He came to me then, stopping momentarily to open the bag on the night table. He tore open a box of condoms and set a few down on the edge of the table.

“That’s a lot of condoms,” I remarked dryly, fighting my smile.

“Really?” he shot back. “I’d say it’s hardly enough for what I have planned for you.”

I laughed as he then climbed into bed, covering my body immediately with his. That laughter suddenly died when his lips found mine. He kissed me tenderly, and it wasn’t long before the mood in the air shifted.

I was hot and sweaty in no time, and even though his mouth did wonders to me, it was more of the feeling of his warmth against me that was my trigger. He made me feel protected. Every time his body covered mine, I felt like he was acting as my shield, and I always gripped him to me like he was. He was shielding me from the world – from all that judgment that had draped around us lately – and in these moments I forgot everything else existed. It fell away. I was his. He was mine. That was all that mattered.

“I feel like I’m doing this for the first time again,” he muttered against my lips.

“It’s only been six weeks,” I replied, downplaying the misery we’d gone through.

His hands moved down my body, sensually exploring every part of me. “That’s like two decades in man years, Allie. I’m pretty sure I grew my virginity back.”

My palms drifted down his back as I reciprocated his movements. I felt his hard back, tracing the line of his spine until I reached his briefs. He kissed me along my jaw, flicking his tongue out occasionally as if he was tasting me. We were a ball, wrapped up in each other, spending the next few minutes getting acquainted.

Exploring.

Touching.

Feeling.

He cupped my breast as he kissed me more urgently, thrusting his hips gently against my aching core. I gripped a chunk of his hair tightly and met him thrust for thrust. His hand slipped down the side of my body before roaming beneath my gown. He rubbed me again. Small circular movements that had me moaning into his mouth. Liking my sounds, his breathing picked up as he continued pleasuring me.

“Holy shit, I missed this,” he whispered. “Did you?”

I nodded eagerly.

“You can’t want this more than me right now.”

“I do,” I moaned aloud. “I want this more.”

“You want me to fuck you?”

Dear God, yes. I nodded again, licking his lips as I tightened my grip.

“Say that. Say ‘I want you to fuck me, Heath.’”

So used to his talks, I didn’t even flush when I hurried to respond with, “I want you to fuck me, Heath.”

He let out a grunt. “Jesus, you’re doing crazy, fucked up things to me, woman.”

I’d have laughed if what he was doing didn’t feel so good. I wrapped my legs around him, slipping one toe beneath his briefs so I could tug it down. While I was excited to feel him naked, I was also worried he might want the same in return. I wasn’t ready for that yet. My heart was beating hard for two reasons: wanting to get ravaged in the best way possible by him, and also from the anxiety of not looking good enough to satisfy him.

I froze when his hands eventually found the hem of my night gown. He pulled it up no further than my hips before separating from me to look down. Grabbing my lacy undies, he slowly peeled them off. I watched him closely, at the glazed look in his eyes as he drank the sight in. He threw the undies somewhere and then began kissing down my body. My skin tingled wherever his lips touched. Down my legs and up them again, moving to my inner thighs.

“Heath,” I breathed out. “You don’t have to do that.”

But he was already there, burying his face between my legs.

“Jesus.” I shook at the wet feeling of his tongue, lapping me gently up and down.

He spread my legs wide, keeping them pinned to the mattress as he continued to tease me. I lifted my head and watched his head move slightly as he increased the speed of his tongue. I moaned and tugged against the sheets as the sparks began to fly through me. Jesus Christ, I felt like I was flying! I’d heard from a conversation somewhere that drugs were like orgasms – a high that had you entombed in its pleasure – and now I was making sense of it all.

Heath.

Heath Lawson was my drug.

He wasn’t greedy. He didn’t tease me. He gave me that amazing high before pulling away quickly. The feeling had been exquisite. I hadn’t even come down from my orgasm when I heard the tear of the condom packet. Moments later he was back over me, my legs still spread to easily accommodate his impressive width. I felt that hard, thick length press against my folds. His hot breaths hit my face, those already wet lips skirted against mine as he whispered, “I fucking love you, Allie,” before sliding all the way inside of me.

We both moaned in unison. “Holy shit.”

I wrapped my arms tightly around him as he gently took me, asking me repeatedly if I was alright and not uncomfortable. It was surprising. All this time he’d been pent up with lust and need. I was expecting a rougher touch. Even in sex Heath was doting. His concern for my well-being overshadowed his own hunger, and as much as I loved it, I wanted him to let go.

“Heath,” I breathlessly said against his lips, already feeling another spark surface, “I’m not glass.”

His face darkened as my words slowly settled in. Then he kissed me again, harsher this time before muttering, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You never will.” There was a different meaning to my words. He knew what they meant. Something flickered in his dark eyes. We had something dangerously good between us, and it was dangerous only because of how invested we were in each other. It meant the fall would be a devastating one, but I trusted him to never let me go. He had kept me whole this last year, sacrificing everything in his life in order to be there for me. He had shown me what selflessness was, and he had gone to great heights to prove it.

Heath was not capable of hurting me, and that made me love him with a depth that couldn’t be measured.

Slowly he let go, fisting my hair with one hand while clenching my ass with the other as he slammed into me. He groaned again, louder this time, and there was something about his voice in pleasure that made me hotter than the sun.

“Holy shit, Allie, you feel good,” he said in disbelief as he pulled out and swiftly thrust back in.