Tally raised herself up on her elbow as Cash collapsed onto his back, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

“Jesus, I think you’re trying to kill me,” he said.

His hair was damp from their lovemaking, and Tally reached forward and brushed the strands off his forehead. “Worse ways to go.”

Cash laughed and rolled onto his side to face her. She treated herself to a quick sweep of his body.

“I love it when you look at me that way,” he said.

Her eyes shot to his. “Which way?”

“Like you want to eat me.”

A blush crept across her cheeks. “Maybe I do.”

Cash lay on his back, arms and legs spread wide. “I’m all yours, sweetness.”

She gave an embarrassed laugh. Even though she’d gone down on him the night before––and she was still having trouble believing she had––none of this came naturally. She needed him to take the lead. She still lacked the confidence required to initiate sex between them.

“Hey,” he said, leaning over, his arms forming a cage around her. “I know you find this shit difficult, baby, but you have to talk to me about sex. This is a two-way street. I need to know what you like and what you don’t. What turns you on and what turns you off. I’m not a mind reader.” His eyes were steady on hers, and she was the first to look away.

“It’s just… nobody’s ever asked me. I don’t know how.”

He clipped her under the chin, and when she looked back at him, his smile was wonderfully supportive. “Let me ask you something. When we have sex, do you lose yourself? I mean, truly free your mind and allow yourself to be led only by what your body is telling you?”

“Of course.” She frowned as she answered. It wasn’t a question she’d ever asked herself, and it was a definite first for a sexual partner to ask. She hadn’t even had a conversation like this with Em.

Cash lifted a single eyebrow. “Liar,” he said, dropping a quick kiss on her lips to soften the rebuff. “Your brain is always ticking. I can see it. You’re worried about how you look, whether you’re doing this or that right, what I might be thinking, and that affects how much you let yourself go. You need to learn to let your body take over, to listen to your instincts and go with them.”

Thoughts of Evan and his parting shot when they broke up flooded her mind. Maybe she was just a frigid little bitch after all. “Am I not good enough for you?”

He gave her a disbelieving stare. “Are you fucking kidding? Jesus, it wasn’t my intention to make you think that. I know you have more to give, but you have to be honest with me. I need you to talk to me about sex. And I need you to do it without thinking too much about it. Otherwise, you get embarrassed and clam up.”

“I can’t,” she whispered.

Cash leaned in close, brushing a strand of hair off her face. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation.

“Then I have an idea that may help.” He climbed off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom.

Tally rolled onto her side and rested her head on her hand. “What are you up to?” she shouted.

"Patience," he shouted back.

She chuckled to herself. After a minute or so, he returned. Her gaze shifted to his hands. He was holding the belt from a dressing gown and an airline mask, probably the same one he’d used in Paris.

“Do you trust me, Natalia?” he asked again as he knelt on the bed.

Her gaze collided with his as a wave of panic hit her. “I do, Cash, really but––”

He cupped her chin and kissed her hard. “I would never do anything to hurt you or scare you. The minute you say it’s over, then it’s over. This isn’t some freaky attempt to lure you into BDSM. That shit does not work for me at all. I just think if you can’t see me or touch me, then you’ll be able to concentrate more on what your body is telling you, and that might make you a little more… vocal.” He smiled.

She forced a swallow down her throat. She had to admit she was intrigued to see if his idea worked. “Okay,” she said, holding her hands out in front, palms up.

“Good girl.” Cash took the belt and wrapped it around her wrists. The satin material felt cool and soft against her skin. “I’m going to tie this really loose,” he said, looping the material and fastening it in a double knot. “If you wanted to get out of it, you could, like that.” He snapped his fingers to reiterate the point. He lifted her bound hands over her head and attached the belt to the bed frame. “How’s that?”

“Fine. Good.”

He rocked back on his heels and looked her over. His lusty gaze made her blush as she lay in front of him, totally naked and utterly helpless. Okay, helpless was an exaggeration, but still…

“See what I mean?” he said, trailing the tip of his forefinger over her red-hot cheek. “That keen mind of yours is ticking away.”

