Seth shifted and suddenly his lips were on hers, kissing and licking at her. “Tell me this is okay,” he said. His lips moved toward her ear and then down her neck. “Tell me you want this as much as I do.”

Maya’s head dropped back at the sensation. The movement pushed her chest more firmly against his and a low groan echoed from Seth’s mouth between kisses. As his mouth continued to lick and suck at her neck, Maya let her hands explore. They traced along his abs and then moved to the hard planes of his chest. The muscles bunched and rippled beneath her touch. He stood back, looking at her, waiting. “I want this. Seth, I want to feel you. Show me how good it could be.”

Seth’s head dropped back, another groan escaping. His hand cupped her cheek and his lips met hers, harder this time. Maya’s hands moved to his shoulders, brushing across them as Seth deepened the kiss. His tongue licked her lips before delving into her mouth, tangling with hers as his hands gripped her head, keeping her in place. His mouth moved with hers and everything—the fire, the suspicions—faded away. A warmth sparked deep within her, and grew as his lips continued to move against hers. Finally, he pulled away, resting his forehead against hers and breathing deeply. The idea that what they were doing affected him as much as it did her caused the spark in her core to ignite into a flame.

Seth’s hands copied her earlier movements, sliding over her chest and just skimming the edge of her breast. A shiver went through her and he pulled her closer, his hand coming to rest on the small of her back. Maya’s hand moved to the back of his head and this time she took control, taking his lips and thrusting her tongue inside, tasting him. God, she could live on this. He tasted sharp, crisp from the remnants of the wine, and oh so masculine.

His hand was on the move again, caressing her hip before moving along the curve of her ass, resting lightly there. Their lips met again and he squeezed. Maya jumped and pulled away. Seth’s grin lit up his entire face.

“Hey!” she said, smacking him against the chest.

Seth chuckled. “Oh, Baby, I’m just getting started.” Maya moved her hands from his shoulders and slid them down to the waistline of his jeans, slipping them in to touch his bare skin. The cocky grin slid from Seth’s face, replaced with a smolder in his eyes that ratcheted up the burn inside her again. His skin was hot and firm against her palm, and Maya wanted to feel more of it. She pushed upward, bunching his T-shirt up. Seth removed his hands from her body for only as long as it took to grab the shirt at the neck and pull it over his head. He threw it in the general direction of the living room, his eyes never leaving hers. There was that grin again. “Like what you see?”

Oh, God, did she ever. She’d tell him, as soon as she could speak again. She’d known he was strong, muscular even. He had to be, and she’d felt it through his shirt when they’d been close. But this? Seth without a shirt on took her breath away. Her gaze traveled over him. His bicep flexed as it reached around her back, his pecs two slabs of strong muscle, leading down to the ridges and bumps of his abs. She bit her lip as she caught sight of the trail of hair. Starting at his abs, it moved down, past the ridges beside his hips—the mere sight of which had the ability to make her pant—and disappeared into the top of the jeans. Her eyes dropped lower and the heat inside her pushed its way to the surface at the sight of the well-defined bulge. Fuck, the man was huge, even still tucked up into his pants. Her cheeks—no, her entire face—burned and she forced her eyes upward, taking in his other arm. Her eyes widened. Why hadn’t she noticed that before? Starting at the junction of his shoulder and trailing down nearly to his elbow was an exquisite tattoo. Flowers—no, roses—beautifully detailed, surrounded a bird, flying free along his bicep. Far from reducing his manliness, the clear, crisp lines of the beautiful artwork instead enhanced the dips and curves of his body, highlighting the firmness of his arm and shoulder muscles.

Seth reached up, flexing that glorious arm again as he tipped a finger under her chin, bringing her gaze up to meet his. “You’re going to give me a complex with all the staring.”

Maya smiled. “Like that would ever happen. You know what you look like.”

He smiled, pulling her back against his bare chest. The skin bared at the neckline of her shirt pressed against his and Maya swore she could hear a sizzle. Seth chuckled, brushing his lips over her hair. “Spend some time at the firehouse and you’ll learn that nothing is sacred. But I’m not going to complain about attention from a beautiful woman.”

