“That’s it, babe. Bring it home.” Cael’s hips surged upward as Red straddled him with her hands balanced on his shoulders, her mane of lion’s hair hanging in a thick curtain around them and her breasts bouncing with each movement. She rocked up and down on his shaft, a sheen of perspiration on her face and chest. He swore he had never seen anyone so beautiful in his life. Right now, no other woman existed. He could not even remember the names or faces of anyone before her. His hands fondled her breasts as his fingers tugged on her nipples, eliciting more groans from her.

He felt her tiring and lifted her body slightly with his large hands to help her out. With his knees bent at the back of her, he took over the thrusting, pistoning into her warm, slick channel. Sliding his thumb to their connection, he tweaked her clit and grinned as she threw her head back, crying out as her orgasm slammed into her. He felt her inner muscles contracting on his cock and with his own roar, felt his release pour into her.

Regina felt her arms give out and flopped down on Titan’s chest, utterly spent. After a moment of his hands smoothing along her back from her neck to her ass, she muttered, “Sorry.”

“What the hell are you sorry for?”

“I’m squishing you but don’t have the energy to roll off.” She started to shift, but his hands stopped her.

“You weigh next to nothing so you’re hardly squishing me. And, honest to God, if you move your body off me, I’ll tan your ass.”

Lifting her head, she glared into his twinkling eyes. “That’s the second time you’ve threatened to spank me.”

His hand soothed over the ass in question and he grinned. “Sound like something you’d like?”

Her nose scrunched and she admitted, “I don’t know. Maybe sometime…with someone I trusted.” As the words left her mouth, she realized that sometime would not include him—they only had one more day in the weekend and then reality would set in and they would part their ways…as strangers. No names…no regrets. Sighing, she lay her head back down on his chest.

They lay still and quiet for several minutes until he gave her a squeeze. “Let’s shower and go down for dinner. Biggest meal we can come up with.”

Lifting her head again, she said, “Titan, this weekend is getting expensive. Two nights at this hotel. Meals…drinks—”

“Don’t worry about it. I work hard and don’t play hard. That means I save most of what I earn. It’s about time I spent it on something good for me.” He tucked her hair behind her ear and softened his voice. “Let me do this for you.”

She stared into his face, getting the feeling that this big, strong, man needed to regain some control over part of his life and this weekend was him doing just that. Nodding, she smiled. “Okay. Shower. Food. Then old movies on TV.”

With a whoop, he rolled out of bed with her in his arms and headed into the bathroom.

After shower sex, as she was getting dressed, she found some sexy underwear in her bag she hadn’t purchased. Rifling through the bag some more, she found the receipt and scanned it, noticing that it wasn’t her card listed as the method of payment. Figuring out immediately what must have happened, she turned to Titan. “You sneak! How’d you manage this?”

Shrugging, he watched as she slipped on the blue satin panties and matching demi bra, his smile wide and gaze appreciative. “Just though you should have something nice for putting up with me all weekend.”

“I should be angry, you know,” she muttered, but had to admit the set was beautiful.

“Nah, life’s too short to be wasted on being angry,” he said, walking over to nuzzle her hair. “And seeing you, right now…you are so fuckin’ worth spoiling.”

Walking down the hall to the elevator, she had to admit he was right. Life’s too short to waste.

That morning, when they had eaten breakfast, she had not looked around at the interior of the restaurant. But now, with the lights low and candles lit on each table, she noticed that the staff had arranged the tables in such a way that, while they were able to handle a crowd, they were also able to provide a quiet, private atmosphere for the patrons. Adding to that, they had scored a corner table near the back where it was even more quiet and private. She had no idea how Titan managed to snag them the best seat in the house but, with his huge size, it was not hard to image him getting his way in most things, even without ever looking askance at anyone.

“What are you thinking?”

His question cut into her musings and she blushed. “Sorry. I was just thinking that this place is really nice. I didn’t notice it much this morning.”

“We were hungry this morning, after last night’s activities,” he grinned. “It’s hard to notice much when you’re shoveling in fuel.”

Cael watched as Red threw her head back in laughter, her hair in waves flowing down her back, long slender neck exposed. Staring at her, he could not remember the last time he had been so entranced by a woman. He thought on that for about two point five seconds before he knew the answer—never. What had started out as a sexual attraction was rapidly morphing into something so much more profound. He waited, wondering if a feeling of panic was finally going to descend…the desire to say goodbye and run back to his life. But all that moved through him was peace…and the desire to get to know her better.

“Tell me something about yourself,” he asked, his voice low.

Her gaze jumped to his and she cocked her head to the side. “Something…personal?”

Nodding slowly, his lips curved slightly. “I want to know more about you and,” he lifted his hand to cut off her protestations before she could make them, “yeah, I get that I’m changing the rules. But, then, we’ve already been changing the rules.”

