Colin, present day

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The woman could kiss.

Her mouth was urgent and yet soft, hurried but somehow giving him the sense that she still was savoring every second.

Colin didn’t realize he’d been sitting there frozen, lost in feeling CeCe in exactly the place she most belonged—his arms—and not actively participating until his woman pulled back and glared at him. “Kiss me, dammit.”

He didn’t need to be told twice.

He wrapped his arms around CeCe’s waist, yanked her atop him, and leaned back against the couch cushions.

Curves beneath his fingertips, breasts pressed against his chest, and then skin . . . And fuck, yes. Her skin was like velvet, silky smooth, and flushed pink from the blood rushing beneath the surface.

Not that his blood was calm and hanging out below his skin . . . or at least not all of his skin. It had shifted so that it was in a very specific, very hard and aching location.

CeCe shoved at the T-shirt he’d shrugged on when her phone had rung, not wanting to be half-naked and scarring a child if he happened to get caught on the screen.

But instead of being caught in flagrante delicto, he’d been captivated by the voices coming out of her phone. Jealous of the easy familiarity between her and her former employer. Touched by how good she’d been with Hunter. She loved those people.

He was glad.

But it also made him ache.

Because he wanted her more.

He wanted this kiss to be about the future more than the past.

He wanted this moment to be the beginning of some magical happily ever after, like in one of her books.

“Colin,” she said, tearing her mouth away, her breath coming in short gasps, her hands on his chest, his abs . . . teasing lower. “Your brain is working too hard.” She grinned. “And not this one,” she added with a punctuating pat on his cock.

His hips shot up at the touch and he groaned. “God, sweetheart. I love your hands on me. But—ah—I feel like we should finish the conversation—”

Her hand reached into his boxer briefs and squeezed. Hard. “Fuck now. Talk later.”

Considering that Colin’s eyes were rolling into the back of his skull, he couldn’t argue.

Instead, he gathered his wits, pulled her hand from his pants and flipped their positions. Her robe spread open, breasts bare and gorgeous, and her nipples were hard points, demanding his mouth.

He obliged, sucking one deeply while teasing the other with his free hand.

“Col—” She broke off as he switched sides.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he murmured, releasing her and kissing a path down her body. He stopped to nibble at one hip, to trace the path of freckles along her waist with his tongue. But those were mere distractions, side trips from what he really wanted.

Which was Cecilia’s wet pussy pressed firmly against his mouth.

And it was wet. He could see it glistening, smell that musky scent even though he was still six inches from the motherland.

Her hips shifted, tilting slightly, legs spreading as he came closer.

“Mmm,” he said. “You want my mouth, sweetheart?”

“Get your tongue inside me, Colin,” she demanded, head dropping back to the cushion and her legs spreading further. “God I’ve dreamed about your mouth on me for so long.”

“You and me both,” he said and then put them both out of their misery.

One lick sent his arousal sky-high. It threatened to burn him to ash, to snap his last semblance of control. Truly, the only thing that was keeping him focused was how strongly he wanted this to be about Cecilia. He needed to make it perfect for her. He needed to show her how good it could be between them.

The next touch of his tongue shattered something within her.

She gripped his head, pressing it more firmly against her center and ground her hips against his mouth.

“More tongue,” she ordered and who was he to deny her anything? “Oh fuck. Yes. God, Colin. Like that.”

“Mmm,” he murmured, loving the way the sound made her buck and grip his hair tighter. He firmed his tongue, found her clit and unleashed every trick he’d learned over the years.

“No,” she said when he circled instead of flicking his tongue. “The other was be—better. Mmmm,” she moaned.

Goddamn, but there was something unbelievably sexy about a woman knowing what she wanted in bed.

“Like that.” Her breath caught. Her hips jerked and every muscle in her body went granite hard. “Oh, God. Yes. I’m so—mmm—I’m so close, Colin. Please—”

He slid a finger deep, curling it up and forward.

And she shattered.

Feeling her clench around his finger, her hands in his hair, her legs over his shoulders was fucking incredible.

But what was even better was her tugging his head up and kissing him before staring deep into his eyes. “Thank you.” A whisper, but accompanied by a confident smirk that made him want to drop right back down between her thighs and repeat the process from the beginning.

She must have read the intent in his gaze because she grabbed his shoulders then reached behind her into that tote bag of hers.

Out came a string of condoms.

“Any interest in helping me use these?”