So I do.

I haul her to me, flipping her onto her back and taking her mouth like I own it. She squealed with surprise when I grabbed her, but those squeaks turn to whimpers when I shove my hand under her shirt and find her nipples.

A few tugs, that’s all it takes to tighten her already stiff nipples into fine points. Her moans against my mouth deepen, sounding pained, but I know better. My tongue works hers and my hand pays close attention to her breasts. I need her to be louder. Loud makes me hard, loud makes me forget, forget everything but her.

My fingers clamp down, causing her breath to hitch. She barely hangs on to our kiss.

You want me, don’t you, angel face?

I repeat the motion on the other side, inciting a small cry.

Yeah…I want you, too.

I don’t know what time it is. Don’t care, either. All I know is that I’m not done playing. I run my hand down her soft belly, feeling the muscles tense against my palm the lower I go. She knows what’s coming. Her back arches when my fingers linger over that sweet spot my tongue had licked like candy.

My turns are slow at first; I don’t want to hurt her. But as the mild dryness fades and her folds grow slicker, my movements become faster.

She pushes up on her arm, reaching for me, her cries barely allowing our kiss to continue. I jolt when she takes hold of me. Damn, I’m so hard and so ready to ram into her, but then I remember she’s not on the Pill.

I grunt, from frustration and from how fast she’s working me. Yeah, no way are we done here.

Two fingers, that’s how many slip inside, hooking just enough to find my mark. She can’t take it and finally breaks our kiss, her eyelids heavy with lust. She clenches her teeth in that sexy way that tells me she’s almost there. Her grip tightens around me, moving fast, matching the speed of my hand, her eyes begging me to join her.

She’s the first to succumb. I practically lose it when she screams with pleasure, her body convulsing and her thighs batting my hand when she comes. “That’s it, baby,” I pant. “Just like that. Give me more.”

Her lids flutter as she surrenders. But she thinks I’m telling her what I want her to do to me and falls forward—onto my lap, her lips seeking me just above her hand.

I thought I’d last longer and drag a few more screams out of her. But I don’t stand a chance against that mouth. I moan, gathering her hair as she moves up and down. Again she finishes me, causing my spine to snap back from the force.

The room fills with my loud grunts. I try to back away, to give her room. She refuses the offer, and hell, I stop trying.

With those lips of hers and that crazy suction, I’ll admit, I don’t try very hard.

She releases me, lowering herself to rest against my lap, her breaths as out of control as mine. Spots dance in my vision, and my head lolls back. Yeah, no one’s ever rocked my world like Tess.

It takes her a long moment before she lifts her chin and speaks. “Is this—” She swallows hard and wipes her mouth with her fingertips. “Is this going to happen again?” she manages.

I brush her hair away from her face. “Oh, hell yeah,” I tell her.

She laughs when I do, but then her features soften with that look girls get after I’ve been with them. I hook my arms under hers and yank her to me, tucking the covers around us. “We’re about to have the ‘Are you my boyfriend?’ chat, aren’t we?” Her hesitancy tells me we are. And damn it all, whatever happened to just having fun?

“This isn’t something I do,” she says quietly.

“That’s what you said last time.”

Her hand smacks against my chest and I laugh. It doesn’t hurt, and she’s not trying to hurt me, but she is letting me know I’m bugging her.

“And I meant it last time,” she insists.

She rolls onto her belly and reaches for her little glasses. I’m guessing she doesn’t want to miss anything my face might give away. She doesn’t realize that talks like this kick my expression into neutral, and that’s how it’ll stay.

She wrinkles her nose, in that cute way of hers. “Like I was saying, it’s not like me to—well, I don’t usually have…”

“Hot, crazy, animalistic sex?” I offer.

Her shoulders slump. “If you must know, yes.”

“When was the last time you messed around—and don’t tell me back in college with me, because I know that’s not true.”

Her hand pauses in the middle of pushing back her wild hair. “How do you know?”

“Because you’re sexy, and not a nun, and yeah, all kinds of hot.” I shrug. “I figure at least a couple of guys, and maybe some women have tried to bang you.”

It’s a compliment, but for some reason she doesn’t seem to take it that way. “You think women have hit on me?” I nod. “Why?” She gasps at the way I’m smirking. “Because I dress borderline masculine? Is that what you think?”

“Some chicks like that shit,” I agree.

“Christ, Curran,” she says, shaking her head. She passes her hand along her pillow, as if debating what to say. When she finally speaks, her tone shifts, like she’s embarrassed about what she has to tell me. “I was seeing someone about a year ago. Howard was pleasant—”

“Pleasant? Well, with a name like Howard I’d expect no less.”

She shifts her body to lie beside me, gathering the bedcovers around us and trying uselessly to hide her small smile. What can I say? I’m hilarious.

“Don’t be mean,” she says. “Howard was a nice man.”

“How was he in bed?” She shuts her mouth tight, which tells me good ol’ Howard was either really “pleasant” or really not that good.

“He was…acceptable.”

“Ouch.” I grimace on behalf of the poor bastard.

“What? I’m not trying to insult him.”

“Babe. When you describe sex with a guy, he wants to hear shit like ‘beast in bed,’ ‘he owned my vagina,’ or ‘I couldn’t walk for a week from the magic of his rock-hard co—’ ” Her widening eyes tell me I should stop right there. “You hear what I’m sayin’, right? ‘Acceptable’ and ‘pleasant’ would shrink some serious balls.” That said, thanks for the favor, Howie, ’cause you made me look that much better.

Tess rests her head against my shoulder, drawing circles with her fingertips along my chest. “To be honest, that’s one of the reasons I ended our relationship. We didn’t connect like I wanted to.” She hesitates, like she doesn’t want to say anything more, but then bites out more than I expect. “For some reason, this isn’t the case with you. You’re sexually freeing.” Her hand stops moving. “But I’m sure you’ve heard that before.”

“No,” I confess. “Mostly, I hear the examples I just mentioned.”

I meant it to be funny, but this time Tess isn’t laughing. Her voice develops that hint of sadness it usually carries, and it bothers me more than it should. “I know you’re used to getting a lot of attention from women,” she says. “And I know you have a lot of experience. But my experiences are few, as are the men I’ve cared for.” She sighs. “I don’t want to be used, Curran. And I won’t be.”

“I’m not trying to use you,” I tell her truthfully.

“Then don’t,” she says. Her warm breath teases my skin as she thinks things through. “I’m not asking you for a commitment, only honesty. The reason I’m clean is because aside from my time with you, I’ve been really careful.” She lifts her head. “If you want to be with someone else, that’s your right. I don’t need details, or names, or anything. I just need you to tell me.”

My fingers stroke her lower back. “You won’t be mad if I’m with someone else?”

“No. But I won’t welcome you back in my bed, either. There are a lot of things wrong in my life, Curran. I don’t want you to be one of them.”