I couldn’t get enough and as I pulled back for air, his gaze seared and held. Then his lips gentled over mine, sweeping me up in the most passionate kiss.

His tongue set the slow and deep rhythm and he became like water moving across the sand. Never enough and then all too much. But I always wanted more. I needed him to be over me and then under me. Soaking into my skin and drenching my bones.

After several minutes more of soul-zapping kisses, I felt wrung dry.

“That mouth of yours,” I said, dragging my lips away to catch my breath. “I could kiss it all night.”

“Maybe you should,” he said against my ear.

My fingers circled his nape, my tongue invaded his mouth, and he moaned from deep in his throat.

Growling, I flipped him around and moved us toward the bed. I nudged him back with my hands on his shoulders and then knelt down in front of him.

His mouth returned to mine as my fingers raked over his chest, beneath his shirt, lifting it, trying to wrench it from his head. When I finally did, he threw it to the floor and my hands were all over him, exploring his gorgeously flat stomach and smooth chest.

His hands grasped my shoulders, his lips grazing my throat as my fingers descended with purpose to his back. I broke the kiss and gazed at him for silent permission.

With a nod, he gave it to me. I knelt on the bed, moving behind him, my fingers never leaving his skin. His head hung low and he was breathing heavily.

I began kissing him everywhere I could reach—the small of his back, the breadth of his spine, across his shoulders, to the remaining scars that had yet to be concealed.

My throat clogged with emotion over what he must’ve endured and now that he had given me most of the puzzle pieces, it was even more gut-wrenching to fathom.

“We need to finish this tattoo.”

He remained perfectly motionless, outside of his heaving chest, as he allowed me to pay reverence. I knew instantly that I had been given a gift and I wanted to cherish this night, this moment with him.

My lips moved to the back of his neck offering his a tender kiss. “You’re beautiful,” I whispered in his ear.

He stilled yet again and then turned to gaze to mine. In one ingenious move he had me fixed to the mattress and his mouth came down hard, tapping the air from my lungs. His kisses were long and deep and I was like an uncontained wildfire crackling and awakening for him.

I brought his hand to my mouth, suckling each finger, almost worshipfully. His fingers travelled to the bottom of my shirt and then slipped beneath, as he bit his lip and hummed. His hands were warm on my skin and it felt as he was touching me for the first time.

He lifted off my shirt and then marveled at my skin. He traced the outline of my shoulders, and then his thumbs circled my pecs. When his tongue darted out to swipe across my nipple it felt like electricity rippling through me.

“Oh fuck,” I said, my head rolling back. “Please.”

I didn’t even know what I was asking him, I just knew that I was desperate for him to touch me, taste me—I needed more. So much more.

His body arched over me, and his erection ground against mine, the denim between us an encumbrance. His tongue licked over my bottom lip while his fingers moved over my thighs.

I moaned into his mouth and mumbled, “Jude.”

My fingers grazed his stomach and my hand slid down to the erection in his pants as he shuddered out a breath.

“I want to see you,” he said, a growl erupting from the back of his throat. “All of you.”

I immediately tugged down my jeans and underwear, dropping them to the floor.

His gaze explored the entire landscape of my skin as I quivered and hungered to touch him.

“You do the same,” I said as I fisted my cock, trying to stave off my arousal.

After he took down his jeans, he knelt over me, allowing me to appreciate every inch of his body.

A shiver ran through him as I rubbed my erection against his, my fingers grasping at his ass. I just needed to feel him skin to skin. Cock to cock.

“I can’t help imagining what it would feel like to have you inside me,” he breathed against my shoulder.

“Fuck.” I tugged him down to lie next to me and my fingers lazily grazed his thigh.

“Pretty sure it will be as overwhelming as it is amazing,” I said, kissing his lips. “Are you a virgin, Jude?”

“No. I’ve been with a couple of girls. And with one guy after Mateo. I was on the road, pretty alone and scared.” He roughly shook his head as if to banish those memories. “I let him top me and . . . it feels like so long ago, I don’t even know if . . .”

He took a deep, drawn-out breath. “Thing is, even though I’d haven’t done much of anything, deep down I’ve always felt a greater emotional connection to men.”

Jude had experienced many things—had lived a dangerous life—but he’d barely shared intimacy with anybody. I wanted so much to give that to him. To experience that with him.

“Do you trust me?” I asked and I knew the answer would be huge for him. I realized now exactly why he hadn’t been able to depend on many people.

“Yes,” he said almost instantaneously and that made my chest loosen.

“If you ever let me have you . . . I’d take my time with you,” I said. “Let me show you. Let me make you feel good.”

I thoroughly kissed his lips and then my mouth feathered down his stomach as it quivered in my wake. My hand closed around his dick and he groaned, his fingers gripping my hair.