There’s a desperation in his lips. A demand. A promise that he’s going to brand me, make me his, even if it’s only for a little while. But there’s something else, too, something that I’m not sure he knows is coming across. A vulnerability. Like he’s scared I’m going to push in away, or that someone will get hurt.

But as I open my eyes and look up at him, wondering why he’s stopped kissing me and is just holding me captive and watching me, I see control hanging by a thread in his eyes.

Then, that thin line snaps.

His lips meet mine again, this time they’re rough, demanding in a way that leaves me certain I’ll be sporting bruises tomorrow. I whimper, submitting to the excitement pounding in my blood. This is what I expected. Unbridled lust. Wild passion. A disregard for space or time.

Kieran Knight is savage.

And I decide that this is going to happen, but on a few terms of my own.

Pulling back, I see the shock in his eyes that I dared pull away. But I touch a finger to his lips like I’m shushing any argument he might have. His lips press against my finger in a kiss that tingles from the point of contact, up my arm, down my body right to my core and a smile lights my lips.

“One second,” I whisper, knowing what I’m going to do next. With lightning fast steps, I get inside and grab a blanket and hurry back out to him. Taking his hand, I lead him to my favorite spot. Near enough to the creek that we can hear the water, far enough away that the chill of it isn’t able to sink into our bones.

The summer warmth is still clinging to the air, but it’s cooling quickly, and I know that we’re racing Mother Nature in a way that we’ll surely fail.

But it’s perfect.

I spread the blanket on the soft grasses that I’ve not been mowing because I simply can’t keep up with the chores. It’s not like mowing the lawn is high on my list of priorities, and now I’m glad it’s not.

I turn to Kieran and see he’s watching me, his lips curved in a sinister smile that’s almost unnerving.

“What?” I ask.

“You planned this,” he says, nodding toward the blanket.

“So?” I ask, not caring that he has the wrong impression. It’s not like planning for sexual encounters is something I’ve done often. Not that he knows that.

Taking off my shoes, I step on the blanket and turn to face him again. His lips meet mine and I find myself helplessly bound by his arms. They lock around me like steel and my heart cries out. This sensation, being held so close, so tight, aches to my very bones and I realize I’ve needed this. Craved it.

“I need to see you,” he growls, and my heart thumps so heard I feel faint.

Still locked in his embrace, I work off my shirt, then my sports bra. The warm air caresses my skin and I feel free. We’re out here, under the trees, near the river I played in as a child. Out in the open, yet so secluded and private. It’s like the world is huge, yet our little spot in it is tiny, intimate somehow.

Past him, a billion stars twinkle and shine like they’re telling secrets about us.

Then his lips are on my chin, my throat, my chest. When he pulls my nipple into his mouth, I yelp in shock at the hot, wet, suckling sensation. His tongue teases the tip and the gentle pressure of this teeth is exhilarating and somewhat scary at the same time.

Then I realize, he’s not going to hurt me.

At least, not in a way I won’t like.

My knees tremble and threaten to dump me at his feet. As if he can feel it, he eases onto his knees and pulls me onto his lap. I feel his hardness pulsing under my ass and spread my legs to straddle him. It feels so fucking good, so sexy to press the warmth of my pussy to the hardness of his cock.

It’s breathtaking.

His hands press flat to my naked back as his lips leave my nipple. He blows on it a bit, the air chilling his saliva. I feel the skin tighten up and leave my nipple a tight bud of over-sensitive pleasure.

My fingers tangle in his short, dark hair as he takes the other into his mouth, teasing and tasting like he had the first. My hips desperate for more, begin to rock against his hardness, and I feel myself panting in pleasure and excitement at the incredible shockwave of pleasure building up low in my belly.

The world shifts as he lowers me onto my back, his lips still sending shockwave after shockwave of pleasure shooting from my nipple straight to my core.

“Kieran,” I whisper, wondering if I should tell him the truth.

“Hmm?” he responds, the humming vibration sending a bolt of pleasure through me that makes my breath leave my lungs in a whoosh. His free hand finds my pants and he works them down just a bit as his lips leave my nipple and begin to tail a line of damp, quickly cooling kisses down the line of my ribs to my belly.

I work with him, lifting my hips so he can free me of the confines of clothing. To my dismay, he leaves the lace underwear I’d worn in place. “You’re so beautiful,” he says softly and my heart skips a beat.

His lips find the slope of my belly between my hips, and his tongue marks the spot like an x on a treasure map. Then his lips find the delicate heart of my sex over the lacy underwear. Through the thin layer of protection, I can feel his kiss.

And I can’t help the moan of pleasure that leaves my lips.

“Kieran, please,” I beg, not sure what I’m even begging for.

“Please what?” he asks, hesitating a second before kissing me again. With the lace between us, I feel his tongue work gently down and touch the top of my clit. The material is abrasive, but his tongue is warm, soft, and so sexy I see dots of white exploding in my vision like I sometimes do when I stand up too fast.

“Please,” I repeat pathetically. I’m not sure what I’m begging for. More? Everything? Stop?

No, not stop. Definitely not stop.

His fingers hook into the top of the lace as if he’s considering peeling them away, but he simply holds there, his tongue still tickling as it slips between my folds, dragging the material with it. It’s exquisite torture, absolute perfection.

But I want more.

I want everything.