Bianca woke up when a noise startled her. She was alone in the bed and she bolted to sitting in the dark. At some point Grayson had left her for long enough to turn off the lights and pull the covers over them.

She was still dressed in her bra and jeans, but she’d slept hard in that uncomfortable attire with Grayson at her back the entire time.

“Gray?” she called out softly, wondering what had awoken her.

He stepped out of the bathroom. “Sorry, honey. I dropped something. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He kept coming until he sat on the edge of the bed and reached for her.

“What time is it?”

“Six in the morning. I think we should get back on the road.”

She nodded, trying to get her mind to wake up fully.

“I’ve already gathered our stuff. You want to take a quick shower?”

She nodded again, sliding toward the edge of the bed next to him. She was fully aware she was wearing nothing but a bra, but somehow it didn’t cause her to panic. And she was exposed to him on two different levels. Not only had he never seen her back before last night, but he also hadn’t seen her in so little clothing.

She lifted her gaze to his. The exhaustion of everything she’d told him still lingered. “Why did I stay in that house? Why didn’t I run away? I should have run. I was weak and stupid and dumb. No one loved me. My own mother couldn’t protect me. Why didn’t I run?”

Grayson swallowed. “You were a child, honey. You did what you needed to survive. You endured his wrath while you prepared for your future. I’ve never met anyone as strong as you.”

She tried to concentrate on Grayson’s words, forcing them to make sense. Was she as strong as he liked to think? She glanced down at her hands where she wrung them in her lap. “Am I, though?”

He leaned closer, cupped her face again, and tipped her head back to meet his gaze. “You are. You became an amazing scientist. The government hired you to work on a secret project because of your strength. You persevered.”

She nodded slowly, letting his words sink in. Why did he have to be so reasonable? “I’m not cured by any stretch of the imagination. There’s no guarantee just because I let you see my back, I can turn that into a healthy level of intimacy with you or any man.”

“Well, you’re half right about that.” His tone was joking.

She tipped her head to one side, questioning him.

He smiled. “You’ll never have a healthy level of intimacy with another man. Not if I have a say in it. Just the one. Me.” He sat up straighter and grinned. “End of the line. Just think, you’ll never have to go through sharing all this information with someone else.”

She groaned as she tipped her head back and looked at the ceiling. “Could you be any cockier?”

“Probably. Every time I gain another piece of you, I silently fist pump.”

“Often not so silently, Gray,” she added as she tipped her head forward.

He chuckled. “True. I’ll give you that. But only because you’re into me.” Another grin. “And it makes my heart swell to think I’m so lucky as to have gained your attention.”

She inhaled slowly. “Okay. Where are we going?” She glanced at the room’s only window.

“I lined up a safe house while you were sleeping. It will take us most of the day to get there—about ten hours—but no one will find us.”

She tried to relax. Another safe house. Another group of strangers taking them in. Another week of being polite to people she didn’t know, when all she wanted to do was hide in a corner and stop socializing. “It’s gonna take a lot longer than ten hours if we continue to sit on this bed.”

He leaned in, cupped her face, and kissed her sweetly on the lips. “Jump in the shower, then.”

Grayson wasn’t wrong about the ten hours. He nailed the distance perfectly. They only stopped at gas stations and rest areas. Jane had packed them enough food before they left Nebraska to last for two days. Sausage biscuits for breakfast and sandwiches and chips and apples for lunch. They had a cooler with sodas and water.

When Grayson finally pulled off the highway, she knew they were getting close, and she braced herself for the upcoming pleasantries. She was tired and antsy and didn’t feel social. But she wasn’t the sort of person to be rude to the people who were assigned to help them at this next stop.

Grayson took several turns, winding through the mountains while Bianca watched the amazing views from the window. It was afternoon. The sun was high, and the sky was gorgeous.

After a while, he turned onto a gravel road and took it for another half a mile before turning onto a driveway that led far enough off the road that she couldn’t see the house yet. When it finally came into view, she gasped. The quaint cabin took her breath away. It was small, and there were no other cars parked out front.

