She sucked in a deep breath, for courage, or maybe she was finding the oxygen in the air thinner than normal like it was for him. “I want to see you . . . all of you,” she said.

He hardened with her words and tightened his grip on her neck. “You sure?” he whispered.

Her answer was a timid kiss and Rick responded with a hunger he didn’t recognize. Her lips passed over his like a feather of an angel tempting everything inside of him, and he threatened to engulf her like a devil staking his claim.

He cautioned himself and eased his grip but held her closer. Her tongue matched his, searching and tasting. A hint of the wine they drank flavored her scent.

Judy lifted her knee and slipped off her shoes. He had a good foot on her and had to lean over to keep their lips together. Rick’s palm met the small of her back and moved lower.

Her moan of approval shot through him, threatening his ability to go slow.

He lifted her hips and her legs wound around him. The maze of shoes and living room furniture didn’t deter him as he carried her down the hall to her bedroom. The low pounding of the bass from Meg’s TV met his ears. Once closed in the room, that bass reduced to a soft drum. Thick walls.

He kicked the door closed behind them and crossed to the massive bed in the middle of the room. Without effort, he pushed Judy into the soft mattress and almost lost it when she lifted her hips to touch more of him. She squeezed his ass and tugged at his shirt, all the while attempting to suffocate him with her lips.

Their kiss broke, both of them gasping.

Plump with his kiss, her lips were as round as her eyes when she spoke. “I don’t see that ink yet, babe.”

She could call him babe forever and it wouldn’t grow old. He swiped his shirt from his shoulders and tossed it off the bed.

Judy sat up, ran her fingers over the symbol on his right shoulder, and placed her lips in their wake. “You’re so thick,” she told him.

He took advantage of her sitting up to pull her shirt over her head. Her pale br**sts peeked from under a light gray bra and it was his turn to kiss what he wanted to taste. His tongue dipped under her bra. “You’re perfect.”

Tiny rosebud ni**les met his tongue when he made her bra follow her shirt. “I could play with these all night.”

She giggled. “The rest of me would be jealous.”

“We could try . . . an evening of tasting,” he muttered as he used his teeth on her nipple and felt her nails dig into his back.

“Or not.”

She raked her nails down over his ass and he pushed closer to her.

“Or not,” he repeated her words. He’d never make a whole night of foreplay, not with Judy.

Rick pulled her hips farther up on the bed and centered them both. He memorized her curves with his slow fingers as they traced the lines of her exposed skin. “You were sitting in that police station,” he said, reminding her of the first day they’d met. “So out of place and trying hard not to look at me.” He leaned over her, kissed a trail between her br**sts.

“You just stared at me. So bold.”

He lifted her as if she weighed nothing and rolled her over onto her stomach.

“I wanted you then.”

The zipper on her skirt started from her spine and went down the cheeks of her firm butt. He inched it down, placed his lips on the swell of her hips. The rail-thin frames of many of the women out there did nothing for him. Her full curves made his mouth water. Judy unwound something inside him he didn’t even recognize.

Her skirt met her shirt and Rick took his time rolling his hands down her hips, over her small panties, and down her creamy thighs. As much as Rick wanted to take advantage of this position, he didn’t want to risk scaring her. He rolled her on her side and stretched out beside her. There wasn’t any hesitation when her leg lifted to wrap around his hip. “You were cocky and bold and hot. Seeing you again at graduation . . . I knew we’d end up here.”

He kissed her again, broke when she reached for the zipper to his pants. “This is a great place.”

Judy didn’t leave his boxers with him. “Steroid-free zone!” she said, tracing his hip and touching. Her touch wasn’t timid or chaste, it was bold, leaving him pushing into her. He reached for her then, slid his hands under her panties and spread her open. The desire to rip her clothing, rid her of any barrier, needed to be tamed. She kicked them free and came back for a kiss. Both of them free of any clothing, she moved her kiss to the ink on his chest, her tongue lapping the edges, branding the feel of her deep inside him.

He knew, somehow, she’d be just like this, fire and passion without any worries of the world around them.

Judy rolled on top of him, barely giving him time to reach for his wallet.

“Wait,” he told her, pulled his pants from the floor and removed a condom from his wallet. He fumbled with the plastic, twice, and she removed it from his fingers with a laugh.

“Out of practice, hon?”

He stopped her pursuit in opening the small package with his hand covering hers. She met his gaze and looked deeper. “I met you,” he told her. “There’s been no one since.”

She blinked several times, took in the information, and kissed him. “Oh, Rick. I never stopped thinking about you. I couldn’t date, couldn’t sleep.”

Narcissistic as it was, he loved the sound of that.

Together they slid the condom over him, her hands slid lower, cupping him.

Once protected, she moved over him, took him. Her wet sheath was so tight and so needy she was milking him before he could catch his breath.

“Slow down, babe,” he whispered.

“I can’t. You feel so right.”

He slowed her down by sheer force, though it wasn’t easy.

He’d been with enough women to know her first orgasm was close. He kept his own wave back and let her take whatever she needed. He kissed her, held her, and welcomed her moan when she shattered on the inside. Only when she collapsed on him did he tuck her under him to show her his idea of making love.

He slowed down, found her spots, showed her his before backing up his cocky smile and leaving her limp. When his own release gripped him, he called her name and claimed her.

Judy was his.

Now.

Forever.

Rick’s arms erased the pain of the world around her. Judy’s body buzzed and her mind was numb with a post-orgasmic daze. With her head resting on his chest, she ran her hand over his pec, traced a thick vein that ran down the length of his arm. “I know it’s completely shallow of me,” she told him, “but you have the most amazing body.”