A fire ignited between them that made it impossible to think rationally. Before he could even fathom how it had happened, he had her shirt over her head and his hands on her ass, grinding her against his painfully hard erection. “Mac—yes,” she moaned as he untied the strings to her skimpy swimsuit, exposing every naked inch of her to his hungry gaze.

Her small hands were on him, pushing his basketball shorts down his legs, seeming to want him just as desperately as he desired her. He hooked one hand over his back, pulling his shirt up over his head, and finally, they had what they were both hungry for—skin-on-skin contact. For Mac, self-control was gone. He was an animal in its most primitive form. “Mine,” he moaned as he took one of her nipples in his mouth, sucking the rosy peak while pinching the other one between his thumb and forefinger. “I need you, baby—now,” he growled, pushing the head of his thick cock against her wet entrance. His body shuddered as he waited for her permission. Even with the raging need he felt, he couldn’t possess her without knowing it was what she wanted. He needed to hear the words. When she moaned against his neck, he whispered, “Say it, baby. Tell me you want me.”

Wrapping a leg around his thigh, she groaned, “Yes . . . yes, Mac. God yes, I want you. Please—now, right now!” Before she finished her plea, he was pushing inside her. She was so tight that he was forced to go slow, even though he wanted nothing more than to bury himself in one stroke. He couldn’t hurt her—he’d never do that, no matter how close to the edge he was. She came first; she always had. After a few shallow thrusts into her wet heat, it became apparent he wasn’t the only one ready for more. With a voice full of impatience she snapped, “Harder, Mac! Harder!” When he felt her small teeth sink into his earlobe, he lost it.

Rearing his hips back, Mac seated himself completely inside her. She hooked both arms around his neck before wrapping her legs around his waist, pushing him impossibly deeper into her. “Ah, Avie, oh, baby, fuck yeah!” he chanted as his powerful thrusts nailed her ass against the wall. Her hips followed the movement of his, taking everything he gave her and begging for more. When the familiar tingle started at the base of his spine, he knew he was close, but damn it, he didn’t want this to end. Being inside Ava transcended every other moment in his life, and he’d fucking live there if she’d let him. “I’m close, baby,” he whispered against her ear, needing her to get there fast. When he would have lowered his hand to her clit, he groaned when he felt her using the base of his cock to do that very thing.

Instead of the hard thrusts that had been pushing them both to the brink of insanity, Ava was keeping him locked inside her while grinding her sensitive nub against his root. He gritted his teeth and started thinking of anything he could to delay his explosion. He was at eighty-nine bottles of beer on the wall in his head when he felt her starting to spasm around him. He was helpless to stop his own body from following hers as her contractions milked his cock dry.

When the tremors had subsided, he continued to lean against her, using the wall to support them both. His legs felt so damn weak he was afraid they’d both tumble to the floor if he moved too soon. The feel of Ava’s small hand stroking against his sweaty back had his spent flesh twitching to life. Surely, there was no way he could go again so soon after releasing everything he had into her . . . could he? He had the answer to his question, as he continued to harden. Un-fucking-real. He needed somewhere soft for them to land this time, though. “Mac,” Ava purred, locking her legs tighter around his waist.

“Hang on, baby,” he mumbled before clutching her close and straightening to take her weight. They both moaned in pleasure as his steps toward the bedroom pushed his cock deeper. She protested as he separated from her briefly to lay her on her side on the bed. He knew that both of their bodies were tired, even if their libidos were still going strong. He curled up behind her, lifting her leg over his thigh before sliding back into her from behind.

Mac knew she approved of the new position when her head fell back against his neck on a long sigh of pleasure. “So good,” she murmured as he leaned closer against her back to cup her breast. He kept up a slow and leisurely rhythm while his hand wandered over every inch of her exposed skin. He smiled at her fevered shout of approval when he slid his fingers between her legs, flicking her swollen clit. Slow sex was all but forgotten and she moved her hips impatiently, trying to quicken his pace. He tormented her for a few moments longer, actually slowing down until she raked her fingernails down his thigh. Ouch! It seemed as if his woman was tired of waiting.

His stroking fingers increased with the speed of his cock and he was giving her everything she wanted. They both raced toward an invisible finish line with her crossing it just as his balls started to tighten in warning. She collapsed against him so completely afterward that he moved his hand around on her chest to check her breathing. Satisfied with what he felt there, he pulled himself from her body and got out of bed to clean up. He knew that there was no way she was moving any time soon, so he returned with a washcloth, kissing her forehead and gently cleaning her as best he could before walking through the house to lock up for the evening. It was a testament to how she affected him that he hadn’t even thought to lock the door before devouring her in the hallway. Yeah, both the big head and the little head only had one thought when she was around, and it damn sure wasn’t safety. For someone in his line of work, that was almost a sacrilege.

When the house was secure, he settled back around her, smiling in the dark like a sap when she snuggled sleepily against him. He remembered that he had been mad as hell at her earlier with the whole parasailing stunt. Funny how that hadn’t even occurred to him once his hands had touched her skin. Right now all he could feel was complete contentment that for the second time the woman he loved was sleeping next to him. Tomorrow was soon enough for him to be pissed. Tonight he just wanted to hold her and vow that she would never spend another night without him.

Chapter Seventeen

A heavy weight across her chest pulled Ava from a dreamless sleep and straight into a nightmare. Disoriented, she could only work out was that someone was holding her down. Terror raced through her body as her fight or flight instinct kicked in with a vengeance. She had to get free! Oh God, it was happening again, he was going to hurt her—he had said he would, and now he was back!

Her mind went hazy as she started to fight like a cornered animal. She wouldn’t let this happen to her again. He would have to kill her this time or set her free. So she fought, she kicked and scratched every inch of skin that she could reach. She heard him howling in pain, which only fueled her need to inflict further damage. He would pay—this time she would hurt him as much as he had hurt her. This time, she would finally win.