Nibbling her neck, I kiss down her body, pausing only to dip my tongue briefly into her belly button. Then I continue my journey until my mouth is lined up to her sex. Pink, swollen, perfect.

I sample her in one long lick up the center and land, gliding my tongue over her clit. Her body trembles as a wave of pleasure rolls down her body, lifting gooseflesh in its wake.

Her hands find my hair, clutching me to her and demanding more as I continue to run my tongue over her folds. I lap her with gentle strokes that have her squirming and pleading beneath me.

“Thatcher,” she begs, her voice a broken whisper.

I kiss back up her body, pausing to lave my tongue across her nipples. After a moment, she pulls my mouth up to hers, kissing me hungrily, whispering against my mouth. “Please…”

I reach between us and slide one finger inside her. She’s tight and hot, and so fucking wet for me.

“Please what?” I tease her.

“More,” she hisses as I thrust my finger in and out of her.

I oblige her—and two fingers enter her slick heat, stretching her with a slow rhythm that leaves her writhing beneath me.

I cover her mouth with mine, swallowing her breaking moans as I drag my fingers slowly out, then plunge them back in again.

“I needyou. Now.”

She doesn’t wait for a response before she reaches into her nightstand and produces a condom. I take it, tearing it with my teeth, and roll it on.

“You’re trouble, aren’t you?” I ask.

“You have no idea,” she whispers, punctuating her response by clawing at my back. I position myself at her entrance, the head of my cock pressed to her opening. And with a groan, I push halfway into her tightheat and pause as she sucks a deep breath into her lungs.

“Are you okay?”

She nods, her breath resuming as she accommodates me being inside of her. “It’s…been a while,” she finally says.

I kiss her gently. “For me, too.”

She lifts her hips up, angling herself slightly forward and takes me entirely in. This time, it’s me who needs a second as stars burst behind my eyes. “Fuck, Allie,” I hiss with an explosive exhale.

I glide out tortuously slowly, dragging my hips back. And just before it seems like I’ll pull all the way out, I roll my hips and slide effortlessly back inside of her, both of us moaning in unison.

I repeat that again… Slow drag out. Quick and hard pass inside. Over and over again. Out. In. Out. In. Each thrust is deeper and faster until I’m rutting in and out of her in wild abandon, overwhelmed by how fucking good and right and perfect Allie is.

I knew the sex would be good. Of course it would be; look at her. But I’m utterly overwhelmed by the intimacy of this moment. Our bodies joined, moving as one, her nails raking down my back. I bury my face in the crook of her neck and breathe her in, letting the scent of her hair and skin envelop me.

This feels like more than just sex. I’ve tried to deny it, but I care for this woman—deeply. She challenges me, excites me, sees through my barriers in a way no one else does. I never planned on letting someone in again, not after losing Jenna. The risk of that kind of pain was too much to bear.

But Allie snuck past my defenses when I least expectedit. Now here we are, wrapped up in each other. My heart pounds against hers, our breaths coming fast and urgent.

“Thatcher,” she breathes out between kisses against my jawline. “Don’t stop.”

I lift my head to look into her eyes. The vulnerability and tenderness I see reflected makes my chest ache.

“Never,” I say and kiss her hard.

Wordlessly, she nods, lips wet and parted. As she leans up to meet each thrust, I feel myself building momentum until it’s a frantic mess between the both of us.

My own restraint crumbles like sand as she whispers my name over and over again, meeting me stroke for stroke until we both fall into an explosive release that hits us, unexpectedly, like a wrecking ball, leaving us gasping for air and clinging to each other.

We’re breathless, humming with pleasure. We lay there spent, our bodies intertwined as we try to catch our breath and hold on to the lingering sensations between us.

Chapter 21