Skylar

I wrap my legs around Colton’s waist and feel his hardness pressing into my bare core. I’m desperate for him. Desperate in a way I’ve never been about anything before, except maybe my career goals. But this is different. Duh. Obviously it’s different. This is personal, and it’s vulnerable, and I would sooner sit across the greatest asshole on the planet and put him in his place in an interview before I’d dare to let down my guard in the world of relationships.

Except I just did. On that chaise lounge a few feet away from where we are, I dropped every protection I have and opened up to Colton Wild. At night, no less. Sure, he’s got plenty of lighting out here and that makes me feel safe, but I let him take me somewhere I’ve never been, with anyone. Not even myself. I’ve never had an orgasm like that before, not even with my own hand. It was so earth-bending that I felt like I might break right in front of him. Shatter into a million pieces, where all those dark places within myself that I always keep hidden will just jump out for him to see. I put my feelings aside as fast as I could, but I know Colton. He won’t stop at one hot moment like that, not when he has a chance to feel more.

And I’m the opposite of him. I don’t want to feel more.

I wasn’t always like this.

When I was little, I was carefree and open. I had plenty of friends and I enjoyed being with people. But when my father’s drinking got worse, and his hand turned violent, my trust for the human race went out the window. I was a teenager by the time my mom left him, and I was already permanently scarred.

The thing is, being with Colton makes me want again. Want to be open, want to be vulnerable, want to take chances. I’m terrified, but my desire is overwhelming that terror.

But I know I can’t rush this, or I’ll end up screwing everything up again. I need to take my time, and hopefully Colton will be as patient as he’s always been, and put up with my stall tactics.

I lean in and kiss him gently on the cheek. “Colt, I need to slow things down for tonight.”

His jaw relaxes. “Okay. You want to sleep in the guest room?”

I nod. “Yes.”

He ushers me toward the edge of the pool, and we climb out of the water in silence. He hands me a towel to dry off, and I put on my clothes and wake up Karma, who uses the bush as a final bathroom run before trotting inside after us. I refresh both food and water bowls next. After checking in on River, who doesn’t appear to have any plans to come down off the bookshelf until she’s sure we’re asleep, Colton leads me down the hall and walks me into the guest room like he’s dropping me off after a date. He’s still shirtless, and I have to hold myself completely still to keep from reaching out to touch his chest.

“I had a good time with you tonight,” he says, leaning his shoulder against the door jam. “Thanks for coming over.”

I fidget with my hands in front of me, until he takes them into his and laces our fingers together.

“Skylar.” He drops his head so our eyes meet. “We’ll go as slow as you want and need. I’m not going anywhere. Okay?”

I lean forward so I can peck him on the lips. “I never let a man this close to me, Colton.”

His inhale is ragged as he rests his forehead against mine. “I can’t tell you how much it means that you’re willing to try this with me. I can be your safe place, Sky. If you’ll let me.”

He gives me one last kiss to remember before softly shutting Karma and me in the guest room. I lean my head against the closed door and listen as his footsteps get further and further away. I drag myself off the door and bring my overnight bag into the bathroom. I brush my teeth and change into my favorite sleep shirt and boy shorts.

And then I climb into bed. Alone. Well, not completely alone. I take the Wild bear from Colton out of my bag and set it on the pillow next to me, and Karma settles at my feet contentedly. She immediately drifts off, but I lie awake for quite a while, scared to fall asleep and have a nightmare where I wake Colton up with my screams. I don’t usually scream, a thought that comforts me. I kick, and punch, but as long as nobody’s in the bed with me, they won’t get hurt.

I force my thoughts away from my issues and go back to thinking about Colton. The way his eyes turned to hot coals of desire when he touched me…no man has ever wanted me like that. But Colton and I are so much more than just sex. We always were. I knew that from the first night we spent getting to know each other ten years ago. I honestly feel like I gave a part of my heart to him that night, and I did it willingly. Maybe one of these days, I’ll have the courage to actually figure out what that means, and what Colton Wild and Skylar Rosewood can be together.

---

When I wake up the next morning, relieved and thrilled that I slept straight through the night, the sunshine is streaming in through the windows. Karma is nipping at my blanket, making it clear she wants to go out. I can hear Colton talking to someone, cajoling them about something. Not sure if he’s on the phone or if somebody’s actually in the house, I go into the bathroom. I brush my teeth and pull my hair up into a messy bun, and add some eyeliner and lipstick. I throw on a tank top and a pair of jeans, and then head for the kitchen, with Karma close at my heels.

