Our connection was a mix between him leading me to his apartment, frantic kissing, hysterical laughing, and clumsy movements fueled by alcohol.

When we finally made it inside his door, he waved his hand around. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

I surveyed the place, bachelor the only word coming to my mind, but at least it was clean. A medium-sized two bedroom with an open concept; his bedroom out of sight, the living room space in the middle, and a kitchen on the other end. Moderate furnishings, decent light, some personal affects … it was nice.

But I wasn’t here to talk, or examine the decor. Boldness and a dry spell compelled me forward, into his arms. My mouth found his, our lips meeting and greeting. I navigated his mouth, his tongue, testing the pressure of his nibbles and reveling in the tiny bites he was laying along the seams of my mouth.

“Did you want a glass of wine or something?” Jake breathed between kisses, his body pressing mine into the wall by the front door.

“You already locked down the sale, I don’t need an after-drinks drink.” I pushed the hem of his T-shirt up, feeling the smooth, hot skin beneath.

The excitement at my fingertips traveled south, sending a jolt between my legs. Jake’s fingers moved up and into my hair, massaging my scalp as his tongue danced with my own. Sensation covered me everywhere, making my flesh hypersensitive.

“Then let me take you to the bedroom part of this tour. Please keep all hands inside the vehicle—“

I snorted before shutting him up with my mouth again. He moved us, swaying and circling me towards his queen-sized bed. I was too tipsy to notice if it was made or not, but it smelled all right and I was horny, so my judgment zipped its lips.

It had been a long, dry spell … almost like the Sahara Desert of sex droughts. Even though I’d had a boyfriend, it had been eight long months without action, and too many nights of using my own fingers while pretending to take a bath.

Once in his darkened bedroom, I sit down on the bed, my hands on Jake’s hips as he stares down at me like he’s about to make a meal of my body. A shudder of anticipation runs along my spine, and I quickly toe out of my heels, sending them across the room with a kick. That must spur him, because all of a sudden he’s gently pushing me back and climbing over me.

“Ah, do you know the fantasies I had about freshman you?” He pushes a lock of hair behind my ear, and it felt more intimate than the dirty fuck I had in mind.

“Please, show me.” It was a half-joke, half-plea.

In one fell swoop, he pulled his shirt off using one hand to grab the material from behind his head.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. That is some Magic Mike shit.” I couldn’t help but laugh as he bit my neck.

“Stay tuned for the show, baby.” Jake stood, and I swallowed my humor.

Abs running across a long, tapered torso danced in my gaze. Strong shoulders, the kind you could hang onto in case of flood or famine, or very rough sex, gave way to arms that had definitely been worked on at the gym. His hair was mussed where my hands had been playing in it, and I could make out the smattering of hair that dipped below the sightline of his belt.

“Unbutton your pants.” His voice wasn’t joking anymore, and my arousal shot through the roof.

I flicked the button on my jeans, the hiss of my zipper resonating in the air. Slowly he bent down, picking up my legs that were hanging off the side of the bed. His fingers met my bare feet, tickling and sending licks of fire up my thighs. Jake pulled, the look on his face lethal, and I shimmied my jeans as he pried them off. Past my hips they went, revealing the blush pink cotton thong I had on. And all the way down, until Jake was throwing them to the floor beside him.

“God damn, Samantha …” He bit his lip, still standing in front of me, not touching a part of my body but making me wet anyway.

“Are you going to show me those fantasies, or not?” My voice was a croak, and I realized that the panting in my ears was my own.

I wasn’t usually this impulsive, but the past six months of my life had laughed in my face and showed me that apparently, I could be a daredevil. I’d dared to leave Seattle, breaking off a relationship with the only man I’d ever loved in search of something more, something that would grab me by the hair and make me feel alive. I’d dared to take a new position, one that I’d never dreamed of attaining. I’d dared to show my daughter how a boss female was supposed to act. I’d dared to become a single mom, and figure out all the details of my life on my own.

And now I was daring to hook up with the hot semi-acquaintance that I’d gotten off on the wrong foot with. It wasn’t perfect, but it sure was sexy and freeing. The Samantha who once was would have never done something this irresponsible; normally, I would have gone home early to my mother’s and snuggled up with Lennon. But something about this night, something about this year and being home, something about this man … it all felt right in a cosmic sort of way.

Kind of like when your horoscope revealed the exact thing you were looking for. They always knew, those astrology gods.

His grin was cocky as he moved over me, his hands landing on either side of my head as I scooted back on the mattress. I wrapped my legs around his waist, shamelessly grinding my pelvis against his as he settled between my thighs.

“You have no idea how good this feels.” I felt my eyes rolling back in my head.

“I can make it feel better.”

A hand snakes down my bare shoulder, onto my stomach where my shirt has risen up, and kneads my hip. Tiny sizzles of electricity shoot straight to my clit, the blood pumping and making me squirm. And then his blunt finger tips are pushing past the thin boundary of my underwear, and moving down, trapping his hand between us.

“Yes, yes … God, yes.” I’m loud, I know it, but I can’t help it.

I haven’t had a man’s hands on me in far too long, and Jake knows how to use his as he strokes my wetness, swirling it around my core and then plunging a finger inside. So close, he had me right there so quickly, the ball of nerves bunching close and winding so tight …

“Oh my God!”

