Now the only thing left between me and her naked body is the tiny scrap of lace clinging to her hips. And once I get rid of that, I’ll take her in every way she’ll let me.

  If I heap pleasure on her, is there any chance she’ll want me after our ruse is over?

  No. I have to stop being ridiculous. Her life is in LA. She’ll make up with Parker someday because they’re family, then he’ll ensure I have no part in her life. And no matter how many orgasms I give her, she won’t fall in love with me. Hadley proved that.

  But even if tonight will rip out my heart, I’m going to hold on to Corinne as long as I can.

  “Xavian?” she asks uncertainly.

  She should never be unsure of herself. “You’re stunning.”

  “You don’t have to say things like that. I already said yes.”

  “I’m telling you the truth. Come here.” I motion her closer.

  Corinne pads toward me shyly, her bare feet silent. The moon glides over her skin, only to be swallowed by the dusky shadows of the bedroom. Her hips sway. Her breasts bob. Her stare clings to me in the dark as I shrug off my dress shirt and absently toss it over the desk chair behind me.

  She takes in my shoulders and chest with a wide-eyed stare. Her trembling hand follows.

  Her first touch detonates me like a bomb, despite the fact her fingers skim my skin with the utmost tenderness. Her palm brushes down my pec, pausing to feel my sensitive nipple. I suck in a breath at her touch.

  Then her gaze slides down to my fly. “You’re hard everywhere.”

  “You do that to me. You did from the first moment I laid eyes on you.”

  “You made me feel something, too. Fluttery. Giddy. So female. I came to your office for business. I told myself the feeling was ridiculous—”

  “It wasn’t.” I can’t stand not having my hands on her anymore, so I cup her waist, skimming the inward curve and tugging her closer. “It isn’t. You are so fucking female.”

  Everything else I mean to say escapes me as I caress my way up to her breast, taking its weight in my palm and brushing my thumb over her nipple. Corinne lets out a long breath as her head falls back. Her rigid peak turns impossibly harder. The other follows suit. Goose bumps break out all over her skin. Electricity fills the air.

  All I can think about is stripping off those little white panties and burying myself deep, but she’ll only ever have one first time. It’s a given that she’ll eventually regret me. I can’t stop that, but I can ensure her every memory of this night is one that makes her flush and sigh.

  Then she arches, thrusting her breast deeper into my palm. I stroke her soft, soft skin before dragging my wayward thumb across her sensitive tip once more. I wrap my other hand around her nape and haul her still closer. We share breaths. Our stares tangle and fuse.

  “I want to do every filthy thing I’ve ever thought to you.”

  “Please.”

  “You’re not making it easy to restrain myself. A princess shouldn’t be asking a guy like me to fuck her.”

  Her eyes rebuke me softly. “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s true. But if I’m what you want, I’ll never say no.”

  My mouth crashes over hers and my tongue invades deep, tasting, taking, demanding. But my hands glide down her body like a whisper until I’m cupping her hips and fitting her against me like we’re two perfect pieces of a puzzle.

  Almost instantly, she sways closer, cozying against me as she loops her arms around my neck and tilts her mouth to take our kiss deeper. For the first time, she’s completely open to me. I feel it in the slide of her tongue, in the way she presses her tits to my chest, in the jerk of her hips against my hard-as-fuck shaft.

  Pleasure jolts my body as she clutches my shoulders. I yank her flush against me, rocking against her to simulate exactly how I plan to penetrate and violate her the minute I get her under me. Her breath catches.

  This moment feels meant to be. Our lips forge together. Our heartbeats synch up. With every response, I sense her need as if it’s my own.

  Jesus, I’ve never thought anything that sensitive about a lover in my life. Unfamiliar feelings keep pelting me. What the hell is going on?

  Is this being in love?

  That possibility should terrify me. Instead, I’m addicted. I want more.

  Slanting my lips over hers again, I meld our mouths together, gratified when she melts and moans into mine. It feeds the beast inside me, determined to sate this fucking hunger and gorge on her for as long as she’ll let me. Corinne takes every lash of my tongue with greedy acceptance.