He slipped the airline mask over her eyes, and as the shards of light in the room were extinguished, she sucked in a breath.

“Promise you’ll tell me if this is too much.”

She nodded. “I promise.”

Her breathing was ragged, but instead of fear, she found herself overcome with excitement.

“Wait there,” Cash said.

“Where am I going to go?”

He chuckled, then the bed dipped as he climbed off. It couldn’t have been more than thirty seconds before he was back.

“Smell.”

The scent of jasmine filled her nostrils, and she breathed in deeply. “Mmm.”

“You like?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Cash began massaging her shoulders, the oil helping his hands move slickly over her skin. Ever so slowly, he moved up her arms to her hands, where he paid attention to every single one of her fingers before moving back down her body. He hovered over her breasts before coating them, too, in the oil. She moaned and arched her back, pushing them into his hands.

He didn’t miss an inch as he covered her skin with the heavily scented oil, and by the time he reached her feet, she was so turned on she could barely remember her own name.

“I’m going to flip you over. Don’t forget, you can stop this at any time.”

“As if,” she mumbled. “Best massage ever.”

Cash chuckled as he gently shifted her until she was lying on her front. He began rubbing her back, and she moaned loudly as he dug his thumbs in between her shoulder blades.

“Oh God, that feels good.”

“That’s the idea, baby.”

 The tips of his fingers moved down her spine until he was kneading her behind. He eased her legs open and swept his fingers over her folds. On instinct, she lifted her backside in the air until Cash pushed her back into the mattress.

“Tell me what you’re feeling.”

She groaned in disappointment as he continued torturing her. “Crabby.”

Cash let out a low chuckle. He slipped one oiled finger inside her, pushing in deep.

She moaned loudly, rocking back against him. “Do that again.”

He did as she asked, and she ground her hips into his hand. “More.”

His teeth grazed her earlobe. “Patience,” he whispered. He started rubbing her thighs, his thumbs applying concentrated pressure at all the right points. She wanted to scream, but at the same time, she was feeling sensations she’d never had before—an intense, powerful need coupled with all-consuming desire and an added lump of exasperation at how unhurried he was.

He leisurely moved down her legs and over her calves, ending at her feet once more. He kneaded the soles with his thumbs, the sensation resonating in her groin. She’d never thought of her feet as an erogenous zone, but if he carried on much longer, she was going to come.

“Cash,” she mumbled even though she didn’t know what she was saying his name for. Her nerves had heightened to new level of sensitivity, and all the different and conflicting emotions were messing with her head. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, to scream or remain silent, to beg him to stop or pray he carried on.

She felt his breath on her ear before he spoke. “What do you want, Natalia?”

“You. I want you.”

He turned her onto her back, cupped her chin, and kissed her hard. His tongue surged inside her mouth, and she thought she was going to get what she wanted. But then he pulled back.

“Not good enough. Tell me. Be explicit.”

Overcome with self-consciousness, her face heated. She didn’t have enough experience to do what Cash demanded. Before him, her relationships had been immature—boys who couldn’t find a woman’s erogenous zones with a map let alone through their own childish fumbling. Even during her relationship with Evan, she’d had more success making herself come than he’d ever managed. Cash, in contrast, barely had to touch her before she was on the edge of orgasm.

Cash wiped the excess oil from her body with a soft, fluffy towel before he began the same torturous journey with his mouth as he’d done with his hands. “Natalia,” he prompted, his tone holding a hint of warning.

She closed her eyes behind the mask, trying to shut off her mind and let her body take over exactly as Cash had encouraged her to do, as he pressed soft kisses to her breasts, her ribs, her stomach.

“I’m tingling… everywhere. Oh God, my skin’s on fire. You’re making me burn, Cash.”

She cried out as his tongue dipped inside her, his soft beard rubbing against her inner thighs. She tugged on her restraints and thrust her hips forward.

