Gripping the edges of the countertop, I readied myself for the sensation of his pierced tongue. But when he spread me with two fingers and licked lightly over my clit, I knew there had been no way to prepare myself for this.

“Oh, God.” My hips came off the counter, but then he spread a hand over my pelvis and pressed me down.

“Easy. Just getting started, love.”

Then he was eating me properly. No more gentle brushes. Insatiable licks up to my clit that had my hips rocking, but he held me hard, his heavy groans mixing with mine. He slid two fingers through my wetness then pushed inside me as he closed his mouth over my tight nub, flicking wickedly with his pierced tongue.

“Oh, my God.” I couldn’t help it. I fisted my hand in his hair and rocked my hips in rhythm to his thrusting, knowing I was about to come already. If I could’ve thought beyond the blinding pleasure racing through my body, I might’ve been embarrassed.

His responding growl of pleasure vibrated against my tender flesh, sending me over the edge. I cried out as I came so hard with his mouth buried between my thighs, his lips tugging with a sweet suction on my clit.

His finger-fucking slowed as I whimpered through my orgasm, starting to become a little embarrassed now that I realized how easy it had been for him to get me off. When my breathing was almost normal, he slipped his fingers out of me and stood. I figured he’d have a smug look and a few snarky words, but again, Devraj surprised me. His hard expression meant all business.

“My bag,” I said, pointing to the kitchen table.

He walked over and then brought it back to me as I sat up. I rifled around inside until I found what I was looking for. I handed it to him and dropped my bag to the floor.

His pursed brow smoothed when he took the condom from me, looking it over before he tossed it on the kitchen counter and smiled. “That won’t fit, love.”

He eased to my side to lift me into his arms with one arm under my knees, the other cradling my upper body against his warm chest.

“It won’t?” I clasped him around his neck, holding on. I was proud of being so prepared, but apparently I hadn’t thought of various sizes.

He didn’t answer, just chuckled, as he carried me out of the kitchen into the living room. But instead of heading down the hall toward his bedroom, he walked over to his tall fireplace and settled me onto a plush white rug in front of a dark purple chaise. He stood and used a remote to flick on the gas fireplace. It was late spring and definitely not the time for a fire, but the heat of it warmed my exposed skin. That was pretty thoughtful.

Thoughtful was becoming synonymous with Devraj. And so many other words. Kind. Strong. Beautiful. I’d been too quick to judge when we first met, but the more I learned of him, the more I sank into a world of feelings. The cuff on his wrist reminded me again of his love for his mother. Why did he have to be so magnificent in every way?

I spread my palms over the soft rug. “Here?”

He reached over his shoulders with both hands and grabbed his T-shirt, lifting it over his head and tossing it aside. “For starters.”

Jeesh. This man was all ripped flesh and lovely contours with a trail of sparse hair leading beneath his belt. Which he was now unbuckling.

“Not your bed?” I managed to ask, unable to keep my eyes off his progression as he unsnapped and unzipped his jeans before sliding them and his black briefs down his legs.

“We’ll get there,” he said, standing to his full height in front of me.

His hand went to his jutting erection where he pumped it once, nice and slow. I couldn’t stop devouring him with my eyes, his muscular thighs and chiseled abdomen, the small dark circles of his nipples, tight and pebbled.

Another piercing in his left nipple glinted by the firelight. I gulped at the sight of him. I had no idea body piercings would have this sort of effect over me. I also had no clue the sight of this magnificent, bare man would turn me on so fast.

His body was a love letter of perfection.

He hadn’t moved since he’d removed his clothes except for the slow pumping of his hand on that perfect penis.

Finally, I moved my gaze to his face, realizing he was stalling on purpose. “What are you waiting for?”

“Just letting you get a good look since I took my time when it was my turn.”

I’m not sure why, but I found that extremely thoughtful. He didn’t disrobe then pounce on me. Devraj was all about slow moves, sweet seduction, and reciprocation. He was a giver. Why that surprised me, I had no idea.

“Don’t move,” he commanded, disappearing down the hall and returning with what was obviously a few packets of condoms. Five? And a bottle of something else.

He set them on the wood floor beside the rug then grabbed a throw pillow from his sofa and tossed it to me.

“Roll over and rest your head. Time for a massage.”

I frowned up at him. He burst into laughter as he lowered to his knees. His hand spread over my hip and maneuvered me gently. “Roll over, Isadora.”

Okay, then. I wasn’t going to say no to a massage. I rolled over and curled my arms under the pillow, resting my head to face the warm fire.

