“Lucy, are you trying to tell me you’ve never done this before?”

  A hesitation, then she slowly nodded. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

  Holy shit. She was naked in his arms, thrusting into his hand like she needed to come or die and she was a virgin?

  Well, honestly, the needing to come or die made sense. Seriously, how many twenty-two-year-old virgins were out there? He’d certainly never met one. The beautiful, sexy woman had to be a seething mass of sexual frustration.

  Something he could well appreciate right now.

  “I mean, you said you and Jude had never…but, seriously, nobody else, either?”

  “No. Never.”

  “That’s incredible.”

  “I guess right around the time most girls were giving it away in the backseats of their boyfriends’ cars, I was grieving and helping my brother figure out what to do about our parents’ business, their house, their lives. And ours. It just sort of…never happened.”

  He nodded, understanding. She hadn’t been thrust into the role of sexual grown-up while in high school. She’d landed in the adult world through one brutal tragedy.

  That, as much as the fact that he was not a ruthless bastard like Jude, was enough to make Ross find the strength to do what had to be done. Knowing he’d have blue balls tonight, he still cleared his throat and carefully pushed her off his lap.

  “Okay. It’s all right, Lucy, I understand.”

  She grabbed his arm before he could get off the couch and head toward the bathroom for an icy cold shower.

  “No, I don’t think you do.” Reaching for his face, she cupped his cheeks in her hands and leaned close, her soft hair falling onto his bare shoulders. “I want you, Ross. I want you to be my first. Now. Tonight.”

  LUCY HAD THOUGHT a lot about the moment when she’d finally have sex. She’d pictured it being with someone she knew, someone she’d dated for a long time, someone she trusted.

  Well, one out of three wasn’t bad, right?

  She didn’t know Ross that well. She’d never dated him.

  But she trusted him. Oh, did she trust him.

  Telling him the truth about herself hadn’t been easy, but she certainly wasn’t going to try to fake her way through her first time having sex. Not only was that unfair to herself, it was unfair to him. He deserved the chance to say, “Thanks but no thanks.” After all, some guys just didn’t seem to want to deal with the drama of it.

  She would have predicted Ross wouldn’t be one of those guys.

  She wouldn’t have predicted the incredibly tender, loving way he kissed her, then stood and took her by the hand to lead her to his bedroom. As if now that he knew the truth, the responsibility of it was weighing on him, and he didn’t want a quick lay on a couch. Like she deserved the whole package, big bed and all.

  The walk to the bedroom seemed incredibly long. And while her whole body was still burning from the incredible way he’d touched her, she couldn’t deny a faint trepidation, the tiniest bit of self-consciousness.

  After all, she was naked. He still wore jeans. And she’d just told him she was a virgin.

  “It’s okay,” he told her when they’d reached his room, standing by his bed. He brushed her hair off her face, then touched her cheek. “It’s gonna be fine.”

  She smiled. “Do you think I’m afraid?”

  He eyed her, visibly unsure.

  “I’m not scared, Ross. Maybe a little embarrassed about being so…exposed.”

  He stepped back and looked at her naked body, shaking his head slowly and rubbing his jaw, as if he just didn’t know what to say. Then he said exactly the right thing. “If there’s any such thing as a perfect woman, Lucy Fleming, you’re her.”

  She went soft and gooey inside, everywhere she wasn’t already soft and gooey. As she’d already suspected, she’d most definitely chosen well. “Thank you.”

  “So don’t be nervous, Luce, I won’t do anything to hurt you,” he added, tenderly cupping her cheek.

  “I won’t. I swear to you, my only fear is that it won’t be as good as I’ve made it out to be in my head.”

  A slow smile curled those handsome lips upward. He shook his head, then sunk his hands in her hair and dragged her close.

  “It’ll be better. I guaran-damn-tee it.”

  He pushed her down onto the bed, and set about proving it.

