I

braced my hands on the sides of my sink, head bowed, and let out a breath.

What the fuck just happened?

I’d repeated the question to myself a few hundred times in the last three minutes.

I still didn’t have an answer.

Not a decent one, anyway.

All I’d wanted to do was drive Rose home, get a few minutes alone with her, and try to convince her not to push me away again. Maybe flirt a little. Possibly sneak a kiss outside her door.

What I hadn’t expected was to have the most erotic and fulfilling sexual experience of my entire life.

That was the weird part. The sex wasn’t remarkable in any particular way, except that it was. It was the best sex of my life. But it wasn’t necessarily the sex that was mind-blowing. My gut was telling me that every time with Rose would be like that.

Shattering.

I was fucked in every sense of the word.

I let out one last sigh, then moved to the tub, remembering the reason I went into the bathroom. Turning on the faucet, I made sure the water was hot, but not too hot. If I couldn’t give her romantic music and roses, the least I could do was offer her a hot bath. I knew sometimes women were, uh, sore, after sex—especially the first time—and anything I could do to ease her discomfort I would.

I left the tub to finish filling and walked back into the bedroom. Rose was still in my bed, the blanket wrapped tightly around her body, hiding most of it from my view. Immediately I regretted not taking more time to memorize her naked body. I knew she looked amazing naked, but I wanted the image branded into my memory. However, the way she tried to cover everything as if there was a reason to be shy was fucking cute as hell.

“Feel like taking a bath? Soak a little?”

Her face lit up with my offer.

“That sounds incredible.”

We stood there looking at each other until I realized she was waiting for me to look away.

“You know I’ve seen you naked, right?” I said with a laugh, but still turned away regardless.

“I know, but I don’t instantly become immodest. Plus, you must admit that all happened pretty fast. Give a girl a minute to catch her breath.”

“It wasn’t terribly fast,” I argued, trying not to sound insulted.

“That’s not what I meant,” she said, her voice much closer.

I turned around and saw she was right behind me, still wrapped in a blanket.

Her cheeks were flushed, her hair was a disaster, and she had what looked like beard burn on her neck from my face.

She’d never looked more beautiful.

“Christ, you’re pretty,” I said, making her blush even more. She smiled, trying to hide that she liked the compliment, and ran a hand over her hair. Her eyes went wide and she shuffled to the sink to look in the mirror.

Her mouth went wide in an O when she caught sight of her reflection.

“Oh, Lord. I look ridiculous.” She tried to rein in her hair, which I thought looked sexy and just fucked. She tucked the corner of the blanket into the crease between her breasts and then somehow found a rubber band that had been tangled up in her long dark hair. I watched, fascinated, as she managed to pull it up quickly and rearrange it into a bun she managed to make look messy on purpose.

When she finished, she faced me.

“I know I’m being ridiculous, but would you mind turning around?” Her voice was low and shy.

The very last thing I wanted was to make her uncomfortable, so I did what she asked. Hearing the sheet hit the floor and the water ripple and slosh as she stepped into the tub made all kinds of images float through my mind.

Finally, she said, “You can turn around now.”

Rose was sitting in the middle of the tub, knees bent and drawn up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them.

“Think there’s enough space for two?” she asked sheepishly.

If she wanted me in that bathtub with her, I was going to make room. I climbed in behind her, my legs stretching out along the outside of hers, and I smiled when she willfully leaned back against me. The water rose with both our bodies now taking up space, and she was mostly submerged. I didn’t have any fancy bubble bath, so the water was clear and I tried very hard not to study the way her perfect breasts and rosy nipples looked under the rippling surface.

We were both quiet for a while, enjoying the heat of the water. I used my hand to scoop some up and let it wash down her shoulder, trying to keep her relaxed and warm. After about five minutes of silence, which wasn’t uncomfortable, I finally had to ask what was on my mind.

“Are you all right?” I asked softly, resisting the urge to kiss her neck right next to her ear.

“Mmm. Hmm.” Her tone was soft and relaxed, and that went a long way to assure me she was fine.

“I just wanted to make sure you weren’t uncomfortable or anything.” Suddenly I felt as though I was a young man, fumbling for words around a pretty girl.

“I’m very comfortable, thank you very much. Just trying not to get lost inside my own head.”

“Why not? What’s happening up there?” I took that opportunity to kiss her temple. I couldn’t help it.

“It’s a lot, you know. My brain is just kind of trying to work on overdrive and I want it to calm down.”