  The urge to map her body is inescapable, so I start with my hands, exploring her velvety-soft back, down to the pert, firm globes of her ass. I cup and pinch her flesh as I lift her to my cock and rub against her like I’m marking my territory. She gasps into our kiss again, wrapping her legs around me like she never wants to let me go.

  Fuck, I can’t wait anymore.

  With an impatient sweep of my arm, I knock the pillows off the massive bed. Then I lay her across the mattress and rip the triangle of lace from her body, baring her to me. But shadows impair my vision and cock-block my view, so I flip on a bedside lamp.

  And I gape mutely.

  She’s like a fucking buffet spread out before me. If I thought Corinne was beautiful before, that’s nothing compared to the way she fascinates me now. She’s plump and ripe. A neat dusting of hair and clenched thighs hide her secrets from me. I need to know them all. I’ll keep at her until each and every one of them is mine.

  “Spread your legs.”

  She hesitates. I bite back impatience and scramble for a nicer way to insist she give me the most sensitive, female part of her body. Finally, Corinne bends her knees, settling her feet flat on the mattress, and slowly opens herself like the petals of a flower at first bloom.

  My legs turn weak.

  “Princess…” I whisper raggedly.

  “Do something. I feel so naked. My heart is pounding…” She lifts a shaking hand to her rising-and-falling chest.

  “You’re not the only one who’s naked.” I don’t merely mean physically, but admitting that makes me feel too exposed. It’s much less daunting to drop my pants and stalk toward her, not wearing a stitch.

  Her stare drops to my cock. She freezes, blinks, then looks back up at me. “No wonder you have a reputation as a manwhore.”

  “Don’t bring anyone else into the bedroom with us.” I lower my hands on either side of her body and hover above her. “Tonight isn’t about anything except you and me and the desire we feel.”

  “You’re right. I’m a lot less nervous when you’re kissing me.”

  Does she understand what she’s inviting? “The second I get on top of you, I’m going to single-mindedly do whatever it takes to make you beg for me.”

  “Isn’t it clear that I’m already begging?”

  A fresh wave of lust roars through me, making me sweat. “You said you wanted your first time to be special. I’m trying to go slow, be gentle.”

  “I don’t want you to hold back. You’ll still make me feel good, right?”

  Swallowing back a groan, I nod. “You have no idea.”

  “Then show me.” Her fingers part her folds, drag through her slick sex, and touch her sensitive bud with a gasp. “My whole body is on fire. I’ve never wanted anything this badly.”

  I’ve never wanted anything—anyone—this badly, either.

  With the part of my brain still thinking responsibly, I dip into my pants pocket to retrieve the handful of condoms I keep stashed there for an emergency. I toss them on the bed above her head, then grab the hand between her legs, climb on top of her, and suck her fingers into my mouth.

  Her flavor explodes on my tongue—raw and tart with a hint of sweet. That smell I’ve scented on her since our first meeting is dizzyingly strong here. Everything about her makes me hungry and out of control.

  With a growl, I lie on top of her, slant my mouth over hers, and kiss her until neither of us can breathe. Fuck, I can’t get close enough. I can’t touch her enough. I’m goddamn melting.

  Settling my hips into the cradle of her thighs, I grip her. It takes all my restraint not to drive myself inside her, protection be damned, and take her bare and raw, the way I’ve never taken any woman.

  I don’t. Instead, I set about giving her the pleasure she’s asked for, drifting my lips across her jaw, where I nip on her lobe and make her shudder, before kissing my way down her neck. Then I slide my parted lips over the outside curve of her breast. My hand follows, taking hold of her and squeezing. Her nipple fills my hovering mouth.

  “Xavian.” Corinne shudders under me, digging her fingers into my hair to keep me at her breast.

  I’m only too happy to oblige, licking and nipping, pinching and lapping at the hard tip until her breathing is out of control.

  Fuck, she smells like a fantasy, like those panties I shoved to my nose as I masturbated to thoughts of her last night. But being this close to Corinne… Any satisfaction I achieved at my own hand is gone. All I want is to inhale her and experience her. To feel her close around me and know, in that moment, that she’s all mine.

