Reaching for him, she brought his mouth to hers and kissed him, stroked into his mouth with her tongue. She was utterly unafraid. Maybe she should have been, but she almost wanted to get this behind them so that the erotic connection could be given free expression.

Craeg’s hips began to roll in and retreat, roll in and retreat, each time his erection going in a little farther.

And then he shifted her around, repositioning her pelvis.

His fingers returned to her, rubbing in a circle as his body went curiously still. She was about to protest, but then the sensations were too much and her brain took a backseat as she started to come—

At that moment, in one strong, powerful thrust, he penetrated past a barrier that broke away with no pain at all.

His whole body began to shake, and the trembling was transmitted into her from where they were joined. And then he began to move inside of her, deeper and deeper, with growing momentum. Thick, he was so thick, and the fullness was … incredible. And then there was the feel of his mouth stroking hers as he pumped into her.

No matter what the future held for them, nothing was ever going to change the fact that he was her first.

When she orgasmed, he did, too.

And yes, it was every bit as perfect and beautiful as she could have hoped for it to be. Even in a human club, in a public place, with hundreds of strangers on the far side of a thin door … it was heaven.

That was what being with the right person was like, though, wasn’t it.

Chapter Forty-one

When Craeg finally stilled, Paradise slumped back against the sink, and though the faucet cut into her spine, and the mirror was hard against her head, she didn’t care. She was floating, coasting … at least until she looked down her body and saw, at the apex of her spread thighs, that his hips were pressed in tight, a part of him buried deep inside of her.

Heaven.

Too bad he looked worried—as if he thought maybe she’d fainted because he’d hurt her or something.

She wanted to reassure him, tell him that it was amazing—but her mind was too blown to let her speak coherently, so she put everything into the smile she gave him.

“God…” he whispered. “You’re so beautiful right now.”

Forcing herself to focus, she murmured, “I’m glad we did that. When can we do it again?”

“Tomorrow night. But you’re going to be stiff. It’s only natural.”

“I’m staying the day at the training center.”

His brows popped. “You are?”

“I had plans to seduce you.”

“Well, far be it from me to get in the way of a goal of yours.”

As he bent down and kissed her, she felt a momentary pang as she realized he’d done this with other females, maybe even taken them for the first time, too—which explained why he’d been so good at it. But no, those thoughts weren’t welcome in this space.

This was just them. Nothing else was allowed.

“How about we do it again right now?” she said, moving her hips so that her sex stroked his.

“Paradise … are you sure you’re okay?”

She moaned a yeeeeeeeeeeeees in response, and then propped her hands against the sink and used what little play she had in her body to get some momentum going between them again.

What you know, it worked.

In the blink of an eye, she was off the sink and up against Craeg’s body, her legs around his hips, her arms linked over his heavy shoulders, her ankles twisted behind his ass.

With a rough grip, his hands moved her up and down on his arousal, faster and harder than the first time. To help him out, not that he wasn’t doing just fine, she worked with him, doubling up on the force.

More orgasms, this time over and over again, her hair flopping in both their faces, a dark scent of spices roaring from his body, the pleasure mixing their souls in a way that felt permanent.

When they finally stopped, she collapsed onto his torso, limp as a rag, hot as an oven, dizzy as if she had run for a million miles.

And that was when her phone rang.

As the electronic chiming emanated from out of the pocket of her jacket, she brought her head up. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Letting whoever it was go into voice mail, she refocused and smiled at Craeg. God, she loved it when their faces were this close, when she could see each individual lash and the bump in his nose, and the shadow of his beard that was already growing in.

“Hi,” she whispered.

For once, his lips actually returned the favor—and there was an endearing shyness to him as he grinned.

Reaching up to his face, she whispered, “This is how I will always remember you.”

In the back of her mind, she thought … holy weirdness. Why was she good-byeing him? This was just the beginning—

Her phone started ringing again.

“I’m sorry,” she said, frowning. “I hope there’s nothing wrong.”

Twisting around so she could get into her pocket, she was acutely aware that they were still joined. And when she saw the screen, she cursed.

“Really, Peyton,” she muttered as she shoved the phone back where it had been. “He must know we’re back here. He loves harassing people.”

“Guess he’s finally shown up, huh.”

“You know he’s like a brother to me. You really, totally know that, right?”

“Yeah. Actually, I do.”

As her cell started ringing for a third time, she gritted her teeth. “My really, totally annoying brother.”