Something was afoot.

“Explain to me why she’s coming with us again?” Jazz asked as they waited in the parking lot of the gas station while Molly ran inside to get a Slurpee and “something edible.” “I expected you to herd me out of there the minute I got back from the store, and instead we’re roadtripping.”

“We’re just taking a detour to San Fran for the night.”

Jazz stared hard at the side of Gray’s face. He wasn’t making eye contact with her, and she knew him well enough to know that meant he was being shifty. Or trying to be. “I thought you had to get back to the studio.”

“Yeah, but not until day after tomorrow.” He toyed with his iPhone, shuffling through songs. “I thought we’d take a day to—hey,” he said as she closed her hand over his.

She got right in his face, nose to nose. “What aren’t you telling me?”

He gave her his most innocent look. If she wasn’t mistaken, the jerk even batted his ridiculously long lashes at her. “I don’t know what you mean, sweetie.”

“Don’t sweetie me. I know when I’m being snowed.” She slumped back in her seat and crossed her legs and arms like the pouty teenager she currently felt like.

He knew how she felt about surprises. They made her nervous under the best of circumstances. It had taken years for Christmas to cause her more excitement than anxiety. Too many years of waking up to find nothing under the tree—or worse, some salacious gift from her mama’s current boyfriend du jour—had made her dread a time of year that other kids anticipated. Regular surprises weren’t much better. In spite of trusting him wholeheartedly, she couldn’t help her natural reservations and panic at being kept in the dark. He understood that, or at least she thought he did.

So that must mean that he believed whatever he was up to was worth her momentary discomfort.

“It doesn’t snow in California, baby.”

She glared at him, but he only laughed.

“Where exactly do you plan for us to stay tonight?”

“All taken care of.”

“Mmm-hmm. Are we sharing a room with Molly? Because, hello, awkward.”

“Trust me,” he said, reaching out to cluck her chin in a way that made her hiss. He just laughed again.

Molly emerged from the gas station and climbed in the backseat, a drink in one hand and a truly awe-inspiring amount of junk food exploding out of the bag she clutched in her other. Noticing Jazz’s longing glance, she stuck her drink in the cup holder and fished around in the bag, producing a bag of Skittles. “You still like these?”

“Gimme.” Jazz snatched them out of her hand and tore into the bag with gusto. “Thank Jesus,” she said in between stuffing her mouth. “He’s been trying to starve me.”

“Sure I have. How much did they say you weighed this morning at the doctor’s again?”

Jazz stopped chowing down long enough to whack his arm. “Shut up. I don’t hear you complaining about my boobs.”

“God himself wouldn’t complain about your boobs.”

Molly flopped back in the seat and sucked on her drink. “Seriously, you two are gross.”

“You can talk. You answered your door in just a bra.”

“But it was a classy bra.”

“Sure it was.” Jazz set her Skittles on the dashboard. “Christ, now I have to pee. Be right back.”

The last thing she heard as she climbed out of the car was Molly. “Pregnancy is totally lame.”

Rather than annoying her, it made her grin as she jogged into the gas station and aimed for the bathroom.

The bathroom itself killed her grin right quick, but she made do. She was at the sink washing her hands when her phone rang. After drying off quickly, she tugged it out and smiled at the readout. “Hey you,” she said to Harper.

“Hiya. You sound happy.”

“I am. Very.” She wasn’t even sure why. Her nerves about Gray’s odd behavior created a low hum under her skin, and she definitely wasn’t sure what to make of the whole Molly situation, but for this very moment, she had a family. Her best friend on the phone, a sister, an almost-husband, a baby on the way. She’d never had this much before.

“Oh thank God.” Harper let out a long sigh. “It was killing me keeping it in, but I didn’t know if he’d tell you right before or what. I figured he’d cave, because who keeps that kind of secret until right before the ceremony?”

Jazz frowned at her reflection in the water-spotted mirror. “What are you talking about?”

Harper didn’t speak.

