He’s wearing a dark-burgundy button-down shirt that looks like it’s custom-made for him. With the top button released, the shirt is tucked into a pair of black slacks that hug his thighs and show off his lean waist. I don’t know how it’s possible for him to look just as hot dressed up as he does in jeans. Seeing him like this has me craving to see him in a suit.

His eyes do a head-to-toe sweep, and I stumble slightly when our eyes lock. The look in his eyes is so dark and hungry that I can’t even take a breath. After he kissed me quiet earlier, he got out of bed and got dressed, telling me that he had some stuff to do, but we had a date and to make sure I was ready. I nodded, unable to talk, and watched as he left the room.

I got up, made some coffee, and ate a piece of toast before heading back upstairs to get ready for my first date. I took an extra-long shower, making sure I shaved everything from the neck down and scrubbed every inch of my body. I chose a dark-blue wrap dress that hugs my curves and shows some cl**vage without being slutty. The shoes are what completes the outfit—gold stilettos with a strap across the tops of my toes and a thick band around my ankle. I did my makeup the same way I’d done the night I went to the club—simple with dark-red lipstick.

“You’re really testing my self-control.” Kenton’s rough voice brings me back to the present—along with his hands, which have found their way to my waist. “But then, if I don’t take you out, I can’t show you off.” One hand slowly slides up my waist to the bow that is holding my dress together. “You’re like a dessert I get to unwrap and eat at the end of the night.” His fingers wrap around the loose length of the ribbon, giving it a gentle tug. “Let’s go before I say f**k it and unwrap you here in the kitchen and take you on the counter.”

I’m not opposed to skipping dinner and being dessert now. After what happened earlier, I know I won’t put off being with him.

He smiles like he read my mind and shakes his head. “Dinner, then dessert.”

My pu**y contracts and I bite my lip to stop from moaning. He leans forward, his finger going to my chin, pulling my lip out from between my teeth, kissing me softly.

“I wouldn’t mind skipping dinner,” I tell him when his mouth leaves mine.

He laughs, shaking his head and taking my hand. “We’re both gonna need our strength.” He walks us out to his car, opening the passenger’s side door for me before shutting it and jogging around the car to slide behind the wheel. As soon as we make it down the driveway, his hand interlocks with mine on my lap.

“So, where are we going?” I ask once I find my voice again.

“An Italian place a couple of towns over. They have the best eggplant parmesan I’ve ever eaten in my life.”

“I love Italian,” I tell him.

“I know.” He smiles, squeezing my fingers.

“How do you know?”

“All those frozen dinners you bought are Italian.” He laughs, making me smile and my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

“I’m not good at cooking.” I shake my head and look out the window.

“I can teach you how to cook,” he says softly, squeezing my hand.

“I would like that.” I’ve always wanted to learn how to cook, but every time I’ve tried, it’s been a disaster, so I’ve given up.

We talk the rest of the way to the restaurant about his favorite things to cook and how he learned. I knew that his aunt Viv and uncle own the diner I had gone to the first time I met Viv, but I didn’t know that he used to work there during the summers when he was younger.

When we arrive at the restaurant, he finds parking along the busy street and leads me inside. The interior is dim, with mood lighting that makes the space feel much more intimate. The tables are covered in white linen cloths with a single tea light candle in the center of each. The host leads us to a small table in the back of the restaurant, but when he begins to pull out my chair, Kenton stops him, taking the chair and holding it for me until I take a seat. He then takes his own seat across from me.

“Would you like to see the wine list?” the waitress asks when she arrives at our table.

I look up at her and see that her eyes are glued to Kenton. I know that, if we’re going to try and build something lasting between us, I need to get a hold on the jealousy I feel when other women admire him, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

“Would you like a glass of wine, baby?”

My eyes travel from the waitress to Kenton, and I shake my head. I don’t want anything tainting tonight.

His eyes darken with approval and never leave mine as he answers the waitress. “Just water for now.”

