No one had ever gone down on Yasmin before. She’d fooled around with guys without ever going past finger penetration, but Javier was the first to place his mouth there.

Pleasure zinged through her, flying down nerve endings she didn’t know she had. She shuddered and pressed her feet against the mattress, gasping in surprise.

“The taste of you…” He sighed against the crease of her left inner thigh. Then his tongue touched her clit again in a teasing dance, a flutter then a sip that drew her hard and sensitive pearl between his lips.

Just as tension gathered in her core and blossomed like an orchestra’s crescendo, he abandoned the small bud—sweeping his tongue between her folds and probing her neglected entrance.

Yasmin died a tiny death, wondering where the hell Javier had been all of her adult life, because no sex toy or battery operated boyfriend could ever surpass the way he used his tongue.

“I want you to come on my mouth. You want that, kitten?”

Sweet mother of Hecate, yes. She definitely wanted that.

When Javier rolled onto his back, his dick sailed up and slapped his flat stomach. He wrapped one fist around it and pumped a long, leisurely kind of stroke, taunting Yasmin until her mouth watered. Without coaxing from him, she scrambled onto his face, thighs straddling either side of his head.

Then his tongue touched her clit again, and any semblance of intelligence she had vanished. Long strokes and short licks, each wet pass drove her a little closer to ecstasy, until his thumb notched against her hood and bared her clit again.

Her hips rocked voluntarily when he circled the tender nerve bundle, and then she gasped, grabbing the headboard when he drew it into his mouth for a decadent, slow suck.

“Javier!”

His moan vibrated through her pussy, and the breath came from her in short, ragged pants. She needed more. She was burning for him, a slow-building inferno spiraling within her core, and nothing short of orgasm could quench the flames.

Desperately, she rode his face, circling her hips and rocking on his mouth, crying out when he tweaked her nipples and rolled both between her fingers.

How the hell had he gone from close friend to… the lover who made her scream for the stars?

At one time, he’d been her best friend. The friend she’d always been the most eager to see.

When had things changed?

Climax crashed over Yasmin, and then her pussy was spasming, his tongue thrashing against her lips, her clit so sensitive that the slightest contact made her hips jerk and her thighs tremble.

She kept crying his name and shouting out for the gods, keeping a white knuckled grip on the iron rail.

Her core was still throbbing when he slid out from beneath her and took her from behind.

By the time they finally collapsed to the sheets for a rest, golden rays from the setting sun slanted through his open windows.

The bite on his shoulder throbbed with pleasant warmth. Yasmin hadn’t repeated the marking, and he had once again restrained himself from reciprocating the brand.

If he did that, it would seal their bond in permanence, and they’d be tied together for eternity. His dad’s cutting words lingered in the back of his mind, but one look at Yasmin’s blissful features obliterated them. She wasn’t a gold digger after his money.

Hell, she probably had more wealth than him. Everything in his personal hoard had come courtesy of his father or been donations and gifts from relatives and family. He’d personally gained nothing.

Despite having nothing to offer Yasmin but himself, he wanted her, and he didn’t even know why.

Something about her called out to his soul and stirred memories of holding her hand on the beach, making sand castles, and playing with the jaguars in his father’s sanctuary. Would she still like those things?

“You haven’t asked why I didn’t mark you in return.”

“Huh?” Yasmin rolled onto her side and blinked at him.

“The mating brand.” When he gestured to his shoulder, Yasmin flushed.

“Yeah, about that, I’m sorry. Like really sorry. I didn’t mean to, and I guess I figured you knew it was one of those lost-in-the-moment things, which is why you haven’t done the same.”

He forced a grin despite the painful stab burrowing into his chest with each word. “Yeah. Yeah, I sorta figured, but thought I should ask.”

Relief flooded Yasmin’s features, adding to the crushing tightness in his chest. “Good. This is fun and all, but I’m not exactly ready to be bonded for eternity. I mean, you live here, and that’s a long way to try and keep a relationship intact.”

“You could always stay on the island,” Javier suggested, testing the waters and her interest in remaining with him at all.

“Stay on the island? I’m between semesters at school. If I don’t return in a month, my classes will resume without me, which kinda sucks since I’ve already put a few years into this whole degree thing.”

“Oh.”

“Plus, I have friends and a job in the states. A really awesome job.”

A job she’d never mentioned before since he hadn’t bothered to learn anything about her or even have a real conversation at length. “I get it.”

While he understood, Yasmin continued to chatter. Light and excitement danced in her eyes. “It’s really neat. BioWare is hiring me to voice their new star captain, and Bethesda contacted my agent about a role in their next Elder Scrolls game.”

“I get it,” Javier said, although it took all his grace and willpower to murmur the words in a gentle voice. “That’s cool. I mean, you’re going to be a voice acting star now with a lineup of gigs like that.”

“Yeah.” Yasmin’s wispy smile broadened. “It’s been my dream. Don’t you have a dream job?”

He didn’t, which was precisely the problem, as his dad would say.

“Nah, not really.” He shrugged in an attempt to play it off as nothing major. “I help in the office sometimes, so that’s likely where I’ll end up in a few years once my folks wanna retire or whatever it is they wanna do.”

“But that isn’t what you wanna do.”

“Not really, but it’s what I will do. Only option, really.”

“Well, what are you good at?” she persisted. “Everybody is good at something. Your mom does photography, your dad creates billionaire empires out of animal sanctuaries and resorts, my dad writes some badass video game scripts, and my mom can make a yard look like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon when she’s not busy designing sexy romance covers.”

“I can’t draw more than a stick figure.”

“Heh.” She chuckled and propped her head up on her hand. “Okay, so an artist you are not. But c’mon, there has to be something you’ve always wanted to do.”

“Living on a tropical island hasn’t introduced me to many options,” he said.

Her smile turned into a frown, lips pressed together in a thin line. “That’s not really a great excuse, you know?”

“Now you sound like my dad. Anyway, what are we doing about this?” He pointed to his shoulder and drew the topic back to the partial bond between them.

“I dunno. Let it fade I guess, right? I mean, we’re both in agreement that it was my fault and not intentional. Or a good idea since we live worlds apart.” She ducked her head sheepishly and hid her face beneath her abundant, wild curls. “You don’t want it, right?”

“Yeah,” he lied. “The sooner it’s gone the better.”

“Great. Um… this isn’t going to mess up our friendship, right?”

Friendship. The word closed an iron fist around his heart and squeezed. “What? Nah, why would it?”

“I dunno. I’ve never really done the friends with benefits thing before. It was… really nice reconnecting with you again, and I don’t want things to be awkward these last few days ’till I leave.”

“When are you leaving anyway?”

“Four days.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “You gonna see me off when I go?”

“Yeah. I’ll be there. I wouldn’t dream of letting you go without a goodbye.”