Kristina clamped down hard on the concern about her heart. She was having fun. So much fun. And she was fine. They were fine.

Noah pressed kisses against her inner thighs that made her laugh, then he slowly eased her legs off his shoulders and slid back up her body, dropping more kisses here and there as he moved. It was so damn sweet and affectionate that it shot warmth through her chest. Kristina pushed that reaction aside, which was easier to do when she felt the hard length of his cock drag against her thigh and settle between her legs.

She reached down and wrapped her hand around him. “Mmm, look what I found.”

“What’s that, baby?” he said, nuzzling her breasts, her neck, her lips.

Gah! Baby! There was that term of endearment again. Did he even realize he said it?

He kissed her, chasing the question away, and the taste of herself on his lips was so damn sexy. Really, what could be sexier than a big strong man willing to get down on his knees to give a woman pleasure?

“Your cock,” she whispered, the word sending shivers over her skin. She stroked him, root to tip, root to tip, enjoying the little catches in his breath and flinches of his stomach muscles. “All hard again.”

“Your fault,” he said, his expression playful and full of challenge.

“Aw,” she said. “Well maybe I should help you out with this little problem.”

His brows slashed down. “Little?”

Kristina laughed. “I already complimented you on your size.”

He smirked. “That shit doesn’t get old.”

“Good to know.” She smiled, a new desire blooming deep inside her. “Well, given how big it is, I have to wonder whether I could take all of it in my mouth.”

Noah’s eyes flashed red hot. “Fuck, hearing you say things like that…” He shook his head.

“You might like seeing me do it even more.” She waggled her eyebrows as his gaze narrowed. “Lay down,” she said, patting the bed next to her.

He devoured her in a deep, slow, needful kiss, then slid off of her and rolled onto his back.

Kristina shifted to her knees and paused for a moment, just looking at Noah Cortez lying totally naked and mouth-wateringly aroused on her bed. He was all warm, olive skin with cut muscles and dark hair. Beautiful. Sexy. So damn masculine. Every inch of him.

Never had she thought she’d see this. And she refused to let herself waste one moment of their time together worrying about it coming to an end. She felt a little like Cinderella at the ball—she knew the clock would strike midnight and her beautiful glass carriage would turn back into a pumpkin—which meant she had to cherish every second of her prince while she had him.

Noah scooted up on the bed, and Kristina crawled to kneel between his thighs. Scars marked his skin here and there, and she didn’t want to imagine all the things that had caused them, all the things that had hurt him. Because tonight was about pleasure—not hurt, not worry, not tomorrow.

Gently, Kristina grasped the hard muscle of Noah’s thighs. She ran her hands down to his calves, staying away from his feet because she knew he was deathly ticklish there, and then she stroked upward, passing by his twitching cock to smooth her palms over his abs, his chest, his throat. The change in her position had her stretching over his groin and her nipples dragging over his length. Noah groaned and his hands cupped her breasts. She peered down, loving the look of his big hands massaging her. She leaned down further, causing his cock to nestle into her cleavage. She used her hands to press his together, inviting him to squeeze her flesh around his length.

“Fuck, Kristina,” he rasped. His hips jerked in shallow pumps, and the feeling and sight of his cock sliding between her breasts had her instantly wet again.

She bowed her head as far as she could and stuck out her tongue, swiping it against his head on each upward pump.

Noah groaned at the contact, which made Kristina need him in her mouth right then. She pulled herself free from his grasp and slid back, dragging her tongue down his whole length as she moved. Kneeling, she fisted her hand around his thickness and bathed him with her tongue, getting him good and wet, loving the feel of him getting even harder in her grip.

“Looks so good,” he rasped.

She cut her eyes to him and swirled her tongue around his head. His face was a mask of pleasure and anticipation, and Kristina didn’t want to make either of them wait another second. Her eyes on his face, she opened her mouth and sucked him in deep.

“Jesus Christ,” Noah bit out, his head jerking back. A hot thrill shot through Kristina’s belly, driving her to take him deeper, and deeper still. He folded an arm behind his head, making it so he could watch her, and that drove her on, too. She settled into a rhythm that alternated slow and deep sucks that buried him as far into the back of her throat as she could take him with faster bobs of her head that she matched with the stroking of her hand.

Noah’s fingers petted her hair, sometimes soft and encouraging, sometimes pushing her to go faster or take him deeper. She loved the feeling of him guiding her, showing her what he liked. Soon, his hips were moving in an almost desperate way and deep, guttural sounds spilled from his throat. “Stop, stop,” he rasped. “Don’t wanna come like this.”

“Why?” she asked, already anticipating drinking him down.

He waved her toward him. “Want you to ride me, baby.”

There that was again. It was funny that Kristina had possibly never adored a nickname more given that, when they were younger, she despised it any time Noah would boast or brag about being two years older. But, baby. Yeah, she freaking loved hearing him say that. To her.

Pang.

Stop it.

Kristina released his cock and crawled up him, and Noah helped her shift her legs to the outside of his hips. Butterflies whipped through her belly at the feeling of his cock nudging against her core again, but it was different this time. Gone was the urgent rush of their first time. Now, it was like Noah wanted to study every moment, savor it, draw it out. He gripped her hips and pressed her down, forcing her to grind against his cock.

She cried out as her wetness coated him and their tight press and shift created the most delicious friction.

“You look so good over me,” he said in a voice so low it was almost a whisper, his gaze flickering from her face to her swaying breasts to where his cock slid between her lower lips. “Knew you would.”

