"God," I cried out as he caught my nipple between his teeth playfully.

He chuckled as his liquid gaze met mine, searing me. "You like that?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I do."

He nipped at my other breast. "Never thought you'd be the praying type."

"Never thought you'd be a tease." I pulled on his jeans. "I want you."

"You have me," was his immediate response.

My breath caught as my chest swelled. "Prove it."

Ren let out a ragged breath then lowered his mouth to mine, kissing me with a hunger I had little experience with, the kind of kiss that erased all those that came before and ensured that nothing in the future could ever live up to it.

Wow. He was definitely proving it.

Finally, I got his jeans down his hips. He helped me out then, withdrawing his hand from my wetness. As he stood over me, he took off his pants and the tight, black boxer briefs. Completely naked, he was awe-inspiring. There wasn't a drop of fat on his bones, but his skin was far from flawless. Like mine, there were tiny scars all over his body, nicks from training sessions gone awry and battle wounds that never faded.

"You're beautiful," I said, meaning it. His smile turned crooked and his cheeks flushed. "You're blushing, Renald."

"Oh, you call me that again, and I will turn you over my knee and spank you," he warned, and when I bit down on my lip, he narrowed his eyes. "I think you'd like that," he said.

I might, but I wasn't thinking of that when he circled his hand around the base of his length. Mouth dry and the area between my thighs pulsing, I watched him stroke himself from base to tip. I clenched my thighs together, squirming on the bed. I'd never watched a guy do this before, and there was something entirely arousing about it. My skin flushed, and I dragged in shallow breath after shallow breath.

"Take your panties off," he ordered.

Normally taking orders from a guy was the least attractive thing ever, but coming from him, in this moment, if I could wrinkle my nose and make my underwear disappear, I would. Leaning back, I lifted my hips and slipped the thin material down my waist and then my thighs, the scrap of lace landing on the floor.

His gaze slid over me in a slow perusal that set my skin aflame. "Let me see."

Primal instinct told me what he wanted, and the flush deepened as I obeyed once more, spreading my legs. His gaze dipped and his hand swept over his length again.

"Now that is beautiful."

The air was so laden with sexual tension that I thought I might combust, and I'd be very frustrated if that happened before he got down on this bed with me, but I didn't have to wait long.

He placed one knee on the bed, on the outside of my thigh, still gripping himself as he cupped me between the thighs. "Please tell me you have a condom," he said as he slipped a finger inside me.

I gasped, back arching. "No. I don't have any. Haven't needed them."

"Fuck." He slowly added another finger.

"You don't have any with you?"

"I didn't come over here, expecting this to happen. That would make me a douche." He flashed me a grin. "We don't—"

"I'm on the pill," I said quickly. "Have been since I was seventeen. I take it every day."

His green eyes pinned me with a molten stare. "I'm clean."

I believed him, and truthfully, after what I'd done this morning, it was a little late to be worried about that, but I really did believe him. I trusted him. "Please?"

"God." He closed his eyes briefly. "Ivy, you don't have to beg me. I'm already there."

My stomach hollowed as he let go of himself and placed that naughty hand beside my head and lowered himself between my legs. Staring up at him, he was a study of proud perfection. He returned to me, sucking and nipping, exploring every inch of my body as if he sought to memorize it with his mouth.

And I was totally down for that.

I arched against him, aching and throbbing as he mastered absolute control over my body. Powerful desire consumed me, and as he brought his mouth back to mine, I felt him glide through the wetness.

Ren lifted himself up, staring down at me in a wild, intoxicating way that mirrored everything I felt inside. Shifting his weight onto one arm, he moved his hips forward.

I gasped, digging my nails into his arm.

"You okay?" he asked, his eyes searching mine.

I nodded. "I'm okay. It's just that I haven't . . ."

"I know." He kissed me softly. "I know, Ivy."

I held on to him as he inched his way inside, taking his time even though his body shook, being so incredibly gentle. Tears pricked my eyes, and I blinked them back. This was like my first time . . . basically because it was only my second time, but this—this was beautiful because it was my first time with Ren.

The exquisite feeling of him stretching me and doing so in such a careful way consumed me, and then he was in, all the way, and the pressure made my body come alive.

Ren was still inside me, his eyes glowing like emerald jewels as he slid his thumb along my lower lip. I moved, tilting my hips up, and we both groaned.

"That's it," he rasped. "God, you're so tight, so fucking perfect."

Hearing that was wildly erotic, and maybe later I'd be embarrassed, but right now all I wanted was to feel more—feel everything. He let me set the pace at first, letting me move under him as I kissed his cheeks, his throat, and followed the leather strand of his necklace, kissing the encased clover before I moved on to each of those poppies.