  Lucy honestly hadn’t known sex could be both incredibly hot and amazingly tender. He kissed her deeply, slowly, like he wanted to memorize the taste of her mouth. And his hands did magical things to her, gliding across her breasts, offering her barely there caresses that left her a quivering pile of sensation.

  But then, his control would slip a little. He’d groan as he nipped her breast, or shake when she reached out and brushed her fingertips against the soft head of his erection. Lucy wanted to do more, longed to explore his body, but he seemed determined to make this all totally and completely about her.

  Which was wonderful…and incredibly arousing.

  “Please,” she said on a sob when he again teased her clit with his fingers, giving her light touches that made her long for firmer ones. Her hips thrusting, Lucy was on the verge of going over the top, she knew that from her own explorations of her body. And she was dying for it.

  As if knowing he’d teased her as much as he could before she smacked him, Ross murmured something sweet and unintelligible, then slid a finger inside her. She practically cooed; the unfamiliar invasion felt so good. He moved his thumb back to her clit and this time, there was no teasing. Just slow, deliberate caresses, with just the pressure she needed.

  Her breaths grew choppy. Sighs turned into gasps when he slid another finger into her channel, using both to stretch and fill her, even while he continued stroking her clit.

  Then it came, sweet, warm relief. She quivered as the orgasm rolled over her, amazed at how much stronger it was when shared. She cried out, let her body shake and stretch, then sagged back into the pillows.

  “You’re gorgeous,” he whispered.

  “So are you,” she said, absolutely meaning it. Ross’s body was delicious—so hard and muscular, all power and steel. When combined with the thoughtfulness, the boyish smile, the twinkle in his green eyes, he was an absolutely irresistible male package.

  She smiled at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I want you now.”

  He didn’t ask if she was sure, as if knowing they were way past that. Reaching for a drawer in the bedside table, he took out a condom. Lucy caught her lip between her teeth, watching as he maneuvered the tight sheath over his thick, powerful erection. Seeing the rubber stretch to accommodate him, she felt the first thrills of nervousness. But they were immediately drowned out by utter excitement.

  Just watching him sent even more heat to her sex and she had to drop her legs apart, the skin there was so engorged and sensitive. Ross looked down at her, masculine appreciation written all over his face, then moved between her thighs.

  “Tell me if…”

  “I will,” she said, cutting him off. Then she lifted her hips, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and staring up at him.

  They didn’t kiss. They didn’t blink. They barely breathed.

  Lucy’s heart skipped a beat when she felt his rigid warmth probing into her, nuzzling between her folds and into the slick opening of her body. He moved slowly, so carefully, so tenderly. Each bit of himself he gave her just made her hungry for more.

  She arched her hips toward him, silently telling him to continue. Seeing the clenched muscles in his neck, the sweat on his brow, she knew he was hanging on tightly to his control.

  “I’m fine,” she insisted. “Please, Ross, please fill me up.”

  He bent to her, covered her lips with his and kissed her deeply. And with each stroke of his tongue, he pushed into her, filling her, inch by inch, until he was buried inside her.

  There had been only the tiniest hint of pain; now there was just fullness. Thickness. A sense that she’d finally been made whole and didn’t ever want to go back to feeling empty again. Like he was exactly where he was meant to be.

  “Okay?” he asked.

  “Definitely.”

  She slid her legs tighter around his, holding him close. Ross began to pull out, then slowly thrust back in, setting an easy pace. She caught it, matched it, giving when he took, taking when he pulled back. It was, she realized, like dancing…one step he led, then she did. Only no dance move had ever felt so good, so sinfully delicious.

  “You’re so tight,” he groaned, picking up the pace.

  She knew his control was slipping. Frankly she marveled that he’d been able to maintain it this long. Every molecule in her body was urging her to thrust and writhe, to just take in so much pleasure that she’d never remember what it was like to not feel it. She knew he had to be feeling the same.

  The rhythm sped up a little, his thrusts deepening. Lucy met him stroke for stroke, clinging to his broad shoulders, sharing kiss after kiss. Reality had faded, there was nothing else except this feeling, this rightness. This perfect guy on this perfect night.

