I wasn’t going to waste another second crying over Nate Franco. Instead, I let the water flow over me, washing away the tears from the morning. Maybe he was right. Maybe we were over. My heart ached at the thought, and I didn’t believe it. I could be pissed all I wanted, but I knew that Nate was it for me. I just wish he felt the same way.

Hitting the wall, I flipped and shot out toward the other side. A huge splash, then rough hands on me had me sputtering to the surface.

“What the—”

“You’re naked!” Nate draped his soaked suit jacket around me and pulled me to him.

“So what?” Indignation wrapped my words in a stranglehold. “You didn’t have a problem when I was naked out here earlier.”

“That was different.”

“How?” I swiped the wet hair from my face and glared at him.

“Because then I was between your legs and you were screaming my name.” Water dripped down his face and rested on his dark lashes like round crystals.

“Get off me.” My cheeks heated at the memory.

“No.” His arms tightened around my back.

“Why do you care?” I yelled in his face as he spun me and floated us toward the side of the pool. “You think I’m just some dumb kid who doesn’t have a clue.”

“No, I don’t.” His wet hair stuck up at funny angles. He looked younger, just like the Nate I’d fallen in love with. “I’m sorry about what I said. I didn’t mean to—”

“Completely discount my feelings and treat me like a child?” I supplied.

He swallowed hard. “Yeah, that.”

“Why the sudden change of heart?”

“I-I had a few drinks.”

I scoffed. “You had to get liquored up to come to this conclusion?”

“I do my best thinking when I’m lit.” He seemed completely serious.

I wanted to hit him and kiss him at the same time. “So now you’re sorry?”

“I’m sorry for not listening to you. For all the stupid things that came out of my mouth.”

“Are you sorry for what you did to me on the grass, too?”

He blinked as if I’d slapped him. “Hell no. I’ll never be sorry for that.”

A little spark of heat fizzed to life in my heart. “So this is another sorry, not sorry. Like you did when you spanked me?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I mean yes? I’m not sure. I’m sorry about what I said, I’m not sorry about what I did. So, sort of?”

I leaned my head back against the side of the pool. “You sound confused.”

“I am.” He swiped some wet hair from my forehead. “That’s what you do to me. Turn me every which way. Ever since I first saw you down here, I…” He seemed to wrestle with what he wanted to say next.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, his jacket sliding off my shoulders and floating around me. “Keep going. And tell the truth.” A glance at his lips had me warming even more.

“Shit.” He shook his head a little. “When I first saw you down here, I wanted you.”

Cue the inner fireworks.

“But I didn’t know it was you. I thought maybe one of the guys had brought their chick by. That didn’t bother me. I still would’ve…”

“Would’ve what?” I leaned closer, peering into his expressive green eyes.

“I would’ve gotten what I wanted, no matter who you belonged to.”

I wrapped my legs around his hips. “Is it normal to be jealous of myself when you thought I was someone else?”

He laughed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. I wanted to lick it.

“But then I realized it was you. The shy, sweet girl I’d found and taken care of. And I refused to see you as anything else. Because you’re so young. And so innocent.”

“Oh, come on.” I squeezed him between my legs. “Innocent?”

“You are.” A wrinkle formed between his brows. “You’ve never been with anyone. You have this amazing future. You deserve the best. Not some… some mafia capo asshole with a smart mouth and a short life expectancy.” He absently ran a finger on the scar along his jaw.

My heart melted more and more as he spoke, his words halting but sincere. It hadn’t occurred to me that he didn’t think he was good enough for me. It all began to make more sense as I considered him. He thought I would have this amazing life. I hoped he was right. But it included him. It always had.

I pinned him with a hard look. “This isn’t about deserve, this is about need. I don’t know what I deserve, but I know I need you. Not just out of some hero worship from when I was thirteen, either. It started there, and if that had been the extent of it, it would have died while I was away at school. It didn’t. I thought about you every day.” I thought I was done crying for the day. I was wrong. Tears overflowed, mixing with the water on my cheeks. “Every. Day. I hoped you were safe and happy. And I wanted to get back to you more than anything. But you wouldn’t let me. And I knew—no matter how hard it was for me—that you kept me away for a reason. So I didn’t come back. Not until I was ready. And now I’m here. I want this amazing future you’ve painted, but the part you don’t understand is that you’ve always been in the picture right there with me.”

“You’re even poetic.” He smoothed his palm along my cheek and wiped my tears. “You going to major in books or something?”

I smiled and rubbed the tip of my nose against his. “Pre-law.”

