After our celebratory dinner, Ryan, who seemed to be feeling much better thanks to the massage and ibuprofen—or maybe the champagne—asked me to go for one last walk on the beach before we left tomorrow.

I agreed. Not so much because I wanted a repeat of what had occurred last night, but because I wanted one last night of peacefulness, listening to the waves, looking at the stars.

I had to force myself not to think that the beach was where I’d last seen Juliet and Lisa. I was thankful that Shayna was safely home by now. She’d have a lot to deal with, but she seemed very strong to me. Anyone who could jump off a Jet Ski into the ocean with no land in sight had a lot of courage. I had enough on my plate with my job and trying to bring my father to justice, but still, I was going to keep in touch with Shayna and follow Juliet and Lisa’s case. I had to.

But tonight I was determined to enjoy the peace of the beach. With Ryan.

He wanted a lot from me. I wasn’t deluding myself otherwise. I also wasn’t deluding myself that I meant anything more to him than any other woman he’d been with.

So, as we walked for the last time along the beach, our toes sinking into the soft wet sand, I made a decision.

I’d give Ryan what he wanted.

I’d give him me.

Thirty-two was way too old to be a virgin, and he’d already allayed a lot of my fears. I trusted him to be gentle, to lead me through it. And I certainly couldn’t ask for a more appealing man. Ryan Steel was magnificent.

So I’d give him my virginity, let him show me what I’d been missing.

After that, I’d let him go.

We walked along in the moonlight, as we had the previous two nights. I let him take my hand, reveling in the warmth that coursed through me at his touch. When icy tingles of apprehension threatened me, I held his hand tighter. This was going to happen tonight.

I needed it.

Maybe he did too. He’d just watched both his brothers say I do. Was he feeling alone?

I didn’t know.

When we hit the nude beach and the cabanas came into view, my nerves prickled again. Could I do this?

Yes, I could. No second thoughts. It was high time for me to experience sex. Way past time, actually.

I slowed down, my heart beginning to thunder wildly. Ryan turned and looked at me, his dark eyes afire.

“Have I told you that you look beautiful tonight?”

I smiled. “You tell me that all the time.”

“Today, when I saw you walking down the aisle, that orchid in your hair… I’d never seen anything so beautiful, Ruby.”

My cheeks heated. Ryan had no doubt been with a lot of women, many more beautiful than I. But I let his words sink into me, warm me, erase all the doubts in my mind.

I had never thought of myself as beautiful.

I had never let myself think of myself as beautiful.

“I know you think I’m talking about your outer appearance,” he said. “And I won’t deny that you have a smoking-hot body, a gorgeous face, and the most luxurious head of hair I’ve ever seen. That’s not where your true beauty lies. Your true beauty lies in your heart. You care.”

“Yes. I do care.”

“I know you do. I’ve seen it. Just in the short time we’ve known each other.”

His words warmed me, and I did something I had never done before. I took the initiative and reached forward, pulling him to me and opening my lips to him for a kiss.

It was a gentle kiss at first, but it became more frantic, our tongues dueling, our lips sliding against each other’s. Our mouths seemed fused together, and my nipples tightened, poking into his chest. Tingles raced through me, making me feel both warm and cold at the same time, and every bit of energy pulsing through my body coursed with concentrated aim between my legs.

I would be wet for him tonight. I was wet for him already. My nipples were aching for his tongue, the folds of my pussy aching for his fingers. And, dare I say it?

His cock.

We kissed and we kissed and we kissed, ravishing each other’s mouths, our groans vibrating into each other like the low hum of a bass beat.

A few moments later, he broke the kiss, panting. “I need you. I want you so much, Ruby.”

“I want you too.”

I didn’t regret the words that tumbled out of my mouth. In fact, I rejoiced in them. I hadn’t lost my nerve.

“I mean,” he said, “I want you. I want to…make love to you.”

“I want that too.”

He arched his eyebrows. “Are you sure? If we do this, we can’t take it back.”

I cupped his cheeks, the dark stubble rough beneath my fingers. “I don’t want to take it back. There was a time in my life that I didn’t think I’d ever want to do this with anyone. I do now, with you. I’m not asking for anything past tonight, and I promise I won’t have any regrets. Please, Ryan. Make love to me.”

