“Never failed before.”

He struggled his way past the offending denim, finally dragging the jeans down her legs and off.

“The things you women go through,” he said, happy to see red silk panties.

“But my ass looks great in these jeans.”

“It does.” He slid his hands up her legs. God, he loved her legs. So strong, so soft, and as he moved upward, he parted them, rewarded by the soft, hot, wet part of her. He slipped his fingers between, teasing her by rubbing over the silk of her panties.

“Those can go, too,” she said.

“Can they?” He nuzzled her hip, then used his teeth to drag one side of her underwear down, kissing the area he’d bared. She smelled like cinnamon and hot, musky sexual desire, and he couldn’t wait to put his mouth on her.

He pressed a kiss to her hip, then rolled his tongue along the soft juncture between her thigh and her sex. She moaned, her body wriggling against his mouth. And when he flicked his tongue against her clit, she arched backward, driving against his face.

She was soft here, giving her body to him in every way, telling him without words what she needed. This was where tough Stella melted into softness, and as he licked the length of her, she whimpered—the sweetest sound.

He wanted her to come, to give over to him completely. But he also wanted her teetering right on the edge, just like him. It had been a long time since he’d been with her, and he wanted both of them to orgasm when he was inside her.

So he took her there one lick at a time, feeling her body, remembering every taste, every scent, every way she moved until he knew she was close. Then he pulled back and stood.

She lifted her head, her eyes dazed with passion. He leaned over her, pulling off her shirt, unhooking her bra so he could slide it down her arms. He took a taste of her nipples, pulling one peak into his mouth for a long suck.

“Goddamnit, Trick,” she whispered, grasping his head to hold him to her breast. “Do that again.”

He did, on the other side, drawing her nipple into his mouth, teasing her until she yanked his hair.

“Stop.”

He withdrew.

“Too much?” he asked, hovering over her.

“God, no. Too good. I need you inside me.”

Good to know they both wanted the same thing.

He took her hand and pulled her up, then walked with her into his bedroom. She fell onto her back on his bed and he reached into the nightstand for a condom.

“Always ready, aren’t you?”

He shed his jeans and the rest of his clothes, then handed her the packet.

“For you? Yeah. Always.”

Chapter Five

Stella drew in a breath at the sight of Trick standing over her. Naked, his erection prominent, his body a fucking work of art, all she could do was stare and appreciate that tonight he was hers again.

As he climbed onto the bed, she reached for his cock, wrapping her fingers around his length. She tore open the condom wrapper and applied it, then scooted down the bed.

There had never been any awkwardness between her and Trick. From the first night, it was if they had known each other forever. Their chemistry had been hot and instantaneous, and it had continued like that until they’d lost touch. And now, months and months later, they picked up right where they had left off, knowing each other’s bodies, their likes and dislikes. And as he parted her legs and slid inside her, she ached with the knowledge that this was a man she was connected to beyond just the physical.

No. She was not emotionally connected to Trick. She couldn’t be¸ because she wouldn’t allow it. He was fun and sexy and damn good in bed, and as she lifted and her body responded, she focused on that and that alone, because it was all she’d let herself have.

But oh, it was so good, the way he mastered her body, the way his hands glided over her hips and butt, clenching and arching her toward him so he could thrust deeper, giving her the ultimate in pleasure. Because the one thing she’d always loved—or rather liked—about Trick was that he made sure she got hers first.

He dropped his pelvis and ground against her. Every synapse in her brain exploded, sending pleasure right to her clit.

She lifted her gaze to his, arching against him, needing more. “Yes. That makes me come.”

He gave her a supremely confident smile. “I know. I feel your pussy tighten around me when I do that, and it feels so goddamn good.”

But he was still a man who liked to tease, to prolong the action to make sure that when she went off, she went wild. So he withdrew, easing out, then slowly inching back in.

“Trick,” she warned, wanting to feel that deeper connection.