Rowan shuts the door softly behind him and I stand there for a second just staring at him. My heart is thundering hard and fast, and I hear it beating like a war drum in my ears, feel it in my throat. I rub my palms up and down my thighs, my skin sweaty, my hands slightly shaking.

When I told him I was a virgin he got quiet, not responding, just staring at me with this strange expression on his face. He took me to his place, and I honestly thought I’d scared him off, the prospect of “deflowering” me a little too real for some men. But he wasn’t fazed. And like he’d said, he didn’t drop me off at my place, which I was grateful for, considering that I still live at my parents’ house. After shutting off the engine, he got out of the truck, helped me out of the passenger side, and escorted me inside.

And now that we are in his house, in his domain, the air hot, the sexual chemistry moving between us, I know we need to talk about this more. It doesn’t matter if I want to be in bed with Rowan, under him, his warm, hard body pressed to mine. I meant what I said when I told him we should talk more.

I am inexperienced when it comes to this. And although Rowan might’ve been wild back in the day when we were younger, the “Big Man on Campus” in high school, I want to please him. I want to be the one who makes his pleasure so intense he can’t even think straight, let alone speak.

“You didn’t say anything after I told you, about… my virginity.” My voice is low, slightly tight. I watch the way he looks at me, his gaze heavy-lidded, his big body seeming tense, his muscles straining. It seems like he’s on the verge of losing his control.

“You know,” he finally says and takes a step toward me. “I should kiss you on the cheek right now and let you sleep in my spare bedroom. I should leave you alone. I should take a cold shower, and jerk off to the thought of you.”

His words have my heart stilling for second before it starts beating faster, harder.

“What? Why?”

“You’re too fucking good for me, too pure and innocent.” He stares right in my eyes, holding my focus, never letting go. “But I can’t walk away. I can’t walk away knowing that I’ll be your first … your last.”

I swallow, my throat feeling so tight, as dry as if I’d eaten sand. I know my eyes have to be wide; they feel as if they are as big as my face, my nervousness and surprise over all of this no doubt clear as day.

“I’m not experienced like you,” I finally say. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that, but I want to be truthful.

He shakes his head, this look of pain covering his expression now. He’s in front of me seconds later, his hand cupping my cheek, his thumb stroking right below my eye. For long seconds he doesn’t say anything, just stares into my eyes and then lowers his gaze to my mouth. I find myself licking my lips on instinct.

“I’m not as experienced as you think I am, but I wish I was a virgin too. I wish you could’ve been my first.” He leans down and kisses me softly on the lips. It’s gentle, even sweet. He closes his eyes and shakes his head slightly. “I’m not proud of my past, of how wild I was back in high school.” He opens his eyes and the expression he wears is genuine, raw and bare. “But from the moment I realized you were mine, that I love you, Marie, I haven’t been with another woman.”

Everything in me freezes.

“I can admit that I was a coward for not telling you how I felt before, for not admitting to you or myself that we belong together.” He cups the other side of my face, both of his hands now framing my cheeks. “I realize that I’ve been stupid to not tell you, for not taking that chance and acting on it. But I was too afraid that our friendship would be ruined. There is no other woman for me.” He leans down and kisses me softly again. “It’s only been you, for years, Marie, since I realized how much I love you. No other woman makes my heart race, makes everything else seem dim in comparison.” He murmurs those words against my lips. “No other woman makes me look forward to the next day.” He pulls back and stares into my eyes. “And there’s no other woman I want to spend the rest of my life with but you. I fucked up, and I’m sorry, from the bottom my heart. I’m an idiot, and I know that there’ll be plenty more times where I screw up. But, baby, please be patient with me and give me a chance.”

He keeps stroking my cheeks with his thumbs, his expression so raw that I feel like my heart just opened up.

“Rowan, this is all…” I don’t know what to say.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Rowan says, as if he can read my mind. “I just wanted you to know how I feel. I love you. I’m in love with you.”

My heart does this patter in my chest, and all I can think about is throwing myself at him. He hasn’t been with a woman in years, hasn’t wanted anyone since he fell in love with me. Everything he says has me flying high, and this dreamlike feeling washes over me.

Because I don’t want to talk anymore either, because I can’t find words to convey how I feel to him, I press my mouth to his. I’m the one kissing him now, the one showing him with my body that I want this, need this. He strokes his tongue along mine and I open my mouth, taking it inside. He tastes sweet, manly. It’s a combination that shouldn’t go together, but when it is Rowan it’s perfect.

“Marie,” he groans against my lips and I open wider, letting him fuck my mouth that way, the same way I want him to do between my thighs.

I have my arms wrapped around his shoulder, my fingers touching the short strands of hair at the nape of his neck. Before I know what’s happening, Rowan has his hands on my hips and lifts me up. I instinctively wrap my legs around his waist, and hold on as we kiss. I feel how hard he is for me, his cock thick, long, and so ready for me. I’m wet, so soaked that my panties are damp.

“I need you,” I whisper against his mouth. “I need you now. I’m tired of waiting—”

“We’ve waited long enough.” He starts striding toward the back room … his bedroom. Once we are in there he shuts the door with his boot and takes me over to the bed. I’m on the mattress a second later, bouncing slightly, my body on fire for how aroused I am.

He takes a step back, looking at me as I’m sprawled on his bed, his look ferocious. He looks like he wants to devour me, like he’s ready to eat me alive.

God, I want that.

I lick my lips again and muster up some courage to just tell him what I want. “Undress for me,” I finally say, my voice soft. He smirks, just the corner of his mouth kicking up, as if he thinks my telling him what to do is funny. But he doesn’t deny me. I watch in rapt awe as he gets undressed, starting with his shirt. Once the material is off I stare at his golden, muscular chest. He’s not bulky like a bodybuilder, but more lean, like a swimmer. His abdomen is cut, his six-pack so defined I feel my inner muscles clench, desperately wanting what he’s sporting between his legs to be buried deep inside of me.

“You want to see more?” he asks in a husky voice.

I can only nod.

“How about you show me something, baby?” He lifts an eyebrow and that does funny things to my belly.

I rise up slightly and start to work my shirt off. I’m more than eager, more than ready to be fully naked for him. I feel like I’ve been waiting my entire life for this moment.

I have been.

Once my shirt’s off I work on my bra, then toss the offending article of clothing away. I’m sitting there, my nipples hard from the chill in the air, my entire body flushed from arousal, and my need for Rowan so tangible it’s like a third person in the room with us.

Then he starts taking off his pants. Everything in me tightens as I watch him remove his jeans and boxer briefs. When he’s standing there naked just feet from me I can’t help but look down at his cock. He’s thick and long, the head bulbous with a drop of pre-cum lining the tip. He grabs himself, stroking his erection from root to tip, his focus trained right on me.

“You ready for this?” he says it in a way that makes my throat tighten even further. “Because once we start this there is no going back. There’s only you and me, forever, Marie.”

“I’m ready,” I say.

“Once I claim you no other man will have you.”

And God, that’s all I’ve wanted.