“Let me,” I gently order, and she stills, dropping her hands. Slowly, I slide her top up, and at the last minute, she raises her arms so I can pull it over her head. Leaning back on her elbows, she’s on display for me. If I had any fear that I still have residual effects from the pain medication, the sight of Charlie in a lacy, chocolate brown bra that barely covers her breasts pushes them away, because I’m harder than hell.

“Your turn,” she says, still leaning back as if she wants to enjoy the show.

Sitting back on my knees, I don’t take my time getting rid of the shirt, and I hear the sharp intake of breath. I can’t help the cocky grin that spreads over my face as her eyes rake over my muscular chest that’s gotten back most of its definition.

“I’d ask if you like what you see, but I think I already know the answer to that.”

“Okay, Rugged, you only get one of those tonight, so shut the hell up and get back over here.”

Responding to her request, I move back towards her, but this time I lay on my side, directly next to her. My hand covers her stomach, and I trace the waistband of her jeans with my index finger. She shivers at my touch, and I lean down to press wet, hot kisses against her skin there. Pulling my head up, she leads me back to her mouth, her tongue more than ready to begin a battle with my own. She’s sucking and licking greedily, as if she’s been deprived and is trying to get her fill.

Letting her mouth take the lead, I go to work getting to know her body. Trailing my finger from temple to chin and then down her neck, it finally settles between her breasts, where I trace the outline of each cup. Feeling her shudder at my touch, I have to tear away from her mouth so mine can do some exploration. I feel like I’ve been waiting so long for this, so long for her, and a hunger unlike I’ve ever known washes over me as my lips trail down her body.

When my lips meet my finger, I waste no time pushing the bra cup aside, letting me finally taste her. Licking is nowhere near enough, I realize, and I’m getting eager to give her more when she moans as I bite down on her nipple, a little less gently than I planned. Working both breasts over, I worship them like a man who’s finally found his salvation after a lifetime of deprivation. If I let myself think about it, that’s probably a true statement anyway.

At the same time, my free hand moves down to her jeans and sets about undoing the button, sliding down the zipper. Slipping my hand into them, I feel the silky fabric of her panties right before my hand slides underneath them. A single finger moves over her clit, and I press down, just to see what pushing that particular button does for her. Immediately, my finger’s caught in between her thighs as she clenches them, squeezing together to get relief.

“Oh, god, Knox,” is all she says as her hands grip the sheets. I’ve never been so turned on, and if this is how she reacts just from a single touch, I know watching her orgasm is going to be my undoing.

She whimpers as I pull my hand out of her jeans and replace the bra back over her sweet, succulent breasts. I make a mental note to pay extra attention to them next time, but for now, I’m getting impatient with the need to be inside her. Moving down the bed, I hook my fingers in her jeans and slowly pull them off of her. A matching pair of low-riding panties covers her tan skin, and while I want to take them off, I still have a little more exploring to do. I pause, taking a moment to look up at her. She’s so goddamn gorgeous, and even though I can’t wait to be inside her, seeing her like this makes me want to savor every single moment I have with her as I make sure she reaches her ultimate pleasure.

“Yours, too,” she says, sitting up on the bed, her hands on the button of my shorts. The way she’s looking at my bare chest before she looks down as her fingers undo the zipper with cloudy eyes full of lust is almost too much. I’d like to last more than three seconds. I’m want to prolong this as much as possible. When her fingers push my shorts down, taking my boxers with them, and her thumb grazes down the length of me, I’m not sure it’s going to be possible. Yeah, we’ll have plenty of time for this in the future, but I want to relish the first time I taste her, the way it feels when I slide into her wet heat for the first time, and the feel of her orgasm rocking through her body as she comes around my cock.

Stepping out of my shorts, I climb back on the bed and draw her up on her knees and into my arms as I press her chest against mine. Pushing her hair to the side, I kiss down the side of her neck, not stopping until I come to her breasts, where I trace an outline just above the material before I draw back from her, moving up to kiss her lips. My hands have been gripping her hips, and I move them up over her curves, sliding them around to her back and up to her bra strap. Grabbing the hook, I stop and look down into her eyes. I can see the way her breasts rise as she inhales, stopping the moment she realizes what I want to do. Nodding, she allows me to unhook it, pulling it off her body before tossing it to the side. Wrapping my arm around her back, I pull her into me. It’s all I can do not to look down when I feel her breasts pressing against my bare skin, her hardened nipples poking me ever so slightly.

