I let out a string of swear words that were totally out of place in an establishment this old and regal, but that somehow made what she was doing with her lips and her tongue that much better. I don’t think I had ever been this hard, this in tune with what was happening to my body, and I wanted to alternately high five whoever had taught her how to give head and murder them in cold blood. My girl clearly knew what she was doing, and if I didn’t put some brakes on the situation soon, our night together, which was supposed to be memorable and romantic, was going to be over before it even started. I had every intention of telling her that, only her clever little tongue did something with the hoop at the head of my cock at the same time her fingers found their way to the ones in my nipples, and my poor brain short-circuited and all I could do was lie there and let her have her way with me.

I mumbled her name and I was pretty sure I told her I loved her and that I would do whatever she wanted me to do for the rest of my life, and that made her laugh. With her mouth where it was, that just made the situation harder to handle, so I gave up trying. I threaded my fingers through her soft hair and just let her do her thing. Every time she ran the tip of her tongue around the ball on the ring of my piercing I thought the top of my head was going to come off, both of them. Her hands traced over the angel of death on my chest and wound around the unfinished piece on my back, all the while working me over and taking me to a place I had never been before. I was about to explode, so I used my hold on her head to pull her off me with a slick pop. Those eyes of hers turned me inside out, and I swore that I could get drunk just looking into them when she was looking back at me the way she was now.

She licked her bottom lip, which was puffy now, and I wanted to bite it. She lifted a dark eyebrow and crawled over me so that she was sitting on my stomach all damp heat and ready to go.

“You did tell me to enjoy it.”

I could tell she was pleased with herself by the saucy gleam in her golden eyes and the smirk on her face. Not to be outdone, I slid my hands up under the edge of her tank top and along her ribs. Her eyes got wide and she offered little resistance when I pulled the fabric over the top of her head and tossed it to the side. Her bra was pretty and lacy, but it was in my way, so it joined the steadily growing pile of clothes on the floor next to us. Having the opportunity to get this woman naked anytime I wanted was most definitely on the top of the list of perks of being with her for the rest of eternity. Miles of tanned legs, sweetly curved waist, high, round breasts topped with pretty pink nipples, luminous eyes and silky black hair, all of it was mine, and she was my dream come true.

“My turn.” I got to my feet and took her with me. It was a little tricky getting those shorts off over her cowboy boots. She gave me a look when I tossed her on the center of the massive bed and moved to climb over her. I bent down to kiss the point of each of her prominent hip bones and shivered when she ran her hand through my hair.

“I still have my boots on.”

“Yep.” I loved those black cowboy boots. Loved them on her. Loved that they kept her tied to her roots and still fit the new Ayden that she was when we were together. I was totally taking the image of her wearing nothing but those boots with me back on the road. That alone would be enough to tide me over until I got back to her.

I kissed her on her belly, and dipped my tongue in the sexy little indent of her belly button, which made her shiver against me. The heels of her boots dug into my ass and it made me smile before I bent down and kissed her even lower. She gasped my name in a way I hoped I could make her do when we were old and her hands got tighter and more insistent in my hair. I ran my tongue all along her damp cleft and flicked her hidden little clit with the tip of my tongue. She arched up hard and squeezed me with her legs. Now it was my turn to chuckle against the most sensitive part of her. I loved the things we did to each other. She was just right for me and I wanted to make sure she knew it.

I licked and kissed and got her all worked up, so that when I finally moved my tongue in and out of her like I was planning on doing over and over again with my very eager dick in a few seconds, she didn’t have too far to go and broke apart under me, saying my name and writhing against me in all the best ways. I pulled back and kissed one of the creamy thighs that had gone limp next to my head, and worked my way back up her prone body. She put her hands around my neck and grinned up at me with sated and glowing eyes.

“Yee-haw . . .” It was barely a breath of sound.

That made me laugh. I brushed a thumb over the arch of her dark eyebrow and kissed each corner of her mouth.

“You’re the best, too. You know that, right?”

She wiggled a little, so that all the necessary parts were better aligned, and every time the leather of her boots moved against me, I swore it made my dick twitch in anticipation.

“I think we’re both actually pretty screwed up, but together we just work and we make each other better.”

She hooked one of her arms around my side and across my back, and dug the edge of her heels in my ass to get me to move. I was going to tell her to let me get a condom, but this time I was the one that was impatient and not willing to slow down. I slid all the way in, hard, hot, and bare and we both groaned aloud at the searing contact. I swore and her eyes fluttered closed as I began to move. I bent down to kiss her and it was a kiss that sealed our fate together. There would never be anyone else for me, and I knew the same held true for her. We were just two sides of the same coin, and when she nipped at the ball in the center of my tongue, all semblance of romance and building a moment were gone. I just wanted to get in her as far and as deep as I could.