Grayson turned off the engine and circled the car while she still stared at the log structure complete with a front porch and a chimney. No one would be needing a chimney in the summer heat, but she imagined it would be cozy in the winter.

Grayson was grinning oddly when he opened her car door. “You just gonna sit there?”

She jerked her gaze to his. “Who lives here? It’s kinda small for harboring people.”

“No one lives here. Just us.” He lifted his brows. “It’s a rental property. And the best part is that the cleaning service was here earlier today. I’ve been assured they left the place immaculate and stocked it with food.”

She stared at the front of the cabin. “Alone?” she murmured.

“Yesss…” he replied slowly. “Is that a problem?”

“It’s just so…small, and isolated.” She couldn’t think exactly how else to respond.

Bianca climbed out of the car and shook her legs. On the one hand, she was extremely relieved she didn’t have to face new strangers and make nice. On the other hand, until last night she’d never been so totally alone with Grayson. Was she ready for this? “When did you have time to make this arrangement and gather so much information?”

“In the night. While you slept.” He tugged on her hand, but instead of heading toward the front of the cabin, he pulled her into his embrace and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s off the beaten path. No one knows we’re here. We’ll be safe.”

She wondered which one of them he was trying to convince every time he assured her they would be “safe.”

“I’ll grab our stuff. You check the place out. Key’s under the mat.”

It took a whopping five minutes to move their things inside and look around. The cabin was as cozy on the inside as it was on the outside. One room. Quaint. Two windows on the front and two on the back. It was filled with trinkets the owners must have collected over the years. They were placed on every surface. End tables. Bookshelves. Counters.

There was a dark brown loveseat and an armchair facing the fireplace. To the left in the corner was the kitchenette. To the right in the other corner was a queen-sized bed and a dresser.

Very small. The perfect place for a honeymoon if the couple wanted isolation and togetherness.

As soon as Bianca stepped through the door that led to the back deck, she sucked in a breath and understood the main appeal. They were on the side of a mountain, and the view was spectacular.

Grayson stepped up behind her and set his hands on both sides of her body against the railing of the deck. “Wow.”

“Yeah,” she breathed. “Can we stay forever?”

He chuckled. “About two minutes ago, you were hesitant to stay at all. I wasn’t sure you were going to get out of the car.”

“That was before I found out the view would be so amazing,” she hedged. She didn’t really want to admit her hesitation about being alone with him. She wasn’t scared of him. Though perhaps she should be. She was simply nervous about where they stood with each other now and what might happen next.

He slid his arms closer and then wrapped them around her body. His lips lowered to her ear, making her shiver. “You don’t need to be nervous about being alone with me. Nothing’s changed between us.”

She smiled. It was crazy, but she wasn’t consumed with the nervousness of being touched she would have expected. He made her comfortable. He made her feel safe. He made her forget.

His phone rang, and he released her to pull it from his jeans pocket. “Hello?”

“Did you guys make it okay?” Dade’s voice came through the speaker.

“We did.”

“Good. I don’t have a lot of funds to be tracking every threat we get warned about, but I did have a man put a tracker on Jorge Gonzales’s car. I’m glad you two left today because he’s on his way to your parents’ house now.”

Bianca nearly jumped out of her skin. She rubbed her arms with both hands, shuddering as though it were cold outside instead of the hottest part of summer. “Already?”

“Yes. I wouldn’t have passed on the warning if I hadn’t thought it was a serious threat. If only we knew who the puppet master was. Local law enforcement has been advised of the possible threat. Apparently, they know your family well. They’ve added extra men to drive by your parents’ place often.”

“Yes. I have a few high school friends on the police force there. They know my parents,” Grayson responded.

“Does Jorge have a record of any sort?” Bianca asked.

“No. Nothing on him at all. Squeaky clean. Not even a complaint. Which tells me he isn’t likely to accost your family, Grayson. He’ll probably survey the area and leave when he feels confident you two aren’t there.”

