Tessa

He handles me like I’m made of fragile glass and eases me down on the large master bed. It fits the room and the man. The lights are turned off, but the city glows through a wall of windows, sending moving shadows across the ceiling and walls.

He stands a few feet away from the bed and removes his shirt. The lighting is muted, but I can still make out his carved abs. I wish he wasn’t beyond my reach. I want to touch him so bad.

Piece by piece, he undresses himself until there’s only one more item of clothing left: his boxer briefs. I wait for the reveal, and when he pushes them down his legs, I gasp. He’s long and hard—gravity defying. My word. Seeing a naked man on the internet is nothing compared to the vision of Barclay in person. I can’t quit staring at his perfection.

The dark shadows mix with the dim light and crisscross over his body, making him look like a granite statue of masculine beauty. I glance up at his face to find him smirking at me, knowing I’ve been caught ogling him.

“Raise your hands over your head, baby.” I do as he asks, and he removes my dress, stepping back to ogle me. “You’re lovely beyond words.”

I fight the urge to cover myself as his eyes pore over every inch of my exposed skin. Barclay must sense my unease, and brushes my cheek in a lingering touch. It’s so tender and caring, all my self-conscious feelings begin to fade away.

“No man can ever be fully worthy of you, Tessa, but I’ll try.” My eyes cloud with tears knowing how he sees me, even if I don’t believe it myself.

“I want you, Barclay. Only you.”

He reaches into his nightstand, pulls out a foiled square and a bottle filled with a clear lubricant, and places them on the bed.

“I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you sitting in the restaurant, so pretty in pink, coloring the space around you. With your blond hair caressing shoulders I longed to touch. I couldn’t get you off my mind.”

His hands gently spread my legs apart, then he positions himself over me. He kisses my lips, then takes my nipple into his mouth and does that trick with his tongue that drives me wild. I grab hold of his hair for dear life.

“You really like that.” He chuckles.

“Please, don’t stop,” I beg.

“Never,” he exclaims, moving lower and trailing his lips over my stomach, stopping at the valley where my hips and thighs meet. When he sucks the tender skin there, I arch my back off the bed and whimper.

His tongue and fingers find my aching center and join to work me into a moaning frenzy.

“Barclay,” I moan. “I had no idea.”

“This is only the beginning, sweet girl. There are so many things I want to do to you.”

Somewhere in the lust-filled haze of his touches, I hear him tear the foil pack. He kneels between my legs, coating the condom with lubricant.

I stare at the beauty of him in complete awe. Powerful thighs, a cut jawline set hard while he concentrates on his task. This moment is more than I’d ever dreamed of for my first time, and my heart flutters in anticipation as our eyes lock. This is it, finally.

“Are you sure, Tessa?” he asks, anxious eyes waiting for my reply.

“Yes, please. There’s no one I’d rather be with than you.” He smiles down at me with a heady mix of lust and adoration.

Positioning himself at my entrance, he gently pushes inside me, and by some miracle, I begin to stretch with him. He stares intently at me, watching for my every reaction and feeling.

When he reaches a point of resistance, he thrusts against it, and I feel a flash of pain that steals my breath.

Our eyes meet at the exact moment he’s fully seated inside of me, and we both know I’m no longer a virgin. Instead, I’m fully and completely his.

“Are you okay, sweet girl?” he whispers, in a gentle voice. “I want this to be so good for you. It’s all that matters to me.”

“Yes,” I say. “It’s perfect because I’m with you.”

After a beat, he moves inside me, until the pinch begins to subside. I wrap my legs around his waist, raising my hips to meet his movements, wanting him to know I’m all right.

“Tell me I’ll be your last,” he breathes, possessing me with the deepest kiss.

“The only one,” I sigh against his lips.

The pain turns to pleasure as he makes love to me in a sweet and gentle rhythm. Then he teases my most sensitive spot with his finger, making slow circles, and I know my release is seconds away.

“Come for me, sweet girl,” he says, coaxing with his words and touch.

My orgasm rushes over me, and I’m lost to the feelings as he continues his movements inside me.

When I open my eyes and gaze up at this beautiful man who holds my heart, his eyes reflect a wild desperation as he falls over the edge too.

“Tessa,” he hisses in a long breath.

The look on his face, the pained pleasure etched in the strain of his jaw, will forever be burned in my memory.

After we both catch our breaths, he rests his forehead against mine with a sigh. His breath smells of bourbon and spice like a man, and I inhale deeper.

“Thank you, sweet girl,” he says. “You okay?”

“Amazing,” I say with the most contented smile.

He gives me a quick kiss before getting up to discard the condom. I bite my lip as he strides away to the en suite bath, watching the slightest jiggle in his tight butt. I fall back on the bed in a swoon.

When he returns, he puts his underwear back on, and walks toward the bed. I think he’s going to climb in beside me, but he wraps the white bedspread around me like a cocoon and cradles me in his arms instead.

“I want to show you something,” he says, carrying me toward a set of French doors.

“Open it, please.” He bends down, and I turn the knob, pushing the door free from the inside. He pads outside onto a large terrace filled with loungers and table sets.

He eases us down on one of the loungers, and I lie back against his chest. “Look up,” he says, and I do. “There’s nothing between us and the universe in the night’s summer sky.”

“It’s beautiful,” I say, gazing up at the twinkling stars shining brighter than the city lights.

“But not as beautiful as you,” he marvels.

He folds me tighter into his arms and we stare at the sky, listening to the humming white noise of the city below. And somewhere in the warmth of his embrace, I drift off, lulled to sleep by the rise and fall of his chest.