Did he really just say love? He wouldn’t lie about that. My heart is racing, but I don't fight his touch. I want it. His hand gently brushes the top of my head, and he pushes the hair out of my eyes.

A faint smile creeps up the corners of my mouth. I tilt my head back slightly to let him know he is desired. He continues to stroke my head. His head tilts back as he leans against the door.

I roll onto my side and prop myself up on my elbow and study him.

He smiles weakly. “You must hate me.” He breathes through his nose.

I chew on my bottom lip. “Why were those people so afraid of you?”

He scratches his chin, running his fingers along the stubble, which is almost a full beard. “It's complicated. Just know—my family and I, we aren’t good people.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Well, you should. You should stay as far away from me as possible.” He pulls his hand away from me.

“You don’t have to sleep on the floor, you know.” I don’t look at his face, but I feel his movement.

“That’s the exact opposite of what I just said.”

“And I disagree with you.”

He chuckles low and sighs. “That’s alright. I don’t think I’ll even fit.”

“Have you tried?” I pat my hand to invite him.

“You don’t want that.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t think it’d be very good.”

“Please,” I whimper. “You don’t know what’s good for me. It’ll make me feel better.”

In the darkness of the room, I see the gold flash of his eyes as he stares at me. Very cautiously, he slides onto the bed.

I back myself against the wall.

He rests his head across from mine and groans.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“This was a bad idea. I was right.”

“Why?”

He holds my cheek in his palm. “You know why.”

He pulls himself away, but I clutch his wrist in a white-knuckle grasp.

I’m not thinking logically. This could be the last time I am alone with him. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? I just know that right now, I want him to touch me.

“Stay. Please. I don’t want to have nightmares.”

He sighs and returns to where he was lying, except that I scoot forward, so our bodies are barely touching. He reaches for my arm, and his fingers trace over me lightly.

My body swells with happiness at his touch.

“Why are you teasing me like this?” he whispers.

“I’m not teasing you.”

“Yes, you are.”

“No. This would be teasing.”

I tilt my chin up, and my lips find his. It's a slow kiss, soft and sweet. Our lips brush past one another timidly, as though it’s our very first kiss. My heart races and my palms begin to sweat. I’m nervous.

We’ve never kissed like this. His lips move to the top of my forehead, then my cheek.

He sighs through his nose, then all at once, kisses me deeply.

I shudder when his tongue finds its way inside my mouth, and I clutch his back tightly, bringing myself against his body.

He flips on top of me. His arms press into the bed on either side of my head, but his hands hold my hair. Our mouths continue to dance with one another. He nibbles on my bottom lip before sucking it.

I raise my hips to meet his and gasp in enjoyment as he rocks into mine. I claw from his back to his neck.

His hips rock harder against mine, and one of his hands trails down the bed, to the zipper of my shirt. He pulls it down slowly.

His fingers trace up and down my bare torso, where they find their way to my breasts. He squeezes them each firmly, and I moan with need when he pulls away. I want more. His fingers return to my nipples, where his thumb flicks back and forth. I cry out in pleasure and squirm under his touch.

“Oh, the things I could do to you,” he whispers.

His words make my pussy pulse. His mouth travels to my ear, where he bites gently. It tickles in a good way, and I roll my neck to the side. His hot lips trace down, and I start to pant when his mouth replaces his hand on my sensitive breasts. He sucks, swirling his tongue around my hard, pink points with the tip of his tongue.

The arousal between my legs is near maddening now. The intense pleasure from his mouth had distracted me from the fact his hands are already over my pants, right above my throbbing clit. He pets me over the thin layer of fabric, where I’ve soaked through. My back arches up to encourage his hand.

With one movement, he rips my pants down and off my body and stands at the end of the bed. He groans, looking over me with lust, and the richness in his eyes brightens into a wildfire. He clenches his jaw.

The fact he’s so turned on by just the sight of my naked body makes me tremble. He reaches with one hand and yanks the shirt off his body. His winding tattoos faintly illuminate both the room and his carved muscles. His firm abs and pectorals flex, and he tilts his head back. The sight of his steely body only makes my breathing become strained as I gulp for air. Then he sits on the edge of the bed, and his fingers crawl up my leg. The deepest parts of me panic for his touch.

He finds my bare clit and gently pushes against it, moving slowly. He’s teasing me. My flesh screams for him. His eyes flash as they hold mine.

“Orien,” I moan. I want to tell him to move faster, but I can’t find the words, and the only sounds that come from my mouth are deep sighs and moans. His touch is too powerful. He watches me hungrily as I twist on my back.

“Fuck me.” I sigh.

He furrows his brow and thrusts a finger into my pussy. The sudden entry makes me cry out loudly.

He moans with me as his finger drives into me. “Mmm. You’re so tight. Fuck.”

I only respond with twitches and pants. “Orien—please. I want you inside of me—uh.” I jerk onto my stomach. It feels too good; I can hardly stand it, but he keeps his fingers moving in and out slowly. My face buries into the mattress as I shriek, and my body convulses; my juices drip down my leg. He finds my ass with his free hand and squeezes it firmly.

“Why won’t you fuck me?” I snap.

He yanks his wet fingers from my slick hole and rolls me to my back. His hands grip my inner thighs, and he clamps my legs completely open. He slides down to the bed, yanking me to his face.

“No,” I plead. “Fuck me.” But his tongue is already on my burning clit. Just a few licks and I feel myself reaching the edge of climax.

But I want his dick. I kick my legs, but he holds me down. “Orien, why won’t you fuck me? What do I need to do?” I cry out.

He moves his tongue faster, in perfect rhythm.

