No longer teasing, Tess squeezed the base of his cock as she sucked him deep and hard. She worked her mouth over his shaft as though she was just as hungry for this as he was. The condom package fell from his grasp as his other hand came up to wind into her hair.

“Don’t stop, Tess.” Her cheeks hollowed as she took him deep and Carter moaned. “That’s it. Just like that. I’m close.”

His words seemed to fuel her as Tess continued to take him deep into her mouth. The glide of her lips, the light scrape of her teeth, the wet heat, tight suction, it was almost more than he could take. His grip tightened in her hair and Tess let out a slow moan that vibrated against his shaft. Carter’s gut clenched and every muscle in his body went rigid.

“I’m there, Tess.” He could barely breathe through the intense pleasure, let alone speak, but he wanted to give her fair warning. Instead of pulling away like he assumed she would, Tess took him deeper. The head of his cock met the back of her throat and Carter shuddered as the orgasm hit him hard and fast. Wave after wave of pleasure crested over him, each pulse more powerful than the last. His moans were ragged, raw in his throat as he pumped his hips and thrust between Tess’s soft lips. Emotion swelled within him, and Carter pushed it away, forbidding himself from forming any sort of connection through this moment. To her.

But lord, she was amazing. He suspected that however hard he tried to keep his emotions disconnected from this moment—this day spent with her—that Tess would find a way to worm into his heart anyway. He had nothing to compare this moment to and it was as freeing as it was terrifying. Carter didn’t think he could experience anything with another woman that he wouldn’t somehow try to compare to Steph. But like Steph, Tess was one of a kind. Incomparable.

Carter settled back into the couch. Tiny spasms rocked his too-tight muscles and his cock still throbbed from the orgasm. Tess leaned back, a dreamy smile playing on her lips. Her eyes were still dark with passion and her nipples were tight little beads atop the generous swell of her breasts. Her strawberry-blonde hair was tossed and wild from his grip. She was sex personified. Beautiful. Sensual. Carter was still hard as stone. He might’ve just come, but his body was ready to go again.

For a long moment they stared at each other. Carter’s breath heaved in his chest. He smiled as he noted the dried sage green pain on her face and arms. He devoured Tess with his gaze and he committed to memory the delicate column of her throat, the roundness of her breasts, the flush on her skin, and the way her waist curved into the flare of her hips and the roundness of her ass. Her knees slowly parted and Carter swallowed against the dryness in his throat as she revealed the short nest of curls and the glistening pink flesh of her pussy to him, totally unabashed.

“Holy shit, Tess,” he said on a breath. He scrubbed a hand over his mouth before pushing off of the couch and going to his knees before her.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her hard. His tongue pushed against the seam of her lips and Tess’s mouth opened as she tilted her head to allow him to deepen the kiss. Swept up in a frenzy of passion, their kisses grew desperate. Tongues thrust, teeth nipped. Carter took Tess’s full bottom lip into his mouth and sucked. In a tangle of limbs, he took her down to the floor and settled between her thighs. His shaft slid along her hot, slick pussy and he groaned.

“You’re so wet, Tess,” he murmured against her mouth.

“I want you,” she said. “I want you so badly I can’t wait another second for you to fuck me.”

Her desperate words caused his cock to throb hot and hard as though he hadn’t come just seconds before. Carter reached up and groped along the cushions of the couch for the condom packets. He ripped one from the string of three and tore it open while he continued to kiss Tess. He tasted himself on her lips and the memory of what she’d done, how’d she’d taken him deeper into her mouth when he came, only made him want her more.

“Give it to me,” Tess said between panted breaths. She kissed him again, and he handed over the packet before he cupped the back of her neck with one palm.

Carter braced himself up with his other hand as she gripped him and rolled the condom over his erection. He swallowed down a moan as a shiver raced down his spine.

“Now, Carter.” The words were a desperate plea. “I need you.”

It had been so long since anyone had needed him in this way. It felt damned good. Carter shook with barely leashed restraint. He leaned down and kissed Tess again. This time, slowly. He played with her mouth, savored it. Explored her full lips, her tongue. He was going to fuck her like he kissed her. Slowly. Thoroughly. Until they were both so completely sated that they could barely move. He wanted Tess to know through his actions that these moments between them weren’t something he took lightly.

He kissed her until she was breathless. Her chest rose and fell with quick pants and ended on tight little moans that vibrated over his skin. He released his grip on the back of her neck and smoothed her hair away from her face. “You’re so beautiful, Tess.”

Her eyes shone with tender emotion that speared Carter’s chest. As much as he’d tried to convince himself that he could be with Tess—remain emotionally detached—he knew that he’d be changed after today. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was yet to be seen, but there was no turning back.

He wanted her, consequences be damned.

*   *   *

Tess was wound as tight as a spring. She’d never found going down on a guy particularly sexy. More times than not, it had always felt like a chore. But Carter’s response, the way his body trembled, the guttural sounds he made, the way his thighs caged her in, was unlike anything Tess had ever experienced. And then, his gentle warning that gave her the opportunity to stop if she’d wanted, had only sent her into a tailspin of want and desire that burned like a solar flare inside of her. She’d taken him as deeply into her mouth as she could, and when he’d come—dear lord—the sensation of each powerful jet hitting the back of her throat was the most erotic thing Tess had ever experienced in her entire life.

“You’re so beautiful, Tess.”

His softly spoken words caused her chest to swell with emotion. She came up on her elbows and kissed him. She could kiss him for days.

Carter reached between them and guided his erection between her legs. Tess opened for him as anticipation coiled in her stomach. She waited for the sudden thrust, but instead, Carter eased inside of her, an act that seemed to cause him as much pleasure as it did pain. Tess knew exactly how he felt. The luxurious glide of his cock as he entered her stretched her inner walls until she felt the slightest pinch. She drew in a gasp of breath and Carter soothed her with gentle kisses as he pulled out slowly and slid back in.

Carter settled more fully on top of her, careful to keep the bulk of his weight supported on his propped arm beside her. Tess looked up to find his gaze locked with hers and the familiar swarm of butterflies took flight once again. Broad daylight, in the middle of the living room, and she was experiencing one of the most erotic and intimate moments of her life with a man who was little more than a stranger.

He didn’t fuck her like they were strangers, though.

The slow precision of his thrusts was an erotic torture. He pulled out and drove home as though he wanted her to feel every long, hard inch of him. She tried to thrust up to meet him, to somehow increase his pace, but Carter wouldn’t let her. His free hand went around her hip to still her.

Tess’s breath came in sharp gasps as he continued with his unhurried pace. He rode her like waves lapping at the shore, pressing as far as he could go before a lazy retreat. Sensation fired along Tess’s nerve endings. Her inner walls clenched around him and her nipples pearled as his chest brushed the sensitive peaks. She wrapped one leg around his thigh to angle her hip slightly up. Tess drew in a sharp breath as he hit some sensitive spot deep inside of her and her back arched up from the floor.