As his lips pressed against mine, he made a soft moan in the back of his throat as he pressed his body to mine. My mind was whirling, spinning, not making any sense as the sensations and passion took over, making my body ache for something that I’d not dared to think about since Jack was alive. When his tongue grazed my lip, the kiss deepened and changed to something even more desperate and fulfilling. His taste and the way his body pressed against mine made me forget who I was. It was glorious.

He cupped my face as he guided me onto my back and hovered above me, pressing me down into the soft mattress. I whimpered as the desire built. My fingers dug into his back, clutching him closer to me as one of his hands slowly trailed down my neck, across my side until finally, his fingertips brushed against the skin of my stomach. He was doing everything slowly, as if waiting for me to stop him. His hesitancy caught me off-guard and made me doubt that this was a good idea. After all, I didn’t really want to be doing this with my new bodyguard, did I? My body answered for me. Yes, yes I did. As his hand pushed up under my pyjama top and headed up to cup my br**sts, I let out a little moan and arched into him, needing to get him closer to me, to be consumed by him, to be one with him.

As the kiss finally broke and he trailed his tongue down my neck, I was panting for breath and my body was on high alert. I closed my eyes as he inched my pyjama top up slowly. He was moving and doing everything so slowly, as if he thought I was going to freak out at any second.

“You can stop treating me like glass, Ashton, I’m not gonna break,” I whispered, wriggling under him, trying to feel as much of his body on mine as I could. He paused, pulling back from me gently before he nodded in acknowledgement, gripped my shirt and pulled it over my head in one swift motion.

I gasped, shocked how quickly it had happened. My face filled with heat because I was now half-naked in front of him. Insecurity and nervousness made me wince as I looked up at him. Only one man had ever seen me topless, and that wasn’t my choice. But my concern that he wasn’t going to like what he saw was immediately diminished when his eyes narrowed and his bottom lip rolled up into his mouth. The little moan of appreciation that he made set what felt like a hundred butterflies loose in my stomach.

“So beautiful,” he croaked, dropping my shirt over the side of the bed and hovering above me again, looking straight into my eyes. “So, so beautiful.”

His lips pressed against mine as he settled himself on top of me. I smiled against his mouth, looping my arms around his neck. It was like a dream, a nice one, one that I didn’t ever want to wake up from. The attention from him made me feel special, attractive and desired.

As his hands lavished attention on my body, I took the opportunity to touch him too. My fingertips glided over his chest, feeling the little bumps of his muscles, tracing the lines of them. He shivered, pulling his mouth from mine, heading down and closing his mouth over one of my ni**les. I gasped at the sensation, unaware that anything could actually feel this good with a man. The passion and need for him was incredible and all-consuming. My whole body was screaming for more.

His mouth headed lower. His hot tongue drew a circular pattern around my belly button before his teeth nipped gently at my overheated skin. When I felt the waistband of my shorts move, I raised my hips from the mattress in silent encouragement. This was all taking too long. I needed more, I couldn’t wait. I’d never wanted anyone like I wanted him, not even Jack. To be fair, Jack and I were so young that I hadn’t even known that this level of desire actually existed. Cool air hit my thighs as he eased my shorts down.

I was lost. Lost in the bliss of Ashton Taylor and the sensations and feelings he was causing within me. His hands and mouth on my body made me feel both hot and cold at the same time. My mind was whirling, unable to form any coherent thoughts other than one: please don’t stop.

When his mouth found mine again, he let out a little moan as one of his hands fisted into my hair. His excitement was evident as he ground his hips against mine. A shiver of desire made my eyes flutter shut as my whole body started to ache. My hands slid down his back, catching hold of the top of his boxers and pushing them down, trailing my nails across his pert, little behind as I did so. When the material was at his knees he kicked them off quickly, and one of his hands slid between our bodies as his mouth claimed mine in a kiss that was full of fire and passion.

My body jerked as his hand moved to the apex of my legs, brushing against my overheated skin. Little ripples of pleasure burst from within me, and he groaned. “So wet. Fuck, Anna,” he mumbled, pushing his hand down further. I gasped as his fingers pushed inside me gently. More of those little, pleasurable ripples erupted and I arched my back, gripping his shoulders for support.

He sucked on the spot just below my ear as his fingers started moving inside me slowly. My teeth sank into my bottom lip as my heart started to race. Not able to endure any more waiting, I shook my head, guiding his mouth back to mine again. “I’ve had enough foreplay, Ashton,” I mumbled against his lips, wriggling as my whole body seemed to get hotter and hotter by the second. Something was building inside me, some sort of frenzy.

Ashton pulled away fractionally. A pained, disappointed frown lined his forehead. “I don’t have a condom. Do you have one?” he asked, still working his fingers inside me.

I couldn’t answer. The ripples of desire had turned into waves – giant, intense waves that crashed over me. He was pushing me towards something, and I knew it would be good whatever it was. My blood seemed to whoosh in my ears as my insides throbbed and twitched. My back arched off the mattress as I gripped his shoulders tightly, crying out his name. For a few blissful seconds, it felt as if I was flying, as the sensations drove me higher and higher, until my body sagged and a contented sigh left my lips and all that was left was the residual ebb of pleasure and the flutter of my inner muscles.