You free for lunch?

Sam’s text message came through on Monday morning, buzzing in around the same time Bex was filling her second cup of coffee.

With his late nights, it was unusual enough for Sam to be up before ten a.m. But for him to be up on what was normally his day off, asking her to lunch?

What’s wrong? she wrote back.

Jeez. No, ‘I’d be happy to see you’?

Bex frowned at her phone. I’d be happy to see you. Just tell me everything’s okay.

Everything’s fine. Noon at Cracker Barrel?

It wouldn’t have been her first choice, but it would do. See you then.

The restaurant was crowded by the time Bex arrived, but she spotted Sam waiting by the hostess stand. He wrapped her in a hug, holding out on whatever he wanted to say until they were both seated.

“Good news, Bex.” Her brother leaned over his plate of biscuits and butter with a glint in his eye. “A birth mother has selected me and Aderyn. She’s offering us an adoption opportunity.”

A wave of goosebumps spread across Bex’s skin, and shocked tears pricked at her eyes. “Are you serious?” If this was true, this meant things were coming down the line. From what Sam had explained to her, a birth parent had to choose them as a family, and then both parties would work together to reach agreement on an adoption plan.

“I am totally serious,” Sam said. “You and I both know it’s not a final deal until that baby’s in our arms and paperwork is signed, but it’s the next step. I guess they had another family lined up and things fell apart, so she’s really close to her due date. Just a few weeks.”

Bex stepped around the table to squeeze her brother, and there, in the middle of Cracker Barrel on a Monday at noon, they both cried.

“Holy shit, Sam. You’re going to be a dad.”

“I know, kiddo.” He wiped tears from his eyes. “Guess they took my word for it when I said beer bottles can pass as baby bottles if you just swap out the mouthpiece.”

“Oh, shut up.”

She knew he’d been worried about passing the home inspection. Between having cancer and owning a bar, people might read into things the wrong way. Luckily, the adoption agency was a good one. They could see that love trumped everything. Sam and Aderyn’s kid would be the most spoiled, the most adored.

“Anyway, you’re going to be an auntie,” Sam continued. “Someday soon, I hope.”

Bex squealed, and their waitress hurried over with a frown creasing her face. “Is everything okay, folks?”

“Yeah,” Bex said, falling back into her chair with a smile. “Everything’s perfect.”

Things were good. They were so, so good. Maybe Gabe was onto something. Maybe beautiful things attracted more beautiful things. Love attracted more love.

Bex was glowing for the rest of the afternoon, her whole body just so alive. And yeah, she needed to brew up a winning sex toy and snag that prize money because there was going to be a very real baby who needed it, but when she texted Gabe before leaving the office, it was mostly because she wanted to see him again.

I was thinking I could use a little extra inspiration tonight, she wrote.

I’m the man for the job.

She grinned. Your place or mine?

Mine.

It would have made her feel empty, in the past, to be away from her sex toys. But with Gabe, she didn’t need them.

There had been all this wavering until she said yes and stopped letting herself be scared. Now she was going to go all in. She was going to have sex on a Monday night with the man she was falling for.

Her boyfriend. Was he her boyfriend? She’d have to ask when she saw him.

She didn’t get a chance, though, because the moment Bex stepped into his apartment, Gabe’s mouth was on hers, and she was lifted in his arms, carried into his bedroom.

His hands grabbed her ass, holding her up, and the two of them maybe, maybe bumped into the doorframe as they passed through. She didn’t mind the bump, though, or the doorframe at her back. She could use it as leverage. She tilted her hips against Gabe and smiled.

Be mine, he had asked. And she was trying.

All her blood ran hot, and her hips bowed toward his. “Careful or I’m going to think you’re only after me for my body,” she breathed as he collected her in his arms.

“Oh no, gorgeous. Your body’s just the bonus. I’m after your heart.”

“Again with the pretty words.” She couldn’t hide her smile. Didn’t want to.