“Do you want to talk anything out? Can I help?” I continued to pour the warm water over the parts of her body that weren’t submerged in the water.

She leaned to the side a little and gave me a questioning expression.

“You really want me to talk about my feelings?”

My hand stilled, water still dripping from it as it halted above her shoulder.

“Of course I want you to talk to me. If something is bothering you, I want to know. Or even if you aren’t bothered, but just thinking about something, you can tell me.”

She studied me for a moment, her brow pinching between her eyebrows, then she turned around again and leaned back against me. She was quiet for a moment, but then she shrugged and let out a breath.

“I just can’t decide what to think about it all. I’m trying not to think about it too much, but it’s difficult.”

“Think about what?” I asked, wrapping one arm around her waist and pulling her back flat against my front.

“Why it’s never felt like that with anyone else.”

Her words were a whisper, but she may as well have yelled them from the top of a mountain for the impact they had.

Her head fell back against my shoulder as she gave up fighting me.

“Anytime I’d ever been with a man before,” she started to say, only to elicit a grumble from my chest, making her laugh. “Calm down, Paul Bunyan,” she said with a laugh. “With other men, I was always waiting for the good parts. I felt awkward and uncomfortable, and I knew that wasn’t right, which is why I always stopped before actual sex.”

The idea that Rose had been with other men and felt uncomfortable did not sit well with me at all. My blood was coursing through my veins, steaming throughout me, anger blooming everywhere.

“I can’t believe I’m really going to say this to you...but...”

She paused to take in a breath and then continued.

“Not once, in my whole life, have I ever needed someone like I needed you. I couldn’t even describe it if I had to. It was beyond me.” She shrugged one shoulder. “So, now I have to wonder why it’s like that. Why I never felt that way with anyone else. And, also, whether my life will just continue to have unfulfilling experiences with men.”

I wanted to tell her she didn’t have to worry about other men, because I wasn’t ever going to let that happen. But I also didn’t want to scare her away. Realizing she was it for me was instantaneous, but she’d obviously need to get used to the idea slowly. And that was fine. But I did feel compelled to ease her fear that there was inherently something wrong with her.

“Now I am going to tell you something that could get me kicked out of the man club. This is top secret and no other men can know I told you classified information.”

“Okay,” she said with a giggle, her body trembling against mine with the laughter.

I pressed my mouth against her ear and whispered, “It’s never been like that for me either.”

She was silent for a moment, and still too. Her chest didn’t even rise with her breaths because she’d stopped breathing. When she finally exhaled, the air came with hurried words.

“It hasn’t?”

“No.” I kissed the shell of her ear, enjoying the shiver it caused in her. “That was something different.”

“Good different?”

“Definitely. I just want you to know that I felt it too, the need. And it’s not the sex, Rose. It’s you. It’s our chemistry. It makes the connection, I don’t know, more.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, relaxing more against me, the tension she’d been holding onto dissipating with my words.

“Besides the amazing chemistry, was it enjoyable? I mean, did you like it?” I tried to sound cool and calm, but the fear that I’d ruined her first encounter by being rough or insensitive made me nervous.

“It wasn’t anything like I thought it would be, but it was amazing.”

She ran her hand along mine that rested over her stomach.

“I have to admit, I’m usually not as rushed or, uh, stationary. There’s a lot more to it than what I showed you. I have more tricks up my sleeve.”

“Oh, really?” she sang and then giggled. “Maybe if I’m lucky you’ll teach me a few things?” She tilted her head up and back, catching my gaze, giving me her most alluring smile.

I couldn’t help but kiss her.

Being in a tub naked with Rose was sexy, but kissing a naked Rose in the tub was almost too sexy. With her ass pressed against my cock and her hand reaching up to thread through the hair at the back of my neck, moaning gently into my mouth—well, it was too much. She was fully on display—tits up, fitting perfectly into my hands, ass moving so fucking slowly against my cock.

I was hard again almost instantly.

Rose, writhing in my lap, kissed me eagerly, her tongue pressing into my mouth, tangling with my own.

I gripped her hips, lifting and twisting her. She understood my intention and helped shift her body until she straddled my lap.

Water lapped over the edge of the tub, sloshing back and forth with the movement of her body urgently pressing against mine. Her hands framed my face as she kissed me hungrily.

And there it was again.

