He looked up at me from under dark lashes. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous when you come.”

On weakened arms I sat up, and Hayden rose with me. I kissed his flushed, wet lips, tasting myself, then pushed on his chest. He moved back, giving me room to climb into his lap. I took my time exploring the lines of his ink, starting with my fingers, following with my mouth.

When the need became too much to bear, I freed that straining hardness from his boxers. Gripping him tightly, I stroked once and bent to lick the tip.

“Fuck me,” he hissed. “You don’t need to do that.”

He started to pull me up, but half a second later I engulfed the head, and the pull became a push. I took him in my mouth while he swore under his breath, muttering about porn. I popped off and licked up the shaft, spreading the wetness with my palm.

“It’s been a while,” I said as I straddled his thighs. “I thought it might make it easier.”

He was tense as I leaned in to kiss him. When he was sufficiently distracted, I wrapped my hand around him and rose up on my knees. The head of his cock slid over my clit and his stud made a muted clink against my barbell.

“I just want—”

He never finished the thought as I sank down, watching his eyes flutter shut and his lips part. I angled him in, taking in the studs that pierced the head one side at a time. Burying my face in his neck, I gritted my teeth against the searing burn that accompanied the invasion. It had been like this the last time, too. As though my body had forgotten how to handle him in the weeks of separation.

Hayden’s breath came out in quick pants as he filled me. I couldn’t stop the high-pitched moan that fell from my lips when my ass came to rest on his thighs.

“Are you okay?” He released his viselike grip on my hips.

His palms flattened against my back and moved up, curling around my shoulders, holding me still.

I waited until the hot burn subsided before I answered. “I’m better than okay.” I rocked slightly, testing him and myself, desperate to move yet not wanting him to let go of me.

“Kitten.” His grip tightened in warning and he exhaled slow, heavy breaths.

We sat there for a long while, bodies still. When he was ready, he pried his fingers from my shoulders and kissed where they had been. His palms came to rest on the swell of my ass. I lifted slowly, the fullness giving way to emptiness. When I felt the steel balls pass the most sensitive spot, I reversed the motion, taking him back inside.

He took over then, setting a slow, even pace. The angle, the position, the way he kept me from moving at the speed I wanted— lips brushing, but not kissing—turned my body into a wasteland of need. I looked down to the place where we were joined to watch him slide out of me. The next downward stroke came fast and hard, my moan cut short by my ragged intake of breath.

“It’s too good. You feel too fucking good.” He shook his head, then his body went rigid. “Shit. Sorry. I couldn’t help it.” When the tremors stopped, he kissed me in atonement. “Now that that’s out of the way . . .”

He moved against me, igniting embers into flames. “You sure you don’t need some downtime?” I asked breathlessly.

“Never with you.” He laid me on the bed, staying inside me. He kissed the valley between my breasts and sat back on his knees, wrapping my thighs around his waist. Then he pulled his hips back and eased forward, gauging my response. “Okay?”

“Please.”

He rose up, keeping his hold on my legs; the new angle drove him deeper. I reached behind me, searching for something to grab. The wooden slats of the headboard were the perfect anchor. I stretched my arms above me, gripping tightly. The rest of my body curved toward Hayden on his knees.

He moved hesitantly at first, but it wasn’t enough for either of us. He was too needy, conflict raging as he battled for the control he didn’t have.

I met his fiery gaze. “Take me.”

“Fuck,” he growled, and yanked me away from the headboard.

He unlocked my legs from his hips and pushed them toward my body. Leaning forward, he hooked my ankles over his shoulders, bearing down. My knees hit my chest and I gripped his forearms. The weight of his body sent another ripple of desire rushing through me. And then he started to move.

“Is this what you were looking for?” He punctuated each word with a powerful thrust, his mouth beside my ear.

I responded with a series of affirmative expletives. I was pinned beneath him as he pounded into me, unleashing sensations I had no idea my body was capable of producing. I couldn’t find leverage, unable to move. He was dominating the act entirely, making my body a slave to his.

“God, I love fucking you,” he said through labored breaths, his hips slapping ceaselessly against my thighs.

It was so close to the words I wanted to hear from him, but I didn’t yet deserve. I knitted my fingers in his hair and kissed my way across his jaw. His mouth opened to accept me, then he took control of that as well.

“I don’t want to be without you again,” I said, wishing I could tell him how I felt, afraid to.

My response elicited a deep groan from Hayden, pushing me over the edge. I was barely past the crest of my orgasm when he folded back on his knees, easing my right leg over to the other shoulder. His forearm crossed over my shins, holding my legs to his chest, my unmarked skin against the network of art that covered him. He looked down at me, all the unspoken words reflected in his eyes.

“I’ll never get enough of you.” His voice was rough.

He changed tempo, his hips moving inexorably slow. But the orgasm didn’t wane. Instead it was wave after wave of excruciating pleasure. My body went into overdrive, so sensitive I trembled with the unending release.

“Oh, God. It’s too much.”

I bowed up in an arc and gripped the sheets, needing to hold on to something. He was gloriously feral as his hands moved up my shins, over my knees, and across my thighs. His fingers were tight on my hips as he continued the erotic assault.

His viselike grip relaxed and his pace slowed once again. My legs slid off Hayden’s shoulders and rested limply on either side of his thighs. He splayed one hand between my shoulder blades and his other palm pressed flat against my stomach. His fingers ghosted over hypersensitive skin.

Suddenly he lifted me into his lap again and circled a nipple with his tongue, and my wilted form jerked in his arms. He chuckled darkly, trailing kisses until our mouths met.

His movements were gentle and reverent as I regained some control over my body. He pulled me close, his hands on my waist, grinding me over him. Soon, his short thrusts sped up and became more frantic.

Just like the first time we were together, he cupped my chin in his palm and whispered hoarsely, “Look at me.”

His icy-blue eyes shone with vulnerability.

“I—I need—” He shook his head. “You’re mine.” His body stiffened.

It felt as if I had always been his. My heart belonged to him for as long as he wanted to keep it.

17

HAYDEN

I pulled into the Tiffany’s parking lot. I hadn’t bought Tenley a real Christmas present and I was running out of time. I’d picked up a few small things, but nothing that told her how I felt about her without actually saying it. Lisa had sent me here to rectify that. I had no idea what I was supposed to buy, but according to Lisa, I couldn’t go wrong with Tiffany’s, so here I was. Forty-five minutes before my next client’s appointment.

I should have planned the trip out better. I was in work wear: jeans, my Inked Armor button-down, and worn-in boots. At least my jacket wasn’t too bad because it was black. I hoped it was unremarkable enough that I didn’t stick out like a sore thumb.

Normally I didn’t care, but this was important and I didn’t want to fuck up Tenley’s present. It was our first Christmas together and I wanted to create new memories. Good ones that might help ease the pain of her loss. After all these years I still had a hard time around the holidays, and I was hoping now that I had Tenley, things would be better.