I pulled her hips up hard enough that she was probably going to have the imprint of my fingers in her skin in the morning. I pounded into her until we were both out of control and I felt her start to spasm around me. I felt the prick of her nails in my shoulders and greedy grasp of her body on mine, and it took me over the edge as well. I sank my teeth into the tendon of her neck when she threw her head to the side, and then softened the bite with a little kiss. I collapsed on top of her, careful to keep as much of my weight off her as I could. When the rings in my nipples brushed against her still puckered ones, it made both of us inhale a little.

“Ayd, you’re going to kill me, and as much as I like all this skin-on-skin contact, if we aren’t careful we’re going to end up dealing with something neither one of us is really ready for.”

The idea of putting a kid in her didn’t terrify me nearly as badly as I thought it would have, considering my own less-than-stellar example of fatherhood, but the timing wasn’t right. I was honest enough to admit that. I’d just gotten her, so I wasn’t ready to share her yet.

She danced her fingers down my spine and turned her head so that we were looking at each other. Those eyes of hers were liquid and smooth and clearer than I had ever seen them.

“I went on the pill after the hit-and-miss in the car.”

I felt an eyebrow shoot up. “You dumped me the next day.” If she had planned on going back to Adam after that, there was a good chance my head was going to implode.

Her fingers went back up the other way.

“I didn’t dump you. I was just confused and I think I knew deep down it was always going to be you. You make me burn, Jet. You always have. Better safe than sorry.”

I wrapped her in my arms and rolled us over so that she was sprawled on top of me.

“You know, that’s what I always felt like. Like I was on fire on the inside, I was so angry with my dad, so frustrated with my mom and just kind of burning through life doing whatever, whoever I wanted, and I think I was probably eventually just going to burn out. When I met you, it tempered it a little bit. I didn’t need the stage to get it all out. You would just look at me, or say something in that Southern drawl, and I felt like I could keep a lid on it. If we burn together, and have a fire that’s all our own, I guess that isn’t a bad thing.”

She was using the pad of her finger to trace the face of the angel that sat over my heart.

“You need it. The fire is your passion, it’s your creative drive. You feel strongly about things, and care deeply about the people you love. I can handle the fire in you, Jet. It’s just part of you.”

That’s why I loved her. It was just like Rule had said, I would move mountains for her, just so that in the end, it was only me and her.

“As much as I would love to keep you in this bed all day, I’m sure you want to check in on Asa.”

She nodded under my chin and wiggled off me. She pulled on my T-shirt and scrambled around to find her phone. I pulled my jeans back on and scrounged up the menu for room service. I figured the least I could do after going at her so hard for the last hour, was feed her. I ordered a bunch of stuff that probably was going to cost as much as my plane ticket back overseas, and hung up when she scooted up behind me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

“He’s in and out. They aren’t going to pull the ventilator yet because he’s so unstable and they can’t really tell how he was affected by the brain trauma yet. They said he’s responsive, which is a good sign, so I’ll take it.”

“I ordered some food. We can chow and head over there if you want.”

Her hair was silky against my cheek as she shook her head in the negative.

“No. You have to leave in the morning and this is important, too.”

“I’ll be back in no time. I don’t want you to worry about him.”

“I’m still working on forgiving him for being an awful person most of the time. I hope this is some kind of divine intervention, but there’s a good chance Asa will still be Asa. When you leave, you’re taking my heart with you, Jet, and that is never going to change.”

I leaned farther back so I could kiss her, and it was just getting good, when there was a knock on the door. I ordered her to get those legs covered up and went to let the guy in with the food. I gave him a pretty hefty tip because he didn’t even so much as flutter an eyelash in her direction, but when I mentioned it to her she laughed so hard that tears actually leaked out of the corners of her eyes. She told me that the dude’s eyes had been glued to me since I hadn’t bothered to fasten my jeans.

I just rolled my eyes and we set up on the bed to feast. She told me a little bit more about growing up in the trailer, about how small towns worked, and, oddly, it reminded me of how my mom ended up under the thumb of my old man. It made me even more proud, more impressed by her that she had fought back, and found her way out to a place of awesomeness. She was just damn impressive all the way around.

We spent the rest of the day in bed, and by the time the sun went done, we were both exhausted and raw in the best way possible. I fell asleep with her curled into my side, and the thought that she was going to be there from here on out put something in me at ease that had never been still and quiet before.

The next morning I woke up with her hands and mouth doing things to me that were designed to make leaving her here damn near impossible. When she was done, I was convinced I had done my best to ruin her for anyone else who might try to press up on her while I was away. We were both breathless and running late when we climbed into the rental car to go to the airport. I had to fly to New York and sit around for two hours before flying to Amsterdam, and the idea of being away from her for two months flat-out pissed me off. I was still worried about her brother, but I had obligations I needed to fulfill and this was just going to be part of our relationship.