One, two, three more harsh thrusts and I came on a ragged groan, burying my face in her neck and biting down as I came so hard it was damn near painful. I lost all sense of time as spots clouded my vision. It could have been minutes or hours that passed as the sounds of heavy panting—hers and mine—filled the back of the limo. The smell of sex hung heavy in the air around us. That alone was almost enough to get me ready for round two.

“Wow,” she gasped as she pulled my head from the crook of her shoulder by my hair. When I looked into those denim colored eyes, I couldn’t help but return the smile that was shining back at me. “So that’s what angry sex is like,” she giggled.

That sound. That happy sound.

Good Lord, there was no way in hell once would be enough.

I needed her in a way that scared the living hell out of me.

Nerves coursed through me as I trailed closely behind Rowan into his apartment. It was ridiculous, really. We’d just had sex in the back of a limo only minutes before, yet walking into his home, aware that we were about to spend the night together, caused hummingbirds to riot in my belly.

Flipping on the lights as he walked, Rowan casually removed his jacket and tossed it onto the coatrack. I stood frozen in place just inside the foyer, watching in wonder as he pulled at his bowtie, leaving it dangling on either side of his neck before working the buttons of his sleeves and rolling them up to mid-forearm.

I’d been so focused on watching his fingers work the cuffs I hadn’t realized he was watching me until his deep, rich voice, laced with humor, echoed through the space. “Planning on making a run for it?”

“Huh?” Shaking my head to clear away the fog, I looked up and met his eyes.

“You look like you’re about to run.”

“I’m—” I started to protest, until I realized I was actually considering it. I wondered how things had suddenly become so awkward. People were supposed to clam up and get all weird before sex, not after. Well, at least based on what I’d learned from my limited experience.

“You’re not running,” he spoke authoritatively as he walked back to me, hands firmly planted on his hips. My nerves began to diminish as my agitation rose. How the man still managed to piss me off right after giving me probably the best orgasm of my life was mind-boggling. I should have been in seventh heaven. But no, I was standing in the middle of Rowan’s tiled entryway, copying his stance with my hands on my hips, eyes narrowed in angry slits.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” he answered, stepping closer.

Reverting into moody-teenaged-girl mode, I responded, ever so eloquently, “You’re not the boss of me!”

“Oh, the irony of that statement,” he laughed.

“Are you trying to piss me off intentionally?”

He stepped even closer. Close enough to reach out and twirl a loose strand of my hair around his finger. “As much as I delight in watching you get riled up, picking a fight with you would more than likely put a damper on what I have planned for the rest of the evening.”

I wanted to get madder, I really did, but his words were a reminder of just how perfectly he worked my body over. Dampness flooded my core at the thought of having more than that.

“But I will admit, watching you get so heated is better than the shy, nervous thing you had going on the moment we walked through the door. So the answer is, if it’ll get you back to normal and give me back that fiery girl I’ve been craving for so long, then yeah, I guess I am trying to piss you off intentionally… on a subconscious level, at least,” he finished with a smile.

Give me back the fiery girl I’ve been craving for so long… Those were the only words playing back in my head as I lowered my arms and tossed my clutch onto the table by the door, taking in a deep breath to try and calm my rioting emotions. When I met his eyes once more, they were glittering with lust, darkened to a deeper blue than normal. He knew I’d just surrendered, that I wasn’t running. It was written all over him in the way his chest rose as he pulled in air, the way his pupils dilated, almost eclipsing the blue completely. But mostly, it was in the way he grabbed hold of me and pulled me into him just before melding our lips together in a hungry kiss.

“Want you again,” he groaned as his hands roamed to the back of my thighs so he could lift me up. On instinct, I wrapped my legs around his waist, locking my ankles together behind his back. I wanted him again, too. “Wanted you the minute we finished. You’re in my fucking head.”

I tried not to let his admission penetrate too deeply. I wouldn’t let this… thing between us mean more than it was supposed to. I couldn’t. It was just sex. Just hot, sweaty, blissful sex. It wasn’t anything more. Rowan wasn’t the type of guy to ever let it mean anything more. And if I didn’t want to have my heart trampled on, I needed to remember that.

But it was so damn hard when he said things like that.

“Kiss me,” I pleaded, wrapping my fingers in his hair to guide his lips back to mine. It was the only way I knew to make him stop talking, stop saying things I was discovering I was desperate to hear. I couldn’t imagine this ending well between us, but I was helpless to stop it.

I heard a door slam and jerked my head up to see we were in his bedroom. He’d kicked the door shut behind us as soon as we cleared the threshold. It wasn’t until right then that I realized I’d never really paid much attention to what Rowan’s bedroom looked like. And from the feral expression on his face, that wasn’t going to change right then, either. From the brief glimpse I was able to get, it looked to be very much his style. Dark wood furniture, dark bedclothes, minimal decorations on his beige walls. But that was all I was able to take in before his lips on my skin distracted me from anything but the man I was currently wrapped around.

“This dress…” he mumbled as he slid me down the front of his body, resting my feet on the carpeted floor. “This fucking dress.” It came out like a growl as his eyes trailed over every inch of me. “Jesus, you look beautiful in it, but I need it off you. Right now.”

I couldn’t formulate a single word as he reached behind me and lowered the zipper of my gown before sliding the strap from my shoulder. I stood, frozen as it slid down my body and pooled on the floor at my feet, leaving me in nothing but a white, lacey thong since the design of the gown wouldn’t allow for a bra.

“Good Lord,” he groaned, sounding almost pained. “Knew you’d be gorgeous. Fucking knew it.” As he spoke, I tried not to fidget, forcing myself to keep my hands at my sides when I wanted nothing more than to cover myself from his blatant stare. “But never knew you’d be perfect.”

My whole body heated at Rowan’s confession, and suddenly, I was desperate to feel his hands on me, his skin against mine. I wanted every part of him touching every part of me. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”

His eyes came back to mine, an impish grin tilting the corner of his mouth as his fingers went to the buttons of his shirt, moving purposefully. “You want me?”

All I could do was nod as I licked at my dry lips.

“Say it.”

“I want you,” I answered, sounding hoarse as my mouth grew dry with every inch of solid, muscular skin he exposed.

“On the bed.”

I never broke our stare as I stepped out of my shoes and moved backwards to the bed. Once the back of my knees hit the mattress, I sat down and scooted to the very center, lying down against the mound of soft pillows.