“Oh, shit.” He pulled back. “Lawyer?”

“Yeah.”

“Not the prosecutor type, right?”

I shrugged, teasing him. “Maybe. I might decide to take down the entire Philly underground. Really clean up the city.”

He smirked. “I could talk you out of your plan.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, maybe not talk, but I’d definitely be using my tongue.”

Sparks ignited in my veins.

His gaze turned serious, his jaw tightening. “I don’t deserve you. Not even a little. I’m an asshole. You need to know things about me before we do this.”

I didn’t know what he meant by “this,” but I wasn’t about to stop him from telling me about himself.

“I’m a bastard first thing in the morning. Like, if you wake me up, I might want to strangle you, and I’ll definitely fuck you rough. I can’t stand any music created by boy bands. I have a weird habit of counting things in fives. I just like five. I don’t know why. I’ll try not to smoke anymore, but I can’t make promises with you around.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “One more thing. I want you.”

My stomach flipped.

His grip on me tightened. “I want you so bad that I can’t fucking think straight. But we don’t have to rush. I won’t push you to give me anything you aren’t comfortable with.” He gritted his teeth, but put conviction in his words. “I can wait.”

“Fair enough. A few things about me—I have to have coffee in the morning or I’ll lose my mind. I love boy bands. I have tickets to see a K-pop boy band this fall.”

He gave me a quizzical look.

“Korean boy bands are the best,” I explained. “My favorite food is strawberry Laffy Taffies. I giggle every time I try to get a pedicure. And I’ve fantasized about you every night for years. So, while you may be happy to wait, I’m not.” I leaned forward and caught his bottom lip between my teeth.

He didn’t hesitate, pressing his mouth against mine in a possessive kiss that sealed the shaky truce we’d just arranged. I molded my body against his as he pressed me to the side of the pool. His hands cupped my face, and his tongue delved inside, taking as I opened myself to his onslaught. He tasted like whiskey and mint, and I became lost in his kiss. When he edged his hips forward, his hard cock teasing against my spread legs, I gasped.

With a mumbled curse, he wrapped his coat around me and carried me from the water.

“Where are we—”

“I’m going to do this the right way.” He pushed open the door to the house and carried me, dripping wet, through the hall and up the stairs. I ignored George’s pointed stare and clung to Nate, my heart racing as he hurried down the hall to his bedroom, then kick-slammed the door behind him.

Carrying me through to his bathroom, he set me on the warm tile and opened his glass shower, twisting the knobs.

I held the jacket around me and shivered from the cool air that circled my bare legs. I’d gotten naked and jumped in the pool to spite him, but now, when we were at the brink of doing something I’d never experienced, a nervousness shot through me.

He held his hand under the spray. “It’s warm now.”

I glanced at the rain shower. “Okay.”

He unbuttoned his shirt, inch after inch of toned muscle revealed as he freed himself from the wet fabric. Stripping down as if I wasn’t standing there gaping at him, he shucked his boxers, his hard cock pressing against his lower stomach.

“Eyes up here, Sabrina.” He smirked as I tore my gaze away from his body.

My face flamed. “Sorry. I just—I never. You know. I never, um…” I stopped talking, mainly because I wasn’t saying anything anyway.

He pulled me to him, then slid the soaked coat off my shoulders. It dropped to the gray tile floor with a watery splat.

Naked. Totally naked with Nate. Every nerve ending on my body hummed as he slid his hands down my upper arms.

“You’re beautiful.” He framed my waist with his palms, then ran his hands around to my ass and squeezed.

I squeaked and went onto my tiptoes, pressing against his body. His cock rested along my stomach.

“Scared?” He tilted my chin up, our eyes meeting in the closest thing to soul-to-soul contact possible.

A little. “No.”

“Right.” He smiled, slow and wicked, then pulled me into the warm shower.

The heat was soothing as he lathered me up with clinical attention to detail. I sighed as he soaped my breasts, his finger grazing my hard nipples again and again.

“Going to come for me already?” He dropped to his knees and turned me around, soaping my ass, his fingers touching all my most intimate places.

I gasped as he slid a finger along my clit. “Nate!”

“What? I was just being thorough.” He drew his soapy hands down my legs, then stood.

I trembled, the need building up inside me and dancing with my uncertainty. As I rinsed off, he soaped up and followed suit, then hustled me out of the shower and into a towel. His erection hadn’t waned the entire time we’d been together, and I gawked at it as he quickly dried off.

Drawing my eyes away, I started to fasten my towel around me.

