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“You awake?” Zander breathed into the darkness. She could see the outline of him lying in her bed, the edges of his features highlighted by the moonlight through the window—his open eyes catching the soft glow.

“Yeah, I’m awake.”

Oh thank god. She crossed the room on long strides, only now feeling the full impact of her need for him.

He sat up, swinging his feet over the edge of the bed so when she reached him, she could crash her mouth down on his. Standing between his knees, she kissed him hard, hands firm on his jaw, fists closing on the ends of his hair as she drank in the taste of him, the smell of him. Her tongue licked into him, and he followed suit without pause, stifling the sound of a groan in the back of his throat that just egged her on.

She sighed, the kiss slowing to something deeper and more detailed—less desperation and more savoring. Relief sang in her veins, his lips, his skin a soothing balm to her raw need.

She brushed her kiss-swollen lips from his mouth to his jaw, then his neck… “We have to be quiet,” she said against his skin as she pressed her lips to him in a meandering line that traveled to his shoulder, then his chest.

He wasn’t wearing a shirt and the knowledge he’d been lying in her bed shirtless was like spark to kindling.

She dipped to her knees, and her teeth grazed his stomach; his breath shuddered, which only worked to bring the need buzzing in her blood to a new high.

She looked up at him as she split the fly of his boxers and slid the opening down the hard length of him, quirking an eyebrow in silent question.

He nodded his consent, the smallest tick of his head.

Not that she’d expected him to say no.

She felt her lips pull into a private smile before drawing the velvet smooth length of him into her mouth.

There was something powerful about giving him pleasure this way. About kneeling at his feet. About listening to the sound of his breath change, and sense the way his spine stiffened, then relaxed as he held himself back, then gave into the sensation. She took her time, running her tongue from the base to the head, where a crystal bead of moisture had appeared, salty and sweet. Then she took the head of him into her mouth and slowly swirled her tongue around it as she pushed down, taking him deep. She continued the routine, mixing it up between languid licks, and soft suction, while she listened to his quiet groans and gasps, and reveled in the feeling of his fingers in her short hair.

Just as she was ready to pick up the speed and pressure, sensing he was ready for an uptick in intensity, his hands turned firm and still on her shoulders.

“Hold up.”

Sitting back, she looked up at him. He smiled and took her face in his hands, guiding her up as he leaned forward to bring his mouth to hers. He continued to guide her upward, until she was standing. He followed, turning until the mattress was pressing into the backs of her thighs. She sat and let him guide her back while they kissed, bringing her hands to his chest, to the back of his neck, to his back where she let her fingers curl so her fingernails could rasp against his skin. She savored the sound of his hushed moan.

A moment later, he was nipping at her jaw, then kissing her neck hard so electric need shot down her body and her nails turned to claws against his back.

Moving lower, he pushed up the hem of her black tank, his lips grazing her stomach. Lower, to the edge of the purple panties that fit like a second skin. He slipped his fingers beneath them, and she lifted her hips as he pulled them downward. He followed the panties down her legs, trailing kisses as he went, down to her feet, where he slipped them off and let them fall to the floor. Then he slowly kissed his way back up, driving her mad with every kiss that brought him closer to where she knew he was going.

She gasped when he lifted her leg and put it over his shoulder. He kissed up her inner thighs, drawing closer to her core, little by little, until her fingers were knotted in the comforter beneath her and her sawing breath lifted her chest in a quick rhythm.

God, she wanted him there. She needed his touch.

The first brush of his tongue against the top of her sex nearly sent her off the bed. She whimpered when he dipped into her again, kissing her with his lips, then licking with his tongue. She drew her legs up, needing him deeper, giving herself over to the sensation of his warm, wet mouth against her. The sensation of his soft tongue and smooth lips caressing her most sensitive skin.

Her hips began to rock as a pressure started to build, and Callum matched her need, picking up the pace as she did. She felt his palm skim up her leg. Then his fingers were against her core, where they slid inside. Immediately, her body tensed, the pressure reaching a new high as he pressed them in deeper.

The sound of his own satisfied groan sent her over the edge. She let go—and shattered apart.

Her back arched off the mattress as the building pressure snapped back, escaping in a great rush that pushed out from her middle, along every nerve, speeding under her skin. Aware enough to keep herself quiet, she swallowed her moans as Callum rode the climax with her, drawing it out until it doubled on itself, crashing down and climbing again.

Minutes later, he was climbing up her body as she sunk into the mattress, sated. Her arms were heavy as she reached for him. His lips were tangy with the flavor of her own pleasure when he kissed her.

Next thing she knew, his hands were firm on her hips. Then he rolled, so she was on top of him, staring down at his beautiful face. The color was high in his cheeks, his pupils dilated and eyes bright like giving her pleasure had doubled his own desire.

Crazy words came up her throat. Crazy—and lovely.

But she bit the words back. She wished she could trust them, but they were born of pleasure and hormones. They weren’t real.

They couldn’t be.

She hadn’t known Callum long enough to love him.