The late morning sun peeked through the curtains, helping Gabi to memorize every last detail of Blake. He slept peacefully on his back, his right arm resting on his stomach, while the left lay on the pillow above his head.

For a man who tried to appear rough around the edges, all she saw was gentle beauty. His black hair, which he usually spiked, lay loose around his forehead, his sensual lips slightly parted. She wanted to lean in and kiss him. To wake him with passion and love, but she knew he hadn’t had a lot of sleep. He hadn’t crawled back into bed until after three-thirty. So for now, she’d curb her lust by learning the intricate details of all his tattoos.

Slowly, she ran her fingers millimeters above his skin, following the trail of ink with her shadow. Around his wrists were thick, black tribal bands that held the appearance of manacles. Above the band on his right arm was the tail of a snake. The reptile wound around his forearm, all the way up his bicep. In the space around the snake were smaller images, lots of intricate designs of musical notes, symbols, even a sprig of deep pink cherry blossom—her favorite tree. They all meshed together in a beautiful collage of light and dark, joy and despair.

“I feel a little violated.”

Her hand paused as her gaze snapped to meet his. “Good morning.” She smiled. His irises, so deep and dark, did things to her that no man should ever have the power to do.

He stretched his arms above his head and groaned. “How long have you been fondling me with your eyes?”

She crawled over him, placing her naked body on top of his and settling between his thighs. “Too long.” She ground her pelvis into his hardening cock and relished the vibration of his chest under her palms.

Gabi grinned when their gazes collided. She loved this man, with all her heart. She always had. He was honest, open about his failings, and even though she knew he tried to hide behind a tough shell, she could read the emotion clearly in his features.

“Are we OK?” she whispered. The conversation from the night before sat low in her belly, congealing.

He lowered his hands to her waist. “What do you mean?”

“About me going home…alone?”

His brows narrowed. “I told you it doesn’t matter, so don’t worry about it anymore.”

“I know what you told me,” she spoke softly. “But this is me, Blake. Although we haven’t spent a lot of time physically together, I still know you. I can read the hurt in your eyes. Please be honest with me.”

One corner of his lips curved, and he nudged at her ribs making her squirm. “Turning back into my little Modaroo are you? Trying to counsel me and make things better?”

Her stomach clenched. “Don’t do that.”

His smile faded.

“Don’t turn every conversation into a reminder of what you used to be. I haven’t been your drug addiction supporter for a long time. I’m your friend.” She swallowed. “Your lover. Your girlfriend. You aren’t that man anymore, so stop torturing yourself and let me in.”

She didn’t know how he’d hidden his struggle from his friends for so long. To her, his pain was blindingly obvious. His scars as visible as the ink on his skin.

“I wish I was good enough for you,” he whispered.

Her mouth gaped. “You are perfect for me.” She broke eye contact, needing to blink away the burn in her eyes and lowered her chin to kiss the smooth skin beside his angel tattoo. “I love you. Not only are you good enough, but you make me whole. I wouldn’t be who I am without you.”

He shook his head and remained silent.

“When you meet my parents,” she continued, lifting her gaze, “we are going to show them just how perfect we are. They’ll see how happy you make me and get over their misconceptions.” They would. She would make sure of it. Once Wednesday was over she would talk to them.

His stare bore into her. “Sounds good.”

* * *

Gabi’s stomach growled between them and Blake ignored it. He’d never lain like this with a woman before. Ever. To be comfortable, simply staring at one another made his stomach do weird things. Things he’d never felt before.

“Are you still with me?” she asked softly, interrupting his thoughts.

“Yeah, gorgeous. Just thinking.” He grinned, but she didn’t appear convinced.

She stroked her fingers over his pecs, across the wings of his angel, leaving a trail of goose bumps in her wake. “What about?”

He chuckled to distract her. There’d been too much deep and emotional shit between them already. Once they were separated, he wanted her to remember the fun they shared, not the drama. “About you...” He placed his hands on her ass and ground his erection into her abdomen. His cock had been on a hair trigger since the moment he spotted her across the crowded dance floor. With the friction of her body and the knowledge that her tight heat was only inches away, it now thrummed, demanding action. “And me...” He tilted his neck and took her mouth in a passionate kiss. Their tongues tangled and her nails dug into his skin. “Gettin’ busy.”

He gave a final swipe of his tongue over her lips and enjoyed the way her light blue irises turned dark and sensual.

“Do you always frown like that when you’re thinking about gettin’ busy?”

Busted. He didn’t want to drag her into his thoughts. She’d been through enough. It was time he dealt with his own shit without pulling her into the darkness. Rather than answering her, he kissed her again. Hard. Mashing their lips together and taking the breath from her lungs.

When he came up for air she was panting, her hands gripping his shoulders. He flipped her over, placing her on her back and loomed over her. He nudged her legs apart and sank between them, all the while reaching for the bedside table and blindly rummaging for a condom. When he found a square foil packet, he brought it to his mouth and ripped it open with his teeth. In the space of bare heartbeats, he sat back on his haunches, sheathed himself, and then rested back against her body.

She was warmth and comfort and home. All the things he’d never had. All the things he’d find hard to live without when they were separated.

“Trying to distract me?” she asked, then whimpered as he lowered his mouth to suck on her nipple.

He ran his tongue around the stiffened peak, flicking the hardened flesh.

“When will I get to meet your friends?”

He released her breast with a pop and raised a brow. “You’re asking me this now?”