  And then, the perfect moment. Warm delight spilled through her as she climaxed again, differently than she ever had before. It started deep inside and radiated out, a ripple widening into a wave.

  Even as she savored the long, deep sensations, she heard Ross’s shallow breaths grow louder and felt him tense against her.

  “Beautiful, you’re so beautiful,” he muttered as he strained toward his own release.

  His low cry and the deepest thrust of all signaled that he’d found it. He buried his face in her hair and continued to pump into her, as if every bit of him had been wrung dry.

  Though she knew he had to be totally spent, he didn’t collapse on top of her. Instead, Ross rolled onto his side and tugged her with him. They were still joined, and she slid her thigh over his hip, liking the connection.

  His eyes were closed, his lips parted as he drew in deep breaths. When he finally opened them, she didn’t even try to hide her smile.

  “What?”

  “I liked it.”

  He chuckled. “I’m glad.”

  “When can we do it again?”

  His chuckle turned into a deep, masculine laugh. “Give me a half hour.”

  She stuck out her lower lip in a pretend pout.

  “Okay, okay,” he said, reaching down and stroking her hip. “Twenty minutes.”

  “I guess I can live with that,” she said, with a teasing smile. She rubbed against him, stealing his warmth. The bedroom was cool, but she definitely hadn’t noticed it before. Ross gave off a lot of heat…whether he was right beside her or across the room.

  She much preferred him right beside her.

  They fell silent for a few moments, just touching each other, exchanging lazy kisses. She loved the way he kept a possessive hand on her, as if making sure she didn’t disappear on him.

  That wasn’t going to happen. Definitely not. In fact, she was already wracking her brain, wondering how on earth they could make this work for a lot longer than this one weekend. He hadn’t said he wanted to, neither had she. But she definitely felt it.

  Yet, she was leaving for Europe in three weeks. She’d be gone for months, then had intended to come home only long enough to graduate, then go back again.

  None of that had mattered when she’d been with Jude. Not even when she’d been thinking about sleeping with him.

  Now, though? With Ross? The very thought was devastating. How could she possibly walk away when, for the first time in her life, she’d met someone she wanted desperately to hold on to?

  “Is there anything you need?” he whispered, his voice breaking the silence in the shadowy room. “Like what?”

  He shrugged and looked away, as if not wanting to embarrass her. “I mean, you know, are you hurting?”

  “Definitely not. Honestly, I don’t know that I have ever felt better.” Unable to help it, she yawned. “Okay, maybe I do need something—a catnap. A twenty-minute one.”

  He laughed softly and tugged her even closer, until she was actually lying on his chest. He kissed her brow, stroked her hair, whispered sweet things about how good she’d felt to him.

  Lucy’s cheek was right above his heart and she not only heard its beat, she also felt its steady, solid thrum. His words lulled her, his touch soothed her. Quite honestly, she couldn’t recall a more perfect moment in her life.

  Not ever.

  She only hoped there would be many more to come, and could hardly wait to see what tomorrow would bring.

  9

  Now

  Chicago, December 24, 2011

  THEY WERE SNOWED IN. Totally trapped in a world turned white.

  Standing at his office window and assessing the situation Saturday morning, Ross could only shake his head in wonder. He hadn’t seen a storm like this in a lot of years, probably not since he was a kid. He tried to estimate how much of the white stuff had fallen; judging by the way it climbed up the side of his SUV, he’d say at least three feet so far. And still it came down, swirling, spinning, blowing up and down and sideways.

  This might be one for the record books.

  “You left and took your body heat with you,” Lucy grumbled from the fold-out.

  “Sorry.”

  She’d been asleep when he’d slipped out of bed a few minutes ago. Now she was curled on the side he’d vacated, the blankets pulled up to her nose, like she was trying to suck up any residual warmth.

  She looked both adorable and sexy as hell.

  And a little chilly.

