Before I could answer, his hands drifted up further, until the fingertips brushed the swells of my breasts. “You’re not. Very naughty, Syd.”

My lips twitched. “Not like I need—”

“Don’t say it.” His lips captured mine in a long, searing kiss. “Back to the sweater.”

“The sweater?” I repeated dumbly.

He nodded, and for a moment the only sounds in the room were my pounding heart and the crackling of the fire. “The best part about this sweater, other than the fact you look fucking hot as hell in it, is that it comes off.”

Oh, hot damn.

Kyler tugged the sweater off and dropped it on the floor. There was something much more intimate about this than earlier. Even in the shadowy room, I felt more exposed. His gaze traveled from my face and down my throat to my breasts. The tips hardened under his gaze.

He scooped up my hair, framing my chest with its long strands. “Now that we’re past the sweater, let’s talk about these.” His voice was gruff and thick. “These are absolutely perfect.”

With him staring at me like that, I’d never been more proud or happy about my breasts in my life. True story.

He bent his head and the edges of his hair tickled my chest. His lips were so close that I thought I’d die from the anticipation. He kissed one of the small cuts and another, then his lips closed over the tip. Pounding need took root. His hands splayed across the small of my back as he moved to the other breast and suckled deep.

“Perfect,” he said again, and his tongue flicked over the tightened nubs, teasing until I grasped his shoulders, my back arching. He straightened, staring down at me. “You know what’s next?”

My imagination had many answers for that, but I hooked my fingers under the hem of his hoodie. His wide smile, the kind that showed off the dimples in both cheeks, was my reward. He lifted his arms, and off went the hoodie and the shirt underneath.

His chest seemed more flawless now than I remembered. The hard planes of his chest and the dips of his stomach and all that golden skin beckoned me. I leaned into him, biting down on my lip as our skin touched. The cuts were a little sensitive, but it was nothing compared to the other sensations. A shudder rolled through me, and his head dipped to my shoulder. He placed a kiss there, and emotion clogged my throat.

“You’re learning fast. I’m not surprised.” He trailed kisses up my throat, stopping just below my ear. His hands moved between us, thumbs smoothing over the tips of my breasts. “You’ve always been so damn good at everything you do.”

“Not everything,” I admitted with a blush. “This…I’m not good at this.”

Kyler pulled back, one brow arched. “You are amazing at this.”

“No, I’m not.” I laughed, feeling sort of dumb. Sometimes I really just needed to keep my mouth shut. “I’ve only…well, you know, and it was…”

“It was that way because that punk-ass didn’t know what he was doing.” He dropped a kiss against my temple. “And trust me, I know exactly what I’m doing.”

I had no doubts about that.

He took a step forward, forcing me back until I hit the edge of the makeshift bed and the warmth of the fire traveled along my back. “Now about these jeans…”

“What about them?”

He winked, and damn if he didn’t look good doing it. “They’ve got to go.”

I took a breath, but it got stuck. Holding my gaze, his fingers found the drawstring on my sweats and undid it with amazing quickness. Again, this was nothing like before in the sunroom. There wasn’t an ounce of anger in his gaze or actions. There was just arousal and affection and something I was too afraid to acknowledge. And it wasn’t like with Nate, where there had been a lot of awkward fumbling and pushing and then it had been over.

This was slow and sweet and perfect.

God, he was perfect.

Kyler slipped the sweats down my hips. He steadied me as I stepped out of them and I was just in my panties—cute ones too, thank God. He brushed his lips across my forehead as his thumbs caught the strings along my hips. “So, do you get it now?”

“You want me?” My voice sounded strange.

He laughed. “Oh, you were so close, baby.”

I started to frown, but in one unbelievably smooth move, my undies joined the rest of my clothes on the floor. “Good God, if taking off panties was an Olympic sport, you’d have a gold medal.”

His next laugh was deep and rich. “The sport only counts when it’s something you really want to win.” Then he stepped back, his gaze moving over me in a way that made me want to hide myself and let him look his fill at the same time. “You are beautiful, Sydney. You know that? You’re so beautiful, and you don’t even know.”

My throat closed up. Before I started bawling and completely killed the moment, I reached for the button on his jeans, but he caught my wrist. I raised my brows.

He shook his head. “I’m still educating you, Syd.”

“Oh?” I said. The teasing quality to his voice was relaxing, except I was still buck-ass naked, and my skin was on fire for a multitude of reasons. I’d never been this naked with a guy, not even with Nate. When we’d had sex just that one time, I’d been topless and my skirt had been pushed up. That was all.

But now there was no way for me to hide. I’d have thought I’d be more uncomfortable, but as his gaze traveled over me, lingering on some areas more than others, I felt like a goddess standing before him.