“Yes,” she panted, blinking at him in a daze. “I want to know.”

Trailing his tongue around her areola, he skimmed a hand up her side. “Once I’ve marked every inch of you with my hickies and my scent is all over your skin.”

Her eyes drifted closed for a second. “And how…” She moaned when his hand cupped her other breast, teasing the tightened peak with light strokes. “And how will you do that? How will you get your scent all over me?”

Damn, she was persistent. He couldn’t think past getting inside her, and she was dragging on a longwinded conversation. “I’ll blow my load on your belly and smear it all over your skin.”

“Eww!” Her eyes snapped open and she stiffened. “That’s disgusting.” She smacked his chest and began to laugh.

He chuckled along with her, happy to have sucked her out of the nirvana vortex seeing as though she’d done it to him first.

“I love making you laugh.” It was the sweetest sound in the world. Along with the feminine noises she released when he made her come. “I love that I can say anything around you and you’ll know when I’m joking.”

She grinned back at him. “Well, I sure hope you were joking.”

“What?” He pushed onto his elbows and frowned down at her. “You don’t like the thought of my baby gravy all over your body?”

“Yuck, Blake.” She squirmed under him.

He responded by lightly biting the skin of her neck, making her squeal.

“In me?” She nodded. “On me? Maybe. Smeared all over my body like you’re icing a cake? Piss off.” She pushed at his shoulders, but he didn’t budge. “It sounds like fetish porn. So, no. No, thank you.”

He tilted his head in contemplation. “I’m kinda impressed that you know about fetish porn.”

“Pfft.” She rolled her eyes. “My grandma knows about fetish porn.”

“I’m really beginning to like Australian women.”

“Oh, really?” She seductively trailed a delicate finger under his chin and held his gaze. “Australian women in general, or one in particular?”

He shrugged, and the curve of his lips turned into a smirk. “It’d be mean if I narrowed it down to just one. Imagine all those poor, heartbroken sheilas.” He used his best Aussie accent on the last word and it was so bad he cringed.

Gabi glared at him, but she couldn’t hide the humor in her eyes as she curled her legs around his waist and tried to flip him. He didn’t budge. She grunted and lines of exertion formed on her forehead. Still he didn’t move or bat an eyelid. When she dug her fingers into his ribs, he threw back his head and laughed.

“OK. OK. I’ll stop teasing you.” His laughter died down and he rested his hands on her belly, leaning his chin against them to peer up at her.

They remained quiet, both smiling at each other like smitten, love struck fools. Even though the cloud of lust had been broken, his nerves thrummed, eager to be one with her again. And each moment that she stared down at him with admiration made it more palpable.

“Can we go back to the part where your mouth was doing really nice things to my body?” she asked softly.

His eyes narrowed, and he couldn’t help playing with her a little longer. “Can you refrain from talking about my friends while I’m trying to maintain an erection?”

She pressed her lips together, smothering her laugh. “I promise.”

He raised a brow and moved his head to her breast, licking the tightened nipple. She mewled as he continued lapping with torturing slowness. When her thighs loosened around his waist, he climbed up her body, taking her breath away with his lips. Her hands glided around his neck, holding him in place, sending a shiver down his back all the way to the base of his spine. He was on top of her, the warmth of her body enveloping him, yet he wasn’t close enough.

“We’ll discuss this…” She broke off in a huff as he nudged inside her, the head of his erection breaching her slick walls. “…later.”

He chuckled and sunk further, watching as her back arched off the bed. She was a fist around him, squeezing, tormenting, driving him to the brink with no effort at all. Running a hand down her thigh, he encouraged her legs to circle his waist. She rocked into him, lifting her hips each time he thrust, and still they weren’t close enough. He wanted to be deeper, to be inside her heart, her soul. He wanted to be a part of her life that she could never live without. He wanted to be her addiction, like she was his.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled back, lifting her with him. He folded his legs under him, keeping their bodies connected as he rested on his heels and sat Gabi down in his lap—on his cock. Her arms ran around his neck, her fingers playing with his hair, her nails scratching his scalp.

Now this…this was heaven. He hugged her close and slammed his mouth against hers, loving her as they ground into each other. Their teeth clashed, their tongues danced and with each slam of his cock she moaned into his mouth.

“Harder,” she panted, tugging at his hair.

“Yes, ma’am.” He moved to his knees and walked them up the bed. Resting her back against the head board, he held her up and slammed home. She cried out and grazed his chest with her nipples. The scent of her arousal hung heavy in the air, intoxicating him.

He worked his hips in slow circles, grinding into her before breaking the rhythm with a hard thrust. Pleasure pooled in his balls and tightened the base of his shaft. He was close. Too close. A touch away from paradise.

He opened his mouth and cleared his throat, unable to speak. “How…close…”

“I’m coming,” she panted, and her legs tightened around his hips.

Shit. He followed her over, without thought or feeling, and groaned her name as he came. She convulsed around him, her pussy clamping down, drawing out his pleasure. He closed his eyes as his mind blanked and his heart soared. There would never be anyone else for him. His heart had been claimed.

He rested his forehead against her shoulder, his chest expanding and falling with deep breaths. She kissed his jaw, her fingers loosening in his hair as her body went languid against his.

“I love you,” she murmured, nuzzling his cheek.

He turned his face into her neck, nibbled the sensitive spot below her ear, and whispered, “It doesn’t count.”