“Hello?”

“Harper is unavailable right now. Call back never,” Harper said in a small voice.

Jazz fought a grin. “Harp, you better start talking or I’m going to kick your ass.”

“You can’t. I’m pregnant,” she said after a moment. “You’re pregnant.”

“I so can kick your ass, pregnant or not. I’m little but I’m mighty.” As Harper’s earlier words finally sank in, she gasped. “Ceremony? Did you say ceremony?”

“No. I absolutely did not.” A loud hissing noise filled the line. “Wow, did you hear that? Must be interference.” More hissing that sounded suspiciously like someone blowing air. “Sorry, can’t hear you! Gotta go.”

“Harper McCoy, if you hang up this phone, we’re no longer best friends.”

The hissing stopped. “Liar.”

“I so am.” Jazz eased a hip up on the sink, then remembered she was in a gas station bathroom and hopped back off. Ick. “Okay, spill. I won’t tell you told me. Promise.”

“Aw, dammit, I’m ruining the surprise.”

“No, you aren’t. You’re enhancing the surprise because I fuck—frigging hate surprises and he freaking knows it.”

“That’s why he’s trying to give you a good one and I just screwed it up.”

“Well, finish it off. What’s going on, dammit?” Jazz demanded.

“Oh fine. I guess there is a sister code. But if you so much as hint that I told you…”

“I would never.” Jazz crossed her heart even though there was no one there to witness it. Someone pounded on the bathroom door and she turned the phone against her shoulder. “Just one sec. Sorry.” She pressed the phone back to her ear. “Hurry up. I’m in a gas station bathroom.”

“Okay, okay, but this is under extreme duress I’m divulging this information.”

“Noted. Come on already.”

“Gray’s planning a big…baby-blessing ceremony in San Fran for you tomorrow. Yes, that’s it. It’s a big thing now, to bless mother-to-be’s bellies. I think he saw it on the Today show. Kind of woo-woo, but hey, you know, whatever flips your crank.”

Jazz narrowed her eyes. “You are so full of crap I can smell you from here.”

“It’s not me you can smell,” Harp said, making her laugh in spite of herself. “Oh, look at that. The big guy’s ready to go. We have to buy—uh, I have to buy a new dress for tomorrow’s baby-blessing.”

The puzzle pieces were starting to fit together. Jazz swallowed hard and gripped her phone. “You’re coming too?”

“Of course I am. The whole band will be there. For all baby blessings, it’s important to have someone you trust at your side to be your witness. In your case, you’re getting a bunch of witnesses.”

“Oh God. I can’t breathe. I need to sit down.”

“No, you don’t. You need to walk out of the bathroom, head straight for the snack aisle and buy yourself a package of ceremonial cupcakes. The kind with filling that oozes out.”

“Okay. Going.” Jazz nodded and exited the bathroom, waving in apology at the older lady who waited outside. Ceremonial cupcakes sounded good. So what if she had Skittles in the car? She’d been so good lately, and oh my Lord, she was pretty sure she was getting married tomorrow and she needed a goddamn cupcake.

“Do you have them?” Harper whispered conspiratorially a moment later.

“I can’t find them. I think they’re out.”

“Don’t give up so easily. When you find them, I want you to go back to the car and tell Gray you can’t wait to have cake tomorrow. Lots and lots of cake.”

Jazz frowned at the selection of pastries and baked goods. There wasn’t a gooey cream-filled cupcake in sight. “Why would I do that if I’m not supposed to know?”

“Because half the fun of knowing about we—baby-blessing ceremonies in advance is using them to your advantage. You totally need to yank Gray’s chain, because he shouldn’t have kept something big a surprise anyway. I would have told him that myself had I known about it before a few hours ago.”

“You’re right. He’s totally wrong. So, so wrong.” She stared hard at the apple pies and promptly burst into tears.

“Oh great. Now I broke her.”

