The food sat on the table, covered by silver lids Grams had dug out of storage from when the inn used to host weddings. The tall tapers were lit, and soft guitar music played in the background, drifting along with the cool evening air. The sun hadn’t fully set yet, but the heat of the day had faded enough that the roof was quite enjoyable. He closed his eyes, grinning at how well everything had turned out. All he needed now was the woman of his dreams to join him.

The door to the roof creaked open, and Edmund turned, struck by the beauty of the woman stepping outside. “Am I late?” Kris asked, twirling, the skirt of her crimson dress swirling out around her legs.

“Right on time,” Edmund said, his voice thick with want.

She smiled coyly as she tucked a stray curl behind her ear. The dress fit her body like a glove from the waist up and had a deep plunging neckline that tied around the back in a halter. She spun again, and his gut clenched at how low it dipped in the back, too, so low he could see the tattoo. The image was of a rundown car surrounded by flowers growing out of and through it as if it had been left for years to become part of the landscape.

“Nice ink,” he complimented as he strolled towards her and reached for her hand.

“Thanks,” she said, letting him tuck her hand in the crook of his elbow. “I got it as a teenager when I realized cars would be my life.”

He smiled wider. “Are you telling me I should get a tattoo of a horse drinking a bottle of whiskey?”

Her throaty laughter made it hard for him to let her go so she could sit at the table. “That would be a sight, but no, I’m not sure you’d enjoy it after a few days of staring at it.” She glanced around the rooftop and her lips curled in a crooked grin. “This is fantastic.”

“Best seats in the whole town,” he said and pulled out two beers. “Beer?”

“What, no champagne?” she teased, and his face fell. “I hate champagne. Beer is perfect.”

“I had a feeling that was the case.” He handed an open beer to her before taking his seat. “I think you’ll enjoy your dinner, too.”

She set her beer down and removed the silver covering. Her face lit up. “Cheeseburger with everything—fries with nacho cheese on the side and jalapenos. Who were you talking to at the diner today?”

“I had to get it right,” he shrugged and removed the cover from his food. “Should we have a toast before we eat?” He raised his beer as she mirrored him, her lips screwed up to the side in thought.

“Romantic evenings with new friends?” she asked.

“I’ll drink to that,” he agreed, and they clinked the necks of their bottles together then drank.

As they dug into their food, the sun set below the horizon. Edmund excused himself so he could turn on the lights he’d borrowed from Grams to light the whole rooftop of the inn. They popped on, surrounding the top of the roof, and Kris giggled with delight at the twinkling.

“Wow,” she whispered, jumping up from her chair to see them better. “Where were you a few years ago?”

“Trapped in a life I didn’t want,” he said honestly. With her standing in front of him in that dress, his hands twitched, wanting to hold her and draw her in close. He meandered to the speakers hooked up to his cell, turned the music up, and changed it to a slower song. “Care to dance with me?”

Kris glided across the roof to his outstretched hand. The moment her fingers entwined with his, he was complete. There was no other possible way of explaining it except that with Kris, there was no judging, no expectations of his future duties to her or his family. There was only Edmund and Kris dancing on the roof of an inn as the night sky unfolded overhead. The stars appeared one by one as he drew her closer, and she rested her cheek against his shoulder, her hips swaying easily to the music while he guided their feet in a slow dance. The evening breeze picked up, swirling around them and lifting her hair. Edmund sucked in a lungful of air, breathing her in. Motor oil and honeysuckle. He never wanted to smell anything except that sweet, rough smell that on Kris was simply who she was. She was the hard mechanic by day and the loving woman by night. The woman who listened to the tales of his life and didn’t want anything from him except the same thing he wanted desperately from her.

His hands fisted in her dress, but he didn’t want to disturb their closeness, not yet. She snuggled closer, one hand holding the back of his neck while her other rested warmly on his shoulder. He’d never danced with Jenny like this. They’d never even dated, really. They had been thrown together. Now, Edmund knew what it meant to be attracted to someone, and not just physically. Kris was a good-hearted woman, and though her family was a mess, she was still strong and plowing forward with her life.

