“Take me home, Cody. Take me to your home. I want to be in your bed tonight,” I say, knowing if we don’t stop now, I won’t be able to, and I won’t care who sees us.

Cody stares at me for several long seconds, almost like he’s giving me the chance to change my mind, to back out on him, but I’ve never been more sure of a decision in my entire life.

Cody reaches behind his seat and pulls his leather jacket over me before leaning in to kiss me one more time. “Put this on, and then buckle up. I’m driving fast,” he says, his smirk almost sinister—and sexy as hell.

I do as Cody says, and he keeps his promise, getting us home in less than 30 minutes. He keeps his hand on my knee the entire drive, squeezing my leg and teasing me by running his fingers up to the edge of my skirt over and over again. I should be shivering from the rain and the freezing temperatures, but instead my body is hot, almost breaking out in a thin sweat.

Cody practically sprints from the driver’s seat and runs to my side, opening the door for me and pulling me down into the small space between him and his truck. His jacket is open along my front, and he slides his hands inside, his thumbs slowly circling my br**sts and barely grazing my ni**les—just enough to leave them fully aroused and to awaken every part of my body.

“I don’t know if I can wait to get you upstairs,” Cody says, biting at my bottom lip and running his hands over my br**sts once again, forcing me to arch against him. I lean my head back, and he sucks along my neck and collarbone. Everything about what we’re doing is raw and messy—it’s unlike anything I’ve ever done before.

“Cody, I want to feel you, all of you. Take me upstairs,” I whisper in his ear, and I can feel him hard against me, the heat between us growing with every passing second.

Almost like a caveman, Cody threads his fingers through mine and races up the steps to his carriage house, dragging me behind him—barefoot, with my br**sts exposed in his open jacket, and my skirt hiked up my legs. Once we’re inside, Cody slams my body into his front door, and he continues to assault me with his tongue and lips. I reach for his shirt buttons while he’s kissing me and work his shirt from his body, letting my hands roam along the smooth warm skin of his back.

I sneak a look at his tattoos while he’s tilting my head and kissing my neck. They’re the hottest things I’ve ever seen, and I don’t know if it’s because they’re on him or if it’s because I understand what they represent—his promise to keep his dad’s memory alive. Just letting the thought of Jake in my mind gives me pause, but Cody quickly has my face cupped in his hands, and he’s walking me back to his bedroom, pushing his shoes off along the way. He kicks the door open and pushes me flat against the bed as soon as we’re inside.

I start to reach up to take his jacket off and slide from my skirt when he stops me. “No, I want to take my time,” he says, leaning over me and sliding me all the way up his bed. Once my head hits his pillow, he pulls my hair out from under me and brushes the loose strands from my face. “You’re so goddamned beautiful. I don’t deserve you. But that’s not going to stop me.”

Cody slides the jacket open and blows slowly along my collarbone, working his way lower to my br**sts. He teases each one lightly with his tongue, blowing on them until the sensation has me squirming. Then he slides the jacket the rest of the way from my arms. I arch my back so he can slide it from under me, and as I do, he takes one of my ni**les in his mouth again and sucks hard, letting it come to rest in between his teeth.

“Cody, oh my god,” I cry out, and his mouth is on my lips quickly, his hand reaching for mine, stretching it up above my head and tethering it between his fingers. He continues to kiss me for minutes while I take in the feeling of his bare chest along mine. His skin is on fire, and we’re both starting to sweat everywhere we touch.

I close my eyes when Cody lifts his body again, this time leaving a trail of kisses as he lowers himself down my chest, pausing at the waist of my skirt. I’m thankful for the small black panties I decided to wear as he pushes his thumbs into the top of my skirt, sliding it down the length of my legs. And he spends a long time kissing my stomach and the insides of my legs, savoring the black lace between us, earning his right to remove it.

With every kiss and every touch, I come closer and closer to completely coming undone, and when Cody trails a finger from one side of my inner thigh to the other, lightly grazing my most sensitive areas along the way, I whimper with need. On his next pass, he stops where my panties meet my skin, sliding his finger underneath the band slowly, teasing me, and then adding more force as he touches every part of me and works his way inside. His kisses grow heavier, hungrier, as he feels all of me. He hooks his thumb under one side and slowly works my panties down my legs until I can kick them off completely.