His arms enfolded me. I nuzzled into him, heedless of my tangled clothes.

"Little bird." He kissed the top of my head. "My little bird."

My motor skills had finally returned, though my powers of speech were still at large. I brushed my fingers over his chest and kissed his neck. I breathed in the clean scent of him.

Little bird, he called me. His little bird. And somehow, it made me feel like the most precious thing in the world.

CHAPTER 9

Matt

HANNAH TUGGED AT her shorts as we waited for the AC to clear the fogged windows.

My bravado aside, I hoped to hell that none of Hannah's neighbors saw our performance. We could be hauled off for indecent exposure. How awkward. And more: the thought of another man actually seeing Hannah's body made my blood boil.

I don't share well.

I just loved humiliating Hannah. I loved the way she squirmed when I exposed her.

"I hate to tell you this," I said, glancing over as she picked at her boxers, "but no possible arrangement of those shorts will bring them into the realm of modesty. Give up."

I reached over and pushed the tiny shorts up her thighs. My hand drifted between her legs. I could feel how swollen her pussy was in the wake of our exercise.

Hannah parted her legs as I touched her. Fuck. I could go again, right now. And again, and again, and again. Anything to get this fever out of my body.

"I thought that fucking you would clear my head a little," I admitted. I stared through the windshield as I rubbed at Hannah through her shorts. "No such luck. Also, will you be communicating with me any time soon? I'm aware of my capacity to leave women speechless, but this is somewhat extreme."

I grinned over at Hannah. She was staring down at my hand. Tentatively, she began to run her fingertips up and down my forearm. I clenched my teeth.

She had no idea what her touch did to me.

"It... it's hard," she sighed. No kidding love. "Hard to speak with you... doing this."

"Sorry." I withdrew my hand, planting it firmly on the wheel. "There."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Hannah watching me.

"Okay." She laughed breathlessly. "Okay, maybe it's hard to speak near you, period."

"Try. I can't read your mind."

"Okay. Um." She poked the Enform display in the dash. "Fancy. I guess you can fly to the moon in this car, huh?"

"Not quite." I chuckled. "But you can get a massage, adjust the temperature of every seat, order movie tickets or make dinner reservations, get directions, and—" I opened Pandora. "10 Mile Stereo" by Beach House filled the car. "—listen to music, of course."

"I like it." Hannah hunkered down in her seat and smiled, which made me smile. "A boy and his toys."

"Yup. I almost brought the LFA tonight, it's my baby. Not enough room though."

Hannah giggled.

"Why Matt, what ever do you mean, not enough room?"

I smirked and shook my head. Sure, I was getting a little overexcited about my cars, but the small talk was bringing Hannah back to earth.

"Oh, by the way. Matt, seriously, a rabbit? Please tell me that sweet creature is more than your late-night chick magnet."

"He serves many functions."

I revved the engine and ran a hand through my hair. I wanted to fuck Hannah or drive. Or both. I couldn't sit here burning up in her atmosphere.

"You want to go for a drive?" I said. "I know you must be tired, but..."

"Could we? Yeah, let—" Hannah glanced out the window. I saw what she saw: the world still sleeping, pretty lawns and dark houses, and her borrowed coat crumpled in the grass. Our night. "Let's go," she said.

I pulled away from the curb and drove east, leaving the lights of the city farther behind. The smooth speed of the car relaxed me. Fuck, I had been so tense until then—even after I came. I was holding back. I wanted everything more: to pinch Hannah harder, squeeze her harder, spank her harder, fuck her harder—but I didn't want to scare her off.

"His name is Laurence," I said. "I named him after Laurence Sterne. Geniuses, both of them. Anyway, he's a dapper guy, very intellectual. And no, he's not my female bait. Clearly I need no assistance luring females into the night."

I flashed a grin at Hannah, who laughed and rolled her eyes.

I needed to see her in the daylight. I needed to be naked with her.

"I got him when I first moved out here. I was lonely, I don't know. Someone said they're quiet, clean pets. And that's the story of Laurence." I turned up the music. "Billie Holiday" by Warpaint was playing. Perfect: mellow music, the night stretching ahead of me, and Hannah in my car. I let myself really smile. "Surprised you don't own a rabbit, Hannah."

She caught my double entendre; I could tell by the way she laughed.

"I wish. I only had two toys, and... I don't know. Too many memories attached to them. Besides, one was half broken. I tossed them before the move."

"That's a pity. But now you have me."

"Yeah..." Hannah's voice was soft.

Now you have me. Fuck, I hadn't meant to say that.

We drove through the prairie for two hours, talking and listening to music and sometimes sitting in silence. We spoke about nothing important. It was nice not to have to dodge questions.

Every half hour, I asked if Hannah was tired. No, she insisted, no way, and she smiled at me in a way that made me ache.

We stopped by a walking trail that ran out through the scruffy grass.

"Let's go," Hannah said. "The stars will be crazy."

I got a blanket from the trunk of my car and we walked down the trail, Hannah's eyes on the sky, my eyes on Hannah. She was beautiful.

