“I couldn’t agree more.”

“We’ll see about that.” He yanked my ankle until my butt hung off the edge of the bed, and he sank to the floor. Before I could blink, he bit down on my inner thigh. Not hard enough to leave a mark. Just enough to make me squirm. “Definitely delicious there.”

“Jackson. I want—”

“I know what you want.” He slid his hands under my butt and lifted me up. He nibbled a little higher on my thigh, tasting me there, too. “You taste even better higher up.”

I grabbed the comforter beneath me tightly. “Oh, my God.”

“Don’t worry. I’m here.”

His tongue flicked out over my clitoris, but the satin was in the way. It didn’t stop it from feeling amazing, but after the little taste of what he could give me, I was greedy for more. And more. And more. I knew we had an expiration date: my possible marriage that was looking more and more inescapable by the moment casting a dark shadow over my future, but I was determined to soak up every moment I could of being with Jackson. I had a feeling that tonight would be the best night of my life. Ever.

I squeezed his head with my thighs, and he slapped the side of my butt gently. I moaned and tossed my head to the side. Without a warning, he pulled back and yanked my underwear off. “Shirt has to go,” he growled. “Now.”

I ripped it over my head, any remaining hint of shyness disappearing the second his tongue flicked over me. By the time my bra was off, his hands closed over my breasts, and he scraped his thumbnails over my hard, aching nipples. All these feelings he brought out in me were both new and intoxicating—and addictive. If I’d known that sex would feel this good, would I have patiently waited till Derek and I were married to get some? Would I have been such a good girl?

I didn’t know. And honestly, it didn’t matter.

He closed his mouth over my clitoris, his tongue working magic again, and I squeezed my thighs on either side of his head. Threading my hands through his hair, I cried out his name and moved my hips around, trying to get closer to him.

Closer to release.

Just…closer.

“Jackson…God…I need…I need…”

He stopped making love to me with his mouth and pulled back, his dark, deep brown eyes locking in on me. He stared at me as if I was the only woman in the world, and in this moment…I felt like I was.

“I told you, I know what you need.” His fingers dug into the sides of my thighs possessively. “You need me.”

He lowered his head, flicked his tongue over me, and I was gone.

My orgasm rocked me harder than anything had ever hit me before, and I bowed my back, my mouth falling open in a silent scream. He let my hips fall to the mattress and stood, ripping his boxers off.

Bending down, he pulled a condom out of his pants pocket, tore it open, and rolled it on. Breathlessly, I watched his hand work over himself, unable to look away from his hard length. From my position on the bed, I could make out a thick blue vein running up the side of his shaft. When I’d explored his body earlier, I could tell he was big.

But seeing it in the flesh, and knowing he was about to make love to me, made my heart skip a beat. Enough so that I decided to tell him something I hadn’t felt the need to share before. “Jackson, I—”

“I know. I’m here.” He crawled up my body and kissed me, grabbing my leg and hauling it around his waist. He pulled back long enough to command, “Hold on tight.”

His mouth fused to mine again, and he positioned himself at my entry. I dug my nails into his biceps, closed my eyes, and then…

The searing pain hit me.

Chapter 11

Jackson

The second I thrust into her, I knew something was wrong. First of all, despite being warm and wet, she was so tight it felt like I had to force my way in. And when I did push harder, I broke through a soft barrier that gave way upon pressure, and she went tense beneath me. I may have never slept with a virgin before, but it was an easy bet that Lilly had been one up until a few moments ago…

And that I was her first lover.

Knowing that only made me want to grin, which probably made me equal with the cavemen, but I did want to show her a hell of a lot of firsts, and now I had…

Roughly. Without caution or care. Shit.

“Jesus, Lilly.” I reared back, searching her face. “Did I hurt you? Are you okay?”

Tears rolled down the sides of her cheeks, but she nodded. “Y-yes. I’m fine.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I demanded. “You should have warned me. I could have gone slower. Easier. Been more of a…a…”

A what? Gentleman? A gentleman wouldn’t have taken her in the first place.

She sniffed and lowered her lashes. “I didn’t want you to change your mind.”

“Why me?” I asked. I had to know. “Why am I your first?”

“Because you were my choice,” she said, her hands sliding up my arms before resting her wrists on my shoulders. “Because I knew you would take care of me and not be focused only on yourself.”

I started to pull out of her, slowly, so as not to make it worse. It was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do, since her body was trying to pull me back in, but there was no way I could take her now. She had deserved a better first time than this. “Shit. Stop squirming.”

“No.” She dug her heels into my lower back. “Don’t leave me.”

I swallowed hard, my elbows on either side of her head.

My hands were still buried in her hair, and I turned my head, silently cursing myself out. How I had missed the signs that she was a virgin, I had no—Christ. When I turned away, my gaze fell on the only mirror she had in her room. Its position on the other wall showed the way we looked, bodied joined and limbs entwined.

And I…

Damn it, I couldn’t look away from how good we were, all wrapped up together. Her soft, smooth, pale, flawless skin contrasted with mine. My dark, scarred, tanned, inked-up body should have appeared out of place against hers…but it didn’t. It looked as if I belonged there, my cock buried inside her, covering her with my body, and I would be damned if I walked away now. This was her first time, and it had to be amazing.

I owed her that, at the very least.

Protectiveness—another unwelcome emotion making itself known—rose within me. For whatever reason, Lilly trusted me to show her what making love could be like. Had chosen me to be her first, instead of, oh, I don’t know, her fiancé. So I needed to shut off my mind, and my doubts, and my questions…and show her how good it could be.

“I’m not leaving you,” I whispered.

When our lips met this time, something felt different. I couldn’t place my finger on what, exactly, that was. But it didn’t make it any less true. Or any less scary.

I had survived war. Missiles. IEDs. Bullets. But this feeling she brought to life in me? It fucking terrified me more than all those things combined.

After a moment, she softened beneath me. The tension that had been making her tremble faded away as my tongue brushed hers, and I closed my hands over her breasts. They fit perfectly, and if I was a man prone to cheesy sentiment, I might say they were meant for me.

They weren’t. They belonged to someone else.

She belonged to someone else.

No matter how much I tried to ignore that fact, it kept rearing its ugly head. I rocked my hips gently, making sure to keep the movement small. Gentle. Her tight pussy squeezing my throbbing cock, it took all my control not to come right then without making sure she came, too.