Colton, in Cougars sweats and a green t-shirt, is at the stove, and I smell eggs and bacon. “Good morning.” He smiles at me so warmly any apprehension I feel over staying the night disappears.

“Hi. What you’re making smells amazing. I love bacon.”

“I know. You told me on the phone it’s one of your five basic food groups. A girl after my own heart.”

I walk around the granite island and he meets me halfway. His arms go around my waist and his lips brush my ear. “How did you sleep?”

My hands grip his shoulders. “Really well. It’s so quiet here.”

I feel his head nod against my hair. “When I moved out here from the city, I loved that all I could hear was the ocean and the birds.”

Karma yips at my feet, and I pull back from Colton. “I have to take her out.” I glance around the room. “Were you talking to someone earlier?”

He grins. “River. She won’t come down off her safe spot and I thought she might want to eat.”

My heart melts. “That’s sweet. I’ll check the litter box. She probably snuck down in the night when we were sleeping and weren’t around to startle her.”

Karma loves Colton’s backyard. She cheerfully marks her territory by peeing on the line of bushes at the edge of the property, and then she races after the birds, barking happily. I take a seat at the table where we ate dinner last night so I can keep an eye on her. When Colton brings out two plates filled with food, I start to jump up and help him.

“Stay where you are,” he says. “Everything’s all ready.”

Once he’s seated next to me, I ask him to watch Karma so I can check on River. “I’m starved,” I assure him over my shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

I stop into my room to take the gift I have for Colton out of my bag, and then I return to the living room.

River gives me a harsh eye when I approach her. “Hey, honey.” I reach up to pat her, and she arches her back for more. “I miss you. You want to come down and hang out?” No answer, but she begins to purr the longer I pat her. “I know new people and places can be scary. You and I are a lot alike that way. But you’re safe here. I promise. You can come off the shelf, River. It’ll be okay.”

I give her a last pat and then go check the litter box. Sure enough, it’s been used, and the food in her bowl is gone. I clean the litter box and refresh her food.

“River’s eaten some, and used the box,” I tell Colton when I return to the back patio and sit down at the table. I place his gift on the ground next to my chair. “I think she’ll come out of her suspicious shell eventually.”

The blue of his eyes softens.

“Don’t start,” I warn him with a point of my fork. “River and I are not the same.”

“Uh-huh.” He unsuccessfully hides his grin and gestures to my full plate. “Eat up. I’ve got a big day planned for us.”

I pick up a piece of bacon. “I’m looking forward to it,” I say, and my stomach fills with butterflies of anticipation.

Unable to wait any longer, I grab his oversized gift off the ground and awkwardly hand it to him. “For you.”

He raises his eyebrows.

“Remember, I told you I had something for you. It’s not a big deal.” I start rambling. “I saw it when I was out shopping, and meant to give it to you before now. But when you told me how today is your father’s birthday, I realized maybe today is the perfect day for you to have it.”

Colton opens the bag and sifts through the tissue paper. When he lifts out the tapestry with Boulder written on it amid a mountain scene, his breath stops.

“I saw it at this gift shop,” I say quickly. “It reminded me of you, of course, but it also made me think of you and your family, how that was your last vacation with your dad.” Colton’s eyes flash to mine, and I keep talking. “I thought maybe you could hang it up in your house, and it would make you think of him. Like the shot glasses, but something that’s out all the time.”

He’s silent for so long I’m certain I’ve upset him, and I’m about to apologize, when he leans over and kisses me on the cheek. “I really needed this today.” His voice is heavy. “And you gave me the perfect gift. Thank you.”

Our eyes catch and hold, and his shine with unshed tears. I feel that emotion I’ve been trying to deny move through my chest and up into my throat. I want to reach out and hold onto Colton and never let go. He’s a good man in a world that, for me, has always been completely unsafe. He’s not just a safe bet; he’s the right bet.

---

After I check in with my mom, only to find out that nothing has changed, Colton and I spend the day outdoors. He takes me on a hike in the Santa Monica Mountains, and we get all sweaty trekking up the steep hills. We talk about his upcoming season, and I tell him more about my job, and how my boss is forcing me to take all of next week off. We fill each other in on the gaps we didn’t cover during our phone calls, from dumb drunken nights in college to what it was like the moment he found out he was drafted. How his mom cried, and how he knew his dad must have been looking down on him to orchestrate something as amazing as him and Dylan being drafted by the same team.

