He worked his way down to the juncture of her thighs, pressing kisses along the sensitive join of her hip. Warm flesh greeted his mouth. Goosebumps rippled across her skin as he trailed his fingertips over her thighs, skating around the part where she wanted him most. Her hips bucked as she fought for control, but Paul stayed true to his word.

“This is the part where you beg, Tiger.”

He drew her clit into his mouth only to let it go a second later, lavishing maddening kisses all around her. One palm flattened against her stomach, holding her where he wanted her. Where she wouldn’t be able to move without his permission.

“You can’t make me,” she panted.

“You’re so close.” He blew cold air over her sensitive flesh, alternating direct pressure and feather-light licks. “It would be a shame not to hear that wonderful noise you make when you come.”

“Paul,” she growled.

“Yes, Tiger?”

Silence. She was stubborn, something he’d grown to appreciate. But he wanted her to know that in the bedroom she was at his mercy. This was his domain and if she bent then he would give her everything.

“Dammit.” Her fist came down hard on the bed as she bucked her hips against his mouth.

“Say it.”

“Please, I need it.” She tangled her fingers in his hair and yanked him into place. “I’m begging.”

“That’s all you needed to say.”

Her nails dug into his scalp as he applied the perfect pressure with his tongue, lapping at her until he tipped her over. The sound of her cries set his nervous system aflame. She trembled even after he drew his lips away, immediately curling into herself as the last shockwaves of orgasm ran through her.

He crawled up the bed and drew her to him, her back lining his front. Hot skin against hot skin. Wrapping his arms around her, his fingers traced the peaks and valleys of her beautiful body. He felt so…alive.

“It’s not so bad to let someone else be in charge.”

She turned, her face tilting up to his and catching the moonlight streaming in through the window. “Don’t get cocky now.”

He grinned. “Too late.”

Shaking her head, she slipped out of his grasp and pushed him back against the covers, straddling him. His hard-on brushed the creamy skin of her inner thigh. Wanting spread through him like a drug, heightening his senses, switching on the part of his brain that screamed more, more, more.

Rolling her hips in circles so that she bumped her heat against him, her eyes glittered. “Payback’s going to feel so very good.”

His fingers bit into her hips, his cock twitching with each brush of her satin skin. “Just because you’re on top doesn’t mean you’re in the driver’s seat.”

He reached out to the drawer beside his bed and felt around for a condom. The foil crinkled as he ripped open the packet, cutting through the air heavy with arousal. He sheathed himself slowly, not missing the way Libby’s eyes watched him intently.

“Do you like to watch?” He wrapped his hands around himself and stroked.

Pupils dilated, her breath hitched. Even in the dim light he could see the flush that crept across her cheeks, extending down her neck and matching the rosy shade of her nipples. Her hands curled into the bedspread as she watched, enraptured.

“I’ve never…” She swallowed. “I’ve never seen a man touch himself before.”

The admission was fuel to his already out of control fire. He wanted to burst, but he controlled each stroke as though it were a master in resistance, power surging through him all the while.

“Do you like it?”

She licked her lips. “Very much.”

“If I keep this up the show will be over before it’s begun.” He released himself, reaching for her.

She came to him easily, her hips lifting to position over him. As she sank, a haze fell over him. His eyes rolled back, everything else fading away until it was just the sensation of her surrounding him.

“Paul,” she gasped, her palms coming down on either side of his head.

“Easy, Tiger.” He moved her hips to meet his thrusts, controlling the pace. Drawing out their pleasure.

Hair tickled his chest as her head rolled forward, the sheet of copper surrounding them until it felt as though they were the only two beings in the world. The pad of his thumb caught her lower lip as his hand curled around her jaw. She kissed the tip of his thumb, drawing him into her mouth and sucking in a way that made him want to combust.

“Keep that up…” he threatened.

“And what?” She blinked her long, black lashes at him. “You’ll cross the finish line.”

She squealed as he grabbed her hips, flipping them so that he hovered over her, still buried deep inside. Reaching down between them, he found the sensitive nub of her clit and started a slow assault. His favorite kind.

Her head pressed back into the pillow, eyes squeezed shut. “Oh my God—”

“I’m not going to cross the line until you scream my name again.” He pressed a kiss to her mouth, catching her bottom lip between his teeth.

“You drive a hard bargain.”

He chuckled against her throat, inhaling the scent of dampness on her skin mixed with faded perfume and soap. And something else…something uniquely her.

“It is hard.”

She laughed, the sound dissolving into a cry as she reached the peak. He could have held back, but in that moment he wanted to give her everything: pleasure, completeness, satisfaction. He was at her service, there to command and form her pleasure.

“Paul,” she whispered as the waves subsided. “Don’t leave me out here alone.”

“I won’t.” He thrust into her, driving toward the pinpoint of pleasure that blurred his vision and stole his breath. “I won’t.”

When orgasm hit he drowned in her. He didn’t realize that he’d been calling her name until the rawness hit his throat, the echo of their lovemaking heavy in the air. Her arms wound around his waist, holding him against her.

For the first time in forever, having another’s arms around him didn’t feel like a trap.

Libby shifted, the haze of sleep slowly evaporating as she opened her eyes to the sunlight streaming through a window. A window with wooden slats and a distinct lack of color. In other words, not her window.

Head thumping, she tested the severity of her hangover by trying to lift her head from the pillow. Moderate, certainly not her worst, but she needed to down a painkiller and a bottle of water. Stat.

Heat prickled along her skin, the weight of Paul’s arm heavy across her midsection. The bare skin of her back was fused to his chest, the backs of her thighs pressed against him.

What a night.

Heavy breathing told her he was still asleep…perhaps she could wriggle out and make a quick getaway to avoid the awkward morning-after chitchat. Would it be awkward? They had no expectations of each other, and they weren’t in a relationship. They both shunned emotional entanglements.

Last night was nothing more than two people with mutual attraction blowing off a little steam. Or a lot of steam, as the case may be. For a moment she wondered how many women had woken up in his bed.

None of your business, don’t even think about going there with him.

Aching limbs and niggling thoughts aside, Libby felt like a million bucks. Clearly all she’d needed to lessen the weight on her shoulders was a good, old-fashioned romp between the sheets. And too many orgasms to count. Paul was relentless, pushing her harder and higher each time until her body had nothing left to give.

“What was that little shiver for?” His sleepy voice sounded in her ear, his lips brushing the back of her neck.

“I think you’re dreaming.”

“Feels like it.” He brushed his lips along the ridge of her shoulder. “I don’t ever have a beautiful woman in my bed when I wake up in real life.”

“Do you kick them all out before the sun comes up?” She rolled onto her back so she could see his face.