Nasir stumbled up the stairs behind Cassandra, eyes riveted to the sexy curve of her ass. He’d been dying to trace his hands up and down her body all night, but he had to play the part of the good boy. He couldn’t risk scaring her away or making her think he only wanted sex. But if she suggested sex…well, that was a different story.

The dating world was strange in his thirties, especially when it came to younger women. Hookups and dating had different rules, rules that tended to completely change from one week to the next.

Cassandra jiggled her key in a slate gray door and then pushed it open, gliding inside. “Welcome to my lair.”

He stepped inside. The apartment was small but cute—almost exactly what he’d expect for her. The deep burgundy couches looked plush and expensive, which matched the swept-back curtains, which also matched the decorative pieces on the coffee table. Probably her dishes were some shade of burgundy too, which strangely thrilled him. He was desperate to find out.

“It’s almost as cute as you,” Nasir commented, strolling toward the far wall, which boasted framed photos from her life—Cassandra surrounded by girlfriends at her graduation, a funny picture of her with unknown kids when she was younger. “Not what I expected for a lair.”

“Not all lairs are full of bats and shackles,” she said, slipping out of her heels. “And you’re the first guy to compare me to a home.” She laughed, tossing the heels aside. His jaw clenched, and he couldn’t rip his eyes off her. Something about the sexy unraveling at the end of a night was his favorite—the moment when the masks came off, suits unzipped, the real, fleshy cores revealed.

When she sauntered his way, he caught her wrist, loving the sexy smirk that crossed her face. Maybe they both had the same idea. “Should I tell my driver to leave?”

She jerked her head into a nod, and he pulled her into him, smoothing his hands over the lush swell of her hips, dipping his head so his lips brushed her cheek.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the wedding.” He smoothed his lips down her cheek bone, skipping over her jaw. “May I?”

“Please.” She clutched at his suit jacket, tilting her head back. The desperation in her voice pushed him over the edge. He cupped her jaw and covered her mouth with his, coaxing a soft, sweet kiss from her. The sweet tang of wine on her breath mixed with a hint of her flowery perfume. Need overcame him, sent a growl sputtering from him without his consent.

He deepened the kiss, pressing his tongue into her mouth until it met hers, probing the taste of her, needing more. He cupped her head with both hands, unwilling to break this kiss ever. After multiple sloppy, luscious kisses, she whimpered. He pulled away, searching her face.

“You should text your driver,” she said, voice coming out choppy.

“Mmm.” He dipped in for another kiss. “I can’t stop kissing you now that I’ve started. He’ll figure it out.”

She giggled through a kiss. “Are you sure? That would be horrible for him to wait for hours…”

He pressed his forehead against hers, loving the view from so close. Her blue eyes were almost ice. “Okay. I’ll text him.” He kissed her again and then again and finally ripped himself away to focus on something other than her fragrant mouth and the throb of his cock. He cleared his throat as if it might clear his mind, fishing his phone out of his pocket. He unlocked the phone to draft a message to his driver.

From the corner of his eye, he could tell Cassandra was moving seductively. He glanced up at her, his mouth parting. Her dress was unzipped, and she’d inched it all the way up to her waist. Black lace panties greeted him and he tossed his phone aside.

“Finish your message,” she said, voice sultry and firm.

He sighed, jaw flexing. This wasn’t fair. He grabbed his phone from the couch cushion and fumbled his pass code twice. Finally it unlocked, and he returned to the message draft. “I’ll call you when I need you.”

He hit the send button and tossed the phone, gaze sliding back to her just as she tugged her dress overhead. A matching black lace bra hugged her full breasts perfectly; he swallowed hard, willing himself not to jump her bones.

“You’re making this very difficult for me.”

“Why?” Her half-lidded eyes highlighted the mischief in her voice.

“Because I’m seconds away from devouring you.” He stepped closer, catching her at the dip in her waist. She inhaled sharply, batting her eyes at him.

“Well, why don’t you just do that?”

The husky edge to her voice snapped the last vestige of his control. He scooped her up into his arms easily, pleased by the surprised giggle that escaped her. “Where’s your bedroom?”

She pointed with her toe toward a door in the back corner. “Over there, sir.” She cinched her arms tighter around his neck, making her breasts round nicely.

He pushed open the door with his shoulder, barely able to maneuver them into the bedroom with her distracting cleavage so near to his mouth. Her skin sizzled in his grip, fingertips pressed into the fleshy roundness of her ass, urging him with each heartbeat to get this woman onto any soft surface and have his way with her.

He tossed her onto the precisely-made bed, the deep mauve comforter the only thing he noticed before climbing over top of her, grinning like a fool. She loosened her hair and shook it out, the blonde tresses splaying around her. Her minxy grin prompted an appreciative moan as he smoothed his hands over her hips, up the curve of her waist, and all the way up to her bra straps.