His phone beeps with multiple texts, and he has to stop partway through our hike to take a call from his mother. He walks a few feet away, and I trail back to give him privacy.

“Sorry about that,” he says as he hangs up and we resume our walk. “My mom always calls on my dad’s birthday. I never want to miss being there for her.”

“Of course.” I gesture to his phone. “Are all those texts from her, too?”

“No. Those are from my cousins, and Jenson. They’re always there for me on this day.”

“That’s wonderful to have such support.” It reminds me of my mom and brothers. “I feel so blessed to have my family on my side as well.”

“Dylan’s going to be bugging me about where I am.” Colton shakes his head. “I’m trying to keep our time together on the down low, so he doesn’t ask too many questions.”

“He doesn’t know we’re spending the weekend together?”

“He knows I’m seeing you, yes. But he doesn’t fully understand our connection yet.”

Yet. He says it as if Dylan will understand it soon. Maybe he assumes Dylan will spend time with the two of us in the near future? I’m not sure what he means, and I’m afraid to push too much.

Colton leans over and unexpectedly kisses my head. “Don’t overthink what I just said, Sky. I mean only good things about us, and especially about you.”

I feel my face break into a genuine smile as I look up at him. “You’re a charmer, Colton Wild.”

Our hands are locked together by the time we stop to take in the view, and I’ve never felt closer to anyone in my life. Colton unzips the backpack he brought along, revealing sandwiches and two bottled waters.

“You’re amazing,” I say genuinely as I let my legs dangle over the rock. We’re a good fifty feet back from the drop-off, and my feet hit the soft dirt. “I don’t think ahead like you do.”

Colton hands me a sandwich. “You seem to think ahead regarding your career. You have the whole thing mapped out the way you want things to go.”

“I guess I do. I remember telling you my plans that night in Colorado.” I touch his chest. “Whenever I see mountains, I remember that night with you.”

His cheeks flush. “I wanted you to remember. That’s why I gave you the silly stone as a token. I know it wasn’t really from the mountain, but I was...” He fiddles with the label on his water bottle. “I don’t know. I just wanted you to know somebody was always looking out for you. You probably lost the thing the second you left Colorado. I definitely could have come up with a better gift.”

I’m about to protest and tell him the truth, that I still have the stone and that I’ve used it for exactly what he wanted me to use it for, when the water bottle tips in my hand. Water trickles down my shirt and onto my jeans. “Whoops.”

Colton’s eyes immediately go to the little river of liquid traveling inside my shirt between my breasts. I swallow as he lowers his head and licks the water off my burning-hot skin. His tongue is wet and probing, and when he’s clearly done catching all the water, he doesn’t stop. Using his hand to pull my top lower, he shifts his mouth until it’s nipping at the soft skin of my breast. His gaze flicks up to mine as he lowers the strap of my tank top and bra in one quick motion, and then his lips engulf my nipple, which is a peak of desire already. He uses one hand to gently press me back against the flat rock, and his other hand coasts inside the hem of my tank top and rests over my quivering stomach.

“You’re shaking, Sky.” His voice feels far away to my ears, and I squeeze my thighs together at the sensation of his teeth lightly grazing my tightened nipple. “Why are you shaking?”

“Colton.” My breath is coming in little gasps. “Because you turn me on so fucking much. I want you in—”

I cut off but his head jerks up and his eyes, liquid with heat, fix on mine. “You want me where, Sky? Tell me where you want me.”

I’ve never told a guy I want him anywhere at all, because I never have. “I want you inside of me,” I say with raw honesty.

He’s up and off the rock so fast I get dizzy.

“Wh—what are you doing?” I ask him.

He pulls my bra strap and tank top back over my shoulder, and makes sure I’m fully covered up. “As much as I want to do this with you here, it’s far too public.” Just as he says the words, a dog barks, and I can hear a couple laughing and talking. “They’ll be around the bend in a couple of minutes. Let’s go back to my house.”

“So we can—”

“Do whatever we want, as much as we want, however we want,” he promises in a needy whisper into my ear. “Are you ready? Don’t think, Sky. Just say yes.”

