Somehow, in the course of the kissing, which turned into heavy petting, which soon had my cock hard and jerking, I ended up carrying her from the pool and into the house. “What’re you doing?” She was nibbling on my ear lobe and I had a horrible time trying to concentrate. Shit, I had a horrible time walking. I wanted to hold her against a wall and take her fast and hard, but Kate deserved better than that. I knew instinctively, it had been awhile. I merely suspected the last lay was disappointing at best.

“I’m touring the rest of the house,” I teased. “I thought we might start with the master bedroom. I’ve heard nice things about the bathroom.”

In response, she nipped harder and I practically ran down the hall and stopped in front of the first door I found. Okay, I thought it was the bedroom. Turns out, when I opened the door, it was the media room. “Bedroom,” I panted. Hell, I would’ve taken her in one of those leather recliners. I’d christen every room in the house if she’d let me.

“Down the hall. All the way to the end. Double doors.” Her voice sounded strained and I knew she was struggling too.

With her directions, I found the room faster than I would’ve otherwise. I raced to the bed where I laid her down in the center of the mattress with such tenderness, you’d have thought she was a newborn. I felt silly, but I wanted this to be special.

“Lights,” she murmured.

I reached for the lamp on the nightstand, ready to turn it on, but she gasped in horror. “Oh, you want the lights off?”

Her head bobbed and she smiled shyly in response. “Yes, please.”

I bit my lower lip. “Sorry. This won’t work for me.” Fear darkened her face. I glanced about and rushed into her huge walk in closet while she propped herself up by her elbows and looked incredibly uncomfortable. Once inside, I began opening her drawers. I knew what I was looking for, but I wasn’t sure she’d have it. Then I found it…the perfect accessory for our night.

“What’s that?” She pointed to the red scarf in my hand.

“This is yours, right? I thought you’d know what it is,” I teased.

“But what are you going to do with it?” Kate began to tremble and I wasn’t sure if it was from the air conditioning hitting her wet skin or the fear of what was to come. Either way, I wasn’t going to let her suffer.

“You may not want to see, but I need to. We need to do this right. I want there to be no secrets between us. I’m going to explore and worship every inch of you, Kate, the way you’re supposed to be treated.” Then I took the scarf and used it to create a blindfold, carefully knotting it at the back of her head. “Too tight?”

She shook her head, but her lower lip trembled. I ran my hands over her body and saw goose bumps. Convinced she needed my body heat, I laid on top of her and worked my way down. I planted a kiss against her temple, one in the center of her forehead, then the tip of her nose. I kissed each cheek before finally pressing my lips to hers again.

“You need to believe you’re an incredible woman. Tonight, I’m going to show you.” My words weren’t drunk talk. In the short time we’d spent together, she’d impressed me with her knowledge, her skills, her hidden talents. I’d never known any woman like her. My mother was a woman of leisure, other than her ladies’ luncheons and pet charity projects. Paisley had been groomed for the same kind of life. I suppose this was why I bored of her so quickly, possibly why I couldn’t commit to forever, why she was only good enough for now. Kate was nothing like either of them. She was different and better in every way that mattered.

When I pressed my body against hers, she gasped. In fact, she had a similar reaction as I dragged my hand down her sides, when I licked my way down her neck and to her nipples, and finally when I sucked in the hard nubbin at the center of her areola. This business of giving her pleasure excited me as well. My hands roamed over her body, but I soon discovered she hated when I touched her stomach.

“There’s no need to be self-conscious with me, Kate. Every bit of you is real, natural, and beautiful. Let me show you.” Then I kissed over her belly, until I reached the juncture of her thighs. Once there, I carefully spread her legs and licked my way up her slit. Her hips writhed in response and I understood because my cock was hot and ready to please her. I prepared her with first one finger, then two. When she was wet and clearly willing, I moved up her body until I reached her mouth. I couldn’t help myself. I had to kiss her as I slid inside her. Immediately, her arms wrapped around me, one at the neck, the other around my waist. I did the same, holding her close as I drove deeper inside her.

Emotions were welling up inside me, thoughts I never knew I had. For once, I had no edit button. This time, I wasn’t worried about the pitch or making a sale. It was a case of word vomit everywhere. “You’re the kind of woman I could fall in love with,” I murmured into her ear as her hips rose to meet mine. “You’re the kind of woman I could spend the rest of my life with.” I slammed into her, the pressure building inside me. It had to be more than alcohol talking because as I spoke, the words were true. They would still hold in the light of day.

Suddenly Kate reached up and yanked the blindfold off. “I need to see you,” she whispered. “I need to see your face and look into your eyes. I need to feel this connection between us in every single way.” Her face changed. I could feel it, the way her body reacted to mine. She spread her legs impossibly wide and wrapped her ankles around my waist. Her ass rose off the bed and I swear there were tears in her eyes.

“Am I hurting you?” I stopped thrusting with such intensity in case I was causing her pain.

Kate vehemently shook her head. “Never.” She bit her lip to keep from crying out. Then finally she spoke once more. “You’re helping me.” She closed her eyes and I could feel her tighten around me. Her body contracted around mine in waves, the way nature intended. My body responded in kind. I wanted this to go on for so much longer, but it had been too long since I’d been this passionate, this free. Finally, I erupted inside her while she watched my face for the tells.

“Your breathing and pace changes when you come,” she noted quietly.

I lowered my body onto hers and kissed her one more time before pulling out. “You don’t miss a thing, do you, Kate?” I wrapped my arms around her and drew her close before hopping out of bed.

“Hey, where are you going?” She called out after me.

I leaned out of the bathroom door. “Just checking out the bathroom.” I winked. “And getting you a towel.”

She flopped back onto the pillows, her face a combination of sheer joy and pure shock. A few seconds later, I returned with a hand towel. “The bathroom is incredible,” I announced. “Totally lives up to the hype.” I grinned, then I nudged her legs open.

“I can do it.” Her cheeks colored three shades of pink.

“I never said you couldn’t, gorgeous. I just want to do this for you. Please let me.” Then I stood there and waited, hand poised, ready to serve her.

Her lids lowered and she took a deep breath. “Okay.” Kate shrugged slightly.

When I was satisfied she was clean and dry, I climbed into bed beside her and hauled her into my arms. “So, Kate?”

“Yes, Ty?” The words were very nearly absorbed by my chest.

“I like the way you say my name.” I smiled.

“Is that what you wanted? For me to say your name?” She snickered.

“No. I actually wanted to see if you’d let me stay tonight.” I buried my face in her hair so she wouldn’t see how much it meant to me.

Her head tilted slightly. “Right. You had a lot to drink.” She giggled. “We had a lot to drink.” Then she shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

In my mind, I could think of a million reasons. She might be a rebound. We were probably moving too fast. I didn’t want to get too attached too soon. Fuck…rebound. Still, there was one loud reason, the loudest reason of all to stay. “Honestly,” I admitted, “I just really want to.”

I heard something then. And it felt like her whole body exhaled, like she’d been holding her breath and didn’t even know it. I wrapped my body around hers so we were tangled together in all the best ways. Then I closed my eyes and welcomed sleep.