His dick pulsed in his pants, desperate for attention, but he wanted to make sure this was a night she wouldn’t forget. Make sure that he’d give her something to think back on when she was alone and bored, hand wandering between her legs.

He grabbed her at the hips and yanked her closer to him, unable to mask his grin. Though if he had his way, this wouldn’t only stay the stuff of masturbatory fantasies, but would be just the first of many breathless encounters.

As far as he was concerned, he and Cassandra made sense, somewhere deep inside where rationality took a back seat. And now, sliding those panties down her sun-kissed legs, he intended to make sure she never forgot exactly why he might be worth getting to know better.

* * *

Cassandra’s breath froze in her throat the moment Nasir’s lips touched her pussy. Her eyes shot open, and her hand found the top of his head like it was the round knob of a joystick. She moaned and tensed, too incredulous to believe this was actually happening. Men never went down on her on the first date; hell, she never brought men home on the first date.

Something had gone seriously awry. And that prosecco probably had a lot to do with it.

Nasir’s velvety lips covering the tight nub of her clit made those thoughts dissolve. She gave a shuddery moan and melted into the bed, opening her legs wider, welcoming him deeper.

“You…are really…” The rest of her sentence evaporated when he swirled a finger at her entrance and then plunged it deep inside. She whimpered, tightening her fist around his hair. He suckled and coddled and tweaked her clit, pleasure mounting in tremendous waves that threatened to split her open longways. She never brought back anyone on the first date, but maybe she should have.

But no—none of her exes ever knew how to eat pussy like this. This guy was different from the rest. He knew what the hell he was doing. She gasped, arching against him as his teeth grazed her clit. He laughed from between her legs, the sexiest sound she’d ever heard, and he looked up at her, mischief in his eyes.

“I love it down here.”

“You shouldn’t ever move.”

He pressed a soft kiss on the inside of her thigh, close to the seam with her groin. “I won’t. I’ll have to call off quite a bit of work though.”

“They’ll understand.” She tensed as his lips drifted back between her legs. “Once you explain the reason.”

“Mmm.” He flicked his tongue back and forth over the tight bud, pushing two fingers inside her. She groaned, fisting his hair, welcoming the tidal wave of pleasure, desperate for it to crest and break.

But Nasir pulled away just before she came, as if it was some little game. “Oh, God, Nasir. I’m so close.”

That mischievous sparkle returned to his eye, and he pushed off her, sitting back on his heels as he unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off. Perfect dark caramel skin greeted her, a smattering of black chest hair, and the hint of a washboard as he stood to unbuckle his belt. She panted as she watched him, desperate to get off but too shy to do it herself while she watched him. She stilled her hand as it drifted between her legs. He must have seen because an eyebrow arched.

“Were you going to touch yourself?”

His voice was honey. All she could do was nod.

“Mmm.” He pushed his pants down and stepped out of them, his cock making a sexy ridge in his black briefs. He palmed his dick through the underwear, tongue poking out between his lips. “Will you show me?”

Her breath caught in her throat—he couldn’t be serious. The idea was so sexy, but still—she didn’t do stuff like that. Her gaze fell to the luscious bulge in his briefs, and she bit her lip, nodding. It wasn’t like she could say no now.

“Take those off, though.” She nodded toward the briefs and let her fingers slip between her legs, up and down the crease of her pussy. To hell with it. There was some serious chemistry here; already Nasir was the best lay of her life, and they hadn’t even had sex. Pleasure jolted through her as her fingertips grazed the swollen nub.

Nasir’s eyes didn’t leave the V of her legs as he shoved the briefs down, causing his stiff cock to bob in front of him. Cassandra inhaled sharply, gaze stuck on his thick shaft. She could imagine him pressing inside her…slowly pushing in until there was nothing left to bury; her fingers moved faster, prompting a low moan. Nasir fisted his length as he watched, dark eyes boring a hole through her.

“Nasir,” she breathed, voice growing high-pitched. “I’m so close.”

Nasir swooped down onto the bed, covering her body with his, capturing her lips in a kiss. The heat of his cock appeared between her legs, and she moaned through the kiss, hooking her ankles around his back.

“Get inside me.” She gasped, then tugged at his bottom lip with her teeth, the anticipation nearly killing her. She smoothed her hands over the firm ridge of his shoulders, over the smooth dip of his back, and the feel of him ignited desire, curiosity. She wanted to learn him—every curve, every muscle—explore the heights and depths of passion with him.

He moaned through a kiss, his voice jagged. “You want it, baby?”

She clutched at his tight ass. “Do it. Please.”

Nasir grunted and wiggled his hips to find the right angle, the cockhead slipping along the slick folds of her pussy. And then he pressed himself in, sinking deep and slow. Cassandra whimpered and hooked her arms around his neck as he filled her, panting into his ear, the slowness a divine torture. When he’d buried himself to the hilt, his breath came out in ragged spurts at her ear.