Grayson met Bianca’s gaze as he responded. “I guess that depends on how much Blue Cell is paying him to do the job. Maybe he didn’t care about Bianca at all before yesterday. He’s never once tried to contact her. She thinks he might have been relieved when she finally left home what would be nineteen years ago by his calendar. So, it’s poignant that he would jump so fast to hunt down a niece he hasn’t seen in two decades simply because someone told him where she was. He could have dug around any number of times over the years. This smells of big money.”

“Maybe, or maybe he’s been looking for her all along. It’s hard to know for sure. There has been no evidence in his record of violent tendencies.”

Grayson groaned, making Bianca flinch. “Oh, trust me, the man has violent tendencies you can’t even imagine. And I wouldn’t believe for a moment he doesn’t exercise those desires with great frequency. He’s undoubtedly still using her mom as a punching bag.”

Bianca could hear Dade’s breath hitch. “You’re right. Sorry. That didn’t come out right.”

“Yeah, sorry. Didn’t mean to snap. I’m kind of livid when it comes to Jorge Gonzales right now.” Grayson wasn’t hiding it either. His hand was fisted at his side, his expression was furious, and his teeth were gritted between words.

Bianca reached out to set her hand on his elbow. “Gray…”

He lifted his gaze, met hers, closed his eyes, and sighed. “Sorry,” he mouthed. Toward the phone he continued, “If you have local law enforcement involved, then my parents are safe. My friends on the force won’t let anything happen. Plus, my parents are armed, and they know how to handle weapons.”

“Good. I’ll let you know when Gonzales shows up in the area.”

“Thank you. In the meantime, have Ryan contact me. I’ve been working peripherally on a disease for him, but I’m going to have some free time here and would like to be more involved.”

“I’ll have him call you and check in. Other than Ryan and myself, don’t make outgoing calls.”

“Understood.” Grayson ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket.

Bianca was just as angry as the vibe she felt coming from him, but she was also worried about his family. “You shouldn’t have come with me.”

He cocked his head to one side and glared at her. “Stop it. I don’t want to hear that again. We’ve hashed and rehashed this over and over. If you’d rather be on your own because you don’t want to be with me, then just say so. But if you seriously think I would send you off on your own because I was worried about a threat to someone else, then you need to listen to me once and for all.”

He was dead serious, and his hands went to his hips as he continued, leaning closer to her but not touching her. “I’ve never been so interested in a woman in my life. I’ve never felt this level of intensity. I’ve never sat up at night worrying about another person’s welfare because that’s how much I cared about them.

“My heart races every time I’m near you, and when I’m not near you, I want to be. You’re completely under my skin. I want everything from you. And I want to give you everything. That’s how much I care about you. So, you’re either on board with that or you’re not.

“If you’re not into me like that, tell me and I’ll back off. If you are, stop asking me to walk away from you because it’s never fucking going to happen.” With those last words, he spun around, headed back into the cabin, and shut the door.

She stared after him, shocked by his speech. Not so much by the content because if she was honest with herself, she’d known he cared about her that much. But she was surprised by his outburst and the fact that he’d lost his temper and then walked away. He didn’t hit her or scream at her. He simply got upset and removed himself from the situation. She’d never known a man to do that.

Today was a new day. She needed a new plan. A new outlook.

She needed to get laid.

But first, she needed to apologize.

For a moment, she stared at the view, absorbing the majestic mountains, the evergreens, the hills and valleys. And then she took a deep breath and headed back inside.

Grayson was stuffing his empty bag under the bed. She presumed he had dumped its meager contents into the drawers. Her bag was sitting on the bed, mocking her idiocy.

She leaned her back against the door as she shut it, trying to find the words.

Grayson sat on the edge of the bed, facing the wall, not speaking.