She nods and leaves us to look over the menus.

“Do you know what you’re going to have?” he asks after a few minutes.

“I don’t know. Everything looks so good,” I tell him, my mouth watering in anticipation.

“Everything here is delicious. My parents used to bring me and Toni here when we were growing up.”

My throat clogs at the happy memory of him and his family. A wave of sadness hits me over the fact that I have none to share with him.

“Stay with me, baby. We’re here together.” He takes my hand in his, some of his strength seeping into me through our connection.

I look into his eyes and nod as he brings my fingers to his mouth, pressing a kiss to them. “I’m okay,” I say after a few seconds.

He nods but doesn’t release my hand. Even when the waitress comes back to the table to take our order, he still holds on to me but changes the subject. We talk about my job and the request I put in to change shifts; we also talk about Justin and how he started working for him.

He keeps the conversation away from family and anything else he thinks might have me retreating. I know what he’s doing, and I appreciate it more than he knows. During dinner, I realize that he has a way of reading me that no one else ever had. That in itself tells me everything I need to know about being with him.

“Are you ready for dessert?” the waitress asks when she arrives back at our table after clearing our empty dishes.

I squirm, remembering what he said to me in the kitchen about being dessert when we got home. His eyes flare and his tongue comes out, running along his bottom lip.

“Yes,” Kenton replies, his eyes on mine. “You ready for dessert, baby?”

I know his question isn’t about food, and I squeeze my legs together and nod.

“We’ll take a piece of tiramisu to go, please.” He pulls out his wallet, handing her his card.

After he gets his card back along with a dessert box, we get back into his car, and the lust is so thick that I swear I can taste it as he pulls out into traffic. His hand goes to my knee then travels up my thigh and under the hem of my dress. When I feel his finger slide over my core, I gasp.

“Fuck, you sat across from me the whole time like that?” he growls, his finger running down my bare center again.

“Kenton,” I cry when his finger circles my clit.

“Jesus, baby.” His fingers circle my entrance then travel up to run around my clit, keeping me on the edge of the orgasm I feel building, torturing me. I grab his wrist, trying to pull it away. His arm flexes and his hand cups me over my pussy. “This is mine. I get to play with it any time I want, any way I want to.”

His words have me panting. I turn my head to look at his profile and his eyes come to me. The want and determination I see has me removing my hands from his wrist, sitting back, and spreading my legs slightly.

“Good girl.” He keeps up the same pace and movements, and this time when I feel the orgasm building again, I expect him to pull away like he’s been doing. Instead, two fingers swiftly enter me and I lift my h*ps higher, meeting his hand. His fingers curve and I come; my head rolls against the headrest and my legs squeeze his hand, which is lodged between my legs.

I wonder how he’s able to drive while controlling my body. I look back over at him once I come back down from the high of my orgasm. I have no idea what happened to my inhibitions, but he makes me want to give myself to him, makes me want to please him. I watch as his fingers leave me and he slowly puts them in his mouth. His eyes close like I’m the best thing he’s ever tasted before coming to me for a second then going back to the road again.

“Yes. That pu**y is mine.”

I press my legs together and pray that we make it to the house without me climbing into his lap and causing an accident. When we pull onto the dirt road that leads to the house, I sigh in relief and hear him hiss out a breath when I lean over and wrap my hand around his cock, feeling it throb against my palm.

“So is this mine then?” I ask teasingly.

The car comes to a stop, and he looks at me. “I’m yours. All of me is yours.”

His words hit my chest and the look in his eyes makes the last of the barricades around my heart crumble into dust. I swallow and lick my bottom lip, never breaking eye contact.

“And I’m yours,” I tell him.

His eyes close and his forehead touches mine. “That makes me a very happy man.” His hand moves to the underside of my jaw, tilting my head to the side, and his mouth slants over mine, taking it in a deep kiss before tearing away. “Inside. Now.”

