Adrenaline coursed through him, and his muscles tingled, every nerve ending snapping to attention. She wet her now trembling lips, her nerves clearly getting the better of her.

He traced the line of her cheekbone with his finger. “That’s great. I’m sure you’re very relieved.” It was a struggle to keep his voice calm, but he needed to pace this right if he wanted it to go down the way he’d imagined. She was ready to dive in, and he was a man on the edge. A couple more clumsy but effective seduction moves out of her and she was going to find herself flat on her back, chock full o’ cock, and he would end up reneging on his promise to blow her mind. Then maybe, just maybe, she’d think of him as more than just a fling to help her get over Marty. Maybe they’d have a chance to be something real.

Slow, Galen. Take it nice and slow.

He tipped her chin up and lowered his mouth to hers. A soft, brushing kiss, with only the merest hint of pressure. He pulled back to speak, to tell her all the things he wanted to do to her, but she let out a muffled squeak and used the opportunity to dive in, tangling her tongue with his, nipping, licking, sucking. The force shoved him back against the pillow, and he growled low in his throat. Lacey, wanting and hungry for him, was about the hottest thing he’d ever encountered. The urge to go with it and take her hard and fast clawed at him. His cock jerked as she ground her hips against his in a furious rhythm.

He dragged his mouth away. “You need to give me a minute or this is going to be very disappointing, squirt.”

She shook her head, eyes wild. “It couldn’t be. I feel like I’ve been waiting for this forever.”

Even more of a reason to make it worth the wait.

If he still had a hope in hell of pulling that off, he was going to have to slow her down a little. Or maybe speed it up and then slow it down. His motto was “ladies first” in the bedroom, after all.

In one swift move, he flipped her onto her back. She yelped but adjusted quickly, running her hands over his back and lower, until she had a grip on his ass. He went for her wrists with a pained chuckle, banding them with his fingers. His full weight was distributed between her torso and his knees so his bottom half could get some space, which finally stopped her from grinding her pubic bone against his already rock hard erection.

“Let me go. You’re squishing me,” she protested, but her pout told a different story.

“I’m not squishing you that much. You just want to maul me some more.”

“You don’t like it?” Her face fell and he tugged her wrists above her head.

“None of that, squirt. I like it. In fact, I love it. But this”—he angled his hips to her again until his cock nestled against the soft flesh between her thighs; she pulsed against him and he swallowed a curse—“is more than I can bear right now. So we’re going to play a little game. It’s called No Hands. That means, for the next ten minutes, you can’t touch me. At all.”

She frowned. “That’s a stupid game.”

“You only think so because you’re a control freak. Humor me, and if you don’t like it we never have to play again.”

She eyed him for a long moment and then nodded. “Ten minutes.” She peered at the clock and then back at him. “Go.”

He said a silent prayer of thanks and released her wrists. “Leave them over your head.”

She bit her swollen lower lip uncertainly but didn’t move. Galen sat back on his heels to look at her. Honey-colored hair decorated the pillow, and he trailed his fingers through its softness.

“I love your hair. It’s so fucking sexy. You looked like a mermaid in the water. Want to know a secret?”

Her breath caught and she nodded.

Maybe it would scare her. Maybe she would think he was a total pervert, but she looked so enthralled, so turned on, he couldn’t stop the flow of words if he tried. “I’ve dreamed of you and that hair. Of you taking my cock in your mouth, real slow. Sucking and licking until I felt like I’d explode. And right when I was about to come, I’d wrap my fist in that beautiful hair and use it to work you faster, harder over my cock until I came deep in your throat.”

She gasped and her arms came down. “Let me.”

Need hit him so hard that his vision blurred and his ears buzzed so loudly he could barely hear. “Ah, babe,” he managed to grind out, “you have no idea how much I want to, but I haven’t had my ten minutes yet.”

Ten had become nine, and he was feeling the pressure. He ran his hand from her wrist, down the length of one arm, over her cheek, to trail down her neck. “Let’s get this off,” he murmured, tugging the strap of her tank top down to reveal the firm swell of her breast. The sight was too enticing to ignore and he bent low and pressed a kiss there. She smelled like sunshine and flowers and he inhaled deeply. “You smell good enough to eat.”

Her whole body was drawn tight, tensed and so ready for what he wanted to give her. He couldn’t bring himself to make her wait anymore.

“Fuck it,” he said on a groan. He stripped off her dress, yanking it over her head, and moved to her underwear. With a few tugs and a helpful wriggle from Lacey, they were off and on the floor a second later.

There she was. Lacey—naked, ready, and waiting. He’d seen her in sections. Her long, trim legs in the summery dresses she favored. Her pert, softly rounded breasts when she’d lost her bikini in the ocean, then later when he’d caressed them in the pool. The flat expanse of stomach on the beach. But all together, capped off by the neat swatch of honeyed curls between her thighs? It wrecked him. The total silence was marred only by the breath sawing in and out of his lungs.

Ladies first.

He repeated it like a mantra in his head as he grappled for control. Trailing his index finger over one hip and upward, he caressed the lean lines of her body until he reached the very tip of her breast. She hissed, gripping the pillowcase with both hands.