Thoughts turned and twisted in his mind as the first song faded and another came on, but their feet never ceased moving. More stars shone overhead, and the moon’s pure white light broke through the thin clouds, lighting their silhouettes and chasing away the shadows of doubt. No matter what happened once his car was fixed, he could not let this woman go.

“What are you thinking about?” she mused as she lifted her head and trailed her fingers delicately down his cheek. “You’re going to get wrinkles.” Her lips twitched and he caught her hand, kissing each fingertip until she sighed. “Ed.”

“Yes?” he asked with a sly smile.

“This night’s been great so far,” she said breathily.

“And you’re ready to go home?” he asked, worried he’d done something wrong. He stepped away from her, and their dance ended. The light in her eyes, though, was not annoyance. His jaw tensed, and he could not look away from her hazel depths drawing him in with naked desire of exactly where she wanted this night to go. She chewed her tongue and smiled nervously but said nothing.

Edmund’s hands set her hair gently behind her shoulders and held her face sweetly in his hands. She leaned into his touch, closing her eyes, and her lips parted. His gut clenched, and he slanted his lips across hers in a sweet kiss. Their lips moved as if they had been together for years and knew each other’s bodies. His hands slipped to her hips and massaged them hard as her tongue flicked out, licking his lower lip. He groaned and returned the favor. As moonlight bathed their bodies, they clung to each other in a warm embrace. Excitement poured through Edmund when Kris turned them, never letting her lips leave his, and backed them towards the rooftop door.

She giggled against his mouth as they stepped inside, and she pressed him against the wall in the corridor, dragging his face down to hers. Edmund lifted her and walked them down the hall to the first set of stairs. Holding her securely against his body, they managed the first set and the second without faltering, and finally, they were on the main level. He didn’t set her down until he had to pull the key from his pocket. She took it from him and slipped it into the keyhole. He kissed her shoulder up to her neck, and she shivered at his touch, fumbling with the doorknob as she tried to open it. He grabbed her hips and dragged them back against his groin, cradling her against him as the door finally swung inward.

She led the way into the dimly lit room. Edmund kicked the door closed, reached around, and locked it quickly. Kris twirled away from him, and when she faced him again, her dress swirling around her legs, she nibbled her tongue as her hand reached up behind her. Edmund’s breath caught as she unzipped her dress leisurely, but he noticed how shaky her hands were. She didn’t make a move to remove it but held out her hand for Edmund, who stalked across the room, hungry to see what lay beneath the fabric.

“You’re sure?” he whispered, always the gentleman.

“With you, I’m sure of everything,” she replied, and the warmth in her words touched a long-buried part of his heart, a part that wanted to feel instead of just going through the motions. He came alive around Kris, and with his heart pounding behind his ribs, he knew tonight would be like his first night with a woman.

He reached two shakyunsteady hands for her shoulders, and her head fell back at his touch. He tugged the fabric tied behind her neck until the simple bow came loose and the dress fell to rest at her hips. He choked at the beautiful woman before him, her silky mounds of flesh calling to him as her nipples hardened at the brush of chilly air in the room. Kris reached for his hands and lifted them to hold her in his palms. She stood on her toes and kissed him, breaking the spell, and he massaged the flesh in his hands, loving the way her nipples pressed into his palms.

She dug her hands through his hair, and Edmund was lost in a riptide of want, hers and his twisting together until he didn’t know where his ended and hers began. He needed her, all of her. She pressed her body against his, but Edmund was going to take his time and explore this woman’s body as it had never been before.

He lowered his mouth to her neck, licking her collarbone, then lower to caress her breasts. Each kiss made her tremble for more, and when he suckled hard on one nipple, she gasped and her back arched. She gripped his shoulders as he wrapped one arm tightly around her waist and the other fondled her free breasts while his mouth mercilessly teased and laved the sweet, pink flesh. He savored each quiet rasp slipping between her lips and shifted from one breast to the other, seizing it tightly between his lips and rolling it with his tongue. He licked it and circled it until she squirmed against him and whispered his name roughly.

“This… this is incredible,” she gasped.

He chuckled. “We’re just getting started,” he whispered.