Jazz laughed through her tears at Harper’s exasperation. “You didn’t break me. He’s just so stupidly sweet. He drove all the way out here to meet my sister and—”

“Oh my God, I completely forgot the Molly situation. I’m a horrible friend. I got so distracted with online shopping for a decent dress I could pick up super fast at the store that I just zoned out. What happened? Tell me everything.”

“It was…interesting. Is interesting. She’s in the car with us and we’re on our way to San Fran.” Jazz glanced up and sniffled as she saw Gray’s long legs eating up the pavement as he strode toward the store. “Oh fuck, here he comes. I took too long. See you later. I mean, tomorrow. Oh dammit, I’ll try to call you tonight. Thank you. Love you. Bye.” She clicked off and shoved the phone in her pocket right before Gray spotted her and started weaving his way through the aisles.

She undid her pigtails and let her hair hide her probably blotchy face. Whew. Talk about close.

“What are you doing? You’ve been gone forever.” Once he finally reached her, he glanced down at the bakery section and chuckled. “Should’ve known you’d wander this—hey, look at me.” He brushed her hair back and tipped up her chin. “Are you sick again? Why are you crying?”

One look into his concerned gray eyes and she was done for. The tears started, worse than before. “I just really, really want apple pie,” she whispered, hurling herself into his arms.

“Hey, what’s the matter? You can have pie. Here. Have a whole bunch of pies.” Wrapping one arm around her waist, he guided her back to the display and pushed about six of them into her arms. “You probably shouldn’t have them all at once, but one a day should be okay.”

Tears streamed down as she stared at the plastic-wrapped pies. “People thought I was nuts for loving you. That you were messed up and wouldn’t ever go back to being my Gray. But you always were. They didn’t understand.”

“You gave me no choice but to get better. You wouldn’t allow me not to.” He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “We better get back to the car. Molly might drive off if we don’t get moving.”

“No one else but you would bring her with us.” She tipped up her face, needing to see him even through the blur of her tears. “She treated us like total crap when we got there and you just wanted to make sure I was happy. You always want that, no matter what.”

“Yeah, I do.” He cleared his throat. “And sometimes I make choices that might not seem like they’re the best, but I’d do anything for you—”

She leaned up to silence him with a kiss. “I know.”

He probably thought she might be annoyed once she found out about the wedding, because most women wanted to have a say in planning their ceremony. Not her. This was perfect. She didn’t care one whit about the shindig itself. She just wanted that shiny band on her finger and for him to be hers. The rest was just details.

“Come on. Let’s go pay.” He took half her apple pies and she started to tell him to put them back, that she really didn’t want them.

Then again, who knew where they were spending the night? Maybe room service would suck. And she did like apple pie.

Shrugging, she followed him up to the checkout. She was getting married tomorrow. She deserved extra freaking dessert.

* * *

A roadtrip with his surprisingly cheerful fiancée and snarky sister-in-law hadn’t been in the cards two days ago, but it had turned out pretty well.

At least until he learned that the hotel did not have any other open rooms, no matter how much he cajoled or offered money he did not want to spend on things other than oh, mortgage payments, food and child-related costs.

“Sir, I’m very sorry. We’re at full occupancy due to several events in town this weekend.” The woman behind the desk consulted the ledger in front of her while Molly sighed loudly and Jazz looked around in dazed wonder.

He didn’t blame her. The place was seriously lush. Chandeliers dripped glittering crystals and miles of gleaming marble floor stretched as far as the eye could see. Women glided past in pastel dresses that probably cost more than some people made in a year. Even the elevators were bronze, for God’s sake.

“You don’t have any other options for me?” Taking advantage of Jazz’s distraction, he leaned across the desk and lowered his voice. “Look, I booked the penthouse suite so we could, you know, have privacy. Hard to do that with a sixteen-year-old two feet away, snapping her gum.”

“Seventeen in two days,” Molly informed the hotel employee. “Thank you very much.”