Yeah, totally her move. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”

He sighed but didn’t turn around. “I don’t want to be right. I want you to admit you care about me too and recognize that someone in this world is capable of loving you. I’m capable of loving you.” He twisted his body to face her finally.

She nodded. “It’s hard for me to absorb that. I’m working on it. Please give me time.”

His shoulders dropped as he stood. “Honey, I’ve told you dozens of times you can have all the time in the world. And I mean that. I’m not going anywhere, and I won’t rush you. But stop asking me to leave. It’s like stabbing me with a knife and twisting the blade.”

Sweat broke out on her forehead. She hadn’t realized she made him feel that way. A tear escaped to run down her face. Damn tears. She swiped at it. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not going to leave you just because some asshole is hunting you down. I’m going to hide you and keep you safe. I’m going to move heaven and earth to make sure he doesn’t find you.

“I know I said I would leave if you told me you don’t care about me, but I lied. I’m not leaving you. Not even if you don’t feel the same thing for me. There isn’t a connection between your safety and my ego. No matter what, you’re important to me, and I wouldn’t want to see anything happen to you. Not even if you don’t return the sentiment. It’s not a deal breaker.

“It was a stupid thing to say. I’m sorry I lost my temper. If you want me to back off and stop pursuing you, I can do that. But I’m not going to drive away and leave you unprotected just because you don’t feel the same level of attraction I feel.”

She wiped her eyes again and licked her lips. “I’m confident I don’t feel the same way about you as you do me.”

He flinched, as she’d known he would, but she continued quickly. “Because if you were half as attracted to me as I am you, you wouldn’t be standing on the other side of the room. Instead, you’d be flattening me against the door, consuming me with those mind-blowing kisses that take my breath away and keep me from thinking about anything other than what it might be like to be naked in your arms and have you slide inside me.”

Her legs were weak, and she thought she might literally collapse if he stood there much longer.

Another heartbeat passed, and then Grayson darted. He didn’t walk around the bed to get to her; he planted a knee on the bed and leaped over it to get to her faster.

Her breath caught as he reached her, planted his hands flat on the door beside her head, and claimed her lips.

Her arousal had been on the surface for weeks. It had skyrocketed the last time he consumed her like this. Now, it was incalculable. She tipped her head to one side as he parted his lips and dipped his tongue into her mouth.

She’d been wrong about her legs giving out on her before. They were truly not doing their job to keep her upright now at all. She grabbed his waist to steady her shaking body.

He must have clued in to her plight because his hands came down to her waist, and he situated a knee between her thighs.

Holy shit. The pressure against her sex made her dizzy. She couldn’t think. Her mind wasn’t firing properly. Every ounce of her attention was focused on the way her nipples stiffened against his chest and the throbbing between her legs.

She broke the kiss, gasping for air.

“Bianca?”

When she met his gaze, she found concern. “Bed.” It was all she could manage.

He smiled, bent, and lifted her in his arms. And then he took two strides to reach the mattress where he deposited her in the middle and climbed up beside her. His lips were back on hers in two seconds, his hand at her waist, his knee once again between her legs.

She tried to concentrate on his lips and how damn good he was with them, but her breasts were swollen, and she silently pleaded with him to cup one. She moaned around the frustration she felt when he didn’t take things any further.

Finally, she opened her fist where she’d been subconsciously gripping the comforter and grabbed his hand at her waist. She dragged it up toward her breast.

Grayson broke the kiss to stare down at her as his fingers molded to her swollen flesh. He was fighting a grin. “In a hurry?”

“Yes.”

He watched her face as he flicked his thumb over her nipple. Ordinarily this wouldn’t have had nearly the effect it did today. But today she was wearing a thin lacy bra that provided no padding and protection against his actions.

Blessed angels. She owed Cindy for helping her select lingerie.

Still toying with her nipple, Grayson slowly lowered his lips to hers once again. He kissed her gently with no pressure, no insistence, his gaze locked on hers.

