“You do realize that you’re certifiable, right?” I said as I joined Jenna next to the pool. “Feeding this many people.”

Jenna grinned at me. “It’s all in the delegation.”

We both looked over at the grill where Rylan and Zeke were busy with an insane amount of meat. Nearby was a long table weighed down with chips and dips, potato salad, scalloped potatoes, fruit salad, cheese, crackers, cold cuts, buns, fresh vegetables, pies, brownies, Jell-O, condiments, and about half a dozen other dishes that I couldn’t recognize from my seat.

“Mom look!” Diana called from the pool. “Look what Aunt Stacey taught me!”

When she was sure we were watching, she flipped onto her back and floated. Less than an arm’s length away was Stacey, hand out to help if Diana faltered. While both of Jenna’s sisters had met the family back in March at Diana’s birthday party, Stacey had been coming by twice a week since school had let out last month. Both kids got along with her, but Diana had become obsessed. Everything was all about her Aunt Stacey.

“That’s great,” Jenna said with a sincere smile.

“I’m surprised Jeremiah’s not in there with them,” I said.

“He and Danielle are in a serious competition at the moment.” Jenna gestured toward the driveway. “They’re playing Antelope.”

“Antelope?”

She laughed. “Apparently, spelling horse wasn’t enough of a challenge.”

“Let me guess, that was Danielle’s doing.” Scott took the seat on the other side of Jenna while Michael sat down at the edge of the pool and dangled his feet in the water. “She’s become obsessed with going to the national spelling bee next year. She’s becoming extremely competitive.”

“I wonder who she gets that from,” Michael said dryly.

As the two men continued to banter, I found my gaze wandering. Suzette was sunbathing a couple chairs away and judging by the looks her brother and Zeke were throwing at her, she was going to end up getting wet, soon. I knew Zeke’s new boyfriend was around here somewhere too, as were Stacey’s parents. The Johnsons had been a little more reluctant to join a family holiday, but Jenna had managed to convince them that they wouldn’t feel out of place. Things between them and her were much better as time went on.

The only person missing was Clay, but it wasn’t because something was wrong. In fact, I’d talked to him a couple days ago, and he was doing better than he had been in a long time. He’d promised that he’d come by as soon as he returned to Colorado, which should be soon.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I felt the familiar sensation of being watched. It wasn’t, however, an unpleasant one. I turned toward it and found Jalen staring at me, heat in his eyes. I’d had a couple cases I’d needed to finish up before the holiday, so it’d been several days since the two of us had done anything more than texted and talked for a few minutes.

When he’d picked me up, the kiss he’d given me had made me want to stay in for the night, but we’d already promised Jenna we’d come to her Fourth of July picnic, and we’d been running late. I didn’t plan on doing anything to prevent today from being perfect for my friend, but I was already eagerly anticipating all the decadent things he’d promised me on the way here.

I stood at the foot of the bed and took a moment to admire my work.

Jalen sat with his back against the headboard, his arms stretched out along the top with each wrist tied to a post. I’d put the blindfold on him first, knowing from my own personal experience that it would heighten the experience. Then I’d undressed him, restrained him, and left him waiting, stark naked and looking gorgeous.

I climbed onto the bed, keeping my eyes on him as I inched closer. I put my hands on his ankles and slid my palms up as I went. The hair on his legs was coarse against my palms, and his muscles flexed beneath his skin. I loved his body. He was magnificent. The sort of man whose physique deserved to be made from stone and admired in a museum somewhere. But also the sort of man who would dismiss such a statement as completely ludicrous. He knew he was attractive, but I doubted he understood the extent. In my opinion, that made him even more incredible.

By the time I stopped, his cock was thick and full, curving up toward his stomach and I knew that when I took it in hand, it would be heavy, both soft and hard at the same time.

He was like that too. Soft and hard at the same time.

“Are you going to stare at it all night or what?”

“You should be more patient,” I said as I stretched out between his legs.

“I am being patient,” he argued.

I wrapped my hand around the base of his shaft, and he let out a low oath. My tongue teased the tip, and his head fell back, hitting the wall with a thunk. I didn’t often have him at my mercy, and I intended to take advantage of the opportunity. He moaned as I slowly fisted his cock, using my tongue to ease the friction of skin on skin. His hips jerked, and I stopped, tightening my hold until he stopped moving.

“Wait until it’s my turn,” he warned.

My pussy clenched in anticipation, and this time it was my own impatience I had to reign in. I shifted to get a better grip on the base of his shaft and then finally gave him what he wanted. Leaning down, I wrapped my lips around the head of his cock. Sucking hard, I took more of him into my mouth, an inch at a time until he couldn’t go any deeper.

“Fuck…” he groaned. The muscles in his thigh jumped and bunched under the hand I was using to steady me. “Your mouth is going to kill me.”