I grip his hand in mine tightly. “Yes.”

---

Colton drives so fast that I’m shocked we don’t get pulled over on the ride back. His hands grip the wheel, his focus clear. His jaw is tight and he doesn’t look over at me once, not until we’re through the locked gate and are parked in his driveway. Then he gets out of the car and meets me on the other side before I’ve even opened my door. He gets the door for me and takes my hand as I exit.

His grip is firm as he runs his thumb along the back of my hand and leads me to the front door. As soon as we’re inside the house, his mouth is hard on mine. My head falls against the door as he licks, nips, and kisses my lips. His tongue enters my mouth and explores every inch of me.

Colton kisses like he lives—with no fear and no restraint. And I let him take me there with him. I release my normal self-control and allow all the sensations that I always feel around him to engulf me. I moan his name and grip at his shirt as I pull him as close as possible.

“I’ve wanted this with you for so damn long,” he says in a hoarse tone. “So long, Skylar. You have no idea.”

He cups my face with both hands. I feel like he’s pouring his soul into the kiss, and I let out a cry as I press my body into his hardness. I’m desperate to feel him against the part of me that needs him the most, and Colton knows what I want, like he always has. He shifts so he’s directly against my core, and then he lifts me up by the waist and I wrap my legs around him.

He’s already moving down the hall, never taking his mouth off of mine. Never stopping our kiss, even as he stumbles against the corner and makes the turn up the set of stairs into his bedroom. His hand is under my ass, making sure I don’t fall, but as we reach the bed, he sets me on my feet and pulls out the elastic in my ponytail. He buries his hand in my hair and holds me to him as he continues to devour my mouth.

“I want you so much, Sky,” he murmurs. “However much of you you’ll share with me.”

“I’ll share all of me,” I promise him.

I slip my hands underneath his shirt and run my palms over his ribs and chest. God, he’s muscular. His skin is like an inferno, and he groans into my mouth as I touch him. He reaches behind his head and separates his lips from mine only so he can pull his shirt over his head and toss it to the floor. Then his mouth is back, but he shifts to my neck, and my collarbone, while he pulls my bra straps and tank top down off my shoulders. I reach for the snap on his jeans, and once I’ve released it, I undo the zipper and slip my hand inside his boxers.

Colton’s head drops to my neck as I put my hands on his erection and lightly squeeze. “Holy hell, Sky.” I keep stroking him, and his breath comes out in a hiss. “You’re going to wreck me and we haven’t even gotten started.” He lifts my tank top up and over my head and unhooks my bra with one quick movement.

When he urges me back onto the bed, I grab at his shoulders so he comes with me. Within seconds the rest of our clothes are off. Once Colton’s boxer briefs leave his body, I finally get a look at what I’d been touching moments ago. I saw him naked ten years ago, and while it was dark and we were fumbling and young, I knew he was beautiful. Seeing him now, as a man, the reality actually takes my breath away. Colton’s gorgeous. He’s in incredible shape, and as he climbs over me, I realize how big he truly is. And I freeze.

“Colton…”

His gaze is locked on mine. Like he can read my panic, he brushes his lips against my cheek. “I’ll never hurt you, Sky.”

I force myself to let out my breath. “I know. I’m just wired this way. I hate feeling out of control.”

“You aren’t wired that way. The man you’re supposed to be able to trust the most betrayed you, and in the worst way.” His eyes are filled with compassion. “But I’m not anything like him.”

“Of course you aren’t.” I try to push past the awkwardness, and give a nervous giggle. “See, this is why I don’t date much. Most guys would have already walked out with the way I’m behaving in the bedroom.”

Colton’s eyes turn so intense they’re nearly black. “I’m not most guys, Sky. I never will be.” He brushes a stray hair off my forehead. “We can stop now if you need to.”

His reassuring words are the only soothing I need. “I don’t want to stop,” I say, as the choked-up feeling subsides. “I think I just needed a minute.”

A minute to remember that I’m safe, and that not all men are a threat.

I put my hand on the back of Colton’s neck and urge him closer. “Kiss me again,” I whisper.

His kiss is gentle and tender as he makes love to my mouth. I suck on his bottom lip and I just…feel. I feel Colton moving above me. I feel my own heart pounding in my chest. I help him with the condom, and he takes his time positioning himself at my entrance. He’s so careful I can’t help but smile.

“What is it?” His voice flutters against my neck.

