His mouth returned to my nipple and began tormenting me once again. I let out a tight breath as the tension between my legs increased. My desire thickened into husky moans.

“I can tell that you like it,” he said.

“Yes,” I said with a heavy sigh. “More.”

He slowly slid the panties down my legs. Though I was in a hurry to have more of his hands on me, I didn’t rush him. He’d likely never taken a woman’s panties off before. This was a first for him in so many ways, and I wanted him to savor it.

“These look so delicate they might rip.”

I smiled, thinking it might be a little sexy if he did decide to rip them off someday. After he pulled them off my ankles and carefully set them aside on top of my jeans, William turned back to me, scanning my body from head to toe.

Another first…me naked in front of him.

“Are you memorizing me so that you can paint me later?” I joked.

His brow twitched into a frown. “I’ll always be able to recall what you look like in this moment, spread out on my couch with no clothes on.”

I smiled, about to reply when one hand moved to the apex of my thighs and the other took my wrist and pinned it above my head. His fingers were gentle as they continued to explore, stroking lightly along the top of my sex before pushing deeper.

Then he found my clit and I almost jumped a foot. “Here? This is your clitoris…”

“Um, yes, that’s right. That’s a very good spot to touch.”

“I know.”

His mouth came down on mine and his fingers increased their pressure.

“Open your legs more,” he whispered between kisses, and I readily complied. Now there were two—wait, make that three—fingers touching and stroking, taking turns, softly and quickly, then slowly, then firmly. All in just the right places.

He was a quick study at this.

Two fingers slipped inside me, exploring my entrance then sliding in deeper with consistent strokes. As if this wasn’t enough, he clamped his mouth onto my breast again, sucking and grazing my nipple with his teeth. Oh. My. Goddess.

In minutes, I was a breathless slave to his fingers and his mouth. And he didn’t stop.

“How will I know when you’ve climaxed?”

“Oh, you’ll know,” I said. “Just don’t stop.”

But he did stop. When I opened my eyes, he said, “I want to do what you did and use my mouth. Would that be okay with you?”

Would that be okay? That would be goddamn fucking heaven.

“Please,” I said, and he instantly moved down toward the juncture of my thighs. He started with shallow kisses and then began licking my clit. At this same time, two fingers slipped inside me again, pushing deep.

Where the hell had he learned that? I thought in shock as my body arched obediently to the command of his hands. If he were any other man, I’d suspect he’d been lying about being a virgin.

My throat was now hoarse from my moans. Between what his mouth was doing to me and his fingers pushing deeper—not to mention how hot it was that he still tightly clasped my wrist with his free hand—I was experiencing nothing short of ecstasy.

Soon I was holding my breath as heated convulsions of pleasure washed over my entire body. He stopped a little too quickly, and I had to grab his hand and press it against my clit until the orgasm had faded. When it did, I collapsed on the couch, my skin glowing with perspiration.

He moved to lie beside me. “I pulled away because I wanted to watch your face when you had your orgasm. It may have been one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”

I almost laughed but decided against making a joke about the infamous “O face.” It would take too long to explain, anyway. Instead, I turned and looked into his eyes again. He held the gaze for a few seconds and then his eyes slid down to rest on my chin.

“That was amazing,” I breathed. “Thank you.”

A faint smile appeared on his lips, as if he was proud of himself, and I found that in spite of feeling sated, I really wanted to kiss him again. I wanted more of him. And now that he’d had a taste of what it could be like between us, and since I was already naked…

I rose up on one elbow and caught his mouth with a kiss. “No fair you got to see me naked and I didn’t get to see you. But you know…we don’t have to be done here.”

He said nothing but returned my kisses with growing fervor. My hand slipped down over his crotch to, um, check the temperature, so to speak.

He was hard again.

“William,” I said against his mouth, and he continued to kiss me. “I’m on birth control and I’m clean.”

The kiss ended when he pulled back. “Why wouldn’t you be clean? You shower regularly.”

I grinned. “No, I mean I don’t have any STDs. I get checked regularly. And since you’ve never…we won’t have to worry about using a condom.”

“I have condoms.” My brows shot up. Really… “But nothing’s going to happen unless…”

I fell back against the couch and looked up at him. He had a very determined look on his face, damn it.

“Say you’ll stay, Jenna.”

I licked my lips and remained silent. A niggling feeling of guilt rose up, causing me to question where the hell it had come from. When I spoke, my voice was barely above a whisper. “Life’s too short to worry about things like commitment. We should just enjoy each other.”

“Is that what you’re afraid of? Life being too short?”

My eyes closed.

“People you’ve cared about have died. So that’s why you think about life being short. That’s why you have to run off and experience everything you can. That’s why you let fear drive you.”

Opening my eyes, I pushed against his chest, shoving him away from me. “Please get off,” I said. “I’m no coward.”

He sat back and watched me as I grabbed my clothes and slipped them on. “You’re right. You aren’t.”

I blinked, suddenly feeling tears burning the backs of my eyes. He was closer to the truth than I’d ever admit in a million years. Life was short. People you loved died and left you all alone. I bit my lip and refused to allow those tears to escape.

“Jenna…” I was about to get off the couch when he hooked a hand around my waist. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”