I moaned, arching my back as he flicked his tongue against my panties, which were already embarrassingly wet. Desperately I reached for his head, pulling and grabbing at him, wanting him to stop teasing me and get on with it, already.

His eyes burned with desire as he met my gaze before sliding my lace panties to the side and dipping his head to take a taste of me. I bit my lip to keep from releasing a pleasure-filled scream, and sucked in a breath instead.

Pausing for a second, his voice thick and raspy, he said, “I can’t do this for long or I won’t last, babe. I apologize in advance.”

Another flick of his tongue and I was completely lost, no longer able to formulate words or thoughts. My body tensed, my entire consciousness focused with the intensity of a laser on the sensations he gave me. Little gasps and moans escaped me, and he groaned in response. He lapped at me deliberately, his tongue taking its time with each carefully placed stroke. I moaned again, my voice almost unrecognizable, and he pulled his mouth away. Part of me wanted to cry from its absence, but another part of me felt relief. We were that much closer to finally coming together the way we had always been meant to, and I had never wanted another human being so badly in my life.

The heat from his mouth was replaced by two of his fingers. They moved in and out of me as he dropped soft kisses onto my stomach, every action working in complete harmony with the other.

“You’re so beautiful. I can’t believe you’re here. Never leave,” he whispered against my skin between soft kisses.

I whimpered, the overload of sensations tearing through me, as I pushed and pulled against him, wanting to feel him everywhere, all over me at once. His hot mouth moved up my stomach, over my breasts, and landed on my neck where he delivered more achingly beautiful attention. He pulled my earlobe between his teeth as he nibbled and then sucked, his tongue sweeping around it.

My jaw line was pampered next, his mouth loving on every inch of skin it touched. His full lips pressed against my cheek before stopping just short of my waiting mouth, which I had parted in desperation for him. Walker pulled back slightly and grinned.

“You like teasing me?” I barely breathed out.

“Who wouldn’t?” he said hoarsely before taking my mouth roughly, his tongue sweeping in and finding mine. Frantically, I pulled at him, digging my fingertips into his skin as I rubbed myself against him, desperate to finally feel whole.

“I need you. This has been slow enough. Get inside me, Walker. Please,” I managed to get out between kisses.

“Now who’s the bossy one?” He smirked, his eyes hooded and filled with want.

“I want you.”

“Say it again.”

“I want you. I want you inside me. Right now,” I begged without shame.

He reached across me and pulled out a condom from his nightstand drawer. Impatient, the second he was done covering himself I reached for his body and pulled him back on top of me. I wanted all of him, needed to feel connected in every way to this man.

“There’s no going back from here, Madison,” he said as he poised himself above me. “It’s you and me against the world. You understand?” His voice shook the slightest bit, much like his arms as he held himself back while holding himself up.

I nodded and he lowered his chest to mine, his expression serious. “Tell me you understand what I’m saying. Once we do this, there’s no going back. We’re not going to be just friends. We’re not going to be just buddies, or people who work together. This is it for us.”

The heaviness of his words settled into my heart and calmed it. I half expected it to do the opposite, but Walker’s demands were just what I needed when it came to him. “I understand.”

“Good. I couldn’t take losing you twice.” He lowered himself against me so that every possible part of us could touch, and the utter happiness I felt coursed through every fiber of my being.

His hardness pressed between my legs and I lifted my hips, arching my back, begging him to enter. Slowly, oh so slowly, he pushed himself inside me, and my body took him in, adjusting around him. He filled me completely and I squeezed my eyes shut, my chest tightening with anticipation as my body opened to accept more of him.

“Don’t close your eyes, babe.” He ran a finger feather-light down the side of my cheek, and I fought to open my eyes, when all they wanted to do was close so I could get lost in his touch.

He moved in and out of me slowly, each time filling me more fully than the last. Every pull of his body made me want to scream out to make him stop as each push back in achingly fulfilled my desires. Our bodies fit perfectly, moving together in a synchronized rhythm that built quickly, and I began to pant.

“I wanted to take this slow,” Walker breathed out against me, “but I’m having a hard time. No pun intended.” Then he found my mouth again and swept his tongue swept across my bottom lip. I nibbled and sucked his bottom lip into my mouth before tilting my head to kiss his neck, to nip and lick at his skin the way he had mine. The salt on his skin turned me on even more, and I lapped at his neck greedily.

Our sweaty bodies slid against each other with each thrust, our mouths and hands desperate for each other as our passion built. My hands lowered to his ass and I pulled him harder, my nails digging into him as I pulled him hard against me.

“Walker, I think I’m going to—” I stopped short and gasped, my hips rising and pressing against him over and over again. “Oh yes, God,” I cried out, louder than I’d intended as a current of pleasure ripped through me, sending shivers down my spine.

“Madison.” Walker’s voice shook as he breathed out my name, his eyes wild as he watched my body jerk with spasms of ecstasy. When the contractions subsided, I loosened the grip I held on his backside and moved my hands along his slick skin to stroke along the tensed muscles in his back and shoulders. He stared at me deeply, his eyes never moving from mine as tiny beads of sweat dripped down his forehead.

He began to move in earnest then, and captured my mouth with his as he plunged himself as deeply inside my body as he could. He thickened inside me as his pace quickened, each thrust finding a new depth within me. “Oh God, Madison.”

I couldn’t look away from him as he reached his peak, his face twisting with pleasure, his eyes closing briefly as he shuddered. His body jerked as he thrust a final time before collapsing on top of me, both of us struggling to catch our breath.

Intense happiness and contentment swept over me as I stroked his neck, his heavy weight covering me as he gasped deeply, his heart thundering against mine.

“I’ll be better next time. And the next,” Walker breathed out and I laughed.

“What exactly was wrong with this time, might I ask?” By my calculations, it was more than amazing.

“I didn’t get to devour you the way I wanted,” he said, panting for air. “But give me an hour.”

He pushed up and rolled to sit on the side of the bed. I pulled up the tangled sheets around my chest and let out a happy sigh as he removed the condom, grabbed a tissue to wrap it in, and tossed it into the trash can at the side of the bed.

Crawling back into the bed, he stretched out and faced me, our foreheads nearly touching. “You realize you’re never leaving this bed, right?” His hand stroked my exposed shoulder and arm as goose bumps appeared.

My heart continued to race as I came down from my Walker Rhodes high. I laughed at his silliness, and said, “I’ll probably have to leave it at some point.”

“Only if I let you.” He raised an eyebrow and gave me a playful grin.

I poked his shoulder and teased, “I don’t know who you think you are.”

“The boss of you,” he said half seriously. “From today until forever.”