I didn’t answer, keeping my attention focused on the delightful bit of flesh in my mouth. I’d once heard somewhere that when the taste of another person’s body – their skin and saliva and sweat and… other things – was appealing, it meant that they were your soulmate. Like it was nature’s way of ensuring that the people who’d make the strongest and best offspring would want to be together. If that was the case, then Jalen and I were meant to be. I couldn’t get enough of him.

My tongue traced the pulsing vein on the underside of his cock, then circled the tip, gathering up the drop of pre-cum beaded there. I dropped my hand from his thigh, reaching down to cup his balls. I rolled them in my hand, alternating a gentle touch with a rougher squeeze.

Jalen pulled on his restraints, muttering a combination of curses and filthy promises, only half of which made any sense at all. I’d set out to drive him crazy, and it looked like he was there. Not a moment too soon either because if I had to wait any longer to feel him inside me, I knew I’d go crazy.

I lifted my head, dragging my teeth along his sensitive skin until he was begging me to stop. We’d long-since established safe words, and since nothing he said truly meant slow down or stop, I kept going. By the time I released his cock, he was simply repeating fuck over and over.

I kissed my way up his chest, pausing at his nipple to tease it with teeth and tongue. When I switched to the other one, I moved my knees to either side of his hips. His cock brushed against the inside of my thighs, and he caught his breath. I put my hands on his shoulders for balance and kissed him. His tongue tangled with mine as he tried to take control of the kiss, but I didn’t let him. He’d be in charge later. Right now, it was my turn.

I whimpered as I lowered myself onto his slick cock. I was wetter than I’d ever been, but he was thick enough that coming together was a tight fit. My body stretched to accommodate his size, and his dick rubbed against my walls with the perfect amount of friction. I let out a shaky breath when he was finally all inside. It didn’t matter how many times we’d done this, it still amazed me how perfectly we fit together.

“Take off the blindfold,” he said, his voice strained. “Please, Rona, I want to see you.”

I kissed him as I rolled my hips, sinking my teeth into his bottom lip when the movement sent a ripple of pleasure through me. He tugged against the soft leather cuffs that kept his wrists bound, then chased after my mouth when I broke the kiss. He made a sound of pure frustration, and I let him growl for a few more seconds before I granted his request and removed the blindfold.

He blinked against the dim light, then zeroed in on my face. “Hands. I want my hands.”

I ran my fingers through his hair and rolled my hips again. He cursed, and I smiled. “What do I get if I let you go?”

His eyes narrowed. “I’m going to fuck you so hard you’ll feel it for days.”

I tilted my head, pretending to think as I rose up on my knees, then slid back down on him. “I don’t know. I’m enjoying fucking you. I think I need a little more incentive than that.”

He gritted his teeth. “How about I wake you up every morning for a month using my mouth?”

I paused just as I’d pushed up onto my knees again. “Every morning for a month? How, exactly, is that going to work for the days I’m at my place?”

“I figured maybe you wouldn’t go back to your place.” He gave me a rakish grin, but I could see something else in his eyes. Something that told me he wasn’t completely joking.

“Are you…are you asking me to move in with you?”

“I am.”

I held his gaze for a moment, then reached over to undo his right wrist. He undid the left one himself as I shifted my legs to wrap around his waist. His arms locked around me as he claimed my mouth.

The world became heat and skin and teeth, waves of pleasure that threatened to overwhelm. The scent of him surrounded me, infused itself into every cell. He placed a hand on the small of my back, guiding me as we moved together.

“I’m not going to last long,” he murmured against my mouth. “Touch yourself. Let me watch you come first.”

I leaned back, trusting him to hold me up as I dropped my hand between us. My fingers found my clit swollen and throbbing. Quick, rough strokes pushed me closer to climax, but it wasn’t until he sank his teeth into my breast that I came with a cry.

I rode my high as he drove up into me with hard, deep strokes. Once, twice, and then he was saying my name, his cock pulsing inside me. A shudder ran through him, the motion sending another ripple of pleasure through me. We stayed locked together as we came down in a post-orgasmic haze. Only as the air conditioning cooled our heated skin did we finally move.

Once we were under the covers, limbs tangled, I asked, “Were you serious? About me moving in?”

“I meant to ask you with some romantic gesture,” he admitted, “but I don’t always think clearly when I’m tied up and horny.”

I laughed and snuggled closer. “Good. I was hoping it wasn’t some heat of the moment thing.”

“Does that mean you’re saying yes?”

I nodded and looked up at him. “I am. On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ve got to let me get rid of that hideous end table in the living room. I’m constantly running into those awful clawed feet.”

He laughed and kissed my forehead. “Love, you can redecorate the entire house if you want. The only thing I care about is falling asleep next to you every night and waking up next to you every morning.”

“Good answer,” I said, closing my eyes.

My body relaxed against his, and I felt sleep sneaking up on me. That was okay though. We’d work out the details tomorrow. Or the day after.

We had time.