"A what?" Lucas turned the blue jelly ring around in his hand. "I never felt the need to decorate mine, but maybe that's just me."

Ashley wanted to laugh, but was too aroused to do more than let out a soft sound of amusement. She put her hand next to his on the ring, intending to pull it away from him. But he stroked her skin, effectively holding her hand, and she froze, blurting out her rehearsed speech.

"Actually, it's meant to help sustain an erection, for both you and your partner's increased pleasure."

Her arm was brushing across the bare flesh of his hard stomach and she stood completely and utterly still, afraid to move, afraid of what he might do. Afraid of what she might do.

"I see," he whispered, his voice low, gravelly, raw.

She wondered what he would say next. Obviously he wasn't really going to buy any of these things, but she was curious if pride would make him say no or if he would go along with the idea.

"Well. If it's for my woman's pleasure, then of course, I'll have to get it."

His gaze swept over her lips, her breasts, and Ashley thought that was the sexiest thing she'd ever heard any man say.

While Lucas was aware that he had just admitted in a roundabout way that he needed help keeping it up for long periods of time, he didn't care. Ashley seemed to need a confidence boost, and he'd say anything, even claim he was a virgin if it would make her feel better.

That might actually be a good plan. He could ask her to show him how to use all these products.

But he wasn't that desperate yet. He still had hopes that Ashley was intrigued by him. That she was seeing him differently tonight for the first time.

"Don't forget I want the peachy powder stuff too," he told her. "So what's my total so far?" He'd probably spent a hundred bucks already.

She let go of the cock ring with a jerk. Lucas couldn't believe he was actually going to have to take that thing home. Maybe he could freeze it and use it in his lunches. Keep his turkey sandwich cold.

"Let me get my calculator." She shot him a questioning, sideways glance. "You don't really want this stuff, do you?"

"Of course I do."

Her look turned mischievous. "Are you sure you don't want the Ben-Wa balls then? It could be a sexy surprise for your girlfriend."

"I don't have a girlfriend." Tucking his hands in his back pockets, he studied her. "But I'm working on it."

She knew he meant her. He could see it in the way her eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

"You like Ben-Wa balls, Ash?" He picked the box up, never breaking eye contact. "Add these to my bill." Reaching out, he opened her fingers, set the balls in her hand. "Consider it a gift."

Just the thought of her in her bed, naked, rolling those little things up inside her had him harder than hell.

Her tongue moved out and moistened her rosy bottom lip. Her fingers closed around the box of balls.

What came from her mouth next would probably determine the course of the night, maybe even the course of their relationship from here on out.

So when she paused, he decided to add some additional persuasion.

He kissed her. One hand wrapped over hers, the other rising to her cheek, he tasted her deep, with no pretense of licking peach powder off her.

Just with all his feelings, all his desire for her, all his love.

She opened for him without hesitation.

His control started to fragment as he took it deeper, wilder, his tongue plunging in to meet hers, Ashley's fingers splaying across his chest. She tasted good, felt so wonderful in his arms, and he shifted his leg to get nearer to her.

But she pulled back, and their excited breathing filled the room. Through puffy, shiny lips, she said, "What are we doing, Lucas?"

"We're doing what I've wanted to for a long time." He ran a finger across her jaw.

"I thought you were just curious about all these sex toys. That you were trying to figure out their use and purpose."

"While I am curious how all this stuff works, I came up here tonight because I want you, not a sex toy."

She looked worried. "Define want."

Lucas kissed her jaw, trailed his lips up to her earlobe and nibbled on it. "I want to make love to you. I want to give you pleasure." He also wanted to love her, marry her, have children with her, but that much information might scare her. As it was, she looked like a strong wind could knock her over.

Her head tilted back, and when he dipped his tongue into her ear, she moaned. "How old are you?"

The question was unexpected, but he answered automatically, more interested in the graceful line from her neck to her shoulder. "Twenty-five."

"When's your birthday? It's in April, isn't it?"

"April seventeenth." He shifted so his thighs closed around hers and her belly pressed enticingly into his erection.

"So you're just barely twenty-five."

"I guess." Her breasts rested against his bare chest, and he reveled in the sensation.

"You're too young for me." She pushed against him like she wanted out of his arms.

Lucas looked up at her. Was she serious? "I'm an adult, Ash. I know what I want. And three years doesn't mean a damn thing."

"It doesn't?" She was relaxing again. "It seems like it should."

"It doesn't," he quickly assured her and cupped her breast, closing his eyes briefly at the sensation of her heavy in his hand.

"Oh damn, that feels good." She squirmed a little. "But we still shouldn't do this."

"Why not?" He stroked over her nipple, wrenching a gasp from her.

"We're friends, we've always been friends, and I don't want to ruin that." Biting her lip, she sighed. "But wow, I am so attracted to you right now."

"The feeling is mutual." He kissed her forehead. "If you want me to go back downstairs, I will. But I don't want to."

Ashley felt like one of the problems with her personality was that she was too impulsive. She didn't think things through.

She was trying to make better choices, weigh the pros and cons before just jumping into something.

But her mind was mush. Cold, runny, leftover mush. She couldn't think about anything rational when Lucas was stroking her nipple and moving his lip back and forth on her forehead.

All her brain could seem to focus on was that she wanted Lucas to make love to her. She really, really wanted him to, in a way she couldn't remember ever wanting another man.

She cared about him, she trusted him completely, and when she looked into his eyes, she saw something she didn't understand, but that made her feel she was just about the most desirable woman in the world.

So she opened her mouth and told him, "Don't go. I want you to stay."

Damn, she couldn't believe she'd just said that.

But Lucas leaned back so she could see his face. Then he gave her the most beautiful smile she'd ever seen on him, one that lifted sweetly, a little crooked, and went all the way up to his eyes. It did strange things to her insides and left her breathless.

"Ashley."

He gave her a light kiss, a feathering of his lips over hers, so that she barely had a taste of him, barely got to feel him against her before he was gone. It was a caring kiss, not a passionate kiss, and it sent her deeper into confusion, panic, concern that she was acting on a hormonal impulse and would live to regret it.

Oh, well. She was sure she'd done stupider things, and he was doing the most delightful things to the underside of her breasts. Somehow when she hadn't been looking or thinking or noticing anything but the desire in his eyes, he had worked her tank top up to her bra.

Now his fingers were stroking back and forth, slowly, steadily, enticingly, on her bare skin below her bra. Jumping up from time to time to tease her nipple with a barely-there touch.