“I have imagined this moment too many times to count,” Santiago whispered in her ear.

Abena lay almost naked on the bed, wearing a pair of gold panties held together with little bows on each side and a matching strapless bra that squeezed her breasts together and created an impressive cleavage. By the way Santiago’s hot gaze ate her up, she was happy she’d chosen this set.

He kissed her lips, and with her heart throbbing at an abnormally fast rate, she kissed him back, sliding her palms over his naked chest and exploring the texture of his warm, firm skin sprinkled with hair. They rolled onto their sides and continued the mouth-to-mouth contact. The long, drugging kiss warmed her blood and made her nipples grow hard with anticipation.

Santiago smoothed his hand over her hip and waist, gliding up her back. He paused to gently knead her neck before pushing higher and cradling the back of her head in his big hand. Abena edged closer and pressed her aching breasts into his chest. She prayed for him to suck them into his warm mouth and give her the relief she craved.

When her hand traveled over his evenly tanned arm and torso, he groaned deep in his chest. She couldn’t help but explore. His incredible body was so hard and firm, yet velvety to the touch. Abena tongued his throat and slid her hand over his tight abs, then she threw a leg over his hip and rubbed herself against him in an attempt to assuage the need building in her pelvis.

Santiago let out a husky chuckle against her lips. “So anxious, mi amor,” he whispered.

True, she was in heat, ready for the unknown. With Santiago she knew the experience would be mind-blowing. She’d already had a taste and desperately wanted the ultimate prize of his possession.

Santiago rolled her onto her back and let his mouth travel down the side of her neck. She arched into him and released a soft sigh. Sliding her legs open, she allowed him to settle between her thighs. His hard length pressed against her core through his pants, and she let out a little gasp as a tremor rippled through her loins.

His hands squeezed her bottom as his mouth continued its descent. He kissed her breasts through the bra, a whisper-like sensation that created more tension than it relieved. She let out a frustrated moan as her nipples tautened even more and pushed against the satiny fabric. He moved lower, over her ribs, dropping open-mouth kisses on her skin and making her flesh quiver wherever his lips brushed. It was a slow, torturous lovemaking when she wanted him to go fast and quell the persistent hunger that had never left since the first awakening of her desire. But Santiago leisurely nipped here, slowly licked there, like a man taking his time to savor a fine Scotch.

Abena ran the tips of her fingers through his thick hair, her belly trembling when his breath brushed her belly button and sent her heartbeat careening out of control.

He slipped a hand beneath one leg of her panties and she arched into the touch. Under the stroke of his fingers, her swollen flesh became slicker and pulsed with the need for more.

“Santiago,” she whispered.

“Sí, querida.”

His tongue swirled a cylindrical pattern in her skin, right along the waistband of her panties. She could barely stand for him to touch her anymore. She was hot everywhere. She couldn’t think straight and was so very excited, but needed to get the next words out.

“I-I’ve never had intercourse.”

He lifted his head, eyes clouded with passion, as he looked at her from beneath frowning brows. “How? What about Marc?”

“We never made love,” she admitted. She ran her tongue over her dry lips. Would he change his mind now he knew she had zero experience?

His eyes glittered with intent. “You will tonight.” His voice was a strangled fragment of its former self. The way he looked at her and the harsh sound of his breathing signaled precisely how much he desired her.

He removed her bra, and right away, the dark tips of each breast tightened under his gaze, to the point of pain. He buried his face in the valley between the two mounds and inhaled deeply as if memorizing her scent. She urged him closer, clenching his powerful shoulders at the pleasure he evoked.

Dragging his tongue along the underside of her breasts, Santiago moved with slow deliberation to one peak, where he pulled a sensitive nipple into his mouth. He tugged on the tight bundle of nerves, sucking ardently as her fingers climbed into his hair to keep his amazing mouth in place. She never wanted him to stop. The sucking motion and swirl of his tongue made her writhe and squirm on the sheets, panting heavily at the intensity of the pleasure.

His mouth paid such rapt attention to her breasts, the throbbing at the apex of her thighs developed into a hollow ache. He moved low again, sliding down her body. His teeth snagged one of the bows at her hips and he eased her bottom from the bed, using his teeth alone to drag the panties down her thighs. It had to be the most erotic thing she’d ever seen.

Santiago tossed the satin underwear to the floor and stood at the side of the bed. Keeping his gaze on her, he unzipped his pants and stripped off the rest of his clothes with quick, fluid motions. When he was fully naked, her eyes lowered to the sturdy strength of his muscular thighs and the erection standing firm in the center of his pelvis. Her lips parted in dismay. He was thick and long, larger than she expected. She wasn’t sure if she was ready.

A dark, knowing chuckle came from his lips. Santiago rejoined her on the bed and licked his way up from her ankles. Gradually, he advanced, building the anticipation as he neared her sex. His hands coasted over her hips, and he planted warm kisses on the sensitive inside of each thigh while inching closer. When his mouth closed over her glistening flesh, Abena released a choked cry and her knees fell apart. His tongue rasped over the tight little bud in the middle, and shifting his weight, Santiago pushed her knees to her chest, splayed her legs wide, and settled in to eat his fill.

Abena’s eyes rolled back in her head. Yes, yes.