His door opens and I fumble with my seatbelt, getting it unhooked right as my door is opened. I’m out of the car in a heartbeat, and we rush up the stairs. My mouth goes to his neck as he fumbles with the keys, trying to get the door open. Once inside, he shoves me against the wall, his hands going to the tie on my dress. I expect him to rip it apart. Instead, he drops to his knees, his eyes locking on mine as he slowly pulls the ribbon, causing the dress to fall open, exposing one side of my body.

His fingers move to the small button on the inside of the dress, undoing it quickly, making the dress open completely. He looks me over then pulls the dress off my arms, letting it drop to the floor, leaving me in nothing but my sheer bra and heels.

“Best gift I’ve ever unwrapped,” he mumbles, running his hands along my sides then to my ass, pulling my h*ps forward to kiss me above my pubic bone.

I start to pant as I watch his tongue come out and lick up my center. My head falls back as his hand lifts my leg over his shoulder. My hands go to his head for leverage as he shoves his face between my legs, his mouth sucking my cl*tbefore releasing and licking it in fast strokes.

“Oh God,” I breathe as two fingers enter me and my body starts to shake. My one heel on solid ground makes me teeter. “Wait,” I cry, feeling myself start to fall.

His mouth never leaves me as he quickly maneuvers my other thigh onto his other shoulder, my back and him the only things keeping me from hitting the floor. His mouth takes me hard, sucking and licking until I explode. My hands fist into his hair, holding on for dear life as I fly into the abyss of a mind-shattering orgasm.

When I come to, we’re heading up the stairs. My head is on his shoulder and his hands are under my ass, holding me to him. He opens the door to my room and lays me on the bed. I quickly take off my shoes before lying back on the bed so, just like earlier today, I can watch him undress. The only difference is that, this time when he gets to his pants and unbuttons them, he pulls them and his boxers down at the same time. I hold my breath when I see his size. He’s long and wide, and there’s no way it’s going to fit inside me.

“It’ll be tight, but we’ll make it work.” The familiar words and the smile on his face cause me to smile and my body to relax.

My eyes roam from his eyes down his body, watching as he strokes himself. He walks slowly to me, his muscles flexing with each step. I scoot back up the bed as he crawls to me, his legs spreading my h*ps wide.

“You’re so gorgeous, baby.”

His body covers mine, his hands going behind my back, where I feel him unhook my bra then drag it down my shoulders. Once my br**sts are free, he lowers his head and pulls first one nipple into his mouth and then the other. I writhe under him, running my hands down his back to his ass, trying to pull him closer. I can feel more wetness surge between my legs as he torments my breasts. I grab his hair in my hands and pull his mouth away.

“I need you,” I breathe.

His eyes grow even darker and his fingers slip between my legs again. His hand leaves me, but then I feel the head of him at my entrance as he slowly starts to enter me, Then he stops, his body suddenly going still.

“What’s wrong?” I gasp, adjusting to his width.

“Condom… We need a condom.”

His words sound pained, and I search his face before deciding what to say. “I’m on the pill. I’ve been on the pill since I was seventeen.”

“Fuck,” he clips, making me jump and wonder if I said something wrong. “I’m clean, baby, but I want to make sure you’re really okay with this.” Both of his hands go to my hair, pushing it away from my face, his eyes looking me over.

“I want this.”

“Jesus,” he groans.

One of his hands goes to the underside of my thigh, lifting it up higher around his waist while slowly sinking into me. I breathe out against the slight pain, trying instead to concentrate on how good it feels. He starts to move in slow, steady strokes, his lips never leaving mine. I lift my h*ps higher, wrapping myself completely around him, needing to be as close as possible.

“So perfect. Your pu**y is so f**king perfect,” he says as he slides out only to slide back in, making me moan. Our skin starts to slicken with sweat, causing his body to slide smoothly against mine. “I’m not gonna be able to hold off,” he says, pulling his mouth from mine and pressing his forehead into my collarbone.