When he pinched her nipple slightly, she arched into him, gasping, her hand grabbing his wrist. He was smiling. She was panting. “Gray…”

He kissed her again as his hand slid down to cup her breast once more. “I love it when you call me that.”

A shiver raced through her body.

Grayson raised up on his knees and tugged her shirt over her head. Before she grasped his next intention, he hovered over her on his hands and knees, kissing a path between her breasts along the lace edge of her bra. “The white is so sexy against your darker skin,” he whispered, his breath doing wicked things to her.

She glanced down at her chest. She had very small boobs, which wasn’t shocking considering how small she was in general, but he didn’t seem to care. In fact, he hadn’t taken his gaze off her breasts. Finally, he rose up onto his knees and used both hands to pop the front clasp of her bra.

She shuddered as it fell open, exposing her to him for the first time.

He kept his gaze on her, reverently stroking the globes with his fingertips, so gently that goose bumps rose and her nipples stiffened further. “So sexy…”

She lifted her hands to his waist and then slid them under his T-shirt. She’d seen his chest many times. She wanted to feel him against her, though, press her breasts into his warm chest.

He reached over his head with one hand and tugged his shirt off, tossing it aside, but he immediately continued to dance his fingers over her skin. Everywhere. Her neck, her shoulders, her breasts, the dip of her stomach. Every time he flicked her nipples, she arched.

His gaze eventually darted to meet hers, his eyes dark with lust as he bent to kiss her lips again. Just a peck because next he lowered his face to suckle a nipple.

When his tongue reached out to flick over the turgid tip, she moaned. Nothing had ever felt this good. Granted, she had no basis to compare anything to, but she knew this was special. “Gray…” She threaded her fingers in his hair.

With every passing moment as he switched his attention from one breast to the other, her arousal rose. She needed contact with her sex. His knee was between her legs, and she wiggled to rub against his thigh.

Grayson took his time before nibbling a path down the hollowed dip in her belly and then his fingers deftly undid the button and lowered the zipper on her jeans. She lifted her hips for him when he tugged on the denim, desperate to get out of the jeans.

When he slid off the side of the bed to remove her shoes and pull the jeans from her legs, she watched him. Every movement was precise. Calculated. Slow. Maddening.

Naked except for the white lacy panties that had matched the bra, she felt a moment of self-consciousness. There was no doubt he liked what he was looking at. His intense gaze was sweltering.

As long as he didn’t flip her over… She shook the thought from her mind and told herself it didn’t matter, but she also gripped the bedding at her sides, hoping he wouldn’t go there.

Grayson was still standing as his gaze roamed up her body until it locked on hers. He shrugged out of the rest of his clothes with the same grace and ease as he’d removed hers. As if moving in slow motion.

She swallowed as she glanced down to take in his erection. Thick and long and stiff. It bobbed in front of him for a moment, and then he pressed it against the mattress as his hands smoothed up her legs.

She gasped when he gave a little tug, dragging her closer to the side of the bed. His hands were huge against her thighs, and he eased them apart, his gaze dipping toward her sex.

Bianca shivered at his scrutiny, feeling more exposed than she’d ever felt. And she still had the white, lacey panties on, slight protection against his gaze.

Pressing her thighs obscenely wider, he lowered his face toward her leg and then kissed the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. He nibbled a path toward her sex and then switched legs.

Her thighs were shaking from a combination of desire and nerves. Wetness pooled between her legs. She knew the silky barrier was soaked. Should that embarrass her?

Finally, his mouth landed on her mound, covering her wet panties. She nearly flew off the bed at the contact, even indirect. Grayson sucked her sex gently through the silk and then released it and dragged his tongue along the edges.

She couldn’t breathe. Her vision swam as she dug her heels into the mattress without managing to gain purchase. She had no leverage with him holding her thighs so wide.

When he lifted his head, she was gasping for air, but he didn’t give her any reprieve. Instead, he grabbed her panties at her waist, pressed her knees together, and hauled them down her legs.

Her brain was still registering this new development as he once again positioned himself at her sex, legs wide, cool air hitting her wetness.

