Nina tenses up beside me as my Mom mentions the sleeping arrangements. I sit for a while, wondering what to do. Should I offer to sleep on the couch, to make things less awkward?

The last thing I want to do now is scare her away after I’ve made this much progress getting her to relax and feel comfortable around me again.

“You want me to sleep on the couch?” I ask, breaking the silence. “I can simply tell my mom and dad that we had a little fight or something. They won’t suspect anything.”

Nina doesn’t answer for a little while, and I’m just about to ask again when she turns to me and scoots closer along the dock.

“No, it’s okay, you don’t need to do that,” she says softly.

My heart beats a little faster in my chest at her words. “Are you sure? Because it’s no big deal, really. All you need to do is tell me, and I’ll understand.”

Another pause but much shorter this time. “I’m sure.”

“Okay . . . I’m not going to say no to that.”

She blushes, and I can just about make it out in the moonlight. My breath catches in my throat as I realize that she wants the same thing I do.

I lean into her and pull her into a kiss, pressing my lips against hers. She responds to me, kissing me back and wrapping her arms around my neck, running her fingers through my hair.

I pull away and stare into her eyes, my hands on her silky hair. “I’ve been wanting to do that all week. God, you don’t know how bad.”

“Me too,” she whispers. “I’ve been trying to tell myself that I didn’t . . . but it’s a lie.”

“I can’t stop thinking about what happened between us in the hotel.”

“I have been too,” she says. “I’m sorry I kicked you out like that.”

“You didn’t really have a headache?” I ask in a teasing tone, cocking an eyebrow.

Nina smiles. “No. I just . . . I don’t know. I got scared.”

“Don’t apologize,” I say. “We were both drunk. I wouldn’t want you to do anything you regret.”

“So, that night . . . I . . .” she trails off, biting her bottom lip. Obviously, she’s conflicted. And all I want to do is kiss her again. Take those lips and nibble on them myself.

“You don’t have to explain,” I say.

“No, I do.” She takes a deep breath. “I . . . It was a business trip, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And we were supposed to be there on business. As colleagues.”

“Yeah.”

“It just felt like . . . You were my boss you know? And I was your assistant. And it just felt wrong. Sleazy. Cheap.”

I stroke her hair, desperate to make her feel better. “You know that’s not how I think about you, right? You’re not just my assistant. I don’t want you to feel like I’m taking advantage of you because you work for me.”

Nina nods and gives me a small smile.

“If you feel like I’m taking advantage of my position, let me know, and I’ll back off. I promise you it won’t affect your job or anything. This is not . . . about that.”

“I know,” she says. “I know that now.”

“There’s something here. Something real. You feel that too, don’t you?” I ask, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Yeah,” she says, to my relief.

I level my gaze at her. “You said you got scared. Are you still scared tonight?”

She shakes her head.

“Because we could take this as slow as you need,” I say.

She says nothing. Instead, she leans forward and plants a soft kiss on me, wrapping her arms around me. She pulls back just enough to speak, her breath falling on my lips. “I know. Don’t worry.”

“I don’t want you to do anything you regret,” I say, stopping myself from claiming her mouth when our lips graze against each other.

“I wouldn’t regret doing anything with you,” she says into my mouth.

“Careful,” I say. “You don’t know what I have in mind.”

A small giggle escapes her lips, and I can’t stand just how adorable she is anymore, how irresistible.

I tilt her head back a little, exposing the soft, creamy skin of her neck. She moans as I nibble lightly on her sensitive skin, shivering as my fingers brush against the swell of her breasts through the sweater she’s wearing.

She comes alive under my touch. She’s radiating warmth, and little mewling sounds of pleasure emanate from between her lips with every little contact.

I talk to her between kisses. “To be perfectly honest, I’ve been wanting to do a lot of things to you all week.”

She moans at my words, arching her back, and pressing herself further into me. She gasps as my fingers unclasp her bra.

Her hand is pressed against my chest. She runs it down my body now, to my stomach and then down to my thigh. My cock swells in anticipation of her touch.

She arches her back as I trace circles around her stiff, engorged nipples, and then groans, long and low, as I tweak them gently.

“Why don’t you show me?” she says, her breathing heavy. Her exploring fingers find my already-hard cock, and she moans again as she starts to rub me through my pants. “I want you to show me, Brock.”

“More than happy to,” I growl in the back of my throat. Her hand is clasped around my hard shaft now, massaging me through my pants. “I can’t wait to get these pants off. But first . . .”

I push her gently back so that she’s laying down, looking up at me with those big beautiful, doe eyes of hers. She looks so vulnerable, so innocent, so goddamn sexy.

I pull her sweater and blouse off, and then dip my head down, taking each of her nipples in my lips in turn, sucking and licking and nibbling as she moans and writhes under me. Her chest heaves as she pants in delight, her hips arching upwards as if she’s desperate for me to have her.

But not yet. I’m going to make her wait.

I give her one more lingering kiss on the lips, and then start to make my meandering way down her body—her neck, her chest, her stomach, her thighs. My kisses start gentle but get more urgent the lower I go. I’m eager to taste her, to have her, to make her mine.

