“It’s nothing special,” I whisper. I’m just me, a girl like any other.

Under lowered lids, he looks at me, his expression solemn. “You’re extraordinary.”

In that moment, I’d believe anything from him. I lean into his touch, where he’s toying with the hooks of my bra. Please. Please. Just take it off me. I’d tell him, but my voice has fled. He understands the gesture. The bra goes slack, sliding away. Blissful freedom.

“There you are,” he says, like he’s been missing me. One big, warm hand cups my aching breast. His lips press into the sensitive crook of my neck, and he inhales deeply.

“I had plans,” he says, kissing his way down my chest. Soft pecks, suckling explorations. “I’d get you home, get you wet, then fuck you.” More slow kisses, mapping my freckles, lowering himself to his knees. “Fuck away all this desperation, hard and fast.”

Lust washes over me, and I sway into him. He grips my waist, steadying me.

“So many plans.” The kiss on the tip of my nipple is so light, I chase his mouth for more, moaning when he complies and suckles. “You’re destroying all my plans,” he murmurs against my skin, tongue flicking.

My hand smooths over his thick hair. “Sorry.”

But I’m not and he knows it. His laugh is warm over my damp nipple. “Liar.”

“The worst,” I agree, my voice weak. I want to touch him everywhere, the broad expanse of his shoulders, the taut sweep of his back. In the sunlight, his skin is warm gold, fine and smooth. But he’s moving lower, out of my reach.

“Now, all I want to do is take my time, savor this.” Big hands frame my hips, his lips skimming along the slope of my belly. With deliberate care, he grasps the edge of my panties and slides them down. They pool at my feet, and I’m bare to him. John just stares, and then sighs contently. “Red.”

God, he’s right there, nuzzling my sex, breathing me in. My legs tremble. “John … You don’t have to—” I bite my lip hard. Why did I say anything? I’m not even sure, only that I never want to be an obligation.

He stills, his grip tightening a fraction, and I swallow thickly, wishing the floor would swallow me up. I brought his past into this, when it’s the last thing I want to do. This moment has no space for anything other than the two of us.

He has every right to be pissed, get up and call this off. But he doesn’t let me go. Instead, he spreads his fingers wide, his palms pressing hotly to my skin.

Green eyes, dark with desire, stare up at me. “I want new memories of this act. I want them with you.” His thumb rubs a red line my panties left. “That okay, Button?”

In a haze, I nod. The corners of his eyes crinkle, an illicit gleam entering them. “Good. Now, be my girl and part those pretty thighs for me.” Polite and patient John melts away, leaving rough edges and thick demands. “A little wider. Show me that sweet kitty. She needs a proper kiss, poor neglected love.”

With one firm hand, he grips my ass. Soft lips graze my inner thigh. “Wider, honey. Let me have a proper look.” He easily lifts my leg and rests it on his shoulder. “That’s it.”

“God,” I whisper, held up by him. I’m panting now, intensely aware of how slick I am, how swollen. And he hasn’t even touched me there.

“So pretty.” He gives me a kiss, languid and open, lips and tongue moving with perfect decadence. I groan, my body clenching, trying to hold in the feeling, the hot, wet glide of his mouth. My fingers thread through his hair, gripping so I don’t fall to the floor.

John makes a noise in the back of his throat. “God, Stells, you taste so … so fucking …” He trails off with a shuddering breath that I feel against my skin. There is no finesse, no practiced touches. It is carnal heat, lips and tongue shaping, licking, suckling.

It feels so good. I want this every day. Every day.

“John … please.” I don’t even know what I’m begging for. More. Less. Harder. Softer. I can’t think. My hips rock against his mouth, chasing the sensation, running from it. I’m going to break apart, melt right on his tongue.

God, the way he goes at me, pulling back every so often to look at his handiwork. Attack from a new angle. He’s reveling in this. The utter absorption of his expression, the way his tongue flicks out to lick my opening has me shivering.

A gentle suck of my clit and I come, a low, hot rush of pleasure that leaves me boneless. But it’s only an appetizer. My insides pulse, needing something to fill it. I push against him, silently begging.

I need it. Need it so badly.

“Please,” I say. “Please.”

The blunt tip of his finger teases me. “I know, honey. But the first time I get to be inside you, it’s going to be with my dick.” He looks up at me, innocent angel, unrepentant devil. “Hold on.”

“Wha—” I squeal and clutch his head as he wraps his arms around my hips and simply stands. Just freaking stands up with me on his shoulders, lifting me as easily as one of his guitars.

He laughs against my sex, the sound muffled and warm, as he strides to the bed.

“Crazy man,” I chide with a laugh.

Grinning, he tumbles me back onto a cloud of pillows. I lie there, a wanton sprawl of limbs, and watch with growing hunger as he pulls a strip of condoms from his pocket and tosses them on the bed beside me. They don’t make a sound when they land, but I feel the impact in my bones, a mental thud that sends a shiver of anticipation over my skin. Holding my gaze, he shucks his jeans and boxers with one, impatient push.

Jesus, he’s gorgeous, all lean grace and hard, hard cock. And he’s mine. I’m a lucky girl.

“That looks painful,” I rasp, glancing at the thick erection he’s giving a stroke.

John’s smile is predatory. “It hurts something fierce, Button. You gonna give me some relief?”

It’s so easy to spread my legs, arch my back, and display myself for him. To give him a soft smile and say, “Come here, then.”

His eyes narrow, and he crawls up the bed and over me. Muscles bunch as he hovers, his arms bracketing my body. High color runs along his cheeks and the tops of his broad shoulders. “Anything you don’t like, anything you want more of, you tell me, Button.” His lips quirk. “I want this to be good for you.”

My hands glide over his shoulders to cup the back of his neck where his skin is hot and damp. “Same goes for you.”

Surprise flashes over his face, and he lets out a short laugh. “Oh, angel, everything leading up to this has already been better than anything I’ve ever experienced. You could do your worst and it would still be my best.”

I’m grinning like a loon when I pull him down to me. We exhale as our lips meet, our kiss a bit fumbling. It soon turns feverish, greedy, messy. “Oh, shit,” I rasp. “Don’t wait. I need it. I need it.”

It sets him off. Gone are the careful touches, the slow moves. His big hand grabs my ass, kneading it as he grinds his hard dick against my sex. Our kiss goes deeper, forcing my mouth wide. I clutch his shoulders, my nails digging in as he gropes around for the condom package.

As soon as he gets hold of it, he sits back on his heels and tears a condom packet free from the strip. The sight of him kneeling before me, torso tight and twitching, his dick so hard he has to ease it back from where it slaps against his abs—it’s so hot, I don’t think. I sit up, my hands sliding over his strong thighs. Before he can utter a word, I take his dick in my mouth, sucking him down deep.