Oh, God. She loved and hated that he’d said that. Loved it because it was freaking hot and not a little sweet. Hated it because how was she supposed to keep this about just sex when he said things like that?

His hand reached between her legs, urging her up. He gripped and centered himself beneath her opening, then guided her down with a hand on her hip.

Kristina took him inside her on a moan, loving the overwhelming feeling of him filling her, stretching her, invading her. When she’d taken him all, she braced her palms on the firm plane of his stomach and slowly lifted herself back up again. Just long, slow strokes that made both of them moan and pant.

Noah stroked his hands over her thighs, her belly, her breasts.

“I want you to use my body to get off,” he said, cupping his hand behind her neck and pulling her in for a wet, claiming kiss. “Whatever you like, however fast or slow, I want you to come on my cock.”

His words licked over her skin like a blow torch. “God, Noah. You feel so good,” she said, her hips shifting so that her clit dragged against where they were joined.

“That’s it, baby. Use me.” One hand still holding her neck, the other gripped her hip again, helping her move. They were so close that she felt his breath on her face, and his gaze absolutely blazed up at her.

Looking at Noah, it was almost as if she’d never had sex before. Because staring into the eyes of the man who knew her better than any other, with whom she had a nearly life-long history, while she took him inside her body—it was the most intimate and intense experience of her entire life.

Heat and emotion rushed through her in equal measure. Affection. Red-hot desire. And maybe something more. Something she couldn’t let herself think about right now. Wouldn’t.

“Oh, God,” she cried, throwing back her head and breaking that suddenly too-close connection. Lifting and lowering, she moved faster and grinded herself against him harder. Her breasts bounced, and Noah shoved her closer to the edge by pinching and sucking at her nipples.

She was totally and utterly overwhelmed, overloaded, overcome by sensation. By everything. By Noah. And then she was right there, hanging on the edge until she could barely breathe.

“Oh, I…I’m gonna—”

The orgasm shattered her. Just ripped her into a million floating pieces.

“Fuck, yes,” Noah said, suddenly lifting her hips enough that he could hammer up into her.

Dizzy, Kristina collapsed forward, her arms bracing her above Noah as he fucked her through the clenching spasms of her orgasm.

He banded an arm around her back and flipped them over. And then he pinned her legs open with his thick arms and her body down with his tall frame and his greater weight and fucked her so hard and so fast that all she could do was hold on and take everything he gave her. And it was so freaking good that she came once more almost immediately. She cried out into his ear, and he turned and pressed a wet kiss against her cheek.

“Can’t get close enough,” he rasped, his hips flying, his arms slipping free of her legs and curling under her shoulders.

The sentiment behind those words, the needful, yearning tone, the relentless, demanding friction of his hips…Kristina came again, a longer, drawn-out release that stole her breath and made her clutch her arms and legs around him.

“Don’t want it to end,” he rasped. “But you feel too fucking good.”

Kristina’s brain was in a whirl. From the orgasms. From the frenzy of Noah’s body. From the fact that she just thought she heard him say that she didn’t want it to end.

Did that mean…?

What did that mean?

“Fuck!” Noah shouted, his grip tightening, his hips slamming into hers on a series of mind-numbing punctuated thrusts.

Kristina pushed the thoughts away and turned her face to his. “Come in me,” she whispered into his good ear.

Noah pressed his face to hers and yelled his release, his big body shuddering in her embrace. She held onto him with everything she had, loving the feeling of his cock jerking deep inside her, loving knowing that she’d made him fall apart every bit as much as he’d made her.

Words rushed to the tip of Kristina’s tongue. About how good they were together. About how right they felt together. About how she’d never experienced anything as meaningful as being with him.

“Fuck,” Noah rasped. He blew out a long breath, then pressed a kiss against her cheek.

She shifted to look at his face in the now-dim room, and he looked so damn…at ease. If she let any of those words loose, would she mess that up for him? Because it was the last thing she wanted to do, no matter that her heart felt too big to remain inside her chest.

“Food. Water. Sustenance,” he said.

Kristina chuckled, following his lead and keeping the tone light. “I did promise to make you dinner.”

“You totally promised to make me dinner.” He lifted off of her, and she immediately missed his heat, his presence inside her. “Let’s go eat ice cream while I watch you cook.”

Despite the mess in her head—or her heart—that made her laugh, and she smacked his arm. “Ass.”

Noah slid off the bed and headed for the door. “You need an anatomy class.” He pointed to his exceedingly fine backside as he kept walking. “This is my ass.”

She forced herself to get up as she heard him close the bathroom door.

Keep it light. Keep it fun. Just sex.

Right. She could do this. She was doing this.

Clicking on the bedside lamp, she saw Noah’s black T-shirt discarded on the floor. She slipped it on and glanced at herself in the mirror. Lips swollen. Cheeks flushed. Hair a mess. Wearing a shirt miles too big.

She was a wreck, even if she secretly loved that it was Noah that had made her look this way. Except, then, why was her throat getting tight? She turned away.

When she heard Noah come out of the bathroom, she made her way there, grinning at the gob-smacked look on his face as he noticed what she was wearing. In the privacy of the bathroom, she cleaned herself up and then once again looked at her reflection in the mirror, intent on bolstering her resolve.

“It’s just sex, Kristina,” she whispered to herself. “No matter what, you’ll always have this. Don’t fuck it up.” She nodded and took a deep breath, and then she put on a playful smile, made her way to the kitchen where she found him eating from the carton of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream wearing only a pair of unbuttoned jeans, and ate dinner with him, just like she’d done a thousand other times.