  I lift my head just long enough to get my mouth around her other nipple. It’s every bit as hard as the first. As I suck her in, she lets out a moan. Then I inhale her scent again. My head starts to float away. She’s like the headiest of drugs. I need another hit.

  My free hand torments her other breast, its turgid tip still wet from my ministrations. The evidence that I’ve defiled her drives a primal urge inside me. I need to put my stamp on her somehow. I have to leave my mark. I want her to take a shower in the morning and still see me on her body. I want her to feel me there. I want her to want me again.

  Corinne lifts her hips restlessly, a moan escaping her throat. “I ache. I feel so empty. I need you. Please…”

  The animal in me responds, determined to bury myself deep and fuck her ruthlessly until she cries out my name in back-scratching pleasure. The head up top realizes, no matter how much she writhes and whines, she’s not ready for that.

  The head down south has a mind of its own.

  Spread. Take. Claim.

  Dredging deep for control, I sweep my mouth down her body—a lick of her stomach, a love bite at her hip, a dip of my tongue into her navel…then farther down until I’m exhaling hot and harsh over her pussy.

  “Xavian?”

  Just a guess, but if she didn’t let any man take her to bed, she’s probably never let one go down on her. And she’s definitely never had one consume her the way I’m about to.

  “Put your foot on the nightstand.” I palm her thighs and part them wider, exposing all of her for my stare. So pink. So wet. So pretty… “I’m going to make you scream, princess.”

  Slowly, she complies, stretching to place her dainty foot on the edge of the bedside table and spreading her legs wider. Her breath rattles with nerves, with excitement. It matches my ragged exhalations as I lift her hips and press a kiss to her mound. “Don’t move.”

  Then patience deserts me. I cover her pussy with my open mouth. She gasps—a sound that contorts into a moan as I drag my tongue through her furrow. I stop at her clit, lingering, tasting, before leveling her with a long, slow caress. Under me, she arches and fists the duvet, her body tensing as her throaty groan fills the air, ratcheting up my desire to something dangerous.

  The hint of her essence I licked from her fingers was merely an appetizer. Now I have the whole meal in front of me, a hot, juicy delicacy that’s jacking up my need and stripping away any hint of restraint.

  Snarling, I suck her sensitive bud deep in my mouth and circle her tiny opening with my finger. Her head falls back. Long, low sounds escape her throat. The animal in me that breathes and lives for her pleasure eats up her sensual torment.

  She abandons any pretense of staying still for my feast when her hips wriggle and lift. Her thighs tremble. She tries to wrap her legs around me.

  I shove her thighs wider with a warning growl.

  Who the fuck am I right now? Usually, I’m all about sharing pleasure, not demanding it. But I need Corinne to feel it and I need to know it’s decimating her, too, like my heart will stop beating if she doesn’t shatter into a million pieces for me.

  Ruthlessly, I lave her clit, my tongue swirling, prodding, and teasing her. Her breaths turn rapid and choppy. Harsh. Somehow I hear it above the roaring of my heart in my ears. My skin feels too tight. My blood flows hot. And my goddamn cock is desperate to be inside her, to feel her close around me as she welcomes me deep.

  “Xavian,” she pants. “Xavian!”

  “Is this going to be better than the orgasms you give yourself?” I can’t resist making her admit it. It’s crazy and demanding and even a little petty, but I’m not going to let up until she gives herself over. When Corinne thinks of pleasure, I want her to think of me.

  “Yes,” she breathes out, voice shaky.

  It’s not enough.

  I grab her wrists and pin them to the mattress beside her hips, then use them to pull her down onto my mouth, where there’s no escaping the lash of my tongue.

  Eating at her like a man starved, I’m gratified when her moans turn to whimpers. In seconds, she’s thrusting herself onto my tongue with a back-twisting arch and a keening cry. Bit by bit, she’s giving herself over to pleasure—to me—but I’m a greedy son of a bitch. I want her complete surrender. I want her coming for me like she never has, my name falling from her lips.

