Remembering that he’d planned to have a “relationship” talk with Eden tonight, he pondered briefly when would be the most appropriate time. Right now he wanted to make love to her so badly he hurt. And what he had to say might well dampen the whole mood, particularly if Eden wasn’t on the same wavelength he was.

After they made love. During the postcoital glow and snuggle time, then he’d talk to her about what he wanted to discuss. Right now? The sexiest woman in the universe was lying naked in her bed, inviting him to make love to her. How the hell was he supposed to resist that?

She glanced shyly at him as he approached the bed, and he could see that she had something on her mind but was hesitant to reveal whatever was causing her shyness.

He stopped at the edge, wondering if perhaps she was harboring second thoughts.

“I have something to ask you,” she finally said, her voice breathy, as though she’d been holding her breath until she spoke.

“I think we’ve already covered that you can tell or ask me anything, Eden,” he said seriously. “You never have to worry about angering me or upsetting me.”

Her cheeks went pink and then, as if gathering her courage, she blurted it out in a quiet voice.

“Can I make love to you tonight? I mean, I want to touch you and explore you like you did me last night. Last night was what I wanted, I mean, I wanted it to be perfect and you did exactly that. But tonight I’d like to take more . . . control, I guess you could call it, and make love to you. At least until the end,” she added with a blush. “I don’t want to be on top or anything. I’m not even sure I’d do it right.”

He cut her off before she could ramble any further because he could tell with each passing word that she was growing more and more self-conscious.

He leaned over, pulling one knee onto the bed, and pressed a kiss to her luscious mouth.

“Honey, there isn’t a man alive who wouldn’t respond with a resounding ‘Hell, yeah!’ to a proposition like that. I’ll lie here and let you do whatever your little heart desires and if any time you feel out of your element just tell me. We’ll work through it together and when you’re ready for me to take over, just say the word.”

She smiled, relief lighting her eyes, and then her gaze flickered over his nude body as he stretched out on the bed, nothing hidden from her view.

She knelt up over him, her hair cascading, a curtain of silk, teasing his skin with those light brushes.

She pressed a kiss to his chest, directly over one of the scars, and then kissed a line up to his neck and the hollow of his throat. She nibbled delicately at his jaw before moving to his ear, where she sucked the lobe between her teeth.

Swanny was one hot mess of seething, extremely aroused alpha male. Her every touch drove him to the brink of insanity. And then his heart swelled with emotion—love—as she oh so tenderly laved her tongue over the scar on his cheek and followed up with little tiny kisses, covering every inch of the mangled flesh.

“Do you know how beautiful you are to me?” she whispered.

He couldn’t speak for the knot in his throat. He could only nod, though it was a lie, because no, he couldn’t imagine her finding him beautiful. Or even handsome. There were so many other men out there without the baggage he came with. Without the hideous scarring and imperfections he wore inside and out.

But she was fast slipping past the exterior, the visible scars, and fast easing into his heart and soul where the most painful scars resided. She soothed him in a way he’d never found peace before.

How could he ever let her go? He’d never find another woman like this. One who could so easily see beyond his imperfections to the heart of him and recognize that he was a good man with a good heart. No one would even try. Had never tried. Not until Eden.

She slid her mouth downward again, repositioning her body until she knelt right at his hip and hovered over the apex of his legs.

Tentatively she wrapped long, gentle fingers around his straining erection. He gasped, already feeling moisture beading the head and leaking onto her hand. With measured strokes, she moved her hand up and down, bringing him to a new frenzy with every upward and downward pull.

With her free hand, she cupped his balls, gently squeezing and rolling them in her palm, exploring every inch of his most sensitive region.

She glanced up at him, her hands still working their magic on his dick and balls. There was a gleam in her eyes, almost laughter.

“Um, are most men this size?” she asked. “You obviously know I have little experience and it’s not like I Google naked pictures of men so I don’t have much to go by, but you seem a little . . . big.”

Swanny chuckled. “Can’t say I’ve whipped out my dick and measured it against other men, but the average penis size is between five and a half and six inches fully erect. I, um, have more than that. So I’m not the biggest guy for sure, but I do fall above the average.”

“Now why doesn’t it surprise me that you’d be above average,” she teased. “You certainly are in every aspect of your body. I have to admit I was worried last night. I didn’t know how the heck you were going to get that thing inside me.”

He stroked her cheek, pushing her hair behind her ear. “You were made for me, Eden. Just as I was made for you. We fit. We just fit.”

She smiled and then resumed her careful exploration of his dick. Then she leaned her head down, her hair spilling downward to obscure his view. Oh hell no. He wasn’t missing a second of this.