I watch the gentle sway of her hips as she moves to the bed and turns down the covers. She glances over her shoulder, her gaze locking with mine as a soft smile plays about her lips.

Visions of going through this routine a hundred thousand times flicker across my mind, each with subtle changes. A child or two, a few more lines on Lucy’s face. Her hair slowly fading to gray, grandchildren. An ache blooms in my chest as a painful lump grows in my throat. I want, no, I need, an entire lifetime of completely normal moments just like this with her.

Something of my thoughts must show on my expression, because Lucy’s smile slips and she straightens. Keeping her eyes locked on mine, she grabs the hem of her pajama top and slowly rolls it up her body, exposing her perfect torso one inch at a time until she finally pulls the shirt over her head and lets it fall to the floor.

I push against the bedroom door, closing it with a soft click, before reaching for my own clothes.

The only sound in the room is the soft whisper of our clothing as we slowly strip while never breaking eye contact.

It’s insane. Several feet separate us. We haven’t said a word, but it’s as close as I’ve ever felt to another person, almost more intimate than when our bodies are locked together as one.

Nerves singing with anticipation, I close the distance between us and lock my arms around her waist. She winds her arms around my neck, her fingertips lightly brushing against my earlobes, sending shivers of erotic delight coursing through me, weakening my knees. Sounds of pleasure rumble up my throat before I close my mouth over hers and slowly walk her backward until her thighs brush against the side of the bed.

Without breaking the kiss, I pivot, until I’m the one alongside the bed. I fall backwards, pulling her down on top of me, loving the feel of her surprised but delighted laughter against my mouth just as much as the way she feels as she straddles my thighs.

While I miss the shyness that colored our earlier romps, I thrill at the sheer joy currently emanating from her.

She breaks the kiss and slides backward along my thighs, the friction of her bare skin against mine nearly causing my eyes to cross as my fingers twist into the cool fitted sheet I’m lying on.

“Lucy,” I gasp.

“Shh.” She places one long finger over my lips. “I want to play.”

The sweet coconut scent of her shampoo tickles my nose as she slowly leans forward and rains light, maddening kisses across my chest.

I reach for her, intent on cupping my hands over her swaying breast, but before my palms connect with her softness, Lucy straightens and sits back on her haunches. She tosses her hair back out of her face and glares down at me, her mouth a firm line.

“I told you, it’s my turn to play.” Authority rings through her voice, and she punctuates each word by poking a finger into my chest. “I thought you were supposed to be good at taking direction.”

Before I can think of a suitable response, she swings one leg over my thighs and slides off the bed. I prop myself up on one elbow and watch her gorgeous bare ass shimmy as she walks across the room. Feeling the weight of my stare, she glances over her shoulder. Her tongue sneaks out and moistens her lips. My cock twitches in immediate response.

Her sharp gaze catches the movement, the proof of my desire for her, and a self-satisfied smile bows her pretty mouth.

My heart hammers against my rib cage, pounding so loudly I don’t hear the slide of a zipper as she opens the suitcase I had the hotel pack up and delivered to her house.

She turns – and I swallow. Hard.

One of my ties is draped across her left hand. An utterly ridiculous one that has large laughing penguins wearing brightly colored stocking hats embroidered into the silk.

She winds the tie around both of her hands as she returns to the side of the bed. She lifts it, pulling the unwound portion of the tie taut, and holds the length in front of my face. “This is all because you didn’t do as I told you.”

I expect her to wind it around my eyes, to blind me like I did our first time together, but she doesn’t. Instead of wrapping the tie around my skull, Lucy kneels beside my right shoulder. She places one hand on the middle of my chest and shoves, pushing my shoulders flat against the mattress.

“Hands above your head,” she orders in a husky voice.

Intrigued and impossibly turned on by this new, take-charge Lucy – so different from the shy retiring woman I first saw in the coffee shop – I obey.

Beads of sweat roll down the side of my face as Lucy leans forward and wraps one end of the tie around one of my wrists, securing it with a slip knot before sliding it around the far side of the bed post and looping the free end around my other wrist.

She leans a little closer to double-check her handwork, the ends of her full breasts brushing against my face.

Unable to resist, I lift my head and capture one of the rosy tips in my mouth. Lucy freezes, her muscles stiffening as I rub my tongue back and forth across the diamond hard peak.

She holds her position for few more seconds, her breathing nothing more than shuddering sighs as she lets me have my way with her breast before she finally straightens. She stares down at me, her eyes glittering, a smile tugging the corners of her mouth.

“That was naughty,” she says in a low, sexy purr. “You got to run things last night. Tonight, I’m in charge.” She taps her index finger against her chin. Her gaze sweeps across the length of my body.

“Now, where to begin?”