“You feel amazing naked against my chest,” I whisper in her ear, causing a small shiver to pass over her. I pull her knees out from under her with my free hand and slowly lay her down on the bed, careful to keep our chests pressed against each other. As much as I’m looking forward to claiming Charlie tonight, I could stay right here in this position all night long. There’s something undeniably intimate about feeling her skin touching every single inch of mine, save the most intimate of places. It’s an unfamiliar feeling. I’ve never felt this sort of intimacy with anyone. The desire to be inside her, the need for her pleasure to come before mine aren’t things I’m used to. It’s so much more than a fuck, and I have no idea how to process it, but I find myself loving the idea of it. And I surprise myself at the same time that I’m not moving her panties to the side so I can push myself inside of her quickly to get off.

“Knox,” she whispers as her hands run up my biceps and over my shoulders. The sound of her sexy whisper breaks me out of my trance, but it’s the feel of her hips circling, trying to grind on my boxer-covered cock that’s driving me crazy. “Please…don’t make me wait. I’ve wanted this for too long,” she admits, all breathy and sexy as hell.

Holy shit. She’s been wanting this? I’m not exactly surprised. I knew this attraction wasn’t one-sided, but hearing her say that she’s wanted to get in my bed is a relief, and I realize all I needed was confirmation. As much as I’d love to make her beg, I don’t think I can prolong this anymore. Lifting up, I’m more than ready to finally move this forward.

I take a moment to look down at her, wondering what the hell took me so long to realize I wanted her. She’s fucking gorgeous, and I decide brown is my new favorite color. Her dark hair is fanned out on my pillow, and soon I’ll be wrapping my hands up in it. The chocolate brown eyes that watch me as I hover over her are silently begging me to fuck her. And as much as I want her naked, the way she’s barely covered with the brown material that shows off her tan has me wanting to watch her in nothing but a sexy pair of barely there panties for a little while longer before I rip them off.

As I memorize every single inch of her, I push myself back on to my heels, my hands resting on her ankles. I can’t help but run my hands up her tight, sculpted calf muscles until they reach her toned thighs. I knew she had strong legs, but the feel of the muscles beneath my hands is something I didn’t expect, and I can’t help but stroke each one as they constrict under my touch. There’s something sexy about a girl who’s toned, and it’s just another thing that drives me wild about her.

She stretches up to run a finger along a bulging vein from my bicep down to my forearm before her fingers intersect with mine. She pulls my hand higher, nearly touching the material covering her. Moving down, I replace our hands with my lips, but she has different plans. Her hand pulls me back up, the other one guiding my mouth to hers. I slide my free hand up to palm her breasts, and it’s not long before her own hand is pushing mine down again, grazing her stomach before she places it between her thighs.

“I’ve been thinking about you touching me like this since that first night,” she confesses, and the masculine part of me wants to beat my chest.

“Since the night at the bar?”

My ego has to hear the words, and I’m trying not to grin like a fucking fool when she nods, looking slightly shy—a look I’ve never seen on her.

“Tell me,” I command, my hand gripping the side of her panties, trying to tease her as I’m ready to pull them down when she complies. When I lean down, my lips graze her breast before I pull one hard nipple in between them. My tongue traces circles around it, and when I look up at her, she’s watching me. “Did you imagine me doing this?”

Again, all she does is nod. I plant kisses up her chest, over her collarbone, and just shy of her lips. Slowly, I take one finger and trace it slowly over the material, feeling the damp spot between her knees. Moving down, I bypass her beautiful breasts, my lips moving to where my hands are. Kissing along her panty line, I look up at her one more time.

“What were you thinking, sweetheart? Did you imagine my tongue on you? Did you think about me tasting you?” Her eyes cloud over and I can feel her legs squirming. Her left hand moves to her breast, kneading it, and my dick tightens in response.