Regina looked down, her eyes following her finger moving over the rim of her wine glass. Her instinct was to refuse…to stick to the rules. Closing her eyes for an instant, she was so tired of following rules. So tired of not being in control of her life, her fate. Swallowing deeply, she lifted her gaze, her smile tremulous. She peered at his face. Hard, as if it were carved in stone, but not cold, just structured. So masculine, and yet, there was something else. A vulnerability. A glimpse of an uncertain young boy, asking but being afraid of being turned away. Her hand left her wine glass and slid across the table, resting on his.

He flipped his hand up, allowing her hand to rest in his palm. Curling his fingers around hers, he gave it a squeeze before linking fingers with her.

“My favorite color is purple. I know that seems so typically girlie, but deep purple is such a calming color. I even convinced my parents to paint my room purple…well, a light purple, but it was still the best room ever. Even now, I have purple accents in my decorating.” Her smile met his and she cocked her brow.

“Okay, okay,” he agreed, “my turn.” He thought for a moment, then said, “I had a teddy bear when I was a kid…not just a two-year-old kid, but I kept it until I was definitely not a kid anymore.”

Her eyes warmed at this confession and her heart melted at the thought of the little boy, and not so little boy, with the teddy bear.

The server brought their appetizers and they let go of their hands to eat. Taking a bite of Thai shrimp, he chewed, swallowed, then said, “More.”

Licking her lips, catching every bit of the crab dip, she cut her eyes to the ceiling in thought. “Um…when I was in tenth grade, a snooty girl at our school stole my boyfriend, so my best friend put itching powder in her cheerleading outfit…and got someone to put it in his football pants.”

Barking out a laugh, he said, “Jesus, Red, remind me to never piss you off.”

She laughed and defended, “Hey, I didn’t do it…my friend did. Although, it was my idea.”

He chuckled, shaking his head before settling his gaze back on her. “Can’t imagine any man choosing someone over you.”

“He was just a boy,” she shrugged.

“That explains it. Most boys are dumbasses. It’s only by the grace of God and a good woman that we get our heads outta our asses.”

Now it was her time to laugh. The server interrupted, bringing their dinner plates. A large steak for him and the seafood platter for her. Looking at the huge servings, her eyes grew wide. “Good grief, this is a lot of food.”

“Eat only what you want, babe, and I’ll finish whatever you can’t.”

She smiled, knowing he was telling her to be comfortable and not worry about trying to eat too much. She liked that…being comfortable with him. Looking down, her heart pinged at how easy it would be to let go and let him in.

They ate in silence for several minutes, the food delicious and company easy. Spearing a luscious piece of meat, he held it over the table toward her. Leaning forward, she closed her lips around his fork, the tender morsel sliding into her mouth. Chewing, she moaned at the delectable bite and, as she lifted her eyes to him, saw the dark, intense stare he had toward her lips. The sexual tension crackled between them and she knew to other patrons they looked like a couple…a real couple.

Clearing her throat, she said, “It’s your turn. Favorite music.”

Blinking, Cael brought his attention from her mouth to her eyes, a slow grin spreading, knowing Red was trying to bring them back to safer ground. “That’s easy. I like country. I remember my granddaddy listening to Cash and my dad listening to Nelson. I tend to go for the more recent musicians, but like the classic country as well.”

“Why country?”

He thought for a moment then said, “I once heard Kenny Rogers say that the great thing about country music is it tells a story. Listen to the words and you know he’s right. Each song is a story. Friendship, girls and boys, love, hurt, fun, heartache…it’s all there.”

“Wow,” she said, “I like country music also but never thought about it in those terms. You’re right.”

He had finished his steak and she pushed her plate over to him, giving him permission to finish the last of her shrimp and scallops. “You?”

Taking a final sip of her wine, she shook her head. “I’m all over the place with music. When I’m in the car, I love listening to country. But, at work, I listen to new age instrumental.” A giggle slipped out as she admitted, “And, from Thanksgiving through Christmas, I listen to holiday music non-stop.”

Deciding to split a dessert, they dove into the crème brulee, play-battling with their spoons.

“So, when did you get the growth spurt, Mr. Humongous?”

He shot her a pretend glare before answering. “I probably hit my first growth spurt when I was about twelve. By the time I was fourteen, I was six feet tall. By the time I was sixteen, I was six feet five inches. I finally stopped at six feet seven.”

“Holy moly,” she exclaimed, eyes wide. “They must have wanted you for basketball!”

Nodding he said, “Yeah, but I hated the game. Don’t mind watching it but didn’t want to play it. I was into baseball.”

“Power hitter,” she claimed.

“The basketball coach in high school tried to bully me into playing, but Miss Ethel told me to stick to my guns and do what felt right.”

“Miss Ethel?”

Leaving the last bite for her, he replied, “My foster mom.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he jerked his gaze up to hers.

She stared for a millisecond before smiling slowly. “It’s okay, Titan. I know we said no names, but I like that we’re sharing.”

“I didn’t mean to share something so personal,” he admitted. “You’re just easy to talk to.”

“I was thinking the same thing about you.”

The server brought the check and, without taking his eyes from Red, he gave the room number to charge the meal to his card on hold.

Reaching his hand out as he stood, he gently assisted her from her chair. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he moved them through the room and toward the elevator. Time for talking was over.