“I do have one option for you. We can bring in a cot for the living area. There is a door that locks between the two areas.” The woman glanced up and smiled brightly as if she’d just offered him a million dollars. “That should help, no?”

He nearly said “no” but thought better of it. What other alternatives were there? He couldn’t let her sleep in the car. Well, he could, though he doubted Jazz would go for it.

“Fine.”

“Oh yay. I get to listen to you two screw like minxes all night.” Molly rolled her eyes and stalked off to the nearest elevator.

“It’s screw like bunnies,” Jazz called after her, to which Molly lifted her middle finger, drawing more than a few surprised looks.

Jazz laughed. “She definitely has my temper.”

Gray shook his head. While Jazz was in awe over the hotel, he lived in a perpetual state of amazement that Jazz could view Molly’s insolence with such good humor. “We’ll take the cot,” he told the woman behind the desk. “And possibly a gag, if you have it.”

“Ooh, kinky.” Jazz hipchecked him into a smile in spite of himself.

The concierge didn’t blink. “We can supply you with any number of marital aids. If you’d like our list of—”

“No. We’re fine. Thanks.”

“Says who? Gimme.” Jazz leaned forward, her loose hair dangling. “I mean, yes, please, we would love to see this list of available marital aids.”

The woman handed over a laminated menu and the room keys. “Enjoy your stay at the Palatial Suites. Please ring the desk if we can assist you in any way.”

Jazz snatched the laminated menu—and yeah, he didn’t want to imagine why it was laminated—and bit her lower lip. “So how do we get a hold of this stuff? Is there room service like with food?”

“Yes, ma’am. Simply request what you would like from the desk.”

“Huh. Okay. Thank you.” Jazz headed off to the elevator while he made arrangements with the bellhop to carry up their stuff. Not that he and Jazz had a ton of things, but Molly had packed her entire life into four bags. She might’ve just emptied her closet.

When he joined the ladies in the elevator, he shouldn’t have been surprised to see their heads bent together over the menu of sex toys. He shouldn’t have been, but he was.

“I shouldn’t let you look at this,” Jazz said, tugging it away.

“Hell yes, you should. I’m no virgin.” Molly dragged it back and cocked her head. “Some of this stuff sounds intriguing.”

“Yes, and feel free to learn more about it when you’re eighteen.” Jazz snatched back the sheet and stuffed it in the back of her jean shorts like a weapon.

“Uh, you don’t know where that’s been.” Gray took it from her and hit the button for the penthouse suite.

He didn’t mean to look at the menu. Really he didn’t. Why did they need sex toys when her breasts and the sweet heat between her legs were more than enough to entertain him for a lifetime? But as he took in the array of items offered, from ticklers to fur-lined handcuffs to dildos, his mind went wild. It wasn’t as if they ever got much time alone, living in the house with the rest of the band. Sex was mostly impromptu and quick. They never got a chance to…play.

He cast a dark look at Molly. She would not stop them tonight. If he had to turn the music up to scream and bar the door between the rooms, he would.

“I think he’s decided he’s interested,” Molly said with a smirk, watching the numbers climb above the door.

The door snicked open and he ushered them out of the elevator and into the suite, registering the “oohs” and “aahs” with a distracted smile. He had a call to make to Lila to finalize a few more arrangements and then he was calling down to the concierge to order about sixteen things off that menu. The bill for this place with the add-ons would probably empty out his bank account but he didn’t give a shit.

He’d be responsible again next week.

“Gray, come look at this,” Jazz called as he pried out his cell phone and headed into the bedroom. “French doors to the balcony. Oh my God, you can see the Golden Gate.”

“Think he’s got something else on his mind at the moment,” Molly replied.

“Dinner? Yeah, me too. I saw a Chinese place a few blocks over.”

“He wants a pussy platter, not Pu Pu, but nice try.”

Jazz snorted out a laugh but Gray ignored them both as he sat on the ginormous, silk-sheeted bed. He banked on Jazz staying distracted long enough for him to ascertain everything was on track on Lila’s end for tomorrow.