“Oh, God,” he groaned. “Do you want to go back to the house?”

“No, I want to make love here. Under the stars. In the same cabana where you showed me an orgasm last night. I want to treasure this moment, remember it always.”

“That sounds amazing, baby.” He grabbed my hand and led me to the cabana where we had been last night. Luckily, it was vacant. “You tell me what you need,” he said. “We’ll go as slow as you need to go.”

“Don’t be so focused on me. This is for both of us.” I meant that, with all my heart. This would be a first for me, but in my soul of souls I hoped that some part of it would be a first for him as well. I yearned to give him something he would remember forever.

“I want to undress you, baby. I want to unwrap you, like a beautiful gift to be savored.”

I was still wearing the dress I had worn to the wedding. He caressed my shoulder, gently pushing the strap over my skin. He repeated the action on the other side, and the dress fell to my waist, baring my breasts. My nipples stuck out, hard and dark, ready to be kissed, sucked—whatever he wanted to do to them.

He thumbed them gently. “So beautiful, baby.”

Though apprehension filled me, shakily I reached forward and unbuttoned his white shirt. With each inch of tan skin exposed, my heart beat faster.

Ryan Steel was so beautiful, so perfect and magnificent. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined someone like him would want me.

I touched my fingers to his chest, so warm, and then brushed the shirt over his shoulders so it fell into a white heap on the floor. His erection tented his white pants.

His cock. I had seen it before, had touched it, had made him come.

He was large. This might hurt. I had thought about that. But the first time would no doubt hurt anyway, and if I was going to do this, I wanted it to be with Ryan.

I bit back my fear and apprehension and surged forward. Gathering my courage, I trailed my hand downward and grasped the bulge in his pants.

“God,” he groaned.

He slid his hands down my waist to my hips, where he pushed the silk of my dress over them. It landed in a tousled blue circle around my feet.

I stood, bared to him except for my blue lace panties.

“Wow,” he said. “You and lace? Definitely nice.”

I scrunched my toes into the straw mat covering the sand inside the cabana, determined not to let my nerves scare me. He’d seen me naked several times before, but this time we were definitely heading somewhere.

I throbbed between my legs. I was wet. I could already feel it.

I inhaled a deep breath and moved forward. I unbuttoned his pants, unzipped them, and then brushed them over his hips until he was now standing in a puddle of white. His cock sprang out at me.

“Commando?” I said. “You went to a wedding commando?”

“I didn’t have any white underwear.” He laughed. “I tried some lighter ones, but they all showed through.”

I laughed along with him. My gaze was drawn to his cock. It rose from a bush of black curly hair. I wanted to touch it, explore it, search underneath and look at his balls, his inner thighs. I wanted to lace my fingers in his pubic hair. I wanted to turn him around and look at his ass. Run my palms over it.

This was all new to me, and I wanted to savor every moment, explore his perfect body with my hands, my mouth—every part of me.

I looked down at my panties. I could already smell the arousal in the air between us. He was right. It smelled like vanilla and musk. I inhaled deeply.

“Looks like I’m a little more naked than you are,” he said, and he slid his thumb under the lace waistband of my panties. “You’re amazing. So amazing. Your body. Wow.”

I was thankful he couldn’t see the blush on my cheeks in the darkness. Only the moonlight shone upon us, and he looked like a god. A god about to deflower a virgin.

Slowly he slid the panties over the cheeks of my ass, baring me to his view. “Your pussy is already swollen. You’re so hot.”

I didn’t doubt it. I was throbbing down there, aching for something. Now I knew what I was aching for. Ryan Steel. Ryan Steel’s cock to fill that emptiness. The emptiness I had always known existed but never quite knew how to fill. I had been waiting for this man.

“What do you want to do, baby?” he asked.

I swallowed my fears again, determined to be honest with him this one night. “I want to touch you. I want to get to know every inch of your body.”

“Sounds great.” He pulled me close to him. He kissed my lips, taking my tongue with his. After a few moments, he pulled away. “I could kiss you forever. Your mouth is so soft, and you taste of fresh raspberries.” He stroked my jawline with his finger. “So lovely.”