“I won’t break, Colt. You can move.”

“Not until I’m sure you’re ready for me.” His hand reaches between us, and his voice comes out strangled when he touches my moist heat. “Christ, Skylar.”

“I told you.” I urge him forward with my legs. “I’m definitely ready.”

He pushes inside me slowly. Inch by inch, he presses forward until we’re fully connected. Then he stops, and rests his forehead to mine. His breath is unsteady, and his words come out hoarse as he murmurs against my lips, “Shit. Never felt like this before. Skylar. Sweetheart.”

I inhale, struggling to contain my emotions. Tears prick the backs of my eyes, and I clench my teeth at the enormity of the sensation. “Yes. It’s…incredible.”

“For ten years…” Colton’s tone drops. “For ten years I’ve imagined this. And yet, it couldn’t possibly come close to…”

He swallows down the rest, but I know. I know what he’s wanting to say, that nothing we’ve imagined about this moment could have prepared us for the real thing. “I need you, Colton. Please make lo—”

Never have I used that phrase with anybody. Never have I even thought about sex as anything other than an act of temporary physical pleasure, and now I say something so intimate. I can’t believe I just went right ahead and almost embarrassed myself again. Colton’s a professional athlete. He’s no doubt had women in his bed often, and as he insinuated, those relationships were casual and with no strings attached. He and I aren’t in a serious relationship yet, and here I was about to call this lovemaking.

It’s sex, not love, and thank God I cut myself off.

But Colton finishes my sentence for me. “I’ll make love to you, Sky. Because that’s what we’re doing here. You know that, right?” His sharp blue gaze on me completely strips me raw.

“Colton, I don’t know…”

His voice is sure. “I do. Even if you don’t realize it yet, I do. And I’m going to show you right now.”

With that proclamation, he starts to move. Hard and decisively. And oh God, does he know what he’s doing, and how to hit exactly the right spot inside to make me moan and buck up into him, begging for more. Despite his size, he fits perfectly.

We fit together, and as we urge each other closer to the brink, the tight lid I’ve always kept on my emotions gets ripped off. Colton’s cerulean eyes blaze into me, and despite the intensity, I can’t take my gaze off of him. He drives into me harder and more urgently, and still I want more. His mouth goes from my lips to my neck, where he leaves gentle bites, and then he’s on my breasts. When he sucks on my nipples, I feel like I’m going to explode from the reverberating sensation between my thighs. I scream out his name and clench around him as I shatter apart. Colton murmurs, “Skylar” in the gentlest, most erotic tone I’ve ever heard, as he jerks and shudders his release right after.

We hold each other close, him being careful not to put his full weight on me, but staying fused nonetheless.

“You’re beautiful, Skylar,” he whispers in my ear. “You’re everything.”

If any other man had said something like that to me after one bout of sex, I would have laughed him off or ignored him. But this was more than sex that we just shared—it was ten years of what ifs, a jumble of emotional highs and lows, blended together into one mind-blowing experience.

Those four weeks of talking to Colton on the phone were like twenty-eight days of foreplay, where I got to fall for him from a safe distance. I got to learn about Colton, to like him—as a friend, and as a man. And then we went on two very public dates.

And now he’s my lover. After all this time of getting to know each other again as adults, and realizing we still really like—and want—each other, this experience we just shared has brought every shade of color back to my muted gray life.

Sex with Colton Wild is love and light and everything good in this world. I feel like he just gave me a piece of his heart, a part of his soul, and I know I don’t deserve something so pure, but I took it anyway. I’ve had sex enough to know this doesn’t happen with just anyone, if ever. I’ve interacted with enough men to realize that what Colton and I have is special and rare, and if I believed in love, I would probably do something humiliating and tell him the three words I’ve always sworn I wouldn’t utter, a declaration I didn’t think I’d ever be tempted to say to a man. Because I’ve fallen for Colton so hard I can’t ignore the way my heart’s pounding.

But I don’t believe in love. I can’t. So instead of words, I try to show him. I pull his head down for a kiss, and I put my feelings into my lips as they caress his mouth, and his tongue. I want him to know what he just gave me, even if I’m not brave enough to say it.

He shifts to his side and the movement causes us to separate. I almost cry out as he pulls out of me, not wanting to feel the emptiness. He kisses me and says he’ll be right back.

I wipe the tears that have leaked out of my eyes, and try to pull myself together before he returns.