His hands followed her curves down to her hips. With one shove, her dress glided over her hips and pooled on the floor at her feet. He growled deeply in his chest as he stared at her in nothing but a red, lacy thong, and he frowned. Curious and with his arousal growing painfully quickly, he peeked tentatively below the fabric to find her completely shaved, not a single hair in sight.

“Is something wrong?” she asked with a knowing grin.

“No,” he replied. “No, everything is perfect.”

Kris took the hem of his shirt and yanked it up his body, laughing when it took a moment to make it over his head. Her lips found his naked chest as soon as it was clear and kissed his shoulders and neck as he burrowed his hands in her tendrils of hair, grinding his swollen length against her. Part of him wanted to lay her out and thrust home, but hurting this woman he held in his arms, who looked up at him with the same desires and a smile bordering on love beyond the lust, was not his intention. They had the whole night, and he was going to prepare her languidly for what sex between two people should be like.

He spun her around gently so she faced away from him and nuzzled her neck as his hands danced down her body, claiming every part he touched. He nipped her shoulder and kneaded her hips, then her breasts, tugging on her nipples until she arched her back again and whispered curses. When his hand reached the cleft between her legs, he used his knee to spread them just wide enough so he could palm her swollen lips. His kisses intensified against her neck when he felt her dripping pussy, begging for his touch, but he wanted to hear her cry out his name first. Wanted to hear her beg for more.

He rubbed the heel of his hand against her nub, and her whole body stiffened as her left arm reached around his neck to hold herself up as her other clutched her breast. He grunted as he felt her come apart in his hands, riding his hand with each gentle buck of her hips. He teased her earlobe and lower as his hand slipped away from her center to slide down her inner thigh and back up.

It wasn’t enough. He needed to be inside her, and he fell to his knees behind her, dragging the thin, lacy fabric from her body and kissing the back of her leg, making his way slowly back up as his hands stroked her calves and thighs. He spread her legs even wider and massaged the sensitive flesh there without going higher. Kris whined at the loss of him, and he grinned against her smooth skin. His fingers spread her soaking lips and slid gracefully inside her. She was tight, and he worked at stretching her with each subtle thrust inside. His thumb pressed her clit hard as he found his feet so he could sweep his lips against her neck and shoulder. Her legs spread wider of her own accord, and he groaned at her trusting him to take care of her. The couch was closer than the bed, so he directed her to it and sat her down. She studied him, her eyes glossy with arousal as he sank to his knees again and lifted her legs over his shoulders. The question was on her lips but turned into a moan of pleasure as he licked her lips and clit, over and over.

“Ed,” she rasped, her hands pressing his head closer.

He relished in sending her over the edge of control and sucked her clit until she bucked against his mouth. His hands held her hips steady when he thrust his tongue inside her and she cried out at his ravaging mouth. She quivered, riding his tongue, and he licked it up, her sweet and salty taste making him hungry for more. He slipped his fingers to replace his tongue, twisting and turning them deeper with each thrust and stretching her for him. As he rolled her clit with his tongue, her inner muscles clenched against his fingers and she cried out, her back arching off the couch. She tried to pull away, but he didn’t let her, sucking every last drop of the orgasm from her until she collapsed on the cushions, panting.

“Holy shit,” she muttered as he set her legs down and rested his cheek on her thigh. Her neck flushed red, and he caught the subtle shift in her attitude… embarrassment? He straightened and held her face between his hands.

“Never be embarrassed around me,” he told her sternly. “You loved it, and I loved watching you come.” She chewed her tongue and her body shook. “I’ll do it again and again just to see you come apart in my hands.”

She scooted to the edge of the couch and kissed him. She said so much in that one kiss. Edmund stood, picking her up, and carried her to the bed. He followed her down to the comforter, resting comfortably between her legs. Her fingers slipped beneath the top of his jeans, searching for him, but they were too tight for her to get far. With a groan of aggravation, she let her hands fall to the bed and he laughed.

“You should not be wearing pants,” she told him.

“Would you like me to remove them?”

“I want you,” she said seriously, and hunger curled even tighter in his groin. “I want all of you.”

