Lucky to be here, having Dodi look at him with fire in her eyes, want chasing need across her face. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her, to cover her body with his, to slide into her. But between now and then, there was a wonderland to explore. And Lord, what a place it was.

He loved every single freckle, perfectly imperfect dots on her pale skin, he thought as he gently pulled her top up and over her head, revealing her pretty mint-green lacy bra. Through the lace, he could see the outline of her nipples and he had to restrain himself from pulling her bra cup aside and taking her in his mouth.

This evening he wanted slow and sexy. To discover and to delight.

Her eyes met his and he lost himself in all that blue, smoky and intense. His breath caught in his throat, his heart-rate increased and he forced himself to look away, uncomfortable with the emotion bubbling away in his chest. This was sex, he reminded himself. A physical connection between two people who were attracted to each other...

Then why did it feel like something so much more? Something deeper, darker, intense?

Dodi curled her hand around his neck and pulled his head down to hers, a silent entreaty to kiss her. Soft lips, a spicy mouth, heat. Kissing wasn’t something he usually enjoyed—it was usually a means to an end—but he could kiss Dodi for hours without needing a beginning or an end.

But soon his hands itched with impatience, and he moved his fingers to her lower back, down her fabric-covered butt. Her leggings had to go, so he gently pulled them down her hips and over her pretty feet, tipped in pale pink polish, dropping them to land on the floor next to the sofa. He felt Dodi’s hands working his shirt buttons and, impatient with the delay, Jago reached behind his head to grab the back of his collar, pulling off the shirt in one movement, sighing when her hands stroked his chest, the ball of his shoulder.

They spent long, drugged-out moments kissing and touching, exploring, using their hands and mouths, teeth and tongues. It was sexy and seductive, a world of sensation. Jago placed his hand on her bare knee and slowly worked his way up her thigh, his fingers brushing the fabric between her legs. He knew she was damp and hot and, judging by the way she softly panted, in need of what he could give her. She lifted her hips and he pulled his hand away, wanting to delay her satisfaction, knowing he could take her higher and faster. He palmed her butt with his hand, kneading her, smiling when she released a little growl of frustration.

Using his other hand, Jago pulled her hairband loose and shoved his fingers into her heavy mass of hair, clasping her head and angling her face to receive his no-holds-barred kiss. Tongues danced as he devoured her mouth, learning her, tasting her, pushing her for more.

The last of her inhibitions left her and, encouraged by his passion and groans of appreciation, Dodi let her hands streak over his body, tracing the rows of his stomach and the long muscles covering his hips, brushing over his hard erection.

Such a brief touch but it sent reverberations up his spine, shooting pleasure into his brain. He must’ve said something, he knew not what, but she touched him more firmly, dragging her thumb along the length of his fabric-covered shaft.

‘I love the way you touch me,’ Jago muttered against her now bare breast, before sucking her nipple against the roof of his mouth. She arched her back, and fumbled for the clasp of his trousers, equally frustrated with the barriers between them.

Needing a minute to slow down, to lower his racing pulse, he looked down at her, his eyes skimming over her breasts, over her still flat stomach to her long legs. Those pretty feet.

‘Perfect. You are so very lovely.’

‘You’re pretty hot yourself, Le Roux,’ Dodi told him, sliding down the zip of his fly. ‘But I think this would work better if we got rid of these.’

That made sense. Pulling away from her, Jago yanked off his shoes and socks and pushed his underwear and trousers down his hips in a quick, efficient slide. Stepping out of the fabric, he lay on his side next to Dodi, resting his hand on her stomach and sliding his mouth across her lips. He briefly thought about getting a condom—protection was a habit—remembered they didn’t need one and smiled. He couldn’t wait to make love to her with no barriers between them.

Jago slid his hand between her legs and cupped her, his thumb immediately finding and brushing her hot core through her thong, causing her to gasp, then sigh.

‘That’s so hot and I want more.’ Dodi moaned the words. ‘I need more... I needyou.’

He tested her again, knew she was ready for him, dispensed with her panties and, with one hand under her hips, moved her under him so that she lay in the centre of the sofa. He wished he were in her bed—he needed space to move and briefly considered carrying her up the stairs but knew he couldn’t wait, not a second more, to slide inside her and to make her his.

But he had to be careful, to take it slow. He was long and thick, and her taking him inside her meant she would have to accommodate and stretch and...man, she felt so amazingly good.

He’d never felt like this before, when being inside a woman felt like coming home, the best place to be.

On that thought, Jago hooked his big hands under her thighs and lifted her, spreading her legs so that he could fill her completely, as well as making contact with her ultra-sensitive clitoris.

Jago pinned her down with his body, pulling back and sliding into her again with one long, sure stroke. He felt himself dissolving from the inside out as his world narrowed to what was happening between them. Everything faded away and there were only her hands on his butt, nails digging into his flesh, her tongue in his mouth as he kissed her endlessly, the upward thrust of her hips as she met him stroke for stroke.

She needed to come because he was fast losing control. ‘I’m not going to be able to hang on,’ Jago told her, his forehead against hers. He moved his head to talk in her ear. ‘Take all of me, darling. Yeah...use me... Fly, dammit!’

‘Harder...’ Dodi told him, her body arching as she reached for her release.

Jago rocked into her, as hard as he dared, and she shouted as she clenched around him. Stars exploded behind his eyeballs, at the base of his spine, as his body splintered into a million pieces. He vaguely heard Dodi panting beneath him, knew that she’d lifted her arm to place it over her eyes, but he was in another dimension, someplace indescribably lovely.

Yet, for some reason, he knew this wasn’t the end, not quite, so he moved his hips again and, still hard, touched something deep inside her. Dodi slammed her head back into the cushion, scrunched her eyes shut and screamed his name before she fractured again. He orgasmed again too, not so big and bold this time but still crazy good. Two orgasms, one massive...had that ever happened to him before?

He didn’t think so.

Minutes, hours or years might have passed before they returned to reality, came back down to earth and Jago rolled off her and pulled so that she lay on top of him, her cheek resting above his heart, his arms cradling her close.

Dodi yawned and then he heard the unmistakable sound of her stomach rumbling. He laughed and patted her bottom. ‘I need to get some food into you. You need your strength.’