A warmth went through her, and this time it had nothing to do with arousal. Even as they talked, his hands moved over her body, touching, caressing little spots that had never had so much attention. Maya had had boyfriends before, both the ones Jesse hadn’t managed to scare off and then the ones that came along after he’d moved out, but none of them had paid so much attention to every place on her body. Now, and over the last week, Seth had spent time learning everything he could about her, asking questions, paying attention to her likes and dislikes. He knew her better already than guys she’d dated for months. It felt right . . . just right. That’s all she could muster right now, but standing in Seth’s kitchen, skin against skin, it was enough.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his again. Seth responded without pause, his hands threading through her hair and then holding her lightly in place as his tongue moved with hers. Her hands floated up the bare skin of his back and she reveled in the sensation; soft and hard all at once, smooth skin with heated muscles moving underneath. He kissed her again, taking her mouth, as both hands gripped her, moving down her body. Rather than just graze her breast, this time his fingers traced the curve of her flesh then moved to cup each one in his hands, his thumbs brushing over her nipples and bringing a whole new round of erotic shivers coursing through her. His eyes were half lidded, his movements unhurried as he felt every inch of her. Maya’s breath evened out into large, steady gulps of air as she felt the stress of the day drain out of her. There was no urgency, no worries, just Seth and a sense of contentment she hadn’t felt for a very long time.

Her lips parted as his hands moved lower, still stroking her through her cotton shirt. She stepped forward, pushing herself harder against him, her legs slipping apart almost without thinking. Seth slid his leg between hers and Maya could feel the roughness of the denim, the lightweight fabric of her jeggings offering little in the way of resistance to the pressure from his thigh. Pleasure skittered through her as he captured her mouth again, pushing back against her. Even through clothes it was as if she could feel every inch of him. Already her imagination was flooded with images of what other inches of him would look like, feel like.

She let out a moan and Seth nipped at her lower lip. His hands once again copied hers, leaving her breasts and moving lower, trailing down her front. As they reached the hem of her shirt, he gripped the edge then lifted, pulling the loose shirt over her head. He stepped back and simply stared, his hands holding firmly at her hips.

Maya squirmed as his eyes blatantly perused her, his gaze seemingly lit from the inside as his eyes danced with a flame she could feel building again inside her. “Fucking perfection,” he muttered before moving flush against her again. He grabbed a hold of a bra cup and pulled it down, sucking her already erect nipple into his mouth. Wet warmth surrounded her breast and Maya’s eyes fluttered closed as she grinded herself against his leg. Seth suckled on her nipple until she was almost whimpering and then let it fall from his mouth with a small pop. He peppered kisses against her chest, moving up to her collarbone and then to her neck, sucking lightly there as his hands brushed her hair aside and then reached down to unhook her bra. His hands moved to her shoulders to sweep the straps off and the satin fabric fell away. Cool air brushed over her skin causing goose bumps to appear on the newly revealed flesh. Her nipples, now both red from Seth’s ministrations, grew further as another shiver ran through her.

“Cold, Sweetheart?” Seth asked. “I’ll have to do something about that.” His hands swept under her ass and he pulled her against him, lifting her effortlessly onto the kitchen counter. The way he carried her as if she weighed nothing at all made her feel small and so feminine for the first time in her life, and she loved every second of it.

His hands planted on the counter top on either side of her and Seth leaned in and claimed her lips again, caging her between the wall behind her and his body. The light shivers from the cold turned into full-on tremors as he attacked her mouth, leaving zero room between them. Every clumsy fumble in the back of a car and unfulfilling sex with selfish lovers in her past paled in compassion, and they still has their pants on. She could do something about that. Maya wiggled, pushing her hands in between them and then sliding them down toward his waistband, never breaking the kiss.

When she slipped her thumb in behind the brass button and popped his jeans open, Seth’s lips fell away and a harsh breath left him. His head fell forward, his arms still caging her in and he stilled, taking in deep breaths, as if he was trying to rein in his control. Maya had never seen anything so sexy in her life.

He looked up, his gaze locked on hers. “You want this? You’re sure?” She nodded and he kissed her again, hard and fast, and then pulled away. “I need to hear the words, Sweetheart.” She loved the way the terms of endearment flowed from his lips. Perhaps it was a Southern thing, but when Seth muttered “Darling,” called her “Sweetheart” or any number of other names he’d conjured up in the past week, something had changed inside her. Watching him now, on the edge of lust but still taking the time to hold her and make sure she was okay, Maya realized she’d been falling in love with him, little by little, all week. He’d been there for her in the worst moments of her life. She was done holding back. She was taking a flying leap off the cliff and she’d make sure he was there for that, too. She steadied herself with a breath then looked directly into his eyes. “I want this, Seth. Please, make love to me.”