I took advantage of our position and raised my own hand to stroke his jawline, letting his stubble prickle my fingers. I’d meant what I said. I wanted to touch and explore every part of him, and I would begin with his gorgeous face. I trailed my fingers over the contours of his cheeks, over the outer shell of his ear down to his ear lobe, which was soft under my fingertips. I moved my hands over his scalp, threading my fingers through his beautiful hair. Then I came back to his cheeks, and I moved upward, combing through his eyebrows, rubbing his forehead, and then touching my thumbs to his temples. Then down to his neck, massaging a little as I went.

Next, his shoulders. Those broad, masculine shoulders. His skin was a light bronze, darker than my own fair skin, and the contrast between my hand and his shoulder mesmerized me. His skin was soft, softer than I had expected.

“I love your touch, baby,” he said.

His words warmed me, giving me courage. I glided my fingers over his chest, his glorious pectorals, his coppery nipples that hardened under my touch. Low moans left his throat. He was so firm, so warm. I slid over the black hairs covering his pecs and nipples. So gorgeous. Downward to his tight abs. He had a classic six-pack, the perfect amount of hair that thickened slightly as it led to his crotch. I moved outward, to his hips, their slight indentation so erotic and masculine. And then I did it. What I’d dreamed of. I slid my hands around his hips to the globes of his perfect ass.

So smooth. So warm. I trailed my fingers through the crease, and he jolted slightly when I touched his asshole.

I hadn’t meant to. I was enjoying touching him so much that I’d let myself go, did what was feeling right, not thinking about where I was going.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, bringing my hands back to my sides.

“It’s okay. I was just a little surprised. You can touch me wherever you want, baby.”

“I’m so embarrassed.”

He smiled. “Don’t be.” He took my hand and led it back to his chest. “Touch me. Please. I want you to.”

His skin heated my fingertips, and I trailed to his nipple once again. I flicked it, and it hardened. “Does that feel good to you?”

He closed his eyes. “Mmm. Yes, it does.”

I flicked it again and then moved to the other one. It hardened instantly. Then, gathering my courage, I moved toward him and swiped my tongue over one.

He tasted of salt and musk. I licked it again and then kissed it, wrapped my lips around the nub and sucked. If I liked this, why wouldn’t he?

“Ahh,” he groaned.

I pulled back. “I didn’t know men liked that.”

“I can’t speak for all men, but I love it.”

I clamped my lips to his nipple again and tugged. His cock, already erect, nudged against me, bobbing as though looking for attention.

I trailed my lips down his chest, his smooth abdomen, to the black curls between his legs. With my hands, I fingered them, their roughness, and inhaled. Male musk. So tempting.

“God, Ruby. You’re killing me.”

His cock was mere inches from my lips. I knew what he wanted, and I wanted to touch every part of him. I lowered my head slightly and slid my tongue along the top of his cock.

He groaned.

I moved toward the head and licked at it. A drop of liquid coated my tongue. It was salty.

He groaned again, and his cock pulsed.

I couldn’t help a smile. I had power over him right now. He was at my mercy. Instead of taking him between my lips as I knew he craved, I knelt down farther and licked the underside of his cock, all the way to his balls. They were coated with fine black hair and scrunched up close to his body. I touched my lips to them and kissed them. They smelled musky and masculine, like the rest of him. I inhaled the earthy scent. Mmm.

“Jesus,” he said.

“Move your legs apart,” I said.

He obeyed, and I kissed the softness of his inner thighs while I trailed my hands over his quads. So firm and warm, while the inner part was so soft.

Ryan Steel was the perfect combination of hard and soft. Of strength and compassion.

I laid my cheek against his hard thigh and sighed.

And then I found myself lying on the bed. He’d lifted me so quickly and with such minimal effort I’d hardly noticed.

“Baby, you’re driving me slowly insane.” He hovered over me, perspiration rivering over his face.

“I just wanted to touch every part of you.”

“I get that. I hope I didn’t disappoint.”

“Of course not. Except that I didn’t get past your thighs.”

“Later,” he said. “Time for me to give you a little of the torture you gave me.”