The relentless need. The absolute urgent necessity to be with her, to have her wrapped around me, to know she was feeling me deep inside. Not just physically, but emotionally too. There was a connection with her I’d never experienced, and it was addictive.

Pulling back from her mouth, my lips trailed down the column of her throat. She tilted her chin back to give me room to worship her there. With every inhalation, the tips of her hard nipples gently rubbed against my chest.

“Fuck,” I grunted before taking a nipple into my mouth and sucking. A rush of arousal went straight to my dick when she gasped then let out a strangled cry. “Is this okay?” I managed to say, slipping my hand over her core, gently brushing my fingers over the lips of her sex.

“Yes,” she groaned, tilting her hips toward me, giving me all the access I needed.

I sank a finger inside of her while I took her breast in my mouth again. Her fingernails tore into the skin at my shoulder as she let out a strangled cry.

“Too much?” I asked, her sounds causing concern.

“No,” she breathed. “More.”

I slowly slid in another finger, then used my thumb to circle her clit.

“Aiden,” she rasped, leaning her forehead against my chest, her core moving in time with my hand, grinding to my rhythm. I watched her climb, her whole body trembling as her orgasm built. I curved my fingers just a little, using more pressure on her clit, and watched in awe as she experienced her climax. Her mouth dropped open with a silent scream, her hands gripping my biceps tight, her whole body tense and rigid.

When she finally relaxed, her body fell against mine, her fast and sharp breaths puffing out on my chest. I continued to hold her, letting her come down from the high, but when she finally looked up at me I couldn’t help but kiss her again.

Her hips mirrored her tongue, thrusting back and forth, the friction against my cock driving me mad.

She turned her head slightly, giving me her neck, which I gladly nipped.

“Aiden.”

“Yeah,” I replied, not willing to take my mouth off her skin.

She didn’t reply right away, and instead her fingers tightened on my arms.

Reluctantly, I pulled away.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, worried I’d done something wrong.

“I wanted to ask you something, but I feel really stupid just coming out and saying it.”

Clearly, she was embarrassed. Her face was red from the heat of the water and also the orgasm she’d just come down from, but she also wasn’t looking me in the eye. I used a finger and tipped her chin up, catching her gaze.

“You never have to be embarrassed to talk to me about anything. Half of sex is communication. You have to tell me what you need if I can’t pick up on it, and vice versa. I want to give you everything you need, Rose. But sometimes you’re going to have to tell me what that is. I’ll give you anything.”

She took her bottom lip between her teeth, contemplating what I’d said. Her eyes darted back and forth between mine for a moment, before she finally found the courage to ask me her question.

“I’ve just always wondered what it would be like to be on top.”

I couldn’t help the way my lip quirked up at her words—or my cock for that matter. Just one sentence had a million images of Rose riding me running through my mind. Each one sexier than the last. Rose wasn’t often bashful and I liked seeing that side of her.

Before I could respond her hand disappeared between us and gripped the base of my cock.

“Rose,” I said through gritted teeth. Her hand wrapped around me felt incredible, but I didn’t want to be selfish. “As much as I’d love to watch you ride me—and trust me, that’s definitely nothing you need to be bashful about asking for—I don’t want to push you too far tonight. I don’t want to hurt you.”

She smiled but didn’t remove her hand or stop it from stroking up and down my shaft.

“I’m fine, Aiden. And besides, I like the idea of being sore in the morning and remembering why.”

Well, holy fucking shit.

Rose was a little bit dirty and a lot sexy.

I pushed a breath out through clenched teeth, eyes dropping closed at the sensation of her hand on me. It felt too fucking good. Finally, I managed to speak.

“You have to stop if it hurts. Even a little.”

She didn’t even wait a second before pushing up on her knees and positioning the head of my dick at her opening. It took some time, but she finally worked her way down, slowly sliding until I was fully seated inside.

“Oh, wow,” she breathed, her hands positioned on my shoulders.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, it just, it’s different than I imagined it would be.”

“What do you mean?”

She leaned back a little, making a tiny gasping noise, then rocked forward again.

“I never thought feeling stretched and full...” Her voice drifted away as she experimented with her hips. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from cursing. “I didn’t expect it to be this good. This perfect.” Her eyes fluttered open, lids heavy with lust. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do,” she mumbled in a moment of raw honesty.

“You just do what feels good, Rose.”

She leaned forward, pressing her mouth to mine, moving up and down my length slowly, and I knew I wasn’t going to last much longer.