Oddly, I had gotten used to stripping for Ryan. He seemed to like me naked while he kept his clothes on. Truth be told, I liked it too. Part of me felt vulnerable, yes. Very vulnerable. But laced within that vulnerability was an innate feeling of power.

There was power in being a woman—a power in femininity—and I’d hidden my femininity for so long that I’d never experienced it. I’d spent my life building a strong body and a strong mind, all the while ignoring my femininity. I hadn’t missed it. At least I hadn’t thought I had.

Until now.

I peeled my clothes from my body until I stood naked, only the sapphire bracelet adorning me. My nipples pebbled as Ryan stared at me, the bulge growing beneath his jeans.

Power.

I had this power over him.

And I liked it. I liked it very much.

Every other time I’d been naked with Ryan fully clothed, he’d attacked me, made me come, and then thrust into me without bothering to disrobe himself. Not this time, though.

He kept his distance, though I hungered for him to come and take me, make me his.

I stayed quiet for a few moments, looking at him, but then had to say something. “What are you doing?”

“You’ve stripped for me so many times. I figured I owed you the same courtesy.”

My breath caught when he tugged open a button of his shirt, and then another. With each new inch of bronze skin exposed, my heart fluttered a little faster. I ached to reach out and touch him, feel his flesh beneath my fingertips, but I held back, mesmerized by his movements, the striations in his muscles, the rustling of his garments as he discarded them.

Ryan Steel was so beautiful. So magnificent. His shirt hit the floor, and he raised one leg and discarded one cowboy boot, and then the other. Slowly he unbuckled his belt and unsnapped his jeans. Over his muscular hips the clothes went until they reached his ankles. He kicked them off, toeing off his socks as well.

Ryan Steel stood before me, naked and glorious, his cock springing forward in its magnificence.

I stood, unmoving, gawking at him, resisting the urge to reach toward him, run my fingers over his taut flesh, grab his hard member and bring it into my body.

I inhaled.

The vanilla musk scent permeated the air, but something else was mixed in. Ryan. His earthy masculine aroma mingled with mine. I inhaled again, letting the odor penetrate the most inner layers of my body.

He came toward me then and lifted my wrist, staring at the expensive bauble I wore.

“You’re so beautiful. It’s perfect.”

I looked down. The sapphires were midnight blue against my pale skin, the platinum shiny and silver.

“I never imagined I could pull off anything like this,” I said. “I never imagined owning anything so perfectly beautiful.”

“It’s not beautiful,” he said, caressing my forearm. “You are.” He pulled me to him.

Our lips met softly at first, sliding over each other’s in a smooth caress. I parted for him, and he delved his tongue into my mouth, searching. I met him, returning his kiss, savoring the slowness and the softness. We didn’t often kiss like this. Normally we were ferocious with each other. Not this time. This was a gentle kiss. A kiss not of lust but of comfort.

Comfort I craved.

We continued to kiss, our arms around each other, moving slightly as if we were on a dance floor sliding against each other to a slow ballad.

Melodies played in my mind. Music I didn’t recognize floated in the air around us as we danced to the slow rhythm. The kiss deepened, though instead of becoming frantic, it became more comforting. Our mouths were fused together, and with my eyes closed, I almost felt like we were floating on a cloud. A soft pink cloud of comfort and love.

Though I sizzled between my legs, I had no desire to break the kiss and demand something more. Ryan’s cock was hard, pushing in my belly, and I knew he was aching too. But he made no move to break the kiss either.

Slowly we continued our enchanting dance, until the backs of my knees hit the edge of the bed. Ryan didn’t break the kiss but swiftly lifted me in his arms, our mouths still joined, and then we were lying on the bed, still kissing.

He rolled over so that he was on top of me, bracing his weight on one arm so as not to crush me. Still we kissed, pulling back, pressing our lips together in little pecks, and then joining them again, our tongues twirling.

We stayed that way for a long time.

The temperature in my core increased, and I began undulating my hips. Smoothly, so smooth I hardly even noticed at first, Ryan entered me.

Sweet completion. Perfect comfort.

He groaned, pulling out and then pushing back in.

His groan vibrated down my throat.

I wrapped one of my legs around his waist, gliding against him as our bodies met again and again. This was slow, sweet lovemaking—something I hadn’t yet experienced.

Ryan was always showing me something new.

All I wanted, all I needed was to be with Ryan. If I could stay with him—if we could become hermits, never leave this room—

I stopped that thought, for I knew it was impossible. I didn’t want impossible dreams clawing at me. Not now.

I surrendered to the moment. Locked both my legs around his back and relished the feeling of him inside me. He was still pumping slowly, easing in and out of me, and I felt every hard inch of him inside the walls of my pussy.

I savored it. Welcomed it. The completeness in our joining.

Ryan finally moved his mouth away from mine, trailing kisses to my ear. “I need to come, baby.”

I whimpered, and I finally let go of the sweet feeling of comfort and made way for the climax that was imminent.

“Come,” I said to him. “Come with me, Ryan.”

I brought my lips to his neck, sucking on his smooth flesh, as the orgasm ripped through me. I imagined us flying, hovering over the earth, floating among the clouds, as both of our bodies shook in climax. This orgasm was different. I thought I would give up the comfort when I let go to come, but it was still there. Even as my body shuddered in response to the physical rapture, comfort enveloped me in a soft cloud.

We were both out of breath when the shudders finally stopped. Still, that beautiful feeling of contentment overwhelmed me.

We lay together, silent, for a few moments.

Finally, Ryan rolled over onto his back. “Wow,” he said.

“Wow,” I agreed.

“I don’t know about you, baby, but that was just what I needed.”

“Me too. I think we were both looking for comfort.”

“I didn’t realize that until you just said it.” He smiled. “Thank you.”

“Thank you? What for?”

“For always giving me what I need. At any given time, Ruby, you either let me give to you or take. Whatever I need.”

“I… I guess I never thought about it. But I love you, Ryan. I will give you whatever you need if it’s within my power.”

“That’s what makes you so special.”

There was nothing special about me, but I wasn’t about to argue with Ryan during our afterglow. The word special belonged to people like Ryan Steel and his brothers.

“You know, I’m going to have to go back to my apartment at some point.”

“Why? I have a perfectly good house at the ranch, and there’s plenty of room for you there.”

We were back to this. I wasn’t ready to move in with him, but I didn’t want to argue after the beautiful lovemaking we’d just shared. So I simply said, “We’ll figure things out.”

I giggled when Ryan’s stomach growled.

“I guess we forgot to eat,” I said. “Everything will be closed by now.”

“Maybe room service?” Ryan arched his eyebrows.

“It has to be after midnight.”

“Let me see what I can do.” Ryan rose and searched for his phone in the pocket of his jeans.

I took advantage of the view and ogled his gorgeous ass. I remembered how, when we were in Jamaica, I had accidentally brushed my fingers over his asshole. It had scared me at the time, but now I found myself wanting to explore every tiny bit of his beautiful body, including the forbidden parts.

I shuddered for a moment. If I felt that way about him… He probably felt the same way about me. He’d already licked me there once. Was anal sex something he wanted?

I still felt so naïve about men. As scared as I was, I itched to bring up the subject with him. If only because I wanted to touch him there, maybe lick him there—something I had never imagined wanting to do to another person. But Ryan… I wanted to experience everything with him. Everything the universe had to offer.

Ryan turned back to me, still naked, and smiling. “How does pizza sound?”

“Sounds perfect,” I said.

“It will be here in about half an hour. What on earth could we possibly do until then?”