White bursts at the edge of my vision, Jake’s fingers pressing down on the button that was making my entire body shake with ecstasy.

“Wow, I think that’s a new record for me.” His deep voice growled in my ear, and I could feel just how big he was as his hard-on pressed through his jeans and onto my thigh.

I had to catch my breath, the orgasm taking a toll on my entire system. “It’s been a while.”

Jake worked on the buttons on my top, his green eyes staring at my face as he worked. “I can’t even imagine why. At the risk of being seriously corny, I would devour you every single night.”

His words didn’t make me laugh, but made me blush. And made me want more. While he worked on my shirt, I reached down for his belt, struggling to free it as he laid on top of me.

“Can you just get naked already?” I couldn’t work his pants off.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Jake stood up again, and I took the opportunity to rid myself of my bra and thong.

While I wasn’t a spring chicken, I had made a human with my body, I thought I looked pretty good. Aside from my C-section scar, I’d never been particularly shy when it came to my body. And apparently, Jake liked what he saw.

“Jesus …” His eyes burned in the dim light of the apartment, nothing but the hall light near the door illuminating us.

Keeping those green orbs glued to my body, he pushed his pants and boxers down as one, his cock springing free and proudly bobbing as it jutted from his body. I tracked its movements as he walked to his bedside table, pulling a condom from it and rolling it on. He was big, thick and hard as a steel pipe.

I couldn’t wait to have him inside me.

My core throbbed as he tracked me, the primal scent in the air like some kind of jungle. I almost giggled, but the need for him to get on this bed and fuck the living shit out of me was too strong. I could feel myself squirming, my nipples knotting.

“God damn,” Jake’s growl hisses in my ear as he enters me.

His cock plunges deep, his hips meeting mine and driving me into the bed. My walls mold around him, my legs spreading wide and then wrapping around his hips. I can’t control the moan that bursts from my mouth, the feeling so exquisite that I can’t help but close my eyes and relish it for a few seconds.

“You feel …” I can’t even finish the sentence.

His eyes meet mine, our faces pressed close as he starts to move, slowly at first and then deeper, harder. I grip those shoulders that are the perfect anchor, moving my hips up to meet him on every down stroke.

“I want to see your body move.”

In one flash second, Jake is rolling us over, perfectly positioning me on top, his dick spearing me from the inside. It’s like a perfect porn move, one I never thought was possible, and I can’t help but grin at his cocky smirk as he grips my waist, moving me ever so slightly.

“You’re really pulling out the big moves, huh?” I couldn’t help but grind on him, my clit pressing against him in the most delicious way.

“I just really wanted to do this.” His big hands move to my breasts, rolling and pinching my nipples in a move that has jolts spiraling to my core.

“Keep doing it.” I plant my hands on his chest, tilting my head to the ceiling and taking control.

“That’s it, ride me, Samantha.” His voice is a prayer, a command.

I follow instructions at my own rhythm, working everything out on him, taking my pleasure without asking a thing. My legs shake, my hands grip the sexy hair running down Jake’s happy trail, and I keep moving myself up and down on him, his hardness hitting every single spot that makes me see stars. My toes curl, and the heat licking down my spine has me chasing that ever elusive combustion.

All of a sudden, my breasts are smashing into his chest, my chin fitting right down in the crook of his neck. I’m trapped, unable to move.

“What …”

“Feel the way I have the control now?” One hand bound my wrists behind my back, tight enough to where I couldn’t break free, but loose enough to know he was playing a sexy little game.

I’d never been much into anything kinky, I’d only ever slept with one person before Derek and everything had been … well, vanilla.

In just a matter of seconds, I’d learned that there was nothing vanilla about Jake Brady.

“Let me move you, Samantha.” His other hand, strong and firm, gripped my ass, the fingers tapping on my right butt cheek as he moved my hip for me.

I could barely speak I was so turned on, the struggle of letting him have control and fighting for every tiny sliver of sensation was making my heart pound out of my chest. His hand locked around my wrists, my entire body flush against him, submitting to the will of his hands.

“Yes … please …” My words were nonsensical, the way he’d taken over everything swamping me with a hazy lust.

“You’re going to come again? Let me feel it, because you’re about to make me come …” His jaw tics as my body grinds on top of him.

Who had the control now?

His declaration makes me sprint over that cliff again, my orgasm slamming into me. My limbs go rigid and then lax with wild abandon, every ounce of ecstasy washing over me.

“Right there …” Jake bucks up into me, his movements making my pleasure go on and on and on.

He lets out a feral growl, his hold on my ass gripping tighter while he hurls my body down onto him, holding it while his muscles tense and contract, and then repeating the motion. My vision feels hazy as I tilt my head to watch him, the gorgeous, Adonis-like quality of him making my heart pound a little harder.

Heaving a sigh as I burrow more into his chest, I let the aftershocks of a second glorious orgasm wrack my body. Jake’s arms come around me, his cheek pressed to the crown of my head.

We stay like that for a long time, until sleep steals over my consciousness. And I drift peacefully, thinking that I got what I truly needed, and perhaps something I wasn’t looking for.