Nate grabbed it and pulled it away. “Get on the bed.”

Goosebumps raced across my bare skin as he devoured me with his gaze. His eyes burned with an intensity that heightened my fear, but also my need for him. Gorgeous, smooth skin, except for scars here and there, lean muscle, and a face I could draw with my eyes closed—he was everything I wanted.

Turning, I walked into his bedroom, the cool wood floors a contrast to the heat of the bathroom. Was I supposed to be on top of the covers or under? Shyness crept up my spine, so I pulled back the navy comforter on the king size bed and slid between the sheets. The fabric was soft, but it felt like thorns against me—especially my nipples. My skin was on high alert, and I couldn’t look away from the bathroom door. I was rewarded after only a few seconds as Nate stalked out, his hungry eyes on me.

“Don’t hide from me.” He grabbed the sheets and yanked them back. If the sheets felt like thorns, the rush of cold air was daggers. “I want to see all of you.” He climbed between my knees and spread me.

I dug my nails into the mattress as his eyes darkened and traced every line and curve of my body. Starting at my throat, he ran his hands across my collarbones, down my chest, along my quivering stomach and to my hips.

“Don’t be afraid.” He bent his dark head to my stomach and dropped light kisses there.

“I don’t want to be. But I don’t know what to expect.”

“Expect to enjoy every second of what we do together.” His gentle touches unwound my anxiety, and as his mouth warmed the underside of my breast, I arched my back. He moved up and pinned my nipple between his lips, then opened his mouth wide around it. When he sucked, I dragged my fingers through his hair.

Slow, so slow. Each caress erased my fear and replaced it with desire. His kisses multiplied, fanning out across my breasts and up to my neck. When he nibbled at my ear, I had a brief vision of flipping him over and sinking down on his cock. My whimper drew a quiet laugh that rumbled from his chest to mine.

“Impatient?”

“Yes.” I wrapped my legs around his hips. “I want it.”

“And you’ll have it.” He took my lips, ravishing my mouth with his wicked tongue before sinking down my body and placing a wet kiss on my pussy.

I jerked, but he held my hips in place as his tongue swirled and flicked. He grabbed my ass with greedy hands and lifted me to his mouth. Digging my heels into his back only spurred him to lick me faster, his tongue mastering my clit as I tried to quell the pleasure that threatened to overcome me. My legs shook, everything in my body going tight as he groaned against me, the vibration sending me to a level of arousal I didn’t know existed.

“If you don’t stop, I’m going to—” Too late. My mind blanked, and fireworks fizzed behind my eyelids. “Nate!” He kept the pressure on, making sure I was drawn under the tidal wave of pleasure. I happily sank beneath the water, relishing the rolling waves, each one gentler than the last.

He licked and sucked, his mouth covering me and wringing every last bit of release from my body. With one last kiss, he said, “That’s my girl.”

Those words added to the warmth already twirling in my chest. He climbed up my body and kissed me, the slight taste of myself an erotic treat. When he’d gotten me breathless again, he pulled back and reached for the drawer on his nightstand.

“Are you…” I would rather club a seal than continue with the question, but I had to ask. “Are you clean?”

“Yes.” He peered into my eyes. “I always wrap it up.”

I shook my head. “I want to feel you.”

His jaw tightened, and I realized just how tense he’d been this whole time. He was on a hair trigger, one I wanted to pull.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ve been on birth control for a year.”

“Why?” He returned to me, lying between my thighs, his heavy body weighing me down deliciously.

“Just helps with my period, and”—embarrassment crept into my voice—“and I’ve been hoping for this day for a long time.”

His gaze softened, though the rest of him was rock hard. “Have I mentioned that I don’t deserve you?”

I smiled and pulled his face to mine, kissing him with my whole heart. He ran a hand through my hair, his other hand sliding down to my hip. Careful not to squeeze the bruised spot, he moved his hand around and palmed my ass.

When his cock pressed against me, I tensed.

He pulled back. “I need you relaxed. That’s the only way you’ll be able to take what I’m giving you.”

“Okay.” I let out a long breath. “I can relax.”

He kissed down my jaw. “Do you need to come all over my face again? I’m happy to oblige.”

I grabbed his shoulders. “I’m ready. But maybe I can touch it some first?”

“My pleasure.” Sitting back on his knees, he pulled me up with him.

Wrapping my hand around him, I swallowed hard. I’d never put anything inside myself wider than a tampon. Nate was much wider.

“It’ll fit.” He smirked. “Barely.”

A bead of moisture at the tip drew my eye. I ran my thumb across it and licked.