He was staring at her. It was too intense. She needed him to climb up her body and enter her. Her face flushed from embarrassment. She squirmed to get out of his line of sight. “Gray… Stop…”

He lifted his gaze. “Stop?” His eyes were wide. “You want me to stop?”

She licked her lips. “Staring. Stop staring. It’s weird.”

He smiled. “You’re a beautiful woman, Bianca. It’s not weird. It’s natural. I want to memorize every inch of you.”

“Well, pick some other inches,” she said, wiggling to get out of his clutches.

Ignoring her, he dropped his nose to her sex and nuzzled her while his tongue thrust inside.

Holy shit. OhmyGodohmyGodohmyGod.

Withdrawing his tongue, he flattened it and dragged it across her sex until the tip of it landed on the sensitive nub at the apex. Instead of climbing up her body finally, he circled her clit with his tongue and then rapidly flicked it over the bundle of nerves.

Bianca lost all muscle control, her body sinking into the mattress as she tried to draw in breath. Seconds later, he sucked her clit into his mouth, continuing to torture it with his expert tongue.

There were no words or even thoughts to describe how aroused she was. She never could have imagined it would be like this. She’d pictured her first time being something uncomfortable with a bit of pain and very little satisfaction.

This… This was none of those things. This was pure bliss, and he hadn’t even gotten to the good part yet.

She wasn’t completely unaware of the possibilities packed into that tiny little nub above her sex. She’d touched herself before. She’d even brought herself to orgasm. But Grayson was obliterating every experience she’d had with her fingers in seconds.

As he continued to suckle her clit, seemingly multitasking so that he maintained both pressure and suction and movement at the same time, Bianca’s desire rose even more. Then he thrust a finger into her channel.

That was it. The moment he penetrated her, she came. Not the usual gentle pulse of satisfaction but a powerful tsunami of sensation that encompassed her entire body with convulsions.

As her frame continued to shake in the aftermath of the orgasm, he kept thrusting that finger in and out of her so that the waves of pleasure never ended. Instead of coming down from the high and becoming a noodle that melted into the mattress, her arousal never fizzled out. It rose again, dragging her back to the precipice.

“Gray,” she called out.

“Mmm,” he murmured as he lifted his face. He wiped her moisture from his lips with the back of one hand, the other still thrusting into her. “Single sexiest moment I’ve ever experienced.”

She flushed deeper as the reality of what he’d just done to her sank in. “I kind of expected you to participate,” she whispered, her voice sounding like it belonged to someone else.

He chuckled, his finger twisting around to do wicked things to her channel. “I believe I’m definitely participating.”

She moaned as she reached down with one hand to grab his wrist. “I can’t think when you do that.”

“That’s the idea.” He grinned as he climbed up her body, but he didn’t remove his finger. Instead, he eased to one side of her and propped his head in his hand near her face. He leaned close and kissed her shoulder and then her neck.

“How about you replace that finger with something else?” she whispered, fighting to make sense.

“Mmm. I will. In a minute. You’re so tight, honey. Let me work you open wider first. I don’t want to hurt you.”

She closed her eyes, mortified that she found it so embarrassing to discuss her channel so bluntly. “Couldn’t we just maybe do it and get it over with?”

He shook his head, a slight grin forming when she looked at him again. “As long as I’m alive, we’re never going to ‘get it over with.’ I don’t operate that way, and I would never treat you with such disrespect, nor would I take advantage of you like that.” He slid a second finger in with the first, still holding her gaze.

Her mouth fell open as he scissored those fingers, stretching her. It was tight. He wasn’t wrong about that. But it felt so good. The pressure. Every stroke. So very good.

She was still gripping his wrist, but now she was applying pressure instead of trying to get him to stop.

He leaned forward again and sucked a nipple between his lips. So much sensation bombarded her at once. When his finger hit an elusive spot inside her, she whimpered. “Gray…”

In seconds, he was between her legs. He removed his fingers, planted his hand at her side, and lined himself up with her entrance. With his free hand, he stroked her forehead. “Bianca, look at me.” His words were tight. Forced.