After a while, she reached for my hand.

I found a soft spot off the trail—no easy task in the Colorado prairie—and spread out the blanket. Hannah sprawled across it. She grinned up at me.

"Hog," I chuckled.

"There's space," she said, "on top of me."

While I gazed down at her, Hannah wriggled out of her shorts and thong and tugged her cami up enough to bare her breasts to the night air. I was drunk looking at her. She parted her legs and held my gaze.

"Beautiful man. I wish you could see yourself. You look lost."

"I feel lost," I whispered.

Our pace was more sedate the second time. Hannah grasped my hair and guided my face to her breasts. I kissed them, sucked them, licked and bit them. She moaned as I fingered her. When I nuzzled my mouth into her pussy, she began to whimper.

"Touch your breasts," I ordered softly. I glanced up her body to see her hands move obediently to her breasts. I licked my lips. She smelled musky. She tasted fiery and sweet. I went back to work as Hannah kneaded her breasts and issued wild, indecent noises into the night.

Soon I was too hard to think. I fumbled with my jeans and freed my cock. As I crouched over Hannah's sex, three fingers inside of her and my lips, tongue, and teeth toying with her clit, I pumped my shaft.

She came moments before I did. She was still rigid with ecstasy when I climbed over her and milked my cum onto her sex.

"Perfect," I whispered.

Hannah reached for me.

I rolled her panting body onto mine and we laughed and held one another in the dark.

The sun was out when I pulled up to Hannah's house. It was near six.

Hannah and I sat in the car trying to say goodbye. A black cloud settled over me at the thought of my empty apartment and a day apart from her.

When could I see her again? Would it be weird to ask?

"Well, it was nice to finally meet you," Hannah said, laughing halfheartedly.

I frowned at my phone. When all else fails, stare mopily at technology.

"Mm."

"Oh, okay." She nudged my shoulder. "What's up?"

"Nothing."

"Matt. I have no job and no obligations besides maybe driving my sister to work and walking the dog. We can hang out again, like, as soon as I wake up."

I glanced at her sharply. Was my neediness that transparent?

"Fine," I said. "Good. I'll call."

"After you get out of work?" she hedged.

Damn, work. Obviously Hannah was laboring under the impression that I had a day job. I had no desire to lie to Hannah more than I already was, but I definitely didn't need her to know about my career as a writer and my huge inheritance to boot.

I didn't want Hannah to see dollar signs when she looked at me.

I didn't want Hannah to see M. Pierce when she looked at me.

I wanted Hannah to see me, whoever I really was.

"Yeah," I said carefully. "I'll call you after work."

She beamed and leaned in to kiss my cheek. I turned and caught her face between my hands, bringing our lips together.

Despite last night and the best sex of my life, Hannah and I hadn't truly kissed yet.

She inhaled sharply and then melted against me. I moaned into her mouth. Her warm arms wound around my neck.

Finally, we drew apart and Hannah searched my eyes.

"No way," she mumbled. "Your eyes are green."

"Mm. My name is Matthew Sky. Matthew Robert Sky Jr."

Introductions, first kisses, even a good look at one another—Hannah and I had steamrolled over all of it in our frenzy.

"Sky," she repeated. Her dark eyes glittered. "Matthew Robert Sky Jr. I like it."

"That's convenient." I smirked. "Oh and... it was nice to meet you too, Hannah. More than nice." I trailed my hand down her chest. I felt her heart rate accelerating. I knew I needed to maintain the illusion that I had a job to get to, but at the moment I was more interested in where Hannah and I could have a morning quickie.

I looked toward the house just in time to see someone flouncing across the lawn.

"What the—"

"Oh god," Hannah groaned. She stumbled out of the car and tried to intercept the girl. It must have been Hannah's sister. Same dark hair, same pretty eyes and expressive mouth, but where Hannah had soft curves and flawless skin, this girl had tight muscle and tattoos. Oh, and one too many piercings.

The girl blew by Hannah and thrust her head in the open passenger-side window.

"Hey! Oh wow. Wow. Very nice..."

I glared ahead. I couldn't tell if she meant me or my car or both.

"Hi," I muttered.

"Ha! You must be Mr. Frostypants."

"And you must be the stripper."

"Damn straight. I'm Christine. Chrissy if you like." She slapped the side of my car. "I'm a dyno girl. You know, the Dynamite Club. Ever been? It's downtown Boulder. Oh my god, you and Hannah should so come some time."

I glanced at Hannah, who was hovering behind her sister and wringing her hands.

"Did you hear that Hannah? Apparently we should come."

Hannah blanched, then blushed furiously. Adorable. She glared at me and began to tug on Chrissy's hand.

"Let's go," she hissed.

"I'm serious!" Chrissy insisted.

"I can tell," I said, grinning helplessly, "but I think the last thing your sister and I want to see is you shaking your tits, no offense hun."

"Oh my god, not when I'm working you doofus. Seriously though, couples have a lot of fun. Think about it!"