A groan fell from his lips, but he wasted no time. His hands moved under her ass again, scooping her up in one swift motion. He turned and started off down the hallway, somehow walking while his lips continued to taste every inch of her skin. As he moved down the hall, he paused and then kicked open a door. Another few steps and he fell backward, pulling her with him. The surface they landed on was large and padded—his bed. Yet another intimate part of him he was sharing with her tonight. He kissed her again before shifting, shuffling up to sit against the headboard. Seth made quick work of the rest of his clothes, kicking off his shoes and then shucking his pants, lifting his hips to slide them off. Maya watched, her tongue darting out to moisten her lower lip as she watched the rest of his body being revealed for her. “What if I wanted to do that?” she asked, grinning.

Seth returned the grin. “Ain’t got no patience for that tonight. When you asked me to make love to you, the only thought in my mind was that I needed to be naked as quickly as possible so I could spend the rest of the night taking things as slowly as possible with you.”

Lying back on the bed, propped up on one elbow to watch the very sexy view in front of her, Maya almost fell back flat as her arms trembled. Her legs fell open slightly of their own accord as her muscles loosened. How everything could feel so relaxed and yet the coil inside her tightened further was beyond her. Her breath caught in her throat as Seth reached down, stroking himself and bringing his already half-erect cock to full mast. It bobbed at his belly button and her breath stuttered. Seth gave himself a few further strokes and then moved again, crawling over to her and unbuttoning her pants. “Of course, no one said I couldn’t take my time with you naked.” He tugged at the waistband of her pants, one hand splayed across her belly. Maya lifted her hips and he tugged, the stretchy material easily giving way and flowing over her hips. When they reached her ankles, Seth paused, pulling the fabric tight. With his hand still pushing down gently on her belly and her knees falling open, she had little room to shift or move. Only a thin layer of cotton lay between her and Seth, and all she could do was lie there and watch as his heated gaze moved directly between her legs. Being held still while Seth took what he wanted? It wasn’t something she’d ever experienced, or even thought about, but now in the moment, a rush of wetness slicked her thighs at the thought. When Seth’s hand left her belly to grip both sides of the jeggings and pull them from her ankles, she was nearly disappointed. She had little time to worry, however, because almost the moment Seth’s hands left her ankles, the jeggings were flung in the same manner as his T-shirt in the kitchen and his hands returned to her thighs, pressing her legs open wider, and—oh, my God, was that his tongue?!

He started slow, his lips kissing her upper thighs then around her lower belly, and down to her mound. Maya tilted her head up to watch and shivered at the sight of Seth’s blond head as he shifted to move between her legs. She reached down, stroking her hand over the top of his head. His hair was short, but there was just enough to grab onto. Before she could contemplate grabbing hold, Seth lightly kissed her clit and then darted out his tongue, licking her firmly before returning to her clit, sucking the sensitive nub deeply. Maya’s hand fell back onto the bed as her eyes drifted closed and a low groan fell from her mouth. His fingers stroked at her lower lips, parting them and then one finger slipped inside. It thrust slowly—in and out—while his lips returned to kissing her inner thighs. A slow heat grew within her, stoked by the movement of Seth’s hand. Her hips matched his movements, moving and lifting with every stroke.

Just as she found a rhythm, he changed it up again and Maya groaned loudly. “No, Seth, more.” Her voice was low and dripping with arousal, but damn, she was too turned on to blush this time. His fingers didn’t penetrate her again but instead moved to push her legs open wider as his mouth returned to her core, sucking her clit again, and her lips, before opening his mouth and thrusting his tongue between her folds. Maya writhed and he placed one hand on her belly, holding her still as he alternated between thrusts of his tongue, sucks, and licks. Just as she got used to one sensation, he’d switch it up, thrusting into her sex with his tongue only to move to her clit, flicking at it with a fast rhythm that was quickly driving her insane. She gathered up enough strength between licks to rise up on her elbows to watch and Seth looked up at her with a proud grin on his face. Yep, he knew exactly what he was doing to her.

Lick, suck, thrust, nip, suck, fingers inside her, flick, thrust. The mass of sensation slowly built until there was nothing else in Maya’s world beside the softness of the sheets beneath her and Seth’s wicked ministrations. One of his hands rested on her thigh, holding her open to him, while the other thrust inside her again, moving faster now and with two fingers while his tongue teased at her clit. This time, he didn’t change, didn’t move, just kept thrusting and tonguing her until the building fire inside gathered and exploded. Her vision whited out and the world went away as wave upon wave of ecstasy flooded her body. She groaned. Hell, she could have been yelling his name for all she knew, or cared.

Finally, the room seeped back into the edges of her consciousness. Seth was lying beside her, his chest pressed up to her while his hand leisurely stroked her body, passing over her sensitive core every few seconds. Maya shuddered. “Oh, my God.”

