He couldn’t say it back. Not yet. The words were there, lodged in his throat like broken glass, but he couldn’t force them past his lips. Instead, he pulled her down to him, capturing her mouth with his, pouring everything he couldn’t say into the kiss.

She understood. Of course she did. She always seemed to understand the things he couldn’t put into words.

He rolled her beneath him, and she went willingly, her body pliant and trusting under his hands.

“I need you,” he murmured against her throat. “Fuck, Nessie, I need you so much.”

She arched beneath him, her nails scoring down his back. “I’m yours to take.”

The raw desire in her voice sent heat surging through him. He kissed her deeply, his tongue tangling with hers as his hand slid between them to cup her breast. Her nipple hardened against his palm, and he rolled it between his fingers, drawing a gasp from her lips.

“More,” she breathed, her legs wrapping around his waist to pull him closer.

He obliged, trailing his mouth down her neck to her collarbone, then lower still until he captured her nipple between his lips. Her skin was an addictive blend of salt and sweetness, surpassing even the finest baked goods in her bakery. Her back arched off the bed as he sucked harder, his tongue flicking over the sensitive peak.

“Jax,” she moaned, her fingers tangling in his hair. “Please...”

He wanted to take his time, to worship every inch of her body, but the need building between them was too urgent, too raw.

His hand slid between her thighs, finding her already wet and ready for him. He groaned against her breast as his fingers stroked through her slick heat, circling her clit with just enough pressure to make her gasp.

“So fucking greedy,” he murmured, lifting his head to watch her face as he slid two fingers inside her. Her eyes fluttered closed, her lips parting on a silent moan. “Look at me, sweetness. I want to see you.”

Her eyes opened and locked with his, full of love and trust. He curled his fingers inside her, finding the spot that made her spine snap bow-string taut.

“Oh God,” she gasped, her hips slamming up to meet his hand. “Right there. Don’t stop.”

He slowed his fingers, just enough to make her whine with frustration. There was nothing more intoxicating than having Nessie under him, her body trembling, her eyes begging for more.

He leaned in close, biting her earlobe gently before murmuring, “You need it, sweetness? Need my cock to fill you up?”

A stuttering gasp, then a needy nod against the pillow. “Please.”

He grinned, drunk on the knowledge that he could do this to her, that he was the only one who’d ever wrung those sounds out of her throat.

He pulled his hand away and pushed them into her mouth. “Taste yourself. How sweet you are.”

She took him in without question, lips closing over his fingers, tongue swirling as if she meant to devour him.

Jesus Christ. The sight of her like that—obedient and wild at once—nearly took him out.

“God, Nessie, you’re so fucking perfect,” he groaned, watching her cheeks hollow around his knuckles. He pulled his hand free and cupped her jaw, thumb stroking the corner of her mouth. “I want to fuck you so deep right now, but we don’t have any more condoms.” He’d meant to pick up a pack while intown today, but after the run-in with the sheriff, then Brandt and Trevor Pace, he’d forgotten entirely.

She reached up and touched his cheek, her thumb brushing across his stubble. “I’m on birth control. Have been for years. And I trust you. I love you.”

He didn’t let himself overthink. She’d said she loved him. She wanted him—no barriers, no reservations, not even a thin layer of latex between them. He was so hard it hurt, and the thought of fucking her bare made his brain short-circuit and his cock jerk against her thigh.

“You want me like this, sweetness?” The words came from somewhere guttural and animal inside him. “You want me to fuck you raw?”

She nodded, eyes wide, pupils blown and dark as midnight. He could feel her heart hammering in her chest, matching the thrum of his own, wild and out of control.

He lined himself up and pushed inside, savoring the slide as her heat swallowed him whole. It was almost too much; he had to squeeze his eyes shut to keep from coming the instant he bottomed out.

Jesus fuck, she was so wet, so tight, gripping him like she never wanted to let go.

“Fuck,” he groaned into her neck, “nothing’s ever felt this good.”

It was true. No one else had ever made him feel like this—every inch of him wanted, welcomed, worshipped.