Her words were weighted with more than desire, and Edmund kissed her, pouring himself into that kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and held him to her body, taking what he gave her, and in return, offered him a little piece of her heart.

He slipped quickly from the bed and shed the rest of his clothes. Noticing she still wore her heels, he smirked and pulled her towards the edge of the bed. He lifted her left leg first, kissing her ankle as he undid the strap of her heel. She rested on her arms so she could watch as he freed her of one heel and worked on the other. When they were gone, he shifted closer and she spread her legs for him, ready. Thankfully, the bed was high enough for him to be at the perfect height, and with their gazes locked on each other, he pressed his crown against her cleft. She sighed, rolling her hips forward, but he pulled back slowly, rubbing himself against her until she narrowed her eyes.

Edmund grinned as he pushed forward again, spreading her slowly. With each inch, he groaned, the tightness of her sending a thrill of pleasure down his back. Kris sucked in a sharp breath with a wince, and he drew back out slowly before thrusting in again. With each drag out, she watched him move, and it spurred his desire even more. His hands gripped her hips, helping her wrap her legs around his waist, and he buried his engorged length deep within her. She trembled, and her head fell back on a sigh. He waited before moving again, struggling to control himself until she was ready.

“Kris?” he asked, worried he’d moved too fast. She’d mentioned she had never gone this far, but when she faced him again, she raised her hips and smiled with a slight nod. He pulled his hips back slowly, shaking with the effort, and thrust in again.

Her mouth fell open on a moan, and Edmund could not keep it slow for long. She was so beautifully tight around him, and he wanted to stay buried within her forever. He leaned over her body and picked her up. She gasped when he slipped in even deeper, then he sat on the bed so she straddled him. His tongue flicked out to tease her nipples, and her hands clenched his shoulders, her nails digging in as they moved together on the bed. She rode him softly at first until he sucked at her breast and his thumb reached between their bodies, pressing against her clit. Kris shoved him back to the bed and as he held her hips steady, she moved above him, riding the full length of him with each rise of her hips until her breathing grew ragged and her body lost its steady rhythm. He was as close to the edge as she was, and with a growl of pure hunger, he held her steady and drove up into her, hard and fast.

When her body slumped, he rolled them over and claimed her mouth as he thrust inside her, driving them both into the raging orgasm that conquered their bodies. He groaned loudly as she cried out his name, her whole body tensing and then going limp beneath his. He pumped into her until he reached his finish, and when he finally slipped free, they cursed at the loss, their bodies spent.

She laughed quietly beside him, and he joined her until his gaze landed on the small foil packet by the bed.

“Shit!” he grunted and sat up quickly.

“What? What’s wrong?” she asked, her eyes wide as she glanced around.

“I forgot to use protection,” he muttered and rubbed a hand down his face.

“You’ve been tested, right?” she asked, and he nodded. “So have I, and I’m on the pill. I might be a virgin, but I’ve messed around other ways. I’m sure we’re fine.”

He sighed, and she pulled him back to the bed. “You sure?”

“I’m sure,” she said with a shrug. “Besides, this was my first time. I didn’t want to feel latex. I wanted to feel you.”

He kissed her forehead and held her closely as she draped her body over his chest. “You are one remarkable woman, you know that?” he said as he let his worries fade away and his mind replay the last few minutes. He started to laugh quietly, then it burst into a deep belly laugh he could not control. Kris sat up and stared at him, worry in her expression, until he shook his head. “I’m not laughing at you, I promise. You’re only the second woman I’ve ever had sex with, and I can honestly say this felt like my first time, too.”

She eyed him funnily, then broke into a smile and kissed him. “I’m glad to hear it.”

He rested his arm behind his head and stared at the ceiling, unable to stop smiling. Kris’s body against his felt better than any dream he could have had about tonight. He held her tightly as their breathing evened out, and when he glanced down, her eyes were closed and her face relaxed in sleep. Careful not to wake her, he leaned down and brushed his lips across her forehead.

“Night, Kris,” he whispered, and she snuggled closer in her sleep. He let his eyes close and drifted off to sleep with a woman he was falling for by his side.