“Again.”

Gabe dropped her onto his bed and helped her toward the pillows. Then he followed her and covered her body with his. He stroked his right hand across her stomach, skimming down her belly and not bothering to take off her underwear. He just shoved them aside and dipped a finger into her. The air hissed out between his teeth, and the muscle in his jaw worked as he swallowed hard.

Bex moaned and arched her back against Gabe’s touch, pushing her aching body against his fingers. She was trying to memorize the feeling of him, the exact angle that was making her squirm like this, moisture dripping from her, but it was impossible to think when he kept touching her like that, when everything was just this pulsing sensation, a damp heat.

“So wet for me, Bex.”

“Always,” she panted.

And then his mouth was on hers again, consuming her like he was so damn hungry. His tongue teased her, tasted her.

Bex ran her hands through Gabe’s hair and tugged, drawing a groan from him that shot straight through her body. She hadn’t felt this eager in years—so ready and willing.

That was the thing about pleasure, she was learning. It meant so much more when your heart wanted it, too.

And she wanted Gabe—to move with him, to feel him.

She pushed him back gently and wiggled her shirt over her head, so from the waist up she was only wearing her bra and her very best fuck-me look.

“God, you look gorgeous, Bex.”

She smiled, and Gabe rolled her so the two of them were propped on their elbows, facing each other. She reached for him, unzipping his pants and pushing them to his feet along with his underwear.

He was ready for her—strong and thick—and she circled her hand around him, stroking his hard cock. Gabe moaned and brushed his hands between her legs, pushing up her skirt and pushing her underwear aside. She hissed out a breath when he found her core.

“I think we’re going about this the wrong way,” Gabe said.

“What do you mean?” This all seemed very agreeable to her.

“We haven’t done a lot of brainstorming.” Ah. Now she understood. Gabe gave her a deeply satisfied smile and slid a second finger inside her.

“True,” she panted, arching her body against his hand.

It was hard to talk like this, with her breath flying out of her in ragged exhales. The whole world was right here in this room.

Gabe captured her eyes. “So what have you never tried before?”

“Sexually?”

“Yes, sexually. Tell me your fantasies, Bex.” His voice was low and serious, raspy with desire.

Could she tell him, though? He’d already seen parts of her she hadn’t given to other people, and maybe that was enough. But, no, this was what she wanted—to innovate and to push her boundaries. Gabe could take her there. She trusted him.

“Tell me what you want,” he commanded again.

She created sex toys for a living. Surely nothing was taboo.

Bex grabbed his hand and slid it over her bottom. “I’ve never had anal sex,” she whispered.

This was not beginner stuff and not the stuff of one-night stands. She’d never trusted anyone enough to keep her safe—never kept anyone around long enough to trust.

Gabe’s face lit up, and he pulled his hand out from her skirt. He crawled to his knees and shifted her body, so she lay facedown on the bed. Her skirt was already around her waist, and in her thong, she was almost naked to him.

Bex shivered, her body trembling in anticipation, waiting for his next touch. When it came—Gabe sliding his hand over her butt, his palm hot against her curves—she moaned into the sheets.

“No one else had been here?” Gabe’s voice was gruff with arousal.

“No,” she whispered. She couldn’t see him—couldn’t tell what he was doing—but the next minute he leaned forward to bite her ass cheek, the scrape of his teeth so surprising and sensual that she nearly came right there.

“Good. You’re all mine, Bex. I’m going to claim your ass.”

God, even hearing him say it out loud made another wave of moisture spill from her body. “Yes,” she breathed. “Yes to both.”

The weight of Gabe’s body suddenly shifted off the bed. Bex glanced over her shoulder to see him escape to the bathroom. He returned a moment later with a bottle of lube and a promising look.

She lifted an eyebrow at him and rose to her knees. “X Enterprises brand lube?”