He straddled me on his knees, which felt wildly erotic. And yet, I couldn’t see him, only feel him moving above me. He poured some kind of oil from a bottle that he set on the floor near my head. I heard him rubbing his hands together right before he spread those hands on my shoulders and squeezed. The oil smelled of a clean musky scent like cedarwood but also mingled with a faint floral smell. Jasmine or lilac. Maybe both. Heavenly.

“Mmmm.” I couldn’t help myself as he glided his hands down my back and up my spine, the scented oil smoothing his way. The warmth seeped into my skin, and I realized the pleasant sizzle under my skin wasn’t just the firelight or his hands. “It’s so warm.”

“It’s the oil,” he said. “Feels good?”

“Amazing,” I admitted.

He laughed again, a throaty sound that felt so close, loosening the tension in my belly. For even though he’d just unwound me quite a bit with a mind-blowing orgasm, I knew the main event was yet to come.

His fingers worked magically on my back along my spine, then drifted lower as he pressed his thumbs over my lower back and then over my butt. I moaned again at the masterful press of his fingers. Who knew a butt massage could feel so good?

His large hands massaged me there then stroked down the backs of my legs, pouring more oil into his hands and repeating his soothing strokes until I was humming with desire again. He pressed his thumb along the inside of my thighs then back up along the seam of my sex and my bum.

I’d never had an erotic massage. I also had no idea my body could pulse with desire without ever touching the places I knew to be my trigger points of lust. If there was any doubt that Devraj knew what the hell he was doing in bed—or on the kitchen countertop or the living room rug—I now knew otherwise.

I had my eyes closed, but I felt him shift, leaning over my body. I opened my eyes to slivers, seeing his arm braced beside my head. His mouth nipped a trail along my shoulder, his hair trailing in erotic sweeps over my bare skin. He glided a finger along a far too gentle path between my legs. If he didn’t know that he had turned me on before, he was well aware of what he did to me now. I was embarrassingly wet. But I couldn’t muster any shame when he continued to make my body melt into his soft rug.

“We might ruin your rug,” I murmured.

He nipped up to my neck. “I don’t care.” He bit my earlobe, sucking it before moving back to my throat. “I’ll buy a new one.”

“So wasteful.” I realized my words were sluggish. I was drunk from sensation, but I still had to point out the error of his extravagant ways.

“I was right.”

“Right?” I barely managed to ask.

A sharp nick of my shoulder before he licked the spot. “I wanted to see how amazing you’d look naked on this rug.” His voice dropped deeper, more dangerous. “You look like a fucking queen.”

Then I couldn’t think anymore while his talented fingers worked between my legs. He circled my swollen clit before skating through my folds then up to the tight hole of my behind. I tensed, having never had anyone play with me there.

“Relax for me,” he whispered in that velvet-dark voice.

I did, thinking he planned to breach with his finger. But he didn’t. Just rimmed softly, the heated oil tantalizing me beyond reason. Then he lifted his body away, and I felt the loss of his heat, his hands, his mere presence, like someone had knocked the breath out of me. I frowned until I heard the familiar sound of a condom package being ripped open.

I lifted onto my elbows and peered over my shoulder. He watched me watch him slide the condom on before he rolled me onto my back. With my knees bent, feet planted on either side of where he knelt, this was the moment Devraj would surge forward and take me hard and fast. But like always, I really didn’t know how he worked. Always doing the unexpected.

He lifted one of my legs and nibbled a line up the inside before draping it over his shoulder. The sight of him and his slow descent over my body scattered my wits even further, if that were possible. I knew how fast vampires could move. I’d witnessed their movement so quick it was like they disappeared in one place and reappeared in another. What I didn’t know was that they could also move painfully slow.

Painful because I wanted, needed, was about to beg him to get inside me. This was crazy torture.

“Now,” I begged, unable to help myself.

He didn’t say a word. I reached up, one hand on his bicep, the other skating down to his nipple with the piercing. I tugged gently on the tiny silver loop, wanting to lick his nipple. He sucked in a hissing breath then growled low in his throat. The reaction sparked something feral inside me.

Following instinct, which is something I’d never done during sex, always overthinking, I gripped his bicep hard and pulled myself up. I opened my mouth over the pierced nipple and then flicked the loop with my tongue before I sucked hard.

His hand was in my hair, fisting, and then he tugged me away, his gaze roaming my face, focusing intently on my mouth, his brow pinched, puzzled. Silver eyes met mine as he lowered us both, holding himself up on one elbow, scooping his hand into my hair to cradle my skull in his long-fingered hand.