He’s only gone for a few minutes, not long enough for me to erase the emotion from my throat.

“You okay?” Colton slides into bed next to me and brings me close.

I rest my cheek on his chest and nod. “Fine.”

“You sure?” He presses a kiss to the top of my head. “Because you sound kind of sad. Considering what just happened, I would think sad would be the last thing you’d be feeling.”

I laugh and bury my face in his neck. “That was amazing. It actually sounds pedestrian to say it, because the way it felt to be with you…”

“Look at me, Skylar.”

His tone is quiet, but something about the way he says it makes me start shaking. I shift my head so we’re making eye contact, and he takes my chin in his hand.

“That was the best hour I’ve ever spent. It was like everything I knew before just detonated and my life started fresh. With you.” His eyes sear into mine. “Did it scare you?”

“No,” I say quickly. Far too quickly, and my word catches in my throat. “Why would you ask that?”

“Because your jaw is twitching the way it does when you get nervous, and if I wasn’t holding your face right now, you wouldn’t be able to look at me.”

I sit up and avert my gaze by pretending to search for my tank top. “I’m not nervous.”

But Colton’s hand goes back to my chin and he gently turns my head so that, once again, we’re staring at each other. His face is flushed and his eyes burn bright, with intensity and emotion and…oh my God, is he going to tell me…

“Let’s get takeout for dinner,” he says casually.

I shake my head once. “Wait, what? You go from quizzing me on my emotional state to ‘let’s eat?’”

He gives me a quick kiss on the lips. “That’s right. I know when to change the subject.” He stands up, heading for the hallway buck naked. “I’ll grab the menus. You pick the place.”

I stare at his bare ass as he walks away, and my hands clutch the sheets. I’m so swooning over him right now. I fix our pillows so we can both sit back against them, and wait for him to return.

And he does, with Karma under one arm and a stack of menus in his free hand.

“She was lonely,” he explains as he sets her on the bed.

“You’re a sucker for her,” I say as I snuggle her into my arms. “Just like I am.”

“I’m a sucker for anything that’s related to you,” he murmurs as he settles in next to me, and pulls the covers up over our waists, so Karma can climb into his lap. “So, what’ll it be?”

I flip through the menus, and hand one back to him.

He grins. “I knew you’d choose this place.”

“Thai food? How come?”

“You told me you love good old-fashioned American food, but if you have to order in, it’s Thai all the way.”

I kiss his bare shoulder. “Do you remember everything I tell you?”

“I want to,” he says with such sincerity I snuggle even closer to him.

---

After eating chicken curry and spring rolls in bed, we take Karma down to the beach for a night walk. I’m wearing a loose t-shirt and short black skirt I slipped on after leaving Colton’s bed, and the nighttime breeze is cool on my bare skin. It’s a beautiful moonlight beach walk, but for me, all I see are shadows lurking. After the third time of me looking over my shoulder, Colton turns us back around for his house.

“I’m fine,” I say too quickly.

“You’re not.” His tone is gentle, and he squeezes my hand in his. “And that’s okay. I don’t want you to do something that makes you so clearly uncomfortable.”

“Things didn’t go so well at my house after the sun went down,” I say, amazed the words are coming out of my mouth. I normally never talk about my childhood willingly, and yet here I am again, doing just that. “That’s when my father was at his worst. Especially if he was drunk. He was bad when he watched sports, and those times haunt me, but at night…” I shiver. “I genuinely feared for my mother’s life. And for my own.”

My father could be violent without the bottle, but alcohol increased his mood swings, increased his rage blackouts, increased his propensity to attack.

“I’m sorry, honey. I fucking hate that you grew up scared.”

“That time in my life is over, thank God.” I try to sound breezy, but I know Colton can hear right through to my trauma. “I’ve moved on.”

We’ve reached the gate, and I press the remote opener Colton gave me when we left for the walk. It opens effortlessly, and Karma dashes into the yard ahead of us, pulling at her leash.

Once we’re inside the house, Colton unleashes Karma, and I go about cleaning River’s litter box. I check her food and water, and suddenly she’s next to me, hooking her tail around my leg in a kitty hug.

“You came down off your perch!” I bend down and scoop her into my arms. “I’m so proud of you!”

She lets me carry her down the hall, but when I try to put her on the guest bed in the room where I spent last night, she jumps off and heads straight for Colton’s bedroom.

