Her shirt was gone. The bra, capris, and panties next.

He stared at her, hands flat against the wall on either side of her shoulders. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he shook his head and reached behind his neck to tug off his tee. The shorts followed. He kept his gaze trained on hers when he rolled a condom down his generous length.

“I’ll be thorough next time.”

“Okay,” she breathed. Thorough didn’t really matter to her right now. Him, inside of her, did.

She reached for his hips and brought him to her. Smooth, soft skin over hard muscle. The heat of his body melted her, his kiss drugging. He checked her readiness with one stroke of his finger, and moaned when he found her wet. Aching for more, she ran her hands up his abs, over his nipples, and drew a shudder out of him. Learning what he liked as she went along, she slid her arms around his waist, then lower, to cup his backside.

He inhaled sharply. Dropped his forehead to her shoulder and nipped. Feeling a little more brazen, she worked her hand between their bodies and palmed his erection. He let out a half cry, half moan, and his mouth opened wide against her sensitive skin. He licked, sucked, and elicited a tremor out of her. She closed her fingers around his shaft and thumbed the tip, urgent for him to claim her body again.

It was like a piano wire snapping. With his knees, he spread her thighs. His hands gripped her hips and lifted. His chest held her in place against the wall as his fingers threaded through hers and trapped her hands above her head. Instinct kicked in, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He was much taller than she was, so her body was stretched taut, breasts jutting out and chest heaving in excitement.

He kept her hands pinned with one of his and aligned himself with the other. Just before he entered her, he paused and stared into her eyes. Something connected, fused, between them, something more powerful than their physical bodies. Then he slid home.

It was like coming undone. Every fiber unraveled until her brain shut down and there was only the fullness of him inside of her, the slick friction of their skin and the sound of their mingled breathing. His hands found hers once more, lacing their fingers together above her head and straining the beautiful muscles of his biceps.

“That noise, Faith. That one right there. It drives me out of my damn mind.” He kissed her hard, reared back, and drove deep inside. “Yes. Do it again. Again and again.”

“Alec . . .” Explosion loomed. Her muscles coiled.

He groaned into her ear. Thrust harder, more urgent. “Again. Say my name again.”

Right now, probably at any given time, she’d give him whatever he wanted, any time he asked. Because no one had ever made it like this. Life, companionship, friends . . . sex. Never before. “Alec.”

“Faith.”

That pushed her off the edge of the cliff. Him saying her name with need through gritted teeth, barely holding on himself. She tumbled off into sweet, sweet oblivion. He tensed against her while the aftershocks trembled, rocked, and finally settled.

Alec let go of her hands and cupped her bottom to spin around and slide to the floor. He stretched his legs out and leaned against the wall. The back of his head landed with a thud.

She straddled his thighs and rested her cheek on his shoulder. They stayed like that, him stroking her back and her toying with the hair at the nape of his neck, until the air-conditioning kicked in with a whirl and she shivered.

“Alec?”

“Hmm?”

She sighed happily. “You can make your own fireworks anytime.”

He laughed in that rusty, rough sound she loved and wrapped her deeper into his embrace. “You got it.”

chapter

twenty-one

Alec opened his eyes and winced at the sunlight streaming through the window. The edges of sleep drained away as he ran his hand down Faith’s back. Warm, supple female. Waking up and having her curled against his side, the scent of her and their lovemaking still in his nose, caused the knots in his chest to loosen.

He hadn’t slept with a woman—actually slept—since Laura was still around. This was different, waking up with Faith. Though not needy by any means, Faith was more giving. Laura had never wanted to cuddle. When they were done having sex, Laura would roll to her side of the bed and Alec to his.

He and Faith were still in the middle of the bed, legs and arms entwined, their breathing the only sound. He hadn’t had anything or nearly anyone to hold on to in . . . well, ever. Yet instead of panic and uncertainty, a sense of rightness settled over him.

Faith had so much passion and possibility bottled up inside, just waiting for someone to uncork it. She’d come undone in his arms. Exploded. She’d managed to uncork him, too, and he hadn’t even realized he’d been shelved. He wondered why no man before him had seen her openness, her true gift of healing. By his estimation, no one had ever seen her at all.

The knowledge made him want to show her how wonderful she was. She was real. More real than the majority of the population. Faith didn’t live by agenda or gain. She just, quite simply, felt. She claimed she hadn’t lived, and maybe she hadn’t by certain standards, but there was more to the road of life than bucket lists and accumulating friends. She saw the wonder in little things. It was the most beautiful quality about her, the biggest draw. In a society of technology and fast tracks, she accumulated moments, almost as if storing them in her fascinating head to reflect on later. Nothing escaped her notice.

He’d been wondering from day one what about Faith was different, what had him coming back to her time and time again when it had always been so easy to just walk away before. She was the first person to actually see him. Not the author or the money or the man who screwed up by breaking everything he touched. Him. What was buried beneath.

Beside him, she started to stir. He stared at the dusting of freckles on her nose against her pale skin, her sleep-flushed cheeks and pink mouth, wondering how to avoid fucking up this gorgeous creature.

She stretched her slim body before she buried her face in his chest, all without even opening her eyes. “You’re still here,” she murmured against his skin.

It pissed him off how she never expected attention. Or anyone to stick around. He reined in the anger because that wasn’t her fault. “I am.” Right here where he wanted to be—however much that scared the shit out of him.

She lifted her head and offered a sleepy smile.

His heart turned over in his chest. He cupped her jaw and kissed her. A long, deep, soul-searing kiss that had more than his dick stirring. Her fingers drove into his hair, holding him there as if anticipating he’d pull away. Yeah, that was the problem. He couldn’t pull away from her. Hadn’t been able to for weeks now. Hell, he’d tried.

Grabbing a condom from the nightstand, he sheathed himself and rolled her beneath him. They’d made love sitting up and against the wall, but having her under him, pliant and ready with her brown hair spread over the white sheets and looking at him through those amber eyes, was the equivalent of a maelstrom. Heady, powerful lust coursed through him, making him quake.

She cupped his jaw and brushed her thumbs across his lips. Parting her thighs, she rubbed her sweet heat against the underside of his dick. “What are you thinking about?” She put the tip of her finger between his brows, smoothing a wrinkle.

“The absence of thought, actually. Whenever you’re around me, even when you’re not, you seem to . . .” He broke off and looked down at her, unable to finish what he’d started. It wasn’t fair to her to do this, to throw any more emotion into the already heady mix.