But she feels slightly tense, hesitant. She’s rubbing her lips together like she’s got something on her mind and I have a feeling I know what it is.

“You know,” I say slowly, running my fingers over the bridge of her cute nose, over her luscious lips. “Contrary to popular belief, that actually meant something to me.”

She swallows and tilts her head to look at me. “Yeah?”

I knew it. My reputation will follow me everywhere.

“Yeah.” I kiss her neck and murmur into her was. “And I don’t shag more than one woman at a time. I’m fucking you now and I’m going to keep doing so for as long as you want my cock around. I know you said only an idiot would fall for this line, but I only have eyes for you and there’s no sense in screwing someone else if I’m going to be thinking of you the whole time.”

She nods. “Okay. Well, you don’t have to worry about that with me.”

“Don’t be so sure,” I tell her. “I’ve seen you at work. I’ve seen the way men look at you, the same way you do. But as long as I can be the only man who conquers you, I’ll be happy. And I’ll do my damndest to make you happy.”

She smiles softly. “You almost sound sweet there.”

“Just give me a few more minutes and sweet will be the last thing on your mind.”

But in a few more minutes, we’re both asleep.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Nicola

“God, you taste delicious, sweetheart.”

I hear Bram’s husky, jumbled words at the same time I feel his tongue slide between my legs. I jump at the contact but his hands grip my hips, keeping me in place. I raise my head, blinking hard and see his thick head of hair as his tongue snakes along my cleft, licking slowly.

“Jesus,” I mutter softly, sinking back into the bed. “What a way to wake up.” It’s early morning and the sky outside my window is grey blue, even though there seems to be no clouds or fog in sight. I’m surprised we’re up. I felt like we fucked all night but even though I ache and my lips and pussy feel rubbed raw, I also feel surprisingly alive. My brain is bright behind my eyes, my nerves are buzzing, my skin seems like it can feel every atom in the air. It’s one hundred percent clichéd to say I feel like a brand new woman, but I do.

Bram groans into me and his tongue plunges inside. I arch my back, wanting him deeper, my legs opening more and more for him. His fingers grip my hips hard and with his other hand he slips a finger along my clit, rubbing it just so.

God, I’m going to come at any moment but I also want him to last forever. Can this please be the way I wake up for the rest of my life?

Last night was too incredible for words – another cliché, but true. I’d never had a man want me so badly, I could practically feel the primal, animalistic need that matched my own. And naked, gorgeously, beautifully, exquisitely naked, Bram was a whole other beast. I honestly didn’t know if he was going to cause me a lot of pain or not, but from the way he so slowly, deliciously, eased himself inside me, I felt nothing except a pinch and then this incredible feeling of being so full, like I’d been missing him my whole life.

The only problem is, now I feel a bit bereft at the absence of his dick. I want him inside me, all of him, not just his fingers and his tongue. I want him to make the bed shake again, for my breasts to jiggle as he slams into me. I want that wildness, that wickedness, that damn smirk as he knows exactly what he can do to make me scream even though I’ve been screaming into my pillows, lest we wake up Ava. And judging from how enthusiastically he’s licking me, like a fucking ice cream cone, I’m about to let loose. I grab the pillow out from under my head and hold it on my face as he pushes me over the edge. All the tight coils in my body release and I’m riding wave after wave of insane pleasure, my limbs jerking from the power of it all.

Holy hell. Wham, bam, thank you, Bram.

He lifts his head when my spasms begin to fade. “That’s how I like to wake my woman up.”

I give him a look, my head swimming, my body floating. “What if I want to wake you by giving you a blow job?”

“We don’t even have to compromise,” he says as he crawls on top of me. The iron-stiff length of his cock rubs against my slickness and I hope to God I have enough condoms in my drawer. The fool had only brought one last night. I’m not sure what the hell he was thinking.

I’m about to bring it up – I may take the pill religiously but condoms are a definite must, especially with a player like Bram – when I hear a shuffle on the other side of the door and then the sound of the door trying to open.

“Mommy, the door is locked!” Ava yells. “Let me in.”

I exchange a look with Bram and realize he doesn’t have much in the way of clothes other than his pants. I leap out of bed, slip my house robe on and throw his pants at him. I open the door a crack, keeping Bram out of view, and slide my way through.

“Hi, angel,” I tell her, my back to the door, holding it shut as I peer down at her. “You’re up early.”

“Why was the door locked?”

“Oh, that was an accident,” I tell her.

Then the door opens and Bram appears and thank God his erection is gone.

“Bram?” she asks. “Do you live here now?”

Bram gives me a cheeky grin and then squats down to her level. “No, little one, I’m still next door. I just spent the night.”

“Okay,” Ava says brightly then walks off to the bathroom. I know Ava isn’t old enough to get an idea of what adults do in situations like this. She’s thankfully far too innocent for that train of thought. But after Phil, I’ve been very careful about what guys I’ve brought over. There haven’t been many, but I was with a guy called Ben around the same time that Steph and Linden were first getting together. He was nice, which was why I was with him, but there weren’t any sparks. But Ava liked him and the more time he spent over, the more attached to him she got. Then when we broke up, it pretty much broke her little heart. Since I’ve learned she wants Bram to be her daddy as a Christmas present, it’s pretty safe to say that she’s going to get her heart set on him.

As for me…I don’t know. I watch as Bram saunters into the kitchen, my eyes glued to the swing of his slim hips and narrow waist and that long expanse of muscular back. I regret not making any claw marks on it last night, but there’s always next time.

Oh God, please don’t let that have been just a one-night stand, I think, suddenly afraid that he might revert. I know what he said last night about only wanting to fuck me, but for the life of me I can’t imagine where this will go.

Then again, I told myself I wouldn’t analyze this to death. That’s not “fun.” That’s not wild and free. I was just going to enjoy the ride and worry about what may come later.

“So,” Bram says as he puts on the coffee. I love how comfortable he is in my apartment, even though weeks ago it was annoying as hell. “When is your next shift? Do you have time to go to IKEA today?”

“IKEA!” Ava yells. “Balls!”

I laugh. “Yes, Ava, balls.”

“I love balls!”

“Just like your mum,” Bram notes, biting his lip to keep from laughing.

“Hey,” I wag my finger at him. “Let’s keep this morning rated G.”

“Balls!” Ava yells. “Bram-a-lama-ding-dong!” She runs back to her room and I hear her bouncing on the bed.

“I don’t know where she gets her energy,” I say with a sigh, going to get the medicine and the glucose meter.

“At least you can say she’s been doing great ever since she was diagnosed,” he says. As I brush past him for the cupboard, he grabs me around the waist and pulls me to him. “How are you?” He lowers his voice. “You seemed to enjoy the way you woke up.”

I can’t help my smile. He keeps his grip firm on me and searches my eyes.