He smiled, and his dimple flashed in that way that made her heart kick into overdrive. “I hear that’s the way to go. We’re big on brand loyalty around here.”

“Smart man.”

“Lie back down.”

Her eyes widened, and she complied. “You’re not going to fuck me with that huge cock tonight, are you?”

“No, Bex.” Gabe smiled. “You and I both know you need to start small.” He held up his pinky finger. “Just this, okay?”

Her throat went dry. “Okay.”

Gabe stalked across the room with a look that made her body tremble. He climbed back onto the bed and rained kisses down her spine. “Close your eyes,” he urged. “Relax.”

She heard the bottle cap open, and then Gabe’s hands were on her, warm and slick, massaging the knots in her shoulders.

Bex moaned. “Didn’t know I was going to get a back massage out of this.”

“A full-body massage, more like.”

She nodded, her chin against the bed. The sheets smelled like Gabe, like her, like their hot bodies. “I approve.”

“Good girl.” Gabe stroked his hands lower now, down the knobs of her spine until he reached her bottom. He continued the massage, kneading her ass cheeks before sliding one hand between her and the bed to stroke her clit.

“God, that feels good.” She brought her hips down to meet Gabe’s hand, and his skilled fingers worked her into a writhing, moaning mess. If he kept touching her like this, she was going to explode or dissolve or something. And she wanted to be here with him, to bring him to the pinnacle of pleasure, too. “Please, Gabe,” she said, but she wasn’t sure what she was asking.

Her panted request was met with a low chuckle. “Eager, aren’t you?” Maybe she was, but it wasn’t such a bad thing. Not when the result was this warm, sweeping sensation. The feeling that she was coming undone and being knit back together.

Gabe worked her clit with one hand while he used the other to part the seam of her bottom with his thumb, teasing the bundled nerves at her back entrance.

Oh.

Her heart slammed in her chest, and her breath came out so ragged, her body coated in a light sweat.

Gabe pushed a single, slick finger against her rosette. And then inside.

Bex gasped as he filled her, the sensation new and surprising. His touch felt so darkly sensual, so forbidden. But also so devastatingly good. “That feels incredible,” she whispered.

“That’s the point, honey.” He pushed further inside of her, slowly at first, timing his thrusts with the motion of the fingers on her clit. Her inner muscles clenched, her body rocking on its own now, racing toward its release.

“I’m not going to last long, Gabe.”

“On your knees, honey.”

While she levered herself up, he reached for a condom and rolled it onto his length. “You’re on the pill, right?”

Bex looked over her shoulder and nodded.

“And you’re only mine, right?”

Another nod.

“Say it.” He held her eyes, possessive and demanding.

“I’m only yours.”

“Then next time, I’m going to fuck you without this condom, and you’re going to feel how hot and hard I come for you.”

“Yes,” she moaned, licking her lips. She needed him now—to hold her, to fill her—and when he pressed himself against her sex, she rocked her hips back to meet him.

“Look how tight and hot you are for me.” Gabe slid his finger back inside her ass while his cock stroked against her from the inside. “This okay, gorgeous?”

“Yes,” she moaned, her body filled with him.

“Good girl.”

Gabe thrust into her, again and again, and she moved with him, so high and slick and wet for him. He picked up the pace, fucking her with his cock, his hands, and her clit throbbed and her muscles tightened, and before she could stop herself, she exploded.

“Ahh,” she cried, lost to him, her body so wracked with sensation that her heart was in her mouth and her hands fisted into the sheets. Gabe dug his hands into her hips, his fingers flexing against her, his rhythm erratic as he raced toward his orgasm.

“I’m going to come for you,” he growled, and when he climaxed, his release was so strong that it almost made her come once more.

“Oh god, Bex.” Gabe leaned forward, still hard inside her, and pressed a kiss against her spine. “You okay?”

She smiled against the bed even though he couldn’t see. “More than okay,” she breathed. “I think we should try that again.”