As far as Pu Pu platters and Jazz’s stomach, she would have to wait. His schedule for the evening included taking advantage of some of the hotel’s amenities. They had a ton of sightseeing to do, and he intended to start with the highlights of her body.

“Eat an apple pie,” he advised before he called Lila.

A few minutes later, they ended their abbreviated, hushed phone call and he called down to the front desk. He ordered a few of the things that had caught his eye—and snagged the attention of other parts of his anatomy—and got off the phone just as Jazz bounced onto the mattress.

“Did you just order something called a two-headed monster?” She cocked her head. “I’m guessing that isn’t from the Chinese place.”

“Two-headed massager, and no, it wasn’t.” He kicked back on the bed and extended a hand to her. “C’mere.”

She crawled up the bed and curled up against him, but he could tell she was more concerned with where Molly was than with a quickie before dinner. Or better yet, a long, slow one. They’d been driving for hours, and he wanted nothing more than to sink into her and savor their last night together before they became official. And then tomorrow night, he’d savor her even more.

Assuming she actually agreed to marry him after she found out the stunt he’d pulled. Both stunts, that is—the secret wedding, and the plan to pay off Molly, in spite of the fact that he was determined that no money would change hands. If Jazz found out what he’d done before Molly came to her senses regarding the importance of having her sister in her life, he might be divorced before he got married.

“I’m going out to explore,” Molly called.

Jazz propped her elbow on his chest and leaned half off the bed. “Wait. Where are you going?”

The door to the suite slammed shut.

Jazz shut her eyes and heaved out a breath. “Is this what parenting is going to be like?”

“I doubt it. Our kid won’t be perusing menus of sex toys until they’re at least fifty.”

She giggled. “I shouldn’t have let her look at it, but I forgot for a minute she’s only seventeen. Hell, not even quite seventeen yet. She acts so much older. Her boyfriend—lover—ick, whatever he was had to be our age.” She shuddered.

“She’s been on our own for a while. That changes you.” He brushed his fingers over her cheek. “I don’t know how it didn’t change you more. Shows how strong a will you have.”

“I’m naïve. Even with everything, I still want to pretend that people aren’t always out to con you. That sometimes someone might just want to be your friend or get to know you just because. No ulterior motive.” She gazed off in the distance over his shoulder. “This business fucks with your head. Everyone wants their pound of flesh. I guess it’s hard for me to understand that now I’m the one someone might want a piece of. I’m used to being the girl with nothing.”

“You were never the girl with nothing.” He rubbed her lower lip with his thumb. “You have more than anyone I’ve ever known. Right here.” He slid his hand up over the slight swell of her belly to cover her heart.

“You’re biased,” she said, smiling.

“Damn right. Don’t forget stupidly in love too. I’m sure I’m imagining all your countless attributes.” Laughing, he pulled her more fully on top of him and cupped her cheeks in his hands, drawing her mouth onto his. “Like the fact that you make the most of every pocket of time you’re presented with. Such as right this very instant…”

“Hmm, yeah, alone time isn’t something we get a lot of.” She glanced down between them. “And with him coming, that won’t be improving soon.”

“You’re absolutely right. So we should take advantage of every opportunity.” He flicked her nose. “Get naked.”

She grinned and sat back to tug her shirt over her head. The blush pink bra she wore beneath nearly made him weep. “You’re bossy.”

“You know it.”

A knock sounded at the door and he groaned, dipping his head back.

“Is that your special delivery?” she asked, waggling her brows.

“Oh yeah.” He nearly toppled her on her side in his haste to get off the bed. “Be right back.”

At the door, he met the hotel employee and tipped him in exchange for the plain brown handled bag that was about an inconspicuous as a heart attack. The grin and wink the guy sent him was about the same.

Gray shut the door. So much for discretion. This would probably end up in a tabloid next week. Rockstars engage in night of debauchery. Maybe they should break a lamp or two and throw a couch out the window to squeeze maximum juice from the story.