“I can’t wait to taste you,” he said, leaning into her and flicking out his tongue. He teased her nipple until she strained toward him, back arched in an effort to get more of his mouth. Her response to the slightest touch made him wish he had more mouths, more hands to touch and taste everywhere. He closed his teeth gently over the tight bud and nipped.

“Omigod, yesss.”

He cupped her breast and began sucking in earnest, trying to block out her cries as the pressure in his balls built to a heavy ache.

“I can’t…you have to…Jesus, Galen, please.”

Her nipples were beautifully sensitive and for a fleeting moment, he wondered if he could make her come just from what he was doing. Glancing at the clock, he scratched that idea. He was on borrowed time and she’d never climaxed before. No, they’d do this right.

Pulling back, he gazed down at her flushed face. “I need you to keep your hands up, Lace. No matter what I do, all right? No cheating. I’m on the razor’s edge and if you touch me, it’s all over.”

“Anything. Yes, just…please.”

Her eyes were glassy with want and they, along with her soft plea, were almost his undoing. He closed his eyes to block out the sight of her and took a steadying breath, then cupped a hand over her pussy and squeezed. The sweet heat drenched his fingers and he groaned as tremors shook him.

Lacey tossed her head restlessly on the pillow and she bounced her hips against his hand. She was more than ready and he slid one finger down her center, working the slick, tender flesh until her muttered cries became a litany.

“Galen, yeah, oh God, yeah.”

“I need to put my mouth on you. I’m starving for the taste of that wet little pussy.” His words were barely coherent, his voice was so rough. Continuing to stroke her, he slid down the bed until his face was level with her hips, then he dipped his head low. His heart pounded like a jackhammer as he ran his tongue along her seam. When the taste of her flooded his mouth, he lost his mind, sucking and licking, rubbing her swollen clit with his tongue as he thrust one finger into her gripping core.

The jolt of desire was almost electric. So fucking tight. So fucking wet. Then her hands were in his hair, holding him fast, sealing his mouth to her. Her thighs gripped his head, muffling her screams as the orgasm hit her. Her body tensed, legs trembling as she came against his lips, her clutching heat squeezing his finger like a fist as he slid it in and out. Need battered at him like a tidal wave, the urge to feel that tight channel closing over his cock over and over until he exploded inside her, sucking him under.

“That’s, oh, wow. I didn’t think I could, but… Now I get it. I so get it,” she said, gasping for air. Her fingers still had his hair in a death grip and her legs twitched. In spite of the need grinding at him, he wanted to stand up and do a victory lap.

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, squirt.”

“I don’t know if I can handle better than that.” She quivered as he gently pulled away. “Please, stay with me. I want—”

“Condom and I’ll be right back,” he said, then rolled to his feet.

“No,” she gasped, sitting up to take his arm. “I’m on the Pill if you…” She trailed off, her bourbon eyes still hot with need.

Her trust in him was humbling and he owed her no less. It was liberating to be with someone who he had a history with and could depend on not to try to trap him or trick him. Only with Lacey. “I’m safe. This is a first for me,” he admitted and moved to crawl back into the bed with her.

“Wait. The thing you said before. About my hair? I…really want to do that.” She wet her lips and shimmied down the bed until her mouth was a scant inch from his tackle. His body went into lockdown mode, as if central command had pulled the plug. His mind bellowed, Back away, but his cock was clearly the stronger force, because nothing short of a grenade could’ve gotten him to budge. Almost in slow motion, her pink tongue peeked out for a swipe over the head of his cock.

“Mmm,” she murmured, taking him in her hand and dropping to her haunches as if settling in.

“Lacey,” he protested weakly, reaching out a hand to pull her away. But she took his hand and buried it into her hair, wrapping her fist around his until he held her in a punishing grip. His balls drew tight against his body. “You don’t have to do this.”

She peered up at him and smiled. “I know. But I want to.” Then she sucked him in hard, cheeks hollowing as she drew deep, deeper until he hit the soft flesh at the back of her throat. She let go of his hand, but her assistance was no longer needed as he worked her over his cock by that sexy mane of hair. The tight, wet suction was a siren’s song too seductive to escape. All too soon, he felt it. The cum pooling low in his balls, the tension low and tight in his belly.

“We’ve got to stop or I’m going to come.” His warning fell on deaf ears, because he tugged at her hair, but she just kept on going. In fact, she was moving more quickly, her head bobbing between his legs. “Fuck,” he growled, and then he exploded into the molten cavern of her mouth, holding her to him as he spurted hard into her throat.

Chapter Eight

Dreaming. Surely she was dreaming. Galen stood in front of her, all big, hard muscles, his face a mask of pleasure so keen it could’ve been pain. She lapped the soft, broad head one last time.

“So good,” he muttered as he released his grip on her hair and trailed a gentle finger over her cheek.

“I had no idea,” she said, wondering if he could even hear her over the pounding of her heart.

He pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, holding her close. “That’s the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much more.”

She nuzzled his throat, breathing in the musky scent of him with a happy sigh. “I want to. I want it all.” Emboldened by his attention, she wriggled in his arms, letting her nipples drag through the light smattering of hair on his chest.