He groaned and grabbed my knee. “You trying to kill me?”

“No.” I ran my finger down his abs and grabbed his cock again. “Just trying to see how this is going to work. Porn isn’t as informative as you’d think.”

“You want to see, huh?”

I nodded.

“Spread your pussy lips. Two fingers.” He took my hand and slid it between my thighs. “Open your fingers. Perfect.” His eyes fixed on where I spread myself for him. “How am I going to last?” He seemed to be speaking more to himself.

“How long do you last?”

His cocky smirk returned. “As long as you need me to.” He moved closer and ran his cock head between my fingers, up and down my slick skin.

I jolted as he made contact with my clit.

“Keep watching that pretty pussy.”

I leaned forward and followed his strokes, the whole image of him touching me like this sending flames licking along my body. It was obscene and addictive.

He pressed his head against my entrance. “You ready?”

Was I? After this, Nate would own me, body and soul. I wouldn’t be able to get enough of him. If he changed his mind about me, I’d be destroyed.

He tipped my chin up, our eyes meeting. “You can trust me.”

“I always have.” I lay back, and he followed me down, his hands entwining with mine and pinning me to the bed.

Kissing me again, he pushed lightly with his hips. I let my legs fall open. A flame burned inside me, small but hungry. He pressed again, and his tip slid past my entrance.

I froze beneath him.

He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to mine. “You okay?”

I forced myself to relax. “Don’t stop.”

Pushing forward again, he sheathed himself halfway inside me. Everything seemed to stop. It was just the two of us, joined in a way that I couldn’t describe. All I knew was that I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to feel all of him, to savor the illicit pleasure that I’d wanted from him for so long.

His arms shook, a fine sheen of sweat on his body as he waited for me to adjust. “I’ll be gentle. I’ll do it soft.”

I moved my hips a fraction of an inch. “Who are you trying to convince?”

“Fuck.” He pushed all the way in.

I gasped and squeezed his fingers. “Nate.”

“Okay?”

“I’m good.” The foreign sensation of being filled melted away, and something far more delectable sprang up in its place. “I want to move.”

He groaned and dropped his head to my shoulder. “Yes.” Pulling back, he surged forward, filling me again. This time, I rocked my hips up to him. The friction on my clit told me this was just a taste of the ecstasy waiting for me.

“More.” I dug my heels into the backs of his thighs.

He ground against me, then pulled out to his tip. Looping one hand behind my neck, he pulled me up. “Watch as you take every inch.” He eased his slick cock inside me, and my pussy throbbed around him. I watched him disappear, the sight its own aphrodisiac.

“Oh my god.” I gripped his biceps as he lay me down and began long, slow strokes.

Wrapping his arm around my back, he pulled me toward him and buried his face between my breasts. When he took a nipple in his mouth and kept the same smooth rhythm, I arched for him. He took the hint and began to move his hips faster as he kissed first one breast and then the other. No more teasing, he nipped and sucked at me until all I could concentrate on was the building pressure where we were joined.

He pistoned even faster, each stroke jarring and perfect. My breasts bounced as he lay me back down and kissed my neck. The illicit smacking sound of skin on skin only added to the symphony of sex, and Nate was the maestro.

“Just looking at you is going to make me shoot my load.” His gravelly voice scraped past. “But I won’t, not until you’re coming on my cock.”

Licking his thumb, he snaked it between us and pressed it against my clit. I made a strangled cry that he took with a rough kiss. He was still holding back, his muscles trembling, but he was on the verge of losing control. I wanted him just as gone as I was. Running my hands through his hair, I dropped my palms to his back and scratched my nails down the hard muscle.

He bit my lip, his thrusts growing harder, faster. His thumb was making it difficult to concentrate, but I took the only other step I had available to make him lose it. I pulled back from his kiss. “Nate?”

“Yeah?” He slowed. “Did I hurt you?”

I gripped his waist. “I want you to coat my pussy with your come.”

His eyes rolled and his movements because harsher. “Oh, fuck.”

“All over my pink.” My breathless voice landed the final blow.

He gripped my ass, yanking me up to him as he plunged inside me.

I pressed my hands to the headboard as he claimed me. The fire inside me spiraled out of control as his thumb flicked past my clit again and again. Catching his gaze, I opened my mouth in a silent cry as my orgasm exploded through me. Flames sizzled through my blood as everything in me combusted. My breath came back, and all I could say was his name in the midst of moans.