He headed into the bedroom, stopping dead at the sight of Jazz wearing only her unclasped bra and standing in front of the window with the glitzy landscape of San Francisco stretched out behind her. “Beautiful,” he murmured, dropping the bag at his feet and striding forward to grip her arms.

“The view? Yeah. I know—”

His mouth crushed down on hers, cutting off her words. He fisted his hands in her hair and stroked his tongue between her lips, snatching her breath and the moan that escaped. He wanted everything. Every sound she could make, every involuntary movement. He wanted to taste her sighs, revel in her complete loss of control. Knowing damn well she couldn’t—wouldn’t—lose control that way with anyone else.

He backed her up and worked to undo his jeans and boxers, not thinking about anything except maintaining the contact of their mouths and getting inside her. Nothing else existed. Molly could’ve walked into the room and he wouldn’t have been able to stop from lifting her up and pressing her shoulder blades into the window. She gasped from the temperature difference between her body and the glass, fueling his urgency as he spread her thighs. It didn’t require thought to aim. He just surged upward and she was there, a velvet fist, closing around him, trapping him in the oblivion of her slick pussy. One thrust and the frustrating day disappeared. It was all about them now. The way it had always been meant to be.

She clutched his shoulder and his hair, pulling, twisting. Rocking against him in the rhythm that belonged only to them, one they’d never had to try to find. It was as if it had always been there, waiting. This heartbeat between them, pounding faster, faster. Her breath caught and turned into a whimper. She squeezed him inside her, so tight he swore he’d never want to leave. Surrounding him, making him groan at the pressure of her bare breasts against his chest and her candy-flavored lips streaking over his. Moving like a blur, dragging him with her to the place he craved more than air.

Their place. Theirs.

Clamping a hand on her hip, he levered her higher on the glass, powering into her until he hit that spot that made her eyes go wide and blind. She cried out, the sound as sharp as the nails she sliced down his back. The flash of pain spurred him on, pushing him to go harder, deeper. Her head dropped back and he pulled his mouth from hers to nuzzle her neck, warming the area with soft, wet kisses until a tremor went through her again and he bit down, wresting another whimper from her throat.

Without mercy, he pummeled her against the glass, knowing he should hold back, trying to at least cushion the blows from his hips with his hands between her ass and the unforgiving window. But he couldn’t stop. She ripped something from him, an emotion he couldn’t tame if he tried. She was his life, and he’d die chasing this bliss with her. Into the sunset and beyond where only her fingers fumbling for his could reach him in the madness where he’d descended.

The madness of her and him, together. Finally.

He drew back and launched forward once more, his hands shaking while he tried to hold on while she struggled to lift her dark, sooty lashes. The moment their gazes connected, locked, he gave in to the unrelenting heat building inside him, letting go with a rush that drove his lips back down to hers. She offered him her breath and he took it, filling his taxed lungs with the oxygen she panted into his mouth.

Sweaty, victorious, somehow laughing like loons, they slid down the glass until they puddled on the floor. Her in his arms, still. Always. She dropped her damp forehead to his and wound her arms around his shoulders, trembling around him. With him. He clutched her tightly, wondering her if he’d ever be able to release her again.

Eventually she brushed a lazy kiss over his chin. “What’s in the bag?”

He chuckled as he tugged her bra down her shoulders. He’d been so wild for her he hadn’t even taken the time to push it all the way off. “Horny little thing.”

“Duh.” She swiveled her hips and embedded him even deeper inside her, causing him to grunt.

Christ, she was going to have him hard and ready to go again in no time if she kept flexing around him like that. She was soaked and hot, and knowing he’d gotten her that way in record time urged his still-simmering desire back to life.

“Go see for yourself.” He patted her ass and she got to her feet, wavering just enough to make him laugh. He didn’t need drugs to feel high around her. She was the sweetest fix he’d ever known.