  Relentlessly, I work her clit over and over until her every breath is a gasp, until her nipples stab the air, until she’s jerking reflexively against my tongue.

  “Who’s going to make you come, princess?” I demand against her hot, humid flesh. “Scream it.”

  Her hips buck. Her breaths saw. Then she lets out a piercing wail. “Xavian!”

  Her acknowledgment that I’m the master of her destruction dismantles whatever’s been holding my restraint together. Everything primal inside me takes over, eating her until I’ve wrung every last scream, shudder, and sigh from her.

  When she finally stills, she lifts her long lashes from her cheeks and stares at me with hot, glittering eyes. The smile that turns up her lips is loopy. “Wow.”

  I grin. “Glad to know this orgasm lived up to your standards.”

  Her flush deepens. “The one at the restaurant did, too. I just felt so vulnerable afterward, I had to say something to level the playing field.”

  “So you can’t give yourself better?”

  “Goodness, no. Then again, I’m sure it’s because you surpass any silly fantasy I might dream up. You’re real.”

  I reach for a condom above her head. “I am. And so is my need. For the record, princess? I have a feeling you’re about to unravel me in a way I’ve never experienced. It’s terrifying. And I stopped giving a fuck a while ago.”

  “Xavian…” Her face softens as she sits up, presumably to comfort me.

  I loom over her body and push her flat again, then rip into the foil packet. “You really trying to make me feel better?”

  “Of course.” She caresses my chest as I roll on the condom.

  Once I’m finished, I link her fingers with mine. Then I do the same with the other hand, urge both above her head, and slide my cock against her wet opening. “Or hoping to undo me?”

  Corinne bites her lip. The excitement that lights her eyes tells me she loves that idea. “Maybe a little.”

  “You want power over me.”

  She shakes her head. “I want to matter to you.”

  “You do.” God help me, too fucking much.

  I’ve already said more than I should, so I cover her lips with mine, penetrating her mouth as I nudge my crest inside her opening.

  Beneath me, she tenses. I hear her, breathing hard. With excitement? In panic?

  It’s going to hurt me if she tells me what I don’t want to hear, but… “Are you sure about this?”

  She doesn’t hesitate. “Yes. I want you.”

  I close my eyes in both relief and torment. I’m fucking glad, but I’m like an addict about to stick a needle into my vein. I know it will probably be my ruin, but the high will be so worth it.

  “Squeeze my hands and keep your thighs spread.”

  Corinne nods, her stare clinging. I’m going to cause her pain before I make her feel all kinds of good, and she’s still looking at me like I’m her salvation. It feeds something bent in me.

  Every instinct I have yells at me to thrust deep and claim her in one unrelenting stroke. Instead, I ease inside her inch by torturously slow inch, pushing through her barrier.

  She yelps, eyes widening, and tries to squirm away. I hold her still with my body and press forward. “Deep breaths.”

  Corinne complies, then exhales with a little whine, her face twisting. “It stings and burns.”

  “I know.” And I can’t stop it. “I’m sorry.”

  She shakes her head. “Don’t apologize. Just give me more.”

  Did I hear that right? “You’re sure?”

  “Yes,” she breathes. “Because it’s you. And I want to get to the good part.”

  “It’s all going to be good in just a minute. Breathe again.”

  She exhales, releasing some of her tension.

  “Good. Hold on to me.” I tighten my grip on her hands. As she squeezes back, I brace myself and surge inside her, sinking down in one slick, snug, shocking glide to the hilt.

  And I let out a long groan that blends with hers.

  Holy shit. Mind blown.

  Corinne feels custom-made for me. Way better than any woman in memory. Even better than my fantasy.

  Perfect.

  “Oh, princess.” I grind into her as deep as I can and toss back my head. A shudder slides through me.

  “That feels”—her breath catches—“good.”

  Huge fucking understatement. Fire ignites my veins. I’ve never felt desire this urgent. And when she tilts her hips up, I slide even deeper and discover another layer of pleasure. The insane sensation has my eyes rolling to the back of my head.