She blinked at him, trying to focus when all she could think about was the emptiness that consumed her from the loss of his fingers filling her. “Please…”

He lowered his lips to hers and claimed another fierce kiss at the same time he thrust into her.

She cried out against his mouth, shocked at the sudden pain. For a long moment, she held her breath while her body fought to accommodate his girth.

Grayson kept his lips against hers, but he’d paused from kissing her. He was seated deep, and she irrationally craved more. More contact. More friction. More of anything.

“Do it again,” she pleaded.

He moaned as he pulled out and then thrust back in even deeper.

She tipped her head back as if the air above her head might contain more oxygen.

Grayson took the opportunity to set his lips in the crook of her neck. Somehow his hands found hers, and he threaded their fingers together and pressed hers against the mattress near her ears.

She shuddered at the intensity of this encounter as his lips kissed their way to her ear and whispered, “You’re so damn sexy.”

She shivered again. Best moment of her life, and he wasn’t even done.

He set up a slow pace. In and out. Grinding deep. Sliding almost out. Repeating. He lifted his face from her neck and held her gaze while he made love to her. So sweet that tears came to her eyes. He didn’t comment, but he kissed both eyelids and then continued to watch her.

She held his gaze, somehow finding a way to absorb the friction while maintaining contact with his eyes. So expressive. He really cared about her. It was all over his face. He really didn’t care about some dumb scars. He truly liked her for what was in her mind. And…he wasn’t going to hurt her.

Overwhelmed with emotions, she crept closer and closer to that peak again, her body threatening to tumble over with every thrust. “Come again for me, baby. I want to watch you come apart beneath me this time.”

She bit her lip. His voice was lower than usual. Gravelly. Sexy. Hot. It pushed her over the edge even without the words. On the next thrust, she cried out, and then as the pulsing waves consumed her, she moaned around how amazing it felt.

Grayson kept moving, but his teeth were gritted as she came down from heaven. A moment later, his eyes slid shut and he groaned. He was buried deep, and she swore she could feel every pulse of his come as he filled her.

Breathing heavily, he lowered his face to the bed next to her, releasing her fingers to cup her cheek with one hand and her shoulder with the other.

She smoothed her palms around to his back and held him tight. So happy. Floating. Sated. Smiling.

Suddenly, the bliss was interrupted when Grayson jerked his face up and looked down at her. “Shit.”

“What?” Her heart beat faster, if that were possible.

“Condom. Forgot to use a condom.” He slapped his forehead. “Bought them. Carried them around for weeks. Didn’t take them out of the package.”

She blew out a breath. “Okay. Calm down. My fault too. Didn’t think about it for a single second.”

“Jesus, I’m so sorry. How could I be so careless?” He groaned.

“You weren’t alone.” She continued to run her hands up and down his back. “It’s done. Let’s not freak out prematurely. I haven’t even had a period yet. I don’t think my body is fully jump-started.” She shrugged, remembering another important detail. “Oh, besides, I’ve never had regular periods, even before I was preserved. Very infrequent. Super unlikely I even ovulate like normal women.”

He nodded, frowning. And then he took a deep breath. “Right. Okay. Well, whatever happens, we’ll deal with it.” He eased out of her and lowered himself to her side, holding her close as she winced inside at the slight sting on his withdrawal. The last of her virginity.

She was so happy that she didn’t let their little slip-up ruin the moment. Instead, she turned toward him and kissed his lips. “Thank you. I had no idea. I’ve seriously been missing out.”

He smiled. “Any time.” His hand found her breast, and he gently thrummed her nipple.

She was so tired. It was still afternoon. They should make dinner, but she didn’t care. She needed sleep. Instinctively, she knew it would be the best sleep of her life. Relaxed. Comfortable. Loved.

In moments she succumbed.