Her room was large and smelled of perfume and vanilla. Alex’s eyes narrowed, taking in the looming shadows of the large bed, adorned with a dark duvet and lots of pillows, a chaise in one corner, and a door leading to what must be her bathroom or walk-in closet. The blinds were tightly drawn so only the briefest of rays flickered in from downtown, fully illuminated outside.

“I can’t sleep if light shines in,” she said softly, moving to pull back the covers.

Alex watched her, immobile, unsure. His hands clenched, aching to feel her flesh under them.

“I like hearing your voice in the dark.”

Angel pushed up his shirt, baring his stomach, her chin tilting up to look into his face. The lights reflected off of her eyes, making them sparkle like the moon on a lake. He caught his breath.

“Do you think about me… in my bed… often?” she asked.

He could hear the smile in her voice and his lips curved into one of his own. “Constantly. It’s debilitating.” As she continued to push his shirt up, Alex finally gave in and pulled the offending garment over his head, letting it fall to the floor. “Angel, come here,” he commanded softly.

“Stop saying cum.” She pressed her open mouth to the pulse at the base of his neck, standing on tiptoe to reach.

Alex chuckled, his hands closing around her waist and beginning to push her shirt up in turn. “You make me laugh. It’s so damn sexy.”

“I’m going to rinse off, okay?”

“You don’t need to.”

Angel cringed slightly. Part of her wanted to just melt into his arms, but she reminded herself that she hadn’t showered for twenty hours. “Yes, I do. I’ll only be a minute.”

Angel sighed as he sank down on the bed in front of her and pulled her into him, his mouth closing over the tip of her breast over her top. She moaned and arched as his teeth grazed and her nipple hardened instantly.

“Fuck, you are so responsive…” His words and breath fell on her breasts, and his teeth tugged on the hard bud until she was trembling and panting. “So soft, Angel.”

Her arms wrapped around his head, fingers thrusting into his hair, and she bent to kiss his forehead, thrilling that this man was here, in her room, in her arms, even if it was a fleeting moment… one that would crush her later.

“I’ll be just as responsive after my shower. Even more. I promise.” Her voice was soft and soothing, the sweet seductive sound he’d come to crave. He pushed the material out of the way and his lips found purchase on her tender flesh. Angel sucked in her breath as her body arched involuntarily toward him.

“Mmm… I like it when you make promises.” His words muffled as his mouth continued its slow torture on her breasts, hands roaming her back and hips.

“I always keep them, so let me go for just a few minutes.”

“Do I have to?” He kissed along her jaw and up, his mouth finding hers in a long deep kiss. When her tongue answered his, he groaned into her mouth, the kiss deepening and their embrace becoming more frantic as his fingers tore at her clothes, freeing her of her shirt and opening her shorts.

She ripped her mouth away. “Just five or six minutes…” Her fingers went from his jaw up the side of his face and into his hair.

Alex was reluctant to let her go. He was bemused. He barely knew her, but yet, she was all he could think about. She made him hungry for her words, her mind, and her body; so fucking hungry. His mouth moved down from her chin and over the slender column of her neck until, finally, to her bare shoulder where he bit down gently.

“Uhhh.” She let out her breath. “Wait for me in bed.”

His palm cupped the side of her head and his lips moved down the side of her face. He sighed in resignation. “Okay. Go.”

Releasing her, he began undoing his jeans. As Angel exited the room, she was left with the visual of strong muscles under smooth skin and the smattering of fine hair that condensed and narrowed to a line leading down over his defined stomach.

Angel leaned up against the bathroom door. What was she doing? Her hands were shaking, her body buzzing, as she turned on the water and stepped underneath. As much as she knew she shouldn’t be with him, her mind a never-ending loop of how much he could hurt her, the longing was too much to resist. When he was near, she was helpless. And now, he was in her bed… waiting.

She toweled off and ran a quick comb through her hair, debating if she should get something to put on. “Who are you kidding? Clothes have no place in what’s about to go down,” she mumbled softly to herself, lighting the almond and vanilla candle on the vanity and shutting off the light. The mirror reflected how flame glowed on her skin, reflecting amber in her eyes.

Naked, she carried the candle into the dark bedroom and set it on the end table on the right side of her bed. Alex was on his stomach, his arms curled around the pillow his head was resting on, the sheet clinging to his hips. Angel’s breath caught at the site. Her queen-sized bed seemed to shrink with his long form angled across it.

The candlelight danced off the walls and his body as she studied him, his face relaxed in repose, his hair appearing darker against the white pillowcase. Damn, he was striking—stunning. Angel let out her breath, slightly disappointed that he was already sleeping, but so appreciative of this chance to look at him unobserved.

She bent to pick up his discarded T-shirt and slipped into it. While it was fitted on his broad shoulders and then tapered to his slim waist, the whole thing bagged on her, the V of the neckline leaving one shoulder bare. She brought some of the fabric to her nose and inhaled as she climbed into bed.

Her fingers ached to reach out and touch him, to feel his muscles play as he moved over her and inside of her. Her body flooded with moist heat, aching, and her heart beat faster. Surely, he must hear it, she thought.

Sitting on her knees next to him, she gave in to the need, and soon her hands were roaming over his back and shoulders, alternating gentle kneading with soft touches and the light scratch of her nails.

Alex stirred. “Mmmmmm, that feels nice,” he said, voice muffled by his arm.

“Just relax, go back to sleep.”

He let her continue for five or so minutes but then turned onto his side and reached for her. “I can’t sleep with you touching me, Angel. You turn me on too much.”

