Weak? Not even close.

“Missing your sweet nipples,” he said, his voice nothing but gravel. He paused long enough to bend his head and give each beaded tip a hard suck.

“Baden!” The pleasure! Mind-blowing!

He hooked his elbow under one of her knees and as he surged back up, his shaft slamming deep, he lifted her leg, opening her wider, allowing him to go even deeper. She cried out—then she screamed, an orgasm slamming through her with the force of a battering ram, shattering any fortifications she might have built against his allure.

The clenching of her inner walls soon drove him to the brink. He groaned and quickened his pace, moving faster and faster, harder and harder, prolonging her climax or sending her straight into a second, she wasn’t sure which.

So good, so good, so freaking good. Every cell in her body exploded as if it was having an orgasm of its own. She was swept up, consumed, destroyed and remade.

With an animalistic roar, he surged into her a final time, releasing her leg to grip her hips and hold her steady as he jetted into the condom. He sank his teeth into the cord that connected her neck to her shoulder, something he clearly liked to do, pinning her more thoroughly, marking her, too, and she erupted all over again, clinging to him.

Finally, she sagged into the mattress and he collapsed atop her. They were both sweaty, both panting, and though she enjoyed his weight, he rolled over so that he wouldn’t crush her.

She curled into his side because, without his body restraining hers, without his length deep inside her, she no longer felt complete—she needed some kind of connection with him...the first man she’d been with since Peter.

Reminders of her darling’s death always saddened her. Today the sadness left her far too vulnerable.

Please, please don’t let Baden’s finish be as deplorable as last time.

When her heartbeat evened out, and he was still beside her, she decided to test the waters. “How do you feel?”

“You can’t guess?” There was a teasing note to his tone, and she relaxed.

“Are you in pain?” She traced her finger along the edge of his butterfly tattoo. “Does this hurt you?”

“Ask me again when I awake from my pleasure coma.”

She snickered, propping up on her elbow to meet his gaze. Hesitant, she drew her fingertip to his nipple, circling. He didn’t flinch, and he didn’t grimace, and satisfaction flowed over her like liquid sunshine.

When she lifted her hand, he grabbed her wrist to force her palm back to his chest.

From demanding she never touch him to insisting she never let him go. Oh, how their circumstances had changed!

“Next time,” he said, “I’m going to kiss you while I take you.”

She smiled at him. “So certain there will be a next time, eh?”

“With this face?” He patted his cheeks. “Yes.”

She giggled as he removed the condom, tied it off and tossed it in the trash can. “You are marginally handsome...I suppose.” Always end on a positive note. “But you are very, very good with your hands. And your mouth.”

He stretched out at her side, as if the need to connect haunted him just as fiercely. “You forgot to mention my cock.”

She leaned over and ran his earlobe through her teeth. “I didn’t forget. I was saving the best for last.”

“Were you now?”

“Mmm.” She stood to shaky legs and held out her hand. “You’ve proven your skills in the bedroom. Now it’s time to prove your skills in the kitchen. I’m hungry.” They needed to be able to keep this good vibe in different situations.

“Nothing is ever free.” He took her hand but not to let her pull him to his feet; he yanked her back on the bed—or rather, on top of him. “I’ll make you a sandwich...for a price.”

* * *

Baden puttered around the kitchen with a smile on his face. A smile! His head was clearer than ever, the beast calm, the tension drained from his body and a beautiful woman was asleep in his bed. This was the life he’d always dreamed for himself. The life he’d never thought he’d have.

“You look happy.”

Fox. His smile faded. He hated that she’d approached without his senses being alerted—won’t happen again.

Remembering his promise to Katarina, he nodded at her in greeting.

“The human is good for you,” she said.

“Yes.” He finished prepping the egg-and-cheese sandwich and returned the leftover ingredients to the refrigerator. “Tell me. Who do you distrust most this day?”