The intricate design curved around the inside of her thigh, coming to a stop just at the back of her leg. It was a bright, floral blanket over her skin, vibrant like her, a perfect reflection of her personality and artistry.

There would be plenty of time to exert his dominance, to have her submit in all manner of ways. Today was about their first time together and establishing trust. It was about him taking care of her needs. Pleasuring her. He would be infinitely gentle, because before it was over with, he knew he’d take everything. He’d demand everything. So for this one time, he would give her an experience that would become the basis of their bond.

He leaned down, pressing his mouth between her breasts. She arched into him, seeking more of his mouth. So he gave her more, kissing a line down to her belly. A soft moan escaped and her stomach clenched and quivered beneath his mouth.

The anticipation of tasting her intimately had him doing his own amount of quivering. He was walking a razor’s edge. The urge to spread her wider and plunge into her was overwhelming. He wanted to claim her. It was a primitive instinct, one that had ruled his thoughts since the moment he’d laid eyes on her. And now she was here, naked, in his bed. His to do with what he wanted.

He was going to damn well savor the gift and appreciate it for what it was worth. She’d given him her trust, and he knew how huge that was, given the circumstances.

He pressed a kiss to the silky hairs over her pussy and then nuzzled deeper, inhaling her scent as he spread her further to his advances. He stroked his fingers through her velvety folds, spreading moisture from her opening up to her clit so his fingers slid more easily and he wouldn’t irritate the sensitive flesh.

“Ash!”

His name exploded from her mouth. He loved the way she said it, the sound of his name on her lips. And he knew he could make her even crazier with desire just as soon as he got his mouth where his fingers were.

Using his fingers to open her to him, he pushed in, swiping his mouth from her entrance to her clit, her wetness like honey on his tongue.

A ragged moan tore from her throat and suddenly her hand was in his hair, fingers clenching over his scalp. He sucked lightly at her clit, exerting just enough pressure to send spasms of pleasure through her legs. Then he licked downward again, wanting more of her silken, hot dampness.

His tongue slid inside her, fucking her in slow, sensual strokes. While he may have decided that this time would be all about her and her pleasure, making her writhe beneath him was also his pleasure. He was hard and aching, so aroused that his head was spinning.

“Give me one,” he said huskily, raising his head to look up her body. “In my mouth, Josie. Come all over my mouth. I’ll work you back up again. I’ll make it good for you.”

Her eyes were glazed with passion, her lips red and swollen from his kisses and the fact her teeth had found purchase there while he’d eaten her.

“You like my mouth, Josie?”

“Oh yeah,” she breathed. “You’ve very good with your tongue.”

“You inspire me,” he said with a chuckle.

She moaned again when he slid his tongue back inside her liquid heat. Tasting her from the inside out.

Deciding to up the tension and get her off with his tongue inside her, he slipped his thumb over her clit, rolling as he continued to lick and suck, acting like his tongue was his dick.

Her ass came off the bed, bucking upward at the pressure he exerted with his thumb. She went even softer around his tongue. Hot, sleek, spilling into his mouth. He lapped hungrily, greedy for her orgasm.

With his free hand, he inserted one finger, moving his tongue only long enough to reach inside her, stroke the silky walls and then press deep. She clutched at his finger like a greedy fist, holding on when he withdrew and replaced it once again with his tongue.

“Now, Josie,” he growled. “Get there.”

He stroked her with his fingers and his tongue and she went wild beneath him. She let loose a torrent of energy as she quaked around him. Her legs closed against his head, anchoring him in place as he continued to lap hungrily at her. And then a sudden burst of heated honey on his tongue.

She rolled her hips and bucked as wave after wave of her orgasm washed over them both. Goddamn but his dick was going to be permanently imprinted on the mattress. It was rigid and straining underneath him, hungry for what his mouth was currently getting.

He rose up when he sensed her orgasm had faded to the stage where she was too hypersensitive to his continued ministrations. Hunching over her, palms planted on either side of her head so his weight wouldn’t press down on her, he leaned down, angling his head to kiss her. So she could taste herself, so he could share it with her.

“Your passion. Your sweetness, Josie. Never tasted anything sweeter. It’s you on my tongue and now on your own.”

She groaned, and it sounded nearly pained but she kissed him back every bit as hungrily. Her nipples were rigid peaks, jutting upward as if begging for his mouth just as her pussy had. He’d get to those next. But first he wanted to sample her mouth and her neck. Then he’d work down to her delectable breasts.

“Can I touch you?” she whispered.

“Never have to ask that,” he murmured against her ear. He licked the shell, eliciting a shiver through her body. “I want you touching me often. I’ll never not want it. If you’re with me, I want you touching me. Even if it’s not sexual. I’m a feely person, Josie. Don’t know if that bothers you. Hope to hell it doesn’t. And I don’t give a shit if it’s in public or not. I have no problem with the world knowing you’re mine.”

She sighed and slid her hands over his shoulders and then down his back. He goddamn near purred as her nails dug into his skin.

“I like that,” she said.

“What part?”

“All of it. Michael wasn’t like that.”

Her eyes became troubled, almost as if she realized that it wasn’t likely a good idea to bring him up, especially when Ash was about to get his dick inside her for the first time.

He made certain his face softened, not wanting her to think she’d made him angry.

“Wasn’t like what?”

“Demonstrative. He wasn’t into affection. Touching me. Except when we had sex. But only then, and even so, it was very . . . impersonal. But the way you say it sounds . . . nice. Like you want me to be close to you. To touch you.”