Taking my hand, he tugged me down onto the pile of blankets with him. The moment my back hit them, every muscle froze up as I stared up at him. My throat seemed to seize and although I should’ve felt warm, I went ice cold on the inside. Where did my sexy goddess go? She’d run for the damn hills.

Kyler hovered over me, supporting his weight on a hand planted beside my head. His body wasn’t touching mine and he still was half-dressed, but I knew where this was heading. It was what I wanted—had wanted for so long—but I had such little experience in this and I couldn’t bear it if Kyler discovered I was as frigid as Nate had claimed.

And to think Kyler would’ve ended up with a broken nose for nothing.

“Hey,” he said, touching my cheek gently. “You there?”

I nodded.

Kyler stared at me intently. “We don’t have to do anything, Syd. We can stop right here if that’s what you want.”

Cursing myself for being such an idiot, I swallowed. “No. No, I don’t want to stop.”

He moved his hand to my shoulder and my body jerked at the contact. His gaze lifted and he didn’t say anything. Instead, he brought his mouth to mine. The kiss was slow and gentle and it kept going until the tightness seeped out of the muscles in my arms, and then my legs. A different kind of tension built again, turning my blood into molten lava. My hand shook as I placed it on the hard slab of muscle of his stomach.

“That’s good,” he said huskily. “I like when you touch me.”

And I liked touching him. Exploring the dips and rises of his muscles, I marveled at how smooth and tight his skin was.

Running did a body good.

I ran my hands up his chest and over his broad shoulders. His muscles flexed under my touch. His weight came down on me, inch by torturous inch, until my legs tangled with his. The material of his jeans against my bare skin brought forth a sweet rush. My hips tilted up, and he groaned in a way that made me yearn for more. His lower body pressed down against mine, and I could feel him.

Kyler’s lips left mine and before I could mourn their loss they were on my throat, trailing a heated path to my chest. He took his time there, his hands and mouth leaving me breathless. I moved against him, my fingers digging into his back. And then he went further south, his lips making their way down my stomach, around my belly button, and then on to the flare of my hip.

“Starting to understand yet?” he asked, grinning as he slid a hand under my hip, lifting me slightly.

“I…I think so,” I said, watching the shadows dancing over his face. A chill spread along my skin as his lashes lowered. With one hand, he gently spread my legs. I fought the urge to close them as he made the sexiest sound ever known to man.

“I have to do this,” he said, and I knew what he meant. His eyes flicked up, seeking permission. “I really have to do this, baby.”

Pleasure shot through me, but so did trepidation. “I haven’t…I mean, no one has done that before.”

“I know.” He sounded proud and possessive. “It’ll be amazing. I promise.”

I nodded and let my head fall back against the blankets. I knew what to expect. I wasn’t that naive or dumb, but when I felt his finger brush over me, I nearly came right then from the barely-there touch. Just a brush of one finger and my body started shaking and my hips rose up to meet his touch.

“So responsive,” he murmured, slipping one finger inside, causing my back to arch as a soft cry was wrenched from my throat.

Then his head dipped and my back came clear off the covers. The slight stubble on his jaw was tantalizing against my inner thighs. My entire body went rigid and my senses overloaded the moment his mouth touched me there in the sweetest kiss possible.

“Do you get it?” he asked again.

My fingers dug into the blankets as he did something truly wicked with his finger. “Kyler…”

“You don’t deserve to be fucked like a one-night stand.” He kissed the inside of my thigh, and I melted. “You deserve pleasure. It should be all about you, always about you.”

And then his mouth was on me again, his tongue and his fingers. Pleasure coiled tight, and the first pulse was sweet and sharp. My hips rocked shamelessly against what he was doing and his growl of approval sent me right over the edge. My body shattered, broke apart into thousands of little pieces as I cried out his name over and over in a way I might actually be embarrassed about later. It was the most amazing, most complete thing I’d ever felt. It was like flying and falling at the same time.

He rode out the storm, not stopping until the last shudder rolled through me and my breathing began to return to normal. He kissed my thigh again, and then rose up over me, planting his hands on either side of my head. I opened my eyes, dazed.

His grin was part-smug. “Told you it would be amazing.”

“It was…completely amazing.” I reached up, running my fingers over his jaw and then down his throat, his chest. My gaze dropped, and I could see the bulge in his sweats. I slipped my hand down his stomach, but he caught my wrist before I could reach what I wanted, and he rolled onto his side. I turned my head to him, confused. “Don’t you want…?”

His brows rose.

Heat swamped my face, which was so stupid considering what he’d just done. “Don’t you want to go further? I mean, you didn’t come and…” And I just wanted to stop talking all together. This was so embarrassing.

Kyler chuckled as he gathered me in his arms, fitting my back against his front, and I could feel him, still sprouting a raging hard-on. “I’m okay. This was about you.”