He kissed the tip of her nose. “Dahlia, this is serious. I love you. I want to be with you. I want to plan this wedding and have our house and build a life together. I want you to agree because you want it, too.”

Her heart softened. “I love you so much it scares me. There’s nothing to hide behind with you. I feel naked. Vulnerable. This is all so wonderful, I’m afraid it’ll go away tomorrow.”

“I’m not going anywhere. We’ll work out the rough spots. There will be rough spots, I know that. I choose you. I told William that yesterday and I told my mother that this morning. I want you to always know you’re first with me. We’re first. Make a pledge to stand with me and do the same and we will make this work.”

“Oh, God, I’m causing trouble with your family already!”

“If there’s trouble, it’s not your choice or your problem. But I have faith because you’re impossible not to like. If she doesn’t, you’ll hold your own because I’ll be there right beside you. Where a husband should be. Come on, Dahlia. I’m calling, let’s see those cards.”

She threw her arms around him. “You’re stuck with me. I’ll sign a prenup but I’m keeping my last name.”

“Hyphenate and no prenup.”

“Okay, let’s not negotiate this right now. I’ve been promised ravishment and you’ve provided exactly none. We can’t seal the deal without a meeting of the pink parts so let’s get ravishing.”

“You’re a very bossy woman.”

“Yeah? But you can put a stripper pole in our bedroom and you’ll get a great show. I’m totally worth it.”

Leaning forward, he pressed his face into the softness of her breasts briefly before laying his head on the back of the couch.

“Take the rest of your clothes off, Dahlia.”

“At last. I was beginning to think you were all hat and no cattle if you know what I mean.” She stood, taking her panties off, shimmying out of her bra. Reaching up, she pulled the clip from her hair and it fell around her shoulders.

Looking up at her, he took it all in. The long lines of her body, the lush thighs and breasts, the curves, the inky blue-black curls that tumbled around her face—she was the total package. But more than that, her brains, her sense of humor and her strength of character along with her love of cars made her perfect for him. He didn’t lie to himself; her looks and innate sensuality had drawn his attention from day one, but it was the inside of Dahlia Baker that kept it and made him yearn to know more.

One-handed, he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, pulling his already-hard cock out and lazily stroking it.

“That’s nice. There’s something really hot about watching the way you hold your cock.” Her eyes greedily watched his every move.

He grinned. “Something else we have in common. I like watching the way you hold my cock, too. See, it’s meant to be. Go into the bedroom and lay down on the bed. I’ll be right behind you.”

With an extra sway to her hips, she sashayed past him and into the bedroom. He heard her settle onto the bed and when he walked into the room he was naked, too. And ready for some serious ravishment.

Pulling up a chair, he spun it and sat on it backwards, arms draped over the back, watching her avidly.

“All that talk of watching made me hungry for it. You’ve made yourself come when I’ve been inside you but I haven’t watched you do it. And I think that’s what I’d like to do now. Show me, Dahlia. Show me what you do when I’m away.”

She blushed, chewing on her bottom lip for a moment. “All right.” Reaching out, she slid open the drawer to his bedside table and rustled through it until she pulled out a vibrator. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she mumbled, rolling a condom over it.

“I’m so glad you are. Even more glad I had that genius idea to keep a vibrator here to use on you. You have no idea how sexy you are, do you? You wreck me, Dahlia. I can’t stop thinking about you. I can’t stop wanting to touch you. Each time I find out something new about you it just adds to your allure. You like to be watched, we both know it. Give me a show, baby.”

She shivered at being known so well and settled onto her back, her head on the pillows so she could look at him.

Slowly, her fingertips played over her nipples. Just a feather-light touch at first before beginning to roll and tug them. Her eyelids slid shut as bursts of heat began to spark and spread through her body.

Reaching out, she grabbed the vibe and turned it on, the low hum filling the room. Dahlia heard Nash moan softly when she lubed the tip of it and drew it over her nipples.

“Warming lube,” she gasped and he swore under his breath. Her body smoldered and her limbs grew heavy as her pussy bloomed and slicked with desire. Knowing he watched her added to the excitement.

She drew two fingers around her nipple and put them into her mouth, smiling when she saw his reaction, his knuckles white as he gripped the chair back. “Tastes like cinnamon.”

“I remember.”

She got to her knees and then on all fours, drawing the vibrator slowly toward her pussy.

“Wait, I can’t see it all.” Standing, he moved to her, sitting on the bed behind her so he had an unobstructed view of her pussy and of her face in the mirror over the dresser across from the bed. “Much better.” Her eyes met his and watched his face change as she slid the vibrator into herself.

Her nipples brushed the blankets as she moved, ass up, head down to angle the vibrator better and to reach her clit. She wouldn’t last long; his eyes on her and this position would bring her off quickly.

The lube warmed her pussy, made her clit slick and tingly as she flicked it with the tip of her middle finger. Her breath came quick and short.

She caught the blanket between her teeth as she cried out when climax slammed into her body. She rode it, vibe still deep inside her until she felt Nash behind her, slowly pulling it out and replacing it with his cock.

“That is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. Holy shit, Dahlia. Do you really masturbate that way?” His voice was strained as he settled himself behind her and began to thrust in short, hard digs.

“Yes. Oh, God, yes. It’s almost like getting fucked. I love coming with a cock buried inside my pussy.”

He swore again. “Do you fantasize about me when you do it?”

“Yes. Even before we went out I had to come home and masturbate every damned time I saw you at the club. But fantasy has nothing on the real thing.”

Hands gripping her hips tightly, he began to fuck into her body with a rhythm that told her he’d be there a while. She closed her eyes and fell into herself, letting it just be about that moment. She’d deal with the enormity of what had happened over the past twenty-four hours afterward. But for then, it was about Nash and Dahlia.

Her body parted around his, making room for the inexorable invasion of his cock. She was made for him, for this. And the admission of that point didn’t scare her as much as it had before. With his hands holding her, anchoring her, she felt safe. Safe to feel everything he made her feel. Without guilt and without shame.

Nash looked down at each bump in the curve of her spine, at the creamy curves of her waist and hips. He couldn’t see her face but he suspected she was as near overwhelmed as him by what had passed between them. In a way he was glad to be able to close his eyes and remember how she’d looked as she’d brought herself off just for him. What a turn-on and what a gift she’d given him of such intimacy!

Her pussy clutched at him, hugging his cock in a heated embrace. The cool, soft skin of the back of her thighs brushed against the hair on his thighs as she squirmed back against him, meeting his thrusts.

If he hadn’t been gripping her hips so tightly, he was sure his hands would be trembling. This was his woman. No longer just the woman he was with, he was hers and she was his and that made it different somehow.