She crossed the room and grabbed the bag then climbed on the bed to dump out his purchases. Kneeling in the center of the mattress, she laughed and gasped and muttered to herself about each item she discovered. Watching her obvious fascination made him harder and harder until he had to move or risk being permanently stuck on the floor. With an erection like he was sporting, he couldn’t waste a moment.

“So what’s first?” he asked, running his tongue along the inside of his lower lip as he steeped himself in how she looked. Tumbled dark hair, flowing everywhere. Ruby red nipples, winter pale skin except where his lips and hands had marked her. That heart-shaped butt wiggling while she ripped open packages.

She sat back and placed her hands on her thighs. “Um, everything?” She tugged out a thin flat item that had gotten lost beneath the rest and lifted an eyebrow. “A blindfold?”

Without responding, he went to her and removed it from the package. He waited for her to balk, to suggest they try something else first. No matter how close a couple was, a blindfold required serious trust, and God knows he’d given her reason to be wary toward him since they’d gotten together. Not for sexual reasons, but trust was trust, and couldn’t be turned on and off like a light. But rather than hesitate, she brushed her hair back over her shoulders and bent her head, making it easier for him to tie it on.

Her reaction made his chest constrict as he covered her eyes with the swatch of black silky material. The blindfold had been included in a section of “implements of sensual torture” like floggers and paddles, items he’d automatically overlooked. He wanted to watch her come undone, not put more marks on her luscious body. At least not now. They were both open-minded. Someday they might explore in that direction, when she wasn’t pregnant and he wasn’t already on edge about hurting her.

“Lock the door,” she said, and it reminded him they weren’t truly alone. Molly could come back anytime.

He obliged her then returned to the bed. Without waiting for him to ask, she settled back against the pillow, the legs she spread for him so willingly shaking with a fine tremor. He steadied her with a hand on her thigh before giving in to the craving for what was between her legs. Bending his head, he took one long, slow lick, tasting them mixed together before returning for more. Her nails scraped the back of his neck as she bowed up and parted her thighs even more, not hiding her urgency at all. She loved for him to do this to her.

Almost as much as he loved it.

Grabbing her ankle, he pulled her out flat on the bed and quieted her squeal by covering her dripping pussy with his mouth. One stroke of his tongue and she was writhing, the heartbeat against his lips throbbing frantically. He drew her piercing between his teeth and lightly tugged, making her bow up from the mattress.

“How fast can you come for me?” he breathed, and she whimpered, a sure sign it wouldn’t be long.

He’d let her have one more quick release before he took her up slow and let her fall.

Pushing two fingers inside her, he rubbed that swollen area that drove her wild in determined circles. He wouldn’t stop until she drenched his face. All that need pouring out, flooding his mouth. Wetting his lips so that when he kissed her, she could taste what he had.

“Gray.” The cry broke from her as he pumped his fingers deep. “Just like I used to imagine…” He stopped and she whimpered again, the sound pure plea.

“Imagined when?”

She whipped her head from side to side, a flush darkening her from her cleavage to the apples of her cheeks. So fucking sexy. He leaned up to nip her breast and she moaned. He knew she was probably itching to take off the blindfold so she would be able to tell where he intended to land next, but he was enjoying having her at his mercy too much. Her compact, lithe body and full, rounded breasts—even more rounded lately—and arousingly curved belly could keep him busy for a lifetime.

“Tell me.”

“Back at your parents’ house. When I was in bed at night…I’d think about you doing this to me.”

He turned his head and lapped at her other nipple until it stood in a taut reddened peak. Then he sucked it between his teeth and her hips jerked, her pussy tightening around the fingers he still inched in and out at a pace meant to prolong, not finish. “Then what did you do?”

“Do?” Her obvious confusion would’ve made him smile if he hadn’t been so deadly serious about his task.

“Do. Tell me, baby.”

The way she stilled told the tale, but he wanted to hear it from her pretty pink lips. In lurid detail.