“Fuck yes. Fuck.” He gave me a few more punishing strokes, my body greedy for every last bit of him. His cock hardened even more, stretching me farther than I thought possible. Then he pulled out. I stared down at his cock as ropes of come shot against my swollen flesh. He marked me, coating me with him just as I’d asked. Erotic was too mild a word for the look of it, the filthy perfection of Nate’s come all over my pussy.

He sat back, but couldn’t pull his gaze away from the mess we’d made. “You sure don’t talk like a virgin.”

I smiled up at him. “I’ve had a lot of practice talking to imaginary Nate.”

His chest puffed up. “Imaginary Nate has nothing on me.”

“You can’t get jealous of your own imaginary self.”

“You got jealous of your pool self.” He rose and walked to the bathroom, his hard ass a treat to look at as he went.

“Touché.”

He returned with a warm washcloth. After we’d cleaned up, he pulled me to his chest and kissed the top of my head. “Was it like you thought it would be?”

I ran my fingertip around his nipple. “Yes and no.”

“Better, right?” So damn cocky.

I smacked his chest. “It was…” I hated to feed his ego, but I didn’t want to lie, especially not after what we’d just shared. “Amazing.”

He squeezed me closer. “Same here.”

“Really? You’re not just saying that?” I tried not to think of his past, of the others.

“I don’t just say shit.” He laughed. “I mean, I do. But not to you. Not about this.” He gripped my upper arms and pulled me on top of him so we were face to face. “I’ll swear on whatever you’d like that you gave me something sweeter than I ever thought possible.”

“Swear by thy gracious self.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Is this the book smarts thing? That’s what this is, isn’t it?”

A smile pulled at my lips. “You act like you never even went to high school.”

He kissed my forehead, as if he couldn’t go for too long without pressing his lips to some part of me. The thought sent a thrill racing to my achy spots.

“I went to some school, yeah. But I cut class, didn’t pay attention for shit, and I’m pretty sure they just graduated me so I’d quit terrorizing the students and flirting with the younger teachers.”

I ran my finger down the harsh line of his jaw, the scar smooth next to the unmarred skin. “Sounds about right.”

“I’m not educated. Not like you. I won’t be able to keep up with the smart stuff you’ve got going on up here.” He tapped my forehead.

It was as if he were looking at himself in a funhouse mirror. I saw something completely different than what he described. “Do you think an idiot could run the biggest criminal syndicate in Philly? Do you—”

“I—”

“Let me finish.”

His mouth clapped closed, though his eyes narrowed. Meow.

“Do you think that a man could be the youngest boss this town has ever seen and be a total moron? Is that what you think? Because, let me tell you. You’re dead wrong. And I’m the smart one, remember? So I don’t want to hear any more of this nonsense about you not being good enough. I decide who’s good enough to get between these thighs. You made the cut.”

His eyebrows lowered. “No one else is going to make the cut.”

My heart did a backflip. “You saying you want an exclusive?”

He gripped my chin. “I thought I already made that clear.”

“I don’t know. You didn’t actually say the words.” I cut my eyes away from him. “And I’ll have to check my calendar—”

“I wasn’t going to.” He shook his head and sat up, taking me with him. “I really wasn’t, but that smart mouth of yours.” He pulled me over his knees.

“Hey!” My protest was loud, but the kitten inside me purred and stretched.

“But after that stunt you pulled in front of the Irish, and then again in the pool, and right now teasing me with some bullshit about other men.” He rubbed my ass and kept me steady on his knees as I made half-hearted attempts to escape. “Tell me you’re mine.”

“I don’t know—” Smack. That one. Burned. So. Good.

Smack. I squealed at the second hit that landed in the same spot as the first. Wriggling against him, I could feel his growing erection pressing into my side. Smack.

“Okay.” I scratched his ankle with my nails. “Okay!”

Smack. “Okay what?” He soothed the burn with a steady circular rubbing motion.

“Okay it’s only you.”

“That’s right.” Satisfaction dripped from his words.

Smack.

“Hey! What was that for?” I craned my head around.

He peered down. “For the Irish.” Raising his hand again, he brought it back down with a crack. “And that’s for the pool.”

“Asshole.” I tried to kick my leg out and roll away, but he yanked me back and added another smack.

“Have any more sass for me?” He grinned and slipped his finger between my legs, probing my wet entrance. “I could do this all day, Sabrina.”

I bit my lip, torn between wanting more and needing some time to recover.

“Good girl.” He pulled me up and snuggled back on the bed, pulling the sheet over us.

I bit his neck. “You’re mean.”

His low laugh curled my toes. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”