Someone who will treat her the way she knows she deserves but has never had before.

The struggle for control over what I want versus what I think she needs is very real. Everything she’s hinted about her past relationships comes rushing back to me and makes me want to use the utmost care in how I handle this next step with her. What I’d witnessed between her and Ed, even though it was just conversation, tells me that she’s been hurt before, used even, and that scares me a little bit.

I run my hands over every inch of her body I can reach, and they finally land on her ass. With a gentle tug, I pull her closer to me, allowing her to feel just how aroused she makes me. “See what you do to me, Hadleigh?” I growl next to her ear, “What do you want, baby?”

Her answer is to reach between us and stroke me, then undo the button on my pants, working the zipper down. Her plump lip is caught between her teeth when she shoves my jeans off my ass and slides her hand into my boxer briefs, pulling out my cock. She strokes her hand over me, her touch bold and sure, and it takes everything I have not to give in to what she’s doing.

A ragged breath escapes me. I, for sure, want her hands on me, but is this what she wants? Or what she thinks I want? “Wait,” I gasp as her hand encircles my cock and begins to jack me off. Blood rushes straight out of my head and travels south until all I can concentrate on is the pressure of her hand as it slides up and down over my erection. “Fuck,” I groan.

“Does that feel good?”

“Yes. Fuck.” Her hand moves faster, and I won’t deny it—yes, it feels good. Of course, it does. But— “Hadleigh. Baby.”

Her eyes flick up to mine, and I put my hands on each of her upper arms and squeeze. Her hand slows, comes to a stop, and drops away. She blinks up at me, and I swear her eyes look glassy.

“I am always down for whatever you want to do. But something tells me you’re more worried about my expectations than what you want.”

Her lips part as she stares at me. “You’re not like anyone else I’ve known.”

With a quick shake of my head, I agree. “I’m not.” I tuck myself back into my boxer briefs and hike up my jeans. “Come here.” She walks into my outstretched arms, and I kiss the top of her head as I hold her tightly to me.

By the time she realizes my intention, I’ve already scooped her up, cradling her against me. Inhale. Exhale. I breathe her in—everything that makes her Hadleigh.

“Where’s your bedroom?”

Words stick in her throat, and she points at the open door just off the living room. My long legs have us in there in three strides. The room looks just like I’d expect—everywhere I look, I see her. There’s a large bookshelf, no doubt full of her romance novels. An outfit for school carefully hangs on a hook next to the closet. A tube of lipstick in that shade of pink she likes sits on the dresser. The whole place smells like her, floral and oh-so-pretty.

She swallows visibly as I set her on her feet. I hook her chin with my finger and our eyes connect. She looks nervous now that I’ve changed things up on her. I like the confident, sure Hadleigh I work with. But this Hadleigh? The vulnerable, real one? I want to know her more than anything.

I brush my lips over hers without breaking our eye contact. “I want to know how you want this to go. You lead. You set the pace. Show me what you want, Hadleigh. I’ll try my best to give you everything you need. Every. Damn. Thing.”

She unbuttons and removes my shirt, then pulls the hem of my undershirt upward, so I accommodate her, reaching back to pull it off. Her fingers skim over my skin, dipping into the indentations between my muscles, down over the V that heads straight into my briefs. She leans forward and presses a kiss right over my heart before peppering them all over my torso. On an exhaled breath, she pulls her top over her head and shimmies out of her jeans, kicking off her ballet flats in the process.

Hadleigh is a vision, all soft skin and sweet curves in baby-pink lace. She stands before me like an offering. I’m a starving man and beginning to think only she can satiate me. She’s all I want.

“Will you touch me?” She swallows and looks up into my eyes. What I see there confounds me. How is it that this confident, smart woman seems unsure?

“Get on the bed.” She turns and climbs on top, giving me a view of her ass that I won’t soon forget, complete with a little bow on her panties at the base of her spine.

Hadleigh situates herself on her side and watches me as I shuck off my shoes, socks, and jeans before climbing onto the bed after her. I skim a hand down her upper arm, eliciting goose bumps everywhere I touch her. I finally stop with my hand on her hip, then slide it back and down over her ass cheek, which is still encased in the pretty pink lace panties. The sight of her like this has my heart hammering a wild rhythm behind my ribcage. My lips twitch as I watch her reaction to my fingers kneading her flesh. Between us, her breasts brush my chest with every inhaled breath, and I can’t help but put my mouth on her. All that soft skin and lace are about to drive me out of my mind. She sucks in air through her teeth as I lave her nipple through the lace with my tongue. When it puckers and becomes taut, I gently kiss it before reaching behind her to unfasten her bra clasp. I make quick work of removing it and roll her to her back. My mouth clamps down on her nipple again, and I suck and lick until she’s twisting and straining at the tender onslaught before switching my focus to her other breast and beginning again.

“Oh God, Sawyer.”

I drop kisses everywhere I can reach, then nudge my knee between her legs so I can feel her under me. Full body contact has us groaning in unison. Her hips unconsciously tilt, her hot center meeting the hard length of my dick, and she begins to grind against me. I whisper near her ear, “Baby, you feel like my best fantasies all rolled into one.”

We go on like that for some time, bodies writhing against each other and kissing as if this was our last chance, as if the world were ending and we only had this one moment in time.

Clarity hits me like a sledgehammer to the chest. A million moments like this with Hadleigh could never be enough. If I were the earth, she’d be sun, shining brightly on me and heating me incomprehensibly with her presence and proximity. Feelings burst forth and grow within me until it’s almost too much to handle.

“Sawyer.” Her voice is gritty and full of need. Her pelvis bucks up against me, and without any words, I know what she wants me to do. With a quick breath, I ease back onto my knees between her legs. My fingers hook into the sides of her panties and slide them over her ass and down her legs. I bend and kiss her inner thigh, sucking there for a moment, tasting her skin before I lower myself onto the bed. She lets her legs fall open, and I take my time nipping and kissing the skin surrounding the sensitive flesh of her pussy until she finally grips my hair with her hands and puts me right where she wants me. I catch her gaze and hold it as I lap at her with my tongue, alternating between making slow circles around her clit and licking her core, dipping inside to learn all her secrets. My heart thunders and my body roars with need.

Unable to take more, she throws her head back, giving in to the moment—it’s just her, me, and how we make each other feel. With my tongue working her clit, I slide two fingers inside her, coaxing her closer to the release I sense coming. Her legs tremble and twitch, her fingers grasp my hair tightly while her chest heaves as she tries to breathe through the barrage of sensation caused by my tongue and fingers. “Sawyer. Sawyer. Sawyer.” Her body jerks, then her hips grind involuntarily against my tongue as the orgasm takes over. “Oh, God. I’m coming …” Her breathless words make my cock impossibly hard, and I smile against her overwrought flesh. I remove my fingers and give her one final, thorough lick as she shudders.

I kiss each thigh several times, trailing my lips over all that creamy skin before I crawl back between her legs. When I’m close enough, she yanks on my shoulders, pulling me forward until our mouths crash together in a hungry kiss. She sucks on my tongue and licks at my lips all while wrapping her legs around my hips.

“I want your big cock inside me now.”

My brows raise, but I grin at her sudden request. I guess I did tell her to tell me what she wants. “Anything for you.” I divest myself of my boxer briefs at the same time she reaches for her nightstand drawer and grabs a condom. She has the package open before I can blink. She rolls it onto me, then urges me on top of her again.