His fingers swiveled as his thumb toyed with her piercing and she quivered, on the verge of soaking him the way he wanted. But not yet. Not even close.

“I’d touch myself and pretend it was you. Your fingers, opening me up. Exploring me the way I had to do to myself to ease the ache. The way you’d do to those girls in your room.” She sucked in a shuddering breath, causing her breasts to rise and fall. He licked his way between them up to her throat and the guitar pick necklace around her neck, continuing upward to her ear.

He didn’t have to tell her to continue, she already was.

“I’d have to try to be quiet. It’d get so hot in my room, and I’d push my covers down and imagine you walking in to find me with my hand in my panties, stroking myself.” She blew out a breath, her shoulders shaking. “I’d push my finger in hesitantly at first, then harder, deeper until I had to bite the pillow to stop from moaning out loud. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I’d slip another one in and think of your tongue on my clit, just licking and licking until I…oh God.”

“Mmm-hmm. Finish it off,” he said against her ear, his fingers tracing inside her in long, slow pulls. His thumb circling her clit and piercing while she started to quiver.

“I’d get my panties so wet. And the sheets. I’d come tasting your name, and it wasn’t ever enough.”

He shifted his head and spoke against her lips, moving them with his own. “What would make it enough now?”

“You. Your cock inside me. Please.” She gasped between each word.

Suddenly nothing sounded better. He’d wanted to tease her with the toys, take his time. But they’d have a lifetime to explore, and he couldn’t wait a second longer.

“Roll over on your side,” he said, shifting behind her and slipping his damp fingers out of her slit.

She made an impatient noise as he trailed them up her belly and helped her into position. Brushing kisses over her shoulder, he reached up to tease her distended nipples with his wet fingers. Her breasts were so sensitive now that with a few flicks, she was rolling her hips in eager circles.

“I used to fantasize about you too. But it wasn’t right. You were my sister.”

“I was never your sister,” she declared hotly, and he chuckled and drew her earlobe between his teeth. Tugging until she gasped.

“Didn’t stop me from jerking off in the shower and imagining you on your knees in front of me. Those pretty lips open.” He grazed them with the pads of his fingers. “Open up, baby. Taste us.”

She sucked his fingers inside and made a sound of delight that seemed to reverberate through her body into his.

“Then I’d go into my room and I still wasn’t done. I’d grab a T-shirt and walk to the walk between our rooms and wait until I heard your voice. You’d laugh, and I’d have my hand on my cock. Pumping it into my fist, stroking so hard that I soaked my shirt.” He pushed his fingers deeper into her mouth and she sucked harder, right up to the knuckle. “You never knew how I wanted to fuck you back then, even though it was wrong. I wanted to be your first. Your only.”

Rather than speak, she shifted her leg up on both of his, spreading herself open for him. She knew that was an invitation he could never refuse.

But first, he had something to take care of.

He reached across her belly, the light pressure of his arm causing her to squirm. He grabbed a thin wand vibrator, the kind that would never satisfy her on its own. That’s why he’d chosen it. This would rev her up, and he would help her over.

“What’re you doing?” Her voice sounded muffled, thick. “I ache.”

“I know. It’s about to get better.” He flipped the switch and the low buzz triggered her shiver. She backed into him, rubbing against his cock, and he turned his grin against her throat. “How much can you take?”

“Nothing. Not one thing.”

Now he did laugh, helplessly. Her honesty at all times never failed to humble him. “You underestimate yourself, baby. But I never do.” He pressed the toy against her clit, careful to avoid the piercing, and she released a high, thin cry. “Careful,” he murmured against her hair. “Someone might hear you.”

“Let them,” she gasped.

“Naughty girl.” He nipped along her jaw, drawing in the vanilla and watermelon scent he’d loved since he was a teenager. She was summer and happiness and the life he’d always dreamed of, all wrapped into one. “Tell me what you want. Beg for it and I’ll give it to you. Anything you want.” Everything.

“Inside me. Please. Now.”