“Keep going,” he said. Clearly, he wasn’t going to let her off the hook.

She forced away all thoughts of embarrassment, and as she did, a wonderful sense of freedom loosened her tongue. “I love it when you go down on me. It makes my insides go crazy.”

Cash licked her again and then sucked hard on her clit. She cried out. “It’s too much. God, Cash, I can’t.”

She wasn’t making any sense. She was speaking, but her body was in charge, not her brain.

“Yes, you can. More,” he growled, opening her thighs wide and lapping at her.

She waited for another blast of self-consciousness to hit her, but it never came. She wasn’t herself. Cash was changing her into someone completely different. And she loved it.

“I want you to make me come using only your tongue, and then I want you to fuck me from behind. I love that position because you feel so deep that way.”

Cash sucked in a sharp breath. “At last,” he whispered as his tongue dipped inside her again. She cried out, driving her hips upwards. Cash clamped down on her thighs. “Stop moving.”

She wasn’t sure she could. Besieged with so many emotions, she didn’t know what to do with them all, and a single teardrop ran down her cheek. She turned her face into the pillow as Cash took her at her word, touching her with only his tongue. The pressure of an oncoming orgasm built inside her, and she clenched her core tightly and squeezed her eyes shut. Cash flicked his tongue once more over her clit, and she tumbled into the most intense climax she’d ever had.

She cried out as her muscles furiously contracted over and over. Her toes curled, and she tried to close her legs to control the burn, but Cash gripped them hard, forcing them even wider. He didn’t stop licking her until he’d drawn every drop of pleasure she had to give. As the intensity of her climax waned, Cash ripped open a condom before he turned her over and pushed himself inside.

“You’re in charge, baby,” he said. “You tell me what you want.”

He almost withdrew then rocked his hips so gradually she found herself thrusting backwards, meeting him more than halfway.

“Untie me, Cash.”

He removed the airline mask and unfastened the belt, and she blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the dim light. She glanced over her shoulder. Her gaze collided with Cash’s. His smile was so warm, so tender that another tear welled up. It hovered on her eyelashes before spilling onto her cheek. Cash leaned forwards and kissed away the tear before entering her again, as languorous as the first time. She contracted her core firmly, rewarded when Cash hissed. She pushed backward as he thrust into her, each time clenching hard.

“Fuck, Natalia. What are you trying to do to me?”

“Break you,” she whispered.

Despite what she’d said about him taking her from behind, she wanted to see him. She turned over and eased him back inside her. Leaning up on her elbows, she kissed him, moving her mouth in time to his slow thrusts. She was determined not to ask him to go faster but to make him. Balancing on one arm, she reached between his legs and cupped his balls, squeezing gently.

Cash growled low in his throat, wrenching his lips from hers. “You win.”

He hooked her legs over his shoulders and thrust into her so hard the back of her head knocked against the headboard. He curled his hand around her neck to protect her, and as he kneeled up and thrust into her again and again, his firm hold anchored her in place.

An oncoming orgasm built once more as Cash made love to her hard and fast. He ground his teeth, and a pulse beat underneath his jawline. Tally reached behind herself and gripped the headboard, using the additional leverage to push against him.

“God, yes,” he called out.

Her eyes fell closed, and she pressed her head into the pillow as she drowned in her second orgasm. “Unbelievable,” she muttered as warmth spread outwards from her core, making her legs twitch and her toes curl.

Cash continued to drive hard, and she opened her eyes in time to see him come. As his orgasm roared through him, he cursed softly, squeezed his eyes shut, and bit his lip, his forehead wrinkled with intense concentration. At that moment, Tally knew one thing: if she got to do this with Cash for the next fifty years, she’d never get sick of watching him climax.

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and gave her a soft smile. “I am so proud of you.”

As he snuggled into her side, Tally covered his hand with her own. She didn’t know the person she was becoming. But she loved her.