the chaos?

I’m so relaxed, so comfortable snuggled against him, it’s a blow when Dante gently sets me aside with a regretful sigh and says, “I’ll be right back. I just need to clean up.” But he’s back right away, sliding back under the covers and wrapping his arms around me again.

“Do you need to get to work?” I ask, hoping the answer is no.

“Not yet.” His breath feathers across my hair. “We can stay like this a while longer.”

“Good,” I murmur drowsily. “Because this is the best place in the world.”

I must have dozed off, because the next thing I hear is an incessant buzzing—Dante’s phone springing to life on the nightstand beside us. There’s a blanket covering us now, and I wonder how long I’ve been sleeping. But before I can ask, Dante kisses my head and says, “Sorry, beautiful. But that’s the B and A ringtone. We use that one if there’s important news. So I really need to get it.”

“That’s okay,” I reply, my voice raspy from sleep. “Sorry for falling asleep on you.”

He gently lifts me off his chest and tucks me under the covers beside him. “Never apologize for that. I loved it.”

Awww.

How can he be so perfect?

As I snuggle against his side, Dante reaches over to the nightstand and grabs his phone. “Hey. Matt. What’s up?”