“Yeah,” she exhaled against my mouth, and I kissed her deeply, relief washing through me.

This might not have been my first time, but nothing about this was familiar to me. Sharing this with her meant something. It wasn’t like all the other times when my mind shut down and I lost myself to the numbness of pleasure. I was aware of everything. Every heartbeat, every cry of pleasure, her hot breath rushing over my skin, the pull of her warm channel hugging me. She was intoxicating in the most sobering way.

I knew I was getting close, and since there was no way I was going off before her, I used the pad of my index finger to circle her clit and bent forward to kiss her breasts, latching onto one of her nipples and grazing it lightly with my teeth. McKenna shuddered in my arms, crying out in pleasure rather than pain this time. I pumped into her with long, measured strokes, continuing to pleasure her, and soon felt her body clench around mine with her climax. I held her while little tremors passed through her body, slowing my pace to allow her to enjoy every pulse and sensation. That certainly hadn’t happened the last time I was with a virgin. I remember her begging me to just finish and the blood stains on her sheets when we were done. Back then I’d been in high school, though, and not nearly as skilled and unfortunately not as in-tune with a woman’s pleasure. But with McKenna, that wasn’t an option. I was tuned in to her every breath.

Moments later, I lost myself inside her, gripping her ass and letting her milk every last drop of fluid from my body. I clung to her long after, each of us unwilling to let the other go.

Sex had never been like that before. I would have been up and out the door the minute I got off. With McKenna, I reluctant to let her go even to remove the condom.

“Did I hurt you?” I asked.

She shook her head, curling against me.

She was so quiet, I worried I’d done something wrong and guilt churned inside me. “How do you feel?”

“Happy,” she answered.

Releasing a sigh, I pulled her into my arms, drawing her even closer. “Not too sore?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Relief washed over me. I knew I should apologize, I was too rough with her, but it was who I was, and if she wasn’t complaining, then neither was I.

“Was everything okay for you?” she whispered.

I tipped her chin up to meet my eyes. “That’s what you’re worried about? That I didn’t enjoy myself?” I fought back a smile while she nodded up at me. “It was perfect.” I pressed a tender kiss to her mouth, hoping that quieted all her fears about not measuring up. There was nothing to measure up to, with McKenna occupying all of my brain space I couldn’t have recalled a previous partner if I tried.

We lay together as the room grew dark around us. Never in my life had I savored a quiet moment quite like this one. McKenna’s head rested on my shoulder, her tangled hair splayed on the pillow between us, and her warm, soft body molded to mine. A monogamous healthy sexual relationship was completely foreign to me. And knowing this beautiful, sweet girl trusted me made my heart beat erratically. She believed in me when no one else did. She saw the man I hoped I could become.

My brothers would be home soon and I knew we needed to get up and get dressed, I just didn’t want to. “Are you hungry?” I asked finally. We’d skipped dinner and gone straight for dessert. The least I could do now was feed her.

“Why, are you going to cook for me?” The hint of a smile tugged at her mouth.

“Of course. Come on.” I urged her from our warm little nest and we dressed and headed downstairs.

Just as we were finishing a casual dinner of soup and sandwiches, I heard the front door swing open, followed by the sound of voices. The guys were home. I sent McKenna into the living room to relax while I cleaned up. After greeting her, Jaxon and Luke wandered into the kitchen.

“How was it?” I asked, adding the bowls and spoons to the dishwasher.

“Good, Tucker had fun, but we had to duck out the back way at the end because we ran into an old fling of mine,” Jaxon said.

Just great. I didn’t want Tucker around Jax’s booty-call drama.

“What’s wrong with McKenna?” Luke asked, helping himself to the half-sandwich McKenna had left uneaten on her plate.

“What do you mean?”

“She winced when she sat down on the couch like she was in pain or something and her hair is all messy and out of place. She have a bad day at work or something?”

Shit. Jaxon’s knowing gaze met mine and he shook his head. “Something like that,” I bit out, my tone harsher than I intended.

“We should do something nice for her,” Luke said, oblivious to the silent exchange happening between me and Jax.

“Yeah, good idea.” I rubbed the back of my neck, completely at a loss.

“Maybe we could make her dessert or something,” Luke said, rummaging through the cabinets. “What does she like?”

“No clue.” I wasn’t winning boyfriend of the year – that was certain. And the way Jax was looking at me made me feel like the world’s biggest asshole. I needed to fix this, to take care of my girl. “I have another idea.”

After giving my orders to Jaxon and Luke, they headed up the stairs. Next I needed Tucker to go hunting through the cabinets in search of my next ingredient. “Tuck,” I urged him from McKenna’s lap. “Come here, bud.”

He followed me up the stairs while McKenna watched curiously after us.

We met the guys in the second floor bathroom where Jaxon was gathering up mounds of dirty clothes from the floor and overflowing hamper and Luke was kneeling beside the bath tub, giving it a long overdue scrub down. Seeing that everything was underway, I sent Tucker on his task, searching the hall closet for some type of body wash that could double as bubble bath while I headed upstairs to gather a few candles I knew I had stashed in a drawer in case of power outages.

I met Jaxon in the hallway. “Everything cleaned up in there?”

“It’s getting there. Something happen tonight?” he asked, his eyes narrowed and locked on mine. For all the times I’d given him shit for his antics with girls, I knew his scowl was my payback.

“Nope.”

“Liar,” he muttered under his breath.

I wanted to tell him I would fix this and make things right, instead I released a deep sigh and went to finish the final details for McKenna’s surprise. I might not be able to afford to buy her gifts or give her fancy things, but I hoped this small gesture would show her that I cared and that I was trying.

I considered running down to the corner store and picking up a bottle of wine or something until I remembered that the last time McKenna had drank she’d practically tried to jump me. No sense in encouraging that. She’d had enough for one night.

Instead, I had Tucker make her a cup of chocolate milk, which he brought up in one of our mother’s china teacups.

Once everything was ready, I led a suspicious McKenna up the stairs by her hand. “What are you guys up to?” she asked.

I stopped at the threshold to the bathroom and turned her by the shoulders. When she saw the three boys and behind them the tub filled with bubbles, the edges lined with white candles, she sucked in a breath. Luke switched off the lights and Tucker, impossible not to love, thrust his arms out to his sides and shouted, “Surprise!”

“What’s all this?”

“It’s for you, angel,” I whispered, leaning in close to kiss her temple. “The guys helped me. We thought you could use some relaxation.”

McKenna silently gripped my hand in a wordless thank you. The expression on her face told me it had been a long time since anyone had done something nice for her. She served others all day long, and the unshed tears simmered in her blue eyes as she struggled to believe she was worth such care and attention.

“Clear out, guys.”