Santiago groaned as he licked and sucked, keeping her legs apart so he could have his unobstructed way with her. Abena bit down on her bottom lip to keep from screaming, but a cry nonetheless exploded from her mouth—a loud, hoarse, unfamiliar sound. She couldn’t contain her excitement. Her frantic pleas urged him to do once again what he’d done before, what seemed like ages ago in Argentina. Make her fall apart. Make her lose her mind.

He explored every corner of her sex with his unrelenting mouth, and moved his tongue in alternating firm and soft strokes that edged her toward the brink of insanity. The climax came sooner than expected. Writhing beneath him, her body burst into flames. He groaned and lapped at the wetness, holding her down until he was satisfied.

When he finally released her, she moaned her content, and Santiago climbed back up to claim her mouth. She tasted her own arousal when his moist lips touched hers. He devoured her. He captured her tongue and sucked in the same demanding way he did her clit, and filled his hands with her achy breasts—even while tremors stuttered through her satiated body.

Abena ran her fingers over his beautiful flesh, down between his legs where his silken length pressed hard and heavy between her thighs. Santiago took a ragged breath and groaned. He whispered husky words of Spanish against her lips and begged her not to stop. She stroked his massive length, from the base to the smooth bulbous-tipped end.

Like a man out of control, Santiago suddenly gripped her hips and lifted her tight against him. “Now,” he growled. “I can no longer wait.”

He protected them with a condom, and in the same instance, a bit of fear crept to the edges of Abena’s mind. This was it. She would lose her virginity. Though she wanted to cross the final line, she’d heard horror stories about pain and blood.

Santiago must have sensed her anxiety. “Relax,” he said gently. “It’s going to hurt a little at first, but I promise the pain won’t last.” He slid his fingers through her slick folds and slipped two digits inside her. “Relax,” he whispered, and she did. Tension eased from her body as he stretched her lower muscles to prep her for him. As he pumped his fingers in and out, her hips automatically began to move.

“How do you feel?” he whispered.

“Good,” Abena panted. Her pelvis lifted higher off the bed.

Watching her closely, Santiago eased his hand from between her legs and pressed the broad tip of his penis against her entrance. She scooted back, holding her breath at the same time she opened to him.

He kept his gaze on her as he eased in. Swallowing, she stiffened at the intrusion. He was so big and hard.

Forehead to forehead, Santiago rested inside her, his body unmoving and tense. “Relax,” he said again. This time his voice sounded pained and hoarse. He kissed her neck to allow her time to adjust and caressed her inner thighs until the need for movement overwhelmed the fear of pain. A coil of energy tightened at the base of her abdomen and she shifted restlessly against him, ready for the next phase.

“Hold onto me.”

Abena wrapped her arms around his neck. When he shoved deeper, she let out a soft cry and pressed her face into his neck. He pinned her to the bed as his body tunneled into hers.

He slowly began to move. “Lift up against me, querida,” he said in a shaky voice.

Once again she obeyed and moved her hips in a counterpoint rhythm to his.

“That’s it. That’s it, mi amor.” Labored breaths brushed against her collarbone and his necklace slid back and forth against her skin.

Slowly, the discomfort subsided and she adjusted to the sensation of him filling her. She felt so full. The slide of his length intensified the pleasure. The thickness of him lifted her higher.

“Santiago,” she moaned.

“Yes, my love.” Slow and steady, he continued to move and leaned closer, trapping her beneath his weight, showering soft kisses on her lips and chin. And kept on stroking.

A wail blew past her lips. She trembled beneath him and her fingernails raked his back. She’d never known a feeling like this. Was it supposed to be this good?

Santiago angled his hips in a different direction and Abena gasped. She moaned. She didn’t know how much noise was appropriate, but she couldn’t seem to stop. She helplessly responded to his lovemaking—a tempestuous, thrilling ride of pleasure she never wanted to stop.

His thrusts quickened and she worked to keep up. The mattress squeaked, but wasn’t loud enough to drown out the sexy words he whispered close to her ear.

An orgasm flirted with her loins as he whispered and thrust. She could feel it. She was so close. Tension rose from deep inside her, a burgeoning ache, like an inflated balloon that threatened to burst and send her over the edge.

He plundered her body in a maddening rhythm. Bowing over her, muscles flexing, he nibbled and sucked at her breasts, even as his pulsing flesh forced the twisting tension tighter. At last, the invisible cord snapped.

“I-I’m coming!” Abena hurtled into an orgasm so powerful, she screamed his name in a husky cry.

Santiago cursed in two languages. A warning that he, too, was close. But as his short breaths mingled with her shallow gasps, he didn’t stop. He placed a finger on her clit and stole another orgasm. With the unexpected explosion so soon after the first, she flung her head back and clawed his shoulders. The ceiling became a hazy blur as she shuddered around his erection.

Three times he sent her to the zenith. Twice she came around his powerful length. Over and over she sobbed his name, like an incantation, a desperate plea for respite in her raw throat. She clung to him, burying her face in his damp neck and squeezing her eyes shut.

Santiago grasped her hips. Digging hard fingers into her flesh, he accelerated his movements. Seconds later, he became as taut as a reed and shuddered above her. Then, with a guttural groan, he collapsed in a weakened heap.

Abena welcomed the weight of him. She couldn’t move. Not solely because he rested on top of her, but because the remnants of ecstasy left her drained and unable to do more than breathe.

She might never move again.