“God, you feel good.”

She opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out once he started pumping. A languorous rhythm, both firm yet tender. She clutched at the expanse of his back, wanting him nearer, deeper, though it wasn’t humanly possible. His heat sank into her, filling her in a way she’d never felt before—not with any ex, any fling, or any love. She bumped her lips against his shoulder in a half-kiss, then took a gentle bite as he worked her harder, faster.

“I’m so close,” she panted. She’d been close the entire night with this guy, even without his lips grazing her clit. “Nasir, god, I can’t even…”

He grunted and worked her harder, the rhythmic slapping of their bodies fading into the background. Pleasure made tense coils inside her. Nasir’s lips swept over her forehead, his skin glistening with sweat from his exertion, and she clung to his sturdy frame as the dam broke and the tingly tidal wave of bliss spilled over. She yelped and tensed beneath him, pinching her eyes shut as the orgasm shuddered through her.

Nasir groaned and stilled against her, his dark eyes finding hers; she saw the haze descend over him, the cloud-cover of climax. His body jerked once and then again, his groan turning shuddery. He lowered himself to kiss her, and a residual wave of pleasure shivered through her, as if his kiss had unlocked it. Nasir rolled onto his side, a lazy smile crossing his face.

They lay breathing heavily together for a gloriously long time.

“I like making you come.” He moved a piece of her hair from her forehead.

She blushed, but she didn’t know why. “It’s great to come.” She paused. “You do a good job of making me.”

His smile widened. “So do you.”

Their gazes locked and something sweet passed between them, something that made her stomach twist. One night stands weren’t her forte—and the thought of this sweetness turning into disappointment crashed like a jet into her post-coital daze. Because the secret truth remained: this man wasn’t hers, and he wouldn’t be.

Cassandra sighed, turning onto her back. She studied the ceiling like it might have some answers.

Nasir’s hand smoothed over her belly, and he tugged her closer to him, inviting her to snuggle. She giggled, nestling into the hollow of his neck, allowing herself the simple pleasures of his fragrant heat, his fiery touch, his breath at her temple.

He felt too good. It would be too easy to want this.

She tilted her head to look up at him, searching for answers there. Stay the night. Please. She wanted him to cradle her until morning, when they’d wake up and have sex again and then maybe again. But the longer he stayed at her side, the greater the chance that he would be the first to leave her in the dust.

“That was so lovely,” she said, smoothing her fingertips over the back of his hand. “I wish I could stay up longer…I have an early meeting tomorrow, though.”

Silence settled between them, and she avoided his gaze. He shifted beside her, putting some space between them. Realization was setting in.

“Shit.” Nasir propped himself up on an elbow, his brow creasing. “I understand. I kept you up late.”

She offered a smile before he rolled out of bed and started dressing. He faced away from her as he tugged up his pants, hiding those glorious caramel apple butt cheeks. Just have him stay. But it was too late—she’d drawn the line.

“I had a really great time tonight,” she said, sitting up, bunching the sheets around her. The words hung painfully in the air. “Thank you for dinner and everything.” God, this was getting worse by the second.

Nasir shrugged his shirt on, looking amused. “It was my pleasure, Cassandra.” As he buttoned up his shirt, he came to the edge of the bed. “I hope it’s not the last time I take you out.”

She smiled up at him, a flutter of hope streaking through her belly. “Well, me too.”

He leaned down, pressing his lips to her forehead, then against her own. The kiss was sweet in a way that made her regret the dumb charade of the early morning meeting. He needed to stay here, with her. In her bed. For as long as humanly possible.

“I’ll call you soon.” He adjusted his belt, then knocked her chin. As she moved to get off the bed, he added, “Don’t move. I can let myself out. You just rest.”

She smiled at him, sinking back into the bed. “Thanks, Nasir. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Cassandra.” He blew a kiss to her before heading out into the living room. Once she heard the front door click shut, she reached for her phone, swiping to the message thread with Nasir.

She stilled her fingers as she began typing out a message. It was too soon. She’d already fucked up by sleeping with him on the first date. If she wanted to see if Nasir was really something, she needed to play her cards right.

She’d give him a couple days, see if he reached out. See how interested he was, now that they’d already visited the inside of her bedroom.

Cassandra wasn’t in the market to get hurt, but more importantly, she wasn’t in the market to have meaningless flings.

A few moments later, her telephone buzzed. She reached for it, curiosity pacing under her skin, wondering if it might be Nasir.

It was.

“Goodnight, beautiful.”

She read the text over and over again. Just two words that could kick up such a maelstrom of giddiness inside her. She clutched the phone to her chest, burying an excited squeal into the pillow.