Colton laughs from behind me. “I think she knows where she should be spending the night.”

I flush, and turn to face him. “I don’t know…”

He crowds me into the wall, his hand on my hip, and I can’t hold back my moan. “Colt…”

“I want you again,” he says into my mouth, right before his lips land hard on mine. “What do you want, Sky?”

He tips his head back, giving me the space to decide.

I respond by reaching up and tugging at the short strands of his blond hair so I can kiss him back.

His hand shifts to my ass, and I loop my arms around his neck. He gives me a boost as I lift myself onto him and wrap my legs around his waist. My skirt rides up my thighs, and Colton’s large erection presses into me. I shift so I can feel him even better.

“Oh, God, Colt.” I practically pant into his mouth. “I fucking love kissing you.”

He takes my bottom lip between his teeth, and then releases it. “Take off your shirt,” he says in a strained tone. “Now.”

Good idea. I frantically pull the shirt over my head, as Colton’s hands support my ass and keep me suspended in his arms. I never put a bra back on after we had sex earlier, and Colton groans as his gaze goes immediately to my bare breasts.

“I want to take you right here, right against this wall,” he says into my ear as his thumb brushes over my aroused nipples.

“Please,” I say, squirming to feel his hard length between my legs. “I need you inside me.”

He unzips his pants, lifts my skirt up to my hips, and pulls aside my underwear. His fingers find my wetness first, as he checks to make sure I’m ready.

And then he’s pushing inside me.

“Colt.” I clutch at his back, desperate for something to ground me. “You feel so…”

He’s inside me bare. And I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. I have never in my entire life felt so turned on, so incredibly good. I don’t think to stop him, or to worry. I just hold on for the ride.

“Sky. Fuck.” Colton’s thrusts are wild and out of control. “I can’t stop. Tell me you’re close. I need you to be close, because…”

“I’m…com-ing.” I release the word as I climax, my lips fused to his.

I feel like I come forever, my body trembling in Colton’s arms. My thighs shake as I start to come down, and Colton slides out of me, still rock hard.

“You didn’t…”

“I can’t.” His face is etched with concentration. “We weren’t using protection. So unless you’re on the pill…”

I bang the back of my head against the wall. “I’m not.”

I’ve never wanted to be. Not before today.

“I’m clean,” he says to me in a serious tone. “I was tested last month. I would never have put you at risk.”

“I’ve been tested, too, and I’m safe,” I say to him.

I kiss his neck, and Colton lets me down to the ground, right before I drop to my knees in front of him.

“Sky.” His hoarse tone is positively gravelly. “Sweetheart. You don’t have to. The condoms are right down the hall…”

My mouth is already on him. He lets out a rough cry, and I lift my eyes to his. He leans his hands on the wall behind me for balance, never taking his eyes off mine. I use my tongue, and my hand, until he’s shaking.

“Christ, Sky.” His breath comes out unevenly. “That feels so good—I’m not going to last.”

I don’t want him to. I want him to go over the edge like I just did. I move my mouth over him harder, and faster, and soon he’s muttering curse words.

“I’m going to come,” he warns me, just before he lets go.

I hold him close to me until he stops trembling, until he pushes off the wall and kneels down to face me. His eyes are liquid with heat.

“Your lips should be illegal. I’ve fantasized about you doing that for ten years. Exactly that.”

“Are you serious?” I ask him. The thought of playing out one of Colton’s fantasies is such a turn-on that I nearly lose my balance.

“Yes, I’m dead serious. You’ve been in my thoughts, and my heart, since I met you. I know it sounds crazy…”

“It doesn’t,” I say quickly. “No one has made me feel even close to the way you did. I was only sixteen years old, but you were the only one who ever did it for me, Colt.”

“Come here.” He scoops me into his arms and carries me into his bedroom, where River and Karma have already made themselves comfortable at the foot of the bed.

He pulls back the covers and crawls in with me, before spooning me, his chest to my back.

“Sleep with me tonight?” His tone is hopeful, but cautious.

“Okay,” I say right away.

“Do you feel safe here?” he asks me. “I don’t want you to do something you’re not ready for.”

I snuggle closer to him, lacing his fingers with mine on my stomach. “I do feel safe.”

Colton reaches over my head to flick out the light. And for the first time in my life, I fall asleep in a man’s arms.