  Though it wasn’t freezing, by any means, the temperature had definitely dropped below what it normally was in the building. Not that they’d really noticed during the night. God, had they not noticed. In fact, Ross would have sworn there was an inferno blazing in this little corner of Chicago. Because he and Lucy had redefined hot throughout the long, erotic hours after she’d awakened to find him in bed with her.

  “How does it look out there?”

  Shaking off the sultry images in his mind of the ways they’d explored and pleasured each other in the darkness, he smiled. “Like Santa decided to move here and brought the North Pole with him.”

  “Oh, that’s just perfect,” she said, sounding sarcastic.

  “What’s the matter, did you have big plans for the day?” He somehow doubted it. Lucy didn’t seem any more of a Christmas fan now than she had been six years ago.

  She thought about it, then shook her head. “Actually, no. Sam’s working all weekend. I was figuring on staying in, being lazy, going online and spending that money your company paid me yesterday.”

  Well, she couldn’t do any shopping, but staying in and being lazy sounded ideal. Especially if they were lazy between bouts of being as energetic as they’d been last night.

  Damn. Lucy had become a wild woman.

  Seeing her shiver, he clarified that—a cold wild woman.

  “Here,” he said, walking over to the bed, carrying two cups of coffee, which he’d just brewed.

  “So the power’s back on?” she asked, appearing both relieved and disappointed.

  “’Fraid not,” he said, shaking his head. “Fortunately, we get a lot of vendors coming in here. One of them makes a battery-operated coffeemaker and suggested we get them for sites that aren’t wired yet. We did—and they gave us a few for the office as a thank-you for the contract.”

  “Thank goodness for free samples,” she said, sitting up and letting the covers drop to her lap. Ross managed to not slosh hot coffee all over her. Seeing her in the daylight—as murky as it was—was enough to make the earth jolt. Not to mention his dick.

  He hadn’t realized it was possible to be so insatiable about another person. They’d had sex three or four times during the night, and he was ready to have her again. It had been dark—now he wanted to watch her face pinken as she came, see the perfect body as he licked every inch of it.

  “Wonderful,” she murmured as she sipped, then blew on the steaming rising from the mug. “Cream, no sugar—you remembered.”

  “Of course I did,” he murmured. He remembered everything.

  It was funny, considering he’d tried so hard to put Lucy out of his mind over the years. But she’d refused to leave, haunting his memories through other women—two of them serious—and so many other changes.

  Lucy glanced at him and their stares held. She didn’t try to lift the blanket, didn’t blush or feign embarrassment at sitting right in front of him so beautifully naked. He’d worried she would feel some kind of doubts or uncertainty in the cold light of day. But he’d been wrong. She looked confident—serene even. Like she didn’t regret a damn thing.

  He smiled at the realization.

  “What?”

  “I half expected you to leap up, wrap the sheets around your body and accuse me of molesting you during the night.”

  She snickered. “I think I was the one who molested you. Although, you did creep into my bed while I was sleeping.”

  “My bed, Goldilocks. Speaking of which, I don’t have any porridge to offer you for breakfast, but there’s a ton of leftover party food in the break room.”

  She didn’t seem to care about the food, instead focusing on the first part of his statement. “Your bed? Are you serious?”

  “As a heart attack.”

  She looked around the office, taking note of its size and furnishings. It was, he knew, probably bigger square-footage wise, and better furnished than his entire rental house had been back in Brooklyn.

  “So if the bed is yours, I guess that means this office is yours as well? I mean, I don’t suppose you were just sneaking into your boss’s bed since you got stuck here, too?”

  “It’s mine,” he said with a laugh. “I’m assuming you didn’t notice the nameplate on the desk.”

  She glanced over. Even from here it was easy to make out the “CEO” before his name. Her eyes wide, she turned her attention back to him. “You really run this place?”

  “I really do.”

  “Wow,” she said, sagging back against the pillow. “I mean, I knew you were talented, but going from handyman to CEO in six years? That’s pretty remarkable.”