Heath kisses me like he did outside, but this time he lets his hands slide down my body, until he’s holding me against him not around my waist, but from my ass. One hand on each cheek, my white dress stretched out to allow my legs to split around his body. He squeezes my ass gently, and I moan against his mouth. How long has it been since I was touched like this?

Never. I’ve been touched, sure, but I’ve never been touched like this.

His tongue sweeps into my mouth, runs across my lips, and my arms rise up to wrap around his neck. I can feel the hard muscles of his shoulders underneath my triceps, and he growls against me as I pull myself tighter against him, let a hand comb through the back of his shirt hair, raking my nails against his scalp. He adjusts my weight, supports me with one hand, and uses the free one to run a hand up my thigh, stroking the skin there until I whimper, desperate for him to move higher, to brush his fingers between my legs—

“Bedroom?” he asks as he presses his mouth against my neck and nips at me lightly.

“Straight back, left,” I gasp, dropping my head to one side so he has better access to my throat. He kisses me there as he carries me through my apartment, knees open my bedroom door, and approaches the bed. I prepare myself to be dropped onto the unmade bed, but instead Heath continues to hold me, continues to kiss me, letting his tongue dance up my neck and against my lips, then along my jaw line, then against the tip of my ear.

“I want you to take your clothes off for me,” he says in a growling voice.

“Yes,” I say— I beg.

He kisses me on the lips lightly, then puts my feet on the ground just in front of the bed. I immediately move to grab the front of my dress and yank it over my head, but Heath puts a hand on my shoulder.

“Slowly, Karli. I only get to see you naked for the first time once.”

“Oh,” I breathe, embarrassed but excited at the word “once”. Is he already thinking about a twice, three times? Because I already am.

I lick my lips; Heath steps back and sits on a chair opposite my bed, one that’s consistently covered in clothes. He doesn’t seem to notice, though; he leans back, watching me. I slowly toe my shoes off, kicking them lightly to the side. Next, the angel wings— they’ve got to come off before the dress, I realize now that I’m taking my time. I slide my arms from the elastic ribbon holding them in place and drop them on the floor.

Heath leans forward, like he wants to really see this next part. I take hold of the hem of my dress and pull it up, my skin prickling as the cool air hits my body. I curse myself for not wearing matching underwear, but based on the noise Heath makes as my panties come into view, I don’t think it’ll matter to him. I twist my body around the tight material and then tug it up and over my head, letting the dress fall to the floor.

“You look amazing,” Heath says in a low voice. “Just amazing. Keep going.”

I nod then reach behind my back to unclasp my bra. It isn’t until I move to do this that I realize no one has ever watched me get undressed before. A small handful of guys have seen me naked, sure, but it was always chucking clothing to the floor and racing to the bed. There’s never been anything like this; I’ve never had someone want so badly to look at me. I let my bra slide down my arms and to the floor. My nipples harden in the cool air and at the sight of them, Heath groans, like he’s fighting the urge to come over to me.

He licks his lips and then reaches down to his pants to palm the bulge growing there. I stare for a moment at it, wondering if his cock is going to be as big as it looks when shrouded in fabric. Heath catches me staring, and it pleases him— I can tell by the way he smiles a little, then lets his eyes fall to my panties, instructing me without saying it aloud that I should go ahead and remove them too.

I hook my fingers in the edges of my panties and pull them down slowly, finally letting them fall to the floor once my hands reach my knees. I step out of the fabric and look up to see a pained expression on Heath’s face.

“What?” I ask, worried.

“Your body is perfect,” he says, watching me. “Turn around for me.”

I flush and try to laugh it off, but still turn in a circle, letting him see me from all angles. When he cranes his neck to get a second view of my ass, I turn back a little so he can see it. That pained expression intensifies.

“You look like you’re mad,” I say, and every inch of me is a ball of anxiety— despite what he says, does he not like what he sees?

“I am mad,” he answers. “I told you to go slow, and now I’m going to have to live by the same rule. It’ll be hard, though…it’ll be really hard.”

“You don’t have to go slow,” I say coyly.

“I do,” he says. “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m a lot bigger than you are, Karli.”

“I can handle it,” I argue.

He laughs a little, and I’m almost offended, but then he stands and walks over to me. He runs his hands down my arms, then goes back up my body, this time fingers dancing along my waist.

“You’re shaking,” he says under his breath.

“You’re making me very nervous,” I answer back.

Heath moves his hands forward, so his fingers rest on the sides of my breasts. I bite my lip, and then his hands caress underneath my breasts, his thumbs lighting across my nipples in slow, gentle circles. They were already hardened from the cool air, but at his touch, they become like diamonds. Heath watches me for a moment, then lowers his head down, breathing gentle across my right nipple before delicately taking it in his mouth. I moan as it’s enveloped in warmth, and he flicks it with his tongue gently before releasing me.

“I’ll need to go very slow,” he says, and I realize that touch was an assessment. “But I like a challenge, Karli. You know that.”

I nod faintly, because if I say anything out loud I worry it’ll be nothing more than begging for him to suck on my nipple again.