I can’t hang on any longer. Everything unwinds, and pleasure pumps through me in waves. My center surges with electricity. My head spins, and my body trembles. Every part of me feels as though it has been set on fire with satisfaction. I gasp and moan as the orgasm consumes. He keeps his tongue gently rocking back and forth until my breathing grows steady; then pulls his head up.

“How was that?” he asks.

I nod, turning my head back and forth as I come down from my cloud. But it feels as though I might not come down. My pussy still aches to be filled. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, but I sit up quickly.

“What are you doing?” I gasp.

He smiles. “Want me to keep tasting you?” The purring sound of his voice makes my center melt.

“You know what I want.”

He rests his hand on my leg. “I can’t.”

“What do you do you mean, you can’t?”

“I’m too big.” His grip on my leg tightens. “Besides, you’re tight. I’d really have to warm you up.”

“I am warmed up.”

“It's not worth the risk,” he whispers, placing his hand on my face. His skin on mine feels charged. I reach my hand and push against the hard bulge under his jeans.

His eyes close, and he trembles. “Don’t, Emily.”

“Since when have we ever done what the other wants?”

I tug at his belt buckle, and it drops to the floor with a thud. I feel desperate now that I’m so close. I pull his pants and underwear down, and his massive cock springs free. Has it gotten bigger?

My pussy stirs at the sight of his erection. I’m still recovering from the last climax. I gently grab its base, and Orien about crumples down to the bed.

I can’t help but sigh when my fingers move up, then down. It's so silky smooth, but the size—I wrap my hand around his girth, to find my fingertips don’t even touch. A whole inch of space stands between them.

“Em—” he grunts. Precum oozes from the tip as I gently tug on his throbbing member. I bob my head down and lick it off, slurping up every last drop. He quivers when I suck lightly on his hard tip.

His hands curl into tight fists, and his teeth clench.

I continue sucking until each stroke is accompanied by a moan. His pleasure only increases my own delight. I start to groan through a mouthful of his cock.

Then in one motion, he rips me off of him, throwing me down onto my back. My body bounces at it hits the mattress with a slam. He’s on top of me, and his eyes are blazing. He buries his face into my neck. His hot cock hovers over my sopping wet pussy.

I rub my clit against it. He pulls back and looks at me. “We’ll go slow,” he says.

I nod and raise my hips. His fumbles for a moment. I can see it's taking every ounce of him to maintain control.

I feel it, then. His head pushes between my pussy lips. I let out a low whimper. His size—he’s huge.

He pauses. I feel every muscle in his body tighten then when he pushes in a little more.

I gasp, trying not to scream. My fingers claw into his back. He’s not even three inches inside of me, and I feel as though I’m going to rip apart. My eyes begin to water.

But when he withdraws, my whole body objects and a red-hot ache rushes through me. “No, no—don’t stop,” I beg, my chest rising and falling.

His breathing is just as fast as mine. “You’re so tight. I don’t know if I can hold off much longer.”

“I need you back inside of me.”

He thrusts into me once more, and almost half of him fills me, but his whole body is shaking. His hands cling to the mattress. It’s taking every ounce of his strength not to drive his cock in me. But I lift my hips, and he enters me even deeper.

I can’t help but scream; I feel like he might rip me. I gasp as the dull pain grows. His groin rocks back; I feel him removing himself, and the need returns furiously. I thrust up to keep him from leaving once more.

It is too much.

“Fuck!” Orien groans. “I can’t keep—”

He doesn’t even finish. His hips slam down, and my body is pierced with sudden fullness. I thought I had most of him in, but I wasn’t even close. I think I might break as his cock thrusts into me.

“Ahhhhh! Uhhh!” My eyes are wide open. There’s no escape now, no break. He thrusts at full speed.

The sensation overwhelms me. It’s more than I can handle. Every time he withdraws, my pussy protests the emptiness his cock leaves; then it screams when he returns, pounding. Every breath has turned into a cry.

But his pelvic bone jolts against my clit, sending deep waves of pleasure that meld with the intense fullness. I am beyond the heavens and the universe. Another orgasm sweeps through my body as his momentum grows. The pressure is building, from the top of my head down to my toes; then another climax.

The propulsion of bliss rocks with each clench of my pussy. There is no world around us; it's just our bodies together now. My whole body convulses with the eruption.

I feel it; Orien’s seed rushes into me, pumping. My eyes roll back from the impact. Tremors take over my body like an explosion, igniting me with satisfaction. He pulls out, taking a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

I nod. It isn’t until then that I realize the whole mattress and bed frame are in disarray. I look around in a haze with wide eyes. “What happened?”

“It was either you or the bed. Baromenian lust can be kind of intense the first time we have sex with someone we’re in love with.”

There are those words again, making my chest flutter. I lie down amidst the small white feathers that used to be filling the mattress.

Orien kisses my forehead.

“What are we going to do now?”

He doesn't respond. Instead, he gets dressed and walks to the door. “I’m going to check on Mor.”

“Will you be back?”

“Yes.”

It opens, and a dim stream of light fills the room. I’m alone now. A dull, painful ache grows between my legs from being stretched.

I stand and dress myself before I fall asleep.

I’m not sure when Orien returns, but I roll over to feel his body close to mine, and see his golden eyes shining in the night.

I don’t know how long we were sleeping before the door of the bedroom swings open. I jerk out of bed at the loud sound, only to see three massive men with guns pointing at Orien and me.

“Don’t move,” one shouts.

Neither of us does.

“It’s okay. It’ll be okay,” Orien reassures me under his breath.

A cloth is thrown over my head, and then I hear a loud whack.