Mae had no shyness. No fear. No awkwardness. All she knew was the scent of him. And then the delicious weight of his body as it returned to her. And finally a burning anticipation that made her feel like she was on fire.

“I want to touch you, too,” Mae said as he went to kiss her again.

Talk about an instant response.

Sahvage yanked his shirt off so fast, there was a tearing sound, like something had ripped—and he didn’t stop to check and see what it was. He tossed the thing aside as if it were utterly disposable and went right back to kissing her mouth, kissing her throat, kissing her breasts.

“I hurt—”

The instant the word came out of her mouth, he jerked up. “Oh, God, I’m sorry—”

“No, no . . .” She was mumbling. “Not like that.”

He sagged with relief. Then his voice got really, really low. “Where does it hurt, Mae.”

She purred and rubbed herself against him. “Here . . .”

“Here, where?” He kissed her shoulder. “No? How about here?” He kissed her rib cage. “No . . . hmm . . . how about here.”

He kissed her belly button. Then ran his tongue around it.

Mae’s knees fell open. Even though where he was heading was shocking, she was so desperate for something, anything, to ease the heat and the straining and the—

“Still not the right place?”

Mae’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness so as she lifted her head, she looked down her body to find Sahvage staring up at her, his enormous shoulders blocking the square of light around the door, his hulking body covering her.

Like she was his prey.

And that was fine with her. She was more than ready to be eaten.

Mae might have not had sex before, but Sahvage was the one who was unprepared for what was happening. He’d never expected to be so affected by . . . her skin, her scents, her innocent eroticism as she rubbed herself against any part of him that came into contact with her gloriously bare, beautiful aroused sex.

He hadn’t meant to take things in this direction.

But here they were—with him about to put his mouth on—

“Sahvage,” she moaned.

Throwing her head back into the pillows, Mae arched again and then undulated, her breasts peaking, those tight little nipples the kind of thing he couldn’t not touch.

Reaching up, he tweaked one and then rolled the other back and forth between his thumb and forefinger, rolling . . . rolling . . . rolling.

And then he dropped his head and brushed her lower abdomen with his lips. “Here? Mae . . . does it hurt here?”

In a rough voice, she said, “Lower.”

Fuck, he thought as he went over to her hip. Whispering his mouth on the graceful ridge of her pelvis—then he slid his lower body completely off the end of the bed. As his knees hit the carpet, he pulled her down to him by the backs of her knees, her thighs wide open, her sex glistening in the low light.

Sahvage licked his lips in anticipation. “I need to taste you,” he heard himself say.

As she moaned his name, he started on the outside of one of her legs, just in case she had second thoughts.

She did not. She said his name again . . . in that rough, panting voice that nearly made him come.

Moving over, kissing his way across the top of her thigh to the very inside of it, following the crease where it met her body, where it connected to her—

He meant to stay on that soft skin, on the precipice of her beautiful sex, but her pelvis shifted without warning—

And suddenly his lips were on hers, and all his planning to be gentle, go slow, take it easy, went right out the fucking window. He sucked her in—and the instant her taste registered, his brain completely shorted out.

As Mae yelled his name and grabbed his hair hard, he unhinged completely. Locking his palms on the backs of her thighs, he widened her even farther as he pleasured her with his mouth and his tongue—lapping and sucking at her until he knew she was getting close.

With a sudden surge, Mae moved herself against his face and—

Just as he’d intended, she called out and went rigid, except for her sawing breath. And then she jerked over and over again, her body releasing as he licked at her to keep her going . . . while all he wanted was to be inside of her, feeling her contractions until he orgasmed, too.

Except he wasn’t going to do that.

She deserved so much better than him for her first time, and he was not going to cheat her out of the joy and communion that would come when she gave herself out of love instead of desperation. He just couldn’t do that to her.

The good news? There were a lot of other things they could do together.

When Mae finally went limp, her arms flopping on the duvet, her head doing the same, she was breathing hard, her breasts pumping up and down, her ribs expanding and contracting. Sahvage smiled and started planning their next position. Like her on all fours in front of him, his hand jerking himself off all over her sex so he could lick her clean—

Off in the distance, out in the sitting room, a phone started ringing.

But like he was leaving her, under any circumstances?

“Sahvage?” she asked on a mumble.

“You’re incredible,” he murmured as he stroked her thighs.

“What . . . what are you going to do now? What . . . what about you?”

Straightening on his knees, he went for his waistband. As he undid his combats, he realized his cock was so hard, so hungry, that he had to grit his teeth and exercise some self-control—or risk coming all over her.

Which he was about to do. He just wanted to be naked when he did it—and she was so relaxed, he decided he wasn’t going to make her get on her knees. He liked this view just fine, her breasts taut and straining, her belly so smooth, her sex . . .

“You okay?” he asked her. Like the penetration that was happening in his mind was actually going on right now.

“I’m . . . oh, God, yes . . .” she said as she saw his erection.

With hands that were suddenly trembling, he did away with his pants, all but Magic Mike’ing them by ripping them off his lower body.

And what do you know, her mattress happened to be at the perfect height for him: His erection was right at the level of her core. But he needed to be sure.

“You all right?”

“Oh, God, yes . . . and I want more.”

“You do?” He didn’t mean to stroke himself. But he did. “Fuck, Mae . . .”

Her hands were restless, grabbing at the duvet, fisting it up . . . one of them slipping free and bumping into her hip.

Sahvage reached out and took her hand. Moving it between her legs, she gasped as he caressed her with her own fingers while he worked his cock.

As she came close to climaxing again, he said, “Mae—Mae, look up at me.”

In the dimness, he caught her gleaming eyes as she followed his command. And then he lifted what she’d been rubbing herself with to his mouth. Sucking her fingers in, he was oh, so satisfied as she cried out again, his name echoing around her bedroom.

Lapping up her essence, he smiled in the darkness . . . as he realized she already was the best lover he’d ever had.

• • •

When Mae’s eyes squeezed shut, she couldn’t make them stay open. But good God, she wanted to keep seeing everything. She wanted to watch all of it—yet there was a surprising eroticism to the darkness. All she knew was Sahvage’s tongue, hot and slick, licking at her fingers . . . then his hot and slick mouth sucking her thumb in.