She couldn’t help notice his arousal bulging underneath the sheet and her hand closed around him. Alex’s eyes closed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to touch you?” she teased softly. He thrilled at the tone in her voice.

“Touch me forever.” Their eyes locked.

Angel’s heart swelled. If only he meant it. “Be careful what you ask for.”

Alex rolled onto his back and lifted her until she straddled him, knees beside his naked hips, sitting on his thighs. His gaze burned over her in the candlelight. “As much as I adore your choice of wardrobe, I’d rather you be naked.” His hands slid up the sides of her body underneath the shirt and her arms lifted, allowing him to remove it and fling it aside.

“Jesus,” he said softly, his hands rising to cup her breasts, thumbs teasing her nipples with practiced expertise. She was perfect, every inch of her visible to him. “You’re so damn beautiful.” Her skin ignited everywhere he touched, his fingers gentle as if she were made of porcelain, and his mouth began exploring her shoulder and the cord of her neck.

Angel continued to pleasure him with her hands, and Alex’s breathing increased. She felt powerful, beautiful, and sexy as he fell back against the pillows with a low growl, helpless to what she was doing to him. He brought it out of her. She was more uninhibited, more wanton than she’d ever been in her life. His eyes devouring her made her ache, darkening as his hand moved down between her legs. Her head fell back as a soft moan left her mouth. He was hard as steel, but smooth as silk in her hands, a drop of clear fluid squeezed from the swollen head and she smoothed over it with her thumb.

“Ugh,” he grunted. “I have a condom.” He reached under the pillow and pulled the foil packed from underneath.

Angel smiled softly as her eyebrows lifted. “Pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

He ripped open the packet and chuckled. “I’m absolutely sure that I can’t be with you in a bed and not fuck you. I’ve thought of little else.”

She watched him roll it onto his engorged cock, wondering how in the hell he could be so perfect. “So I guess you’ve given up on your quest to keep things platonic.”

“I can’t fight it, especially when I know it’s what you want. You do want it, don’t you?” He paused, his hands sliding up her thighs to her hips and his eyes met hers in the darkness.

“Yes. I keep saying it. So hear me.” It was soft, but it thrilled him. “Fill me.”

He lifted her and slid inside her body in one fluid movement. “Uhhh,” he breathed. “God.” Her hips surged against his as she leaned back, bracing her hands on his thighs, enjoying every inch of his body as it pushed into hers. She was graceful, even elegant in her movements, and Alex could not take his eyes off her, even as his body tightened.

He touched her breasts as she rode him, pulling gently on the rosy nipples until his mouth was jealous of his fingers. He could feel her body tightening around his and his pleasure became secondary to hers. He raked a hand down her body, over her flat stomach, finding the goal of her clit. Her flesh was hot, slick, and the desire to see her come overwhelmed him. He watched her face, the way she arched her back and neck, her eyes closed. When her mouth fell open, he knew she was close. Her voice and the way her body started to quiver confirmed it. “Mmmm, Alex… uhhh… God.”

He sat up and wrapped his arms around her, one around her still moving hips, pulling her tighter against him and the other up to the back of her head. He wanted her mouth, wanted her cries of pleasure to pour into him as his would surely pour into hers. The position was so intimate, so close, torsos plastered together, hips surging with a single purpose, hands clutching in desperation and mouths sucking, taking, giving. Alex had never felt this much passion, this much frantic desire. If he could be inside her forever, he knew it would never be enough, and while it thrilled him, it scared the shit out of him too.

Angel’s fingers in his dark hair pulled his mouth closer; their kisses intensified between their panting breaths. Their bodies dug into each other’s, harder and deeper until he felt her stiffen in his arms and she moaned his name.

Finally letting himself go, his arms tightened. “Angel, it’s so good with you…” He jerked hard several times as he poured into her, and she kissed the side of his jaw and then his temple, stroking back his hair over and over. They remained entwined as their breathing calmed down, hands caressing the other.

For Alex, this was like nothing he’d ever experienced. He had no desire to disengage, throw on his clothes, and leave; it hit him like a ton of bricks. He turned his face into her neck and left a trail of kisses to her mouth as he rolled her onto her back, still embedded within her. He’d shot off so hard, he was still quaking with the aftershocks.

“Angel… I don’t want to go. Can I stay?” His fingers gently stroked the hair back from her temple and deep green eyes found hers as his mouth hovered. Hers lifted, first nibbling, then sucking his lower lip into her mouth.

“Yes. Stay.”

* * *

Alex woke with something tickling his nose and snuggled into the warmth next to him. His eyes opened with a start, realizing that he was in bed with Angel, her head resting on his chest below his chin, her long tresses splayed out on his skin, their limbs entwined.

He’d slept with her. He liked it, more than liked it, and it left him in awe. Even now, hours later, he was in no hurry to leave. He needed to meet Cole to find out what he’d discovered, but he was reluctant to move.

“Wow,” he muttered, running his hand over the hair on her back and down, enjoying the feel of her womanly curves against him. He sucked in his breath as the memories of the past night, well… morning, enveloped him. Angel was so free and giving, unselfish in her desire to please him, which made him want to please her even more.

He glanced down at her sleeping face; the high cheekbones had a slight flush, below the long, lush lashes, her nose, perfect, and her luscious, full mouth swollen with his kisses. She was… resplendent. A broad smile broke on his handsome face as his hand softly kneaded her back. She snuggled closer, her leg lifting over his. Instantly, he pulled her tighter against him, turning slightly toward her and hoisting her leg higher over his hip.