“Hell yes I do,” he said. “Don’t give a fuck who knows it either.”

She smiled and then shivered again when he bent to graze his teeth over the skin just below her ear.

“I’m liking this, Ash,” she whispered. “All of it. And that scares me because it sounds too good to be true.”

“Glad it appeals, Josie. Would suck if it didn’t, because this is who I am and what I offer. It’s not too good to be true. It’s just good. Now let’s focus on the matter at hand. Because if I don’t get my dick inside you soon, it’s going to become very painful for me.”

She looked alarmed, but he grinned, letting her know he was only half kidding. Because it was pretty damn painful. It had been a long-ass time since he’d sported an erection this long without doing something about it. And eating her sweet pussy while his dick was poking the damn mattress was not an experience he wanted to repeat anytime soon.

He’d much prefer a sixty-nine, with her sucking him off while he feasted on her. But as with all of the other fantasies he had, it would have to wait. And now that he had her exactly where he wanted, he had all the time in the world to explore every sexual kink he could possibly ever want to pull out of his repertoire.

He turned his attention to her breasts, and they were perfect breasts. Small without being too small, but not too big either. Just enough swell to make his mouth water, and her nipples were absolutely perfect, pink confections.

He ran his tongue around one puckered ridge, tracing every detail, licking the point before sucking it strongly into his mouth. Her entire body went rigid, her gasps filling the air and sliding over his ears with a warm buzz.

“Ash.”

The way she said his name, he knew she wanted to ask something. He looked up, connecting with her gaze, watching in fascination as the color turned electric, a shock of blue-green awash with desire.

“I want to taste you too,” she whispered. “I want to make you feel as good as you made me feel.”

He smiled tenderly at her and then leaned down to kiss the corner of her mouth. “You will. But right now is about you, and me making you go over as many times as I can. Believe me when I say, you’ll get my dick in your mouth soon.”

“Looking forward to it,” she said in a hazy murmur.

“Me too,” he said before lowering his mouth back to her breasts.

He lazily toyed with her nipples, alternating between them, licking them into hard points before sucking hard with just enough bite to make her let out the most erotic sounds. She wasn’t a quiet lover. She was extremely vocal, a multitude of sounds slipping from her lips, all sexy as hell, the ultimate sounds of female pleasure.

He groped for the condom he’d taken out, tore the wrapper and then reached down to roll it on. He winced when his hand made contact with his dick. He was so hard and so close to coming that even his own touch was painful.

“Are you all right?” she whispered.

“I will be in just about three seconds,” he murmured back as he slid a finger inside her to gauge her readiness.

She was still swollen and snug from her orgasm and he broke into a sweat imagining how fucking sweet she was going to feel all closed around his cock, squeezing and milking it for every drop of his release. Shit but he had to get it together or he was going to come in the condom right now.

Taking deep breaths, he positioned himself over her, nudging her entrance with the head of his dick as he planted his hands on either side of her head.

“Reach down and guide me in,” he said hoarsely. “Wrap your fingers around me and put me inside you, baby.”

He caught her reaction to the endearment, approval and delight flashing in her eyes. He tucked that little piece of information away and then closed his eyes when her hand found him.

Her fingers circled his width, stroking up and down as she positioned him at the mouth of her pussy. Sweat broke out on his forehead and he clamped his lips together in an effort to keep it together.

“Take me,” she whispered. “You’re there, Ash. Come inside me now.”

Readily, he pushed in, ensuring that he wasn’t too forceful and that she was able to accommodate him easily. She was damn snug, but she stretched, enveloping him as he thrust deeper and harder this time.

“Now, move your hands and put them above your head against the headboard,” he said.

She twitched and pulsed in reaction, her pussy going wetter and hotter around him. Slowly, she did as he directed, lifting her hands and then putting them over her head.

He reared up and then slid his hands underneath her ass so he could hold her and position her so he could get even deeper inside her. He glanced down, drawn by the sight of his cock sliding in and out of her pussy. Then his hands glided from her ass up her legs until he hooked them behind his back, opening her further so she was completely accessible.

“How close are you to coming again?” he asked, breathing through his nose as he sought for control.

“Close,” she whispered. “But I need . . .”

She bit her lip and broke off, her gaze falling from his.

“Look at me,” he bit out.

Her gaze snapped back to his, her eyes wide.

“What do you need?”

“Uhm, for you to touch me.” Color flooded her cheeks and suffused her body, making it delectably pink. “I’ve never been able to come from just penetration.”

He lowered himself, coming to rest on his forearms so his face was just above hers, their mouths precariously close.

“A lot of women can’t come without clitoral stimulation,” he said gently. “Doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you. Furthermore, even if it was an oddity, you don’t ever hesitate to tell me what you need in bed. Got it? I can’t please you if I don’t know what turns you on and what doesn’t. And I want you to be pleased because that makes me happy.”

“Got it,” she returned softly.

“Use your hand,” he said, carefully reaching up to tug one of her hands down between them. “I’m going to go hard, baby. I’m about to explode here. Build up’s been too long. Once I start going, I can’t stop, so you need to make sure you get there with me. If you need a minute, go ahead and start touching yourself now. Just let me know when, okay?”

She slid her fingers between their bodies, and he could tell when she touched her clitoris. There was an immediate burst of satisfaction in her eyes. They went dreamy and hazy, cloudy with desire.

“Go now,” she whispered.

“Be sure, Josie. This isn’t going to last.”