He peppered her neck and shoulders with little kisses. “Sweetheart, that was just the starter. Ready for the main course?”

Boneless, all Maya could do was mutter “Ahuh.”

Seth grinned. “Need the words, Gorgeous.” Damn. He hadn’t held back on the pet names for her before, but now they were naked together they were coming thick and fast. She loved it.

Maya turned her head and captured his lips, sweeping her tongue inside his mouth and kissing him thoroughly. She pulled back and looked into his eyes, no longer shying away from what she could see in there. The man had proven that he cared about her, that he was in this for the long haul, and then had Goddamned nearly killed her with an orgasm. There was no way she was questioning this any further. She was ready. “Make love to me, Seth.”

Another groan fell from his lips, then he returned her kiss. He stood, rummaging through his jeans before pulling out his wallet. The fact he was going after a condom was the only reason Maya put up with his leaving the bed. He stood at the end, ripping open the small foil packet and then sheathed himself, stroking his cock until it was rock hard. His eyes never left hers as he climbed back on the bed next to her and rolled onto his side. Seth propped himself up on one arm before lifting one of her legs up and over his, sliding in between. His hand moved to her clit again, stroking her gently until the smoldering embers were blazing again. His hard cock rubbed against her folds and Maya wriggled, trying to slip him inside her. Seth shifted, reaching down and guided himself inside her.

He started gradually, penetrating her only inch by inch and allowing her to adjust, his fingers still moving against her. He gained ground slowly, but after several thrusts, he was seated deep inside her. The position was different than anything she’d tried before and the stretch of him inside her coupled with his fingers working her clit had Maya gasping. She’d only just had one of the most earth-shattering orgasms of her life and the man already had her climbing high again. Her eyes stayed glued on his face, reveling in the pleasure echoed there. The fact that she could make Seth feel this amazing only increased her arousal, pushing her even higher.

“God,” he grunted. “You feel fucking incredible.” His hand wrapped around under her knee, lifting her leg as he thrust again. The new position allowed him to slide in deeper again and Maya gasped. She reached her hand around and cradled his head, moving to kiss him, but Seth had other plans. Tilting his head down, as he continued to thrust inside her, he sucked her nipple into his mouth, working the sensitive flesh as he moved in and out of her body. Just as Maya thought she was going to explode, he moved again, kissing her as she wanted while still thrusting deeply. The sensation built, taking her close to the edge and then he moved again. He was going to drive her fucking insane!

“Let me take you there,” he said. She groaned. Fucking mind reader. “It’ll be worth it, I promise.” He pressed his hand grasping her knee over, gently laying her leg down and shifting her onto her side to lie in front of him. The position put them back to chest, allowing him to thrust faster, his hand kneading at her breast and his tongue trailing up her neck. Everything inside her hummed as her nerve endings were set alight. Fuck. Maya didn’t know if she was going to come or die, but she was definitely hanging on to find out.

Seth thrust into her again and again, his hands and lips roaming her entire body. Her hands gripped the sheets and he took advantage of the situation, pushing gently until he was behind her. His hand kneaded her ass, slapping her lightly. Maya gasped and he increased his speed again, up on his knees and thrusting into her fast and hard. Did the man own a fucking Kama Sutra? Wherever he learned his skills, she was not going to complain. His thick cock slid almost out of her before thrusting balls-deep inside, thrusting over her G-spot over and over again. She dropped her head forward on the bed, moaning loudly, and Seth’s hand reached around, rubbing furiously at her clit as he moved inside her—in and out, in and out—swiveling his hips on each thrust to hit every inch. She felt her core flutter around him and Seth’s forehead fell onto her shoulder. “Fuck, Maya.”

His teeth bit gently into her skin and the small bite of pain mixed with the rolling pleasure tumbled her over the edge and into oblivion. “Seth!”

He groaned at the sound of his name on her lips and as her core tightened around him he moved faster again until finally she felt him grow even thicker inside her. He thrust once, twice more, then held himself deep, his hands wrapped around her hips, as he spilled inside her.

As Maya came back to reality, he tumbled down beside her on the bed, pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly. Still his lips moved over her skin, sucking on her earlobe and then dropping little kisses across her bare, now sweaty skin. “Fucking sensational, Gorgeous,” he muttered. He lifted his head and captured her lips, kissing her once more before standing and moving to the bathroom to dispose of the condom. Maya’s eyes drifted closed, but even as she fell asleep she couldn’t wipe the wide smile from her face.