“It’s real, all right. And I’m about to show you exactly how real.”

Normally, his bossiness irritated her, but this time, there was none of that usual urge to fight. Mike and she had been circling each other for weeks, pushing and pulling, driving each other crazy and deep down, she’d known they would end up here. The attraction she’d had for him the first time they’d met was too strong.

“I want you. Bad.”

His mouth covered hers at the same time his hands came up to the buttons of her pajama top, working the shirt open until he could slip it off one arm and then the other. With his arm around her waist, lifted her on top of the trunk of her car.

He walked away from her and pressed the electric garage door opener. As he shut the door, she knew there was no turning back.

This was her future, and it was beautiful.

Mike had been hanging on a wing and a prayer that she wanted him as badly as he wanted her, and now that he had her, he wanted to see everything. Feel and taste all of her.

Flipping on the light, he stared at her rose-tipped breasts, full as ripe oranges, and his hands reached out, covering them. He watched her face as he kneaded, flicking the hard nubs of her nipples with his thumbs, and her eyelids lowered, cheeks flushing and her wet, pink lips parted temptingly. A heavy sigh escaped them when he squeezed her, and his cock jerked inside his jeans.

Slipping his hands along her side until they wrapped around her, he pulled her to him, skimming her naked back until they reached the top of her pajama pants. After placing a kiss on her shoulder, he squatted down, hooking his thumbs inside both her pants and underwear and pulled them down slowly, his lips trailing the path of exposure. His mouth settled on her inner thigh as he helped her step from her clothes.

He sat back on his heels, his gaze eating her up until he was staring into those unforgettable blue eyes.

“You are so—”

“I know,” she said.

That little twinkle in her gaze made him laugh. “Of course.”

Her hands reached behind his head, and started pulling on his shirt. “My turn to get you all naked and exposed.”

Mike helped her, grabbing his T-shirt and pulling it over his head. As he climbed to his feet, he shifted from foot to foot, kicking off his boots and watching her face as she looked him over, her expression admiring.

When his hands moved to the snap of his jeans, she pushed them aside. “You undressed me. Fair is fair.”

“Whatever you want,” Mike said.

The slide of his zipper was followed by Ellie’s gentle teasing. “Promises. Promises.”

When Mike stepped out of his jeans and boxer briefs, he stood there waiting for Ellie’s assessment. Her finger trailed from his jaw to his chest, where her palm flattened and spread, running down over his abs until it rested right above his hard, jutting cock.

“I’m still impressed,” she said.

“What the hell does that mean?” he asked.

“Well, your shoes and hands don’t really give away what a nice package you carry.”

With a groan, Mike pulled her to him, trapping her hand between them. “Way to make it awkward, El.”

Before she could give him a snappy comeback, he was kissing her again. As he stepped between her legs, he rained kisses along her collar bone and breasts, taking the tip into his mouth and drawing on it.

Mike pressed against her, and slipped his hand between her legs as he continued to love her breasts. As he pressed first one finger inside her, and then a second, his thumb sought the firm button of her clit, pressing and rubbing it in small, circular motions and his fingers curled inside her. The nubby flesh just inside her channel shivered with every touch, and her throaty moans and raking nails told him he was on the right track. Ellie was so self-assured, so independent, he wanted to please her. No, more than that. He wanted to possess her, to consume her until she craved him.

He had never been the possessive type, but he wanted Ellie to be his.

Ellie jerked under his hand, and high pitched cries escalated as he felt her come on his fingers, her slick wetness making his hips thrust against her side in excitement. God, he wanted to be inside her heat, to feel her fall apart under him.

When she came down from her orgasm, Mike pulled his hand away, staring at her. With her hair surrounding her shoulders, hovering around her waist like a dark cloud. She was breathtaking, like a forest nymph from the Greek mythology he used to read in school.

At the first brush of her hands against his cock, he stopped. His eyes closed as she gripped him, running her hand up and down his length, pumping him. He felt her mouth close over his head of his cock, the wet heat enough to make him lose it after a long dry spell, and then her tongue slid along the tip, licking him like he was a fucking lollipop.

Gripping her shoulders, he pulled her off gently. “Sorry, baby, but not this time.”