She’s only wearing her jeans now, and I yank them off, along with her panties, throwing them to one side. She’s completely naked, completely exposed, completely at my mercy.

“I’ve been fantasizing about what you keep hidden behind those work clothes,” I say, my voice thick with need.

“I hope I’m meeting expectations,” she says with a coy smile. And there’s that little, enticing lip-bite again.

“The real thing is better than any fantasy I could have possibly come up with.”

I kneel between her legs and spread them wide. I can see her glistening folds in the moonlight. She’s already so wet for me, and we’re only getting started.

The sight spurs me on, and I growl again in the back of my throat as I lean down and put my tongue to her slick, throbbing button. She cries out and entangles her fingers through my hair as I flick my tongue against her clit, slowly at first but then faster and more insistently as her cries and moans of passion gradually make me lose control.

“Oh that feels so good, Brock,” she whispers. My name has never sounded so good, and she tastes amazing.

I reach up to fondle her nipples as my tongue encircles her most sensitive area. She grinds her hips upwards into me, pulling on my hair as she whimpers and groans. I feel her muscles start to tense, her whole body stiffening . . . then she suddenly pushes me away.

“No. Not yet,” she whispers loudly, her heavy-lidded eyes looking down at me, full of desire. “Should we go inside? What if we get caught?”

I can’t wait any longer. I can’t hold myself back.

“My parents are heavy sleepers. You’ll just need to stay quiet,” I say, my voice hoarse.

She bites her lip and nods, watching me as I pull off my clothes. My hard, throbbing cock springs free as I yank my boxers off.

“I’ve been waiting so long for this,” she says, looking up at me with those beautiful eyes. “Fuck me, Brock.”

She doesn’t need to ask me twice, that’s for sure.

I spread her legs wide, grasping my thick shaft at the base. She sits up and watches as I tease her gently with the tip, rubbing myself against her entrance. Her sticky juices coat me, showing me just how ready she is for me.

“Don’t make me wait,” she moans. “Don’t tease me anymore, Brock. Please. I need you.”

The waves are lapping at the shores of the lake, and the warm breeze is blowing as I guide myself into her, slowly and gently, not wanting to hurt her.

Nina’s eyes roll back into her head as I glide inside, inch by inch, until she’s taken all of me. I kiss her as we make love, slowly at first, sensually, completely in tune with one another.

She’s panting and writhing beneath me, gripping my cock tight with the slick walls of her pussy. It feels so fucking good to finally have her, to be inside her, to make her mine.

Nina shifts her hips, pushing me over to one side. I see what she’s trying to do and oblige, rolling over onto my back and pulling her with me. She grinds down at me, sitting on top of me, leaning forward with her hands on my chest.

She looks so beautiful, framed by the bright moon and the starry sky, and my heart swells with passion as I gaze at her. She leans forward and kisses me, my cock still buried deep inside her. I twitch my muscles, my hard flesh pulsing, and she moans, closing her eyes.

“This feels amazing,” she moans.

“You’re amazing,” I tell her, putting my hands on her hips and moving her back and forth over me.

She smiles as she moves her hips in a hypnotic rhythm. Her eyes are squeezed shut, and she bites her lip as she rides me. I reach up and run my hands up and down her body, wanting to feel all of her.

Nina moves faster and faster now, her breath coming in hoarse gasps as our flesh comes together, again and again. I can feel my own climax building, building, and it’s getting more and more difficult to hold back.

I sit up while she’s straddling me, her hands behind my neck her leverage to fuck me harder and faster. She’s quivering now, her whole body tensing and untensing, over and over.

“I’m coming, Brock,” she gasps.

And then I feel it—her tight, slick pussy grips and pulses around my rock-hard shaft. She throws her head back and cries out—loud.

I have just enough presence of mind to clamp my hand over her mouth and muffle the sound before my own orgasm overtakes me in a riot of ecstasy, a kaleidoscope of passion.

We climax together, flesh against flesh, my seed spurting into her again and again until I have nothing left to give.

She finishes with one last quiver before sagging forward and leaning her head against my shoulder. As I take my hand off her mouth, she giggles.

“Sorry, I got a little carried away,” she says.

“Me too.” I chuckle. “You’re lucky I even thought of quieting you down, or we’d probably be having an awkward discussion with my parents right around now.”

“Oh my God. Don’t even say that,” she says. “I would literally die. I’d just jump in that lake and swim away, and you’d never see me again.”

She climbs off, and we lay there on the dock, side by side, as we catch our breath. A sense of pure well-being washes over me as I wrap her in my arms.

This feels right, Nina and I. It feels right to have her here, in my arms. Mine.

Neither of us talk—we don’t need to. Everything’s already been said.

After a little while, Nina’s breathing slows down to a steady rhythm. I rise to my feet and pull her up with me.

“Let’s get inside,” I say. “It gets real chilly at night.”

We dress quickly, and I take the opportunity to admire Nina’s perfect curves again before I take her by the hand and lead her inside the house.

We climb into bed together, and she falls asleep almost immediately, her head resting on my chest, her arm draped over my abs.

I lay there for a little while before sleep overtakes me, wondering if we’ve done the right thing. If I’ve done the right thing.

But I know we have. Nothing that feels as perfect as this could possibly be wrong.