“Okay, now you seriously have to tell me where we are. It’s possibly the prettiest place on Earth.”

He hesitated. “It’s the creek at the back of my parents’ place.”

“You’re parents’ place?”

He nodded curtly, tensing his jaw.

I whipped my head around, noticing acres and acres of lush land. Turning back to Rome, I asked, “They own all of this?”

He laid flat to the floor and ran his hands over his face, murmuring, “It’s a plantation, Mol.”

I stilled. “Plantation? Your parents own an entire plantation?” I roved my eyes around in search of the house. It was well out of sight.

He propped himself up on one elbow, rolling a strand of dried grass between his fingers. “Relax, they won’t know we’re even here. I come here all the time, Mol. It’s where I get away from it all.”

I relaxed some and sighed, shaking my head.

“What?” Rome asked with a frown.

“This. You. A plantation. We’re from completely different worlds.” I gestured towards the rolling fields of pinky-white cotton, comparing it in my head to the narrow cobbled streets of my childhood home.

Romeo reached for my outstretched hand and brought it to his warm lips. “This isn’t me, believe me. If only you knew… All this belongs to my parents, not me. I’m just the same me and you’re just you, Romeo and Molly Juliet.” He cocked his head to the side. “C’mere.” He tugged on my arm.

I leaned on my front, supporting my upper body on my forearms. Rome stared up at me. “I can’t believe how beautiful you look with those lenses in. Your eyes are the strangest golden colour… I’m havin’ to try real hard to stop myself from touchin’ you the way I want to.”

I flushed red and brought my thumbnail to my lip. He watched every movement.

“You can touch me if you want to,” I said nervously.

His dark eyes sparkled with lust and his lids lowered. “Don’t play with fire, Shakespeare. It’s too much for a pretty little English girl to cope with.”

“What can I say…? I’m a risk taker.”

“Mol…” he threatened on a hiss.

I crawled slowly to his laid-out body, hands and knees crunching against the dried grass.

His eyes grew wild as I edged closer. “Mol…” His threat was harder this time. It didn’t stop me, though. He made me feel bold.

I reached his side and looked right down into the pools of his dark eyes, my rigid bonds of self-control snapping loose as I freefell into Rome’s dark and dangerous well.

Deft hands moved and smoothed along my bare thighs, up to the hemline of my green dress, inching to just below my panties. Rome’s calloused palms ran up and down my legs, gaining height with every stroke, and I leaned down, tentatively brushing my lips against his. Rome let me set the pace as I nipped at his mouth, running the tip of my tongue along his bottom lip.

I knew I was testing his boundaries, seeing how far Romeo would let me go. He groaned and pulled on the flesh of my thighs, widening them just a fraction, moving ever closer to my core. I pressed my mouth farther against his, but still not how he wanted it, torturing him in slow caresses. He let me play, tease, and seduce.

Feeling braver, I placed my flat palm on his chest and Rome jerked at the contact. My hands began their wander, at first in slow circles. Then I allowed my fingertips to creep down his thin shirt, over his tightening abs, stopping at the waistband of his jeans, my finger slipping just underneath, brushing against the tender skin.

In a flash of a second, Romeo’s hands bolted up to the tops of my thighs, gripping the inner muscles, and with a vicious growl, he wrenched my legs apart to straddle him, his hardness lying perfectly against my scolding centre.

My mouth broke from his and I struggled to catch my breath. Rome’s eyes were wild, his black irises melting to eradicate the chocolate brown, and I instantly knew I’d untapped some inner desire, snapped his self-restraint.

Warm hands snaked around my neck, and Rome’s soft mouth crushed to mine. His tongue plundered through the barrier of my lips, filling my mouth with his minty taste, and I let him. I utterly surrendered myself. I was completely taken, and at that moment, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

His hands moved from my hair, travelling to my throat and down to my bra-less br**sts. Next, Rome’s palm ran across my sensitive nipple and massaged the hard flesh, my hips rocking back and forth in reaction. His tongue wrapped around mine, and his groans of want grew more desperate.

With a final rough caress, Rome’s hand left my breast and landed at the bottom of my short dress, slipping under to the edge of my black cotton panties. I was almost crazy with need, and he smirked as he drew back and studied my lust-filled golden eyes.

“Romeo…” I moaned and closed my eyes in frustration. I needed him so much.

“Mol… I… I…”

My eyes snapped opened and pierced his. “Please…” I begged, desperate to feel him touch me, really touch me.

“Mol… God… you’re making me f**kin’ crazy…” I could tell he was trying to control himself.

“Rome… now!” I practically screamed.

His fingers wrenched the material of my panties aside, ran along my seam, and as he smashed his lips back to mine, he immediately pushed his long middle finger inside me, stroking gently, my breath stuttering with every advance.

“Don’t ever tell me what to do.” Romeo bent his fingers, tugging forward, causing me to convulse. “Do you hear me?”

“Yes. Yes,” I said quickly. I loved the way he controlled me, and my body hummed with satisfaction at every order.

Romeo moved to get into a better position, my head rolling back at the indescribable sensations currently shattering all my defences. I hooked my left arm around his neck as he branded me his with his eager and pulsing hand. I needed to please him too. I wanted to, so I reached down to snap the button on his jeans, trailing the tab of the zipper down with a suggestive bite of my lip.

Romeo froze. “Mol, no, you don’t—”

“Let me take care of you. Let me give you what you need. Please…”

Rome’s cocoa eyes clenched shut as I took his large warmth in my hand and stroked him softly. He expelled harsh breaths with every pump. Our movements increased as we both searched for release, and I shifted on his lap as delicious tension began to build within me. Unable to focus, I pressed my forehead against his and moaned as he added another finger.