“Better,” he said, and rolled so that she was on top of him, pressing all his sinewy, hard perfection into the mattress.

The truth was that he was the beautiful one, all long, lean planes and hard muscle. She had no idea how long this thing between them could possibly last, but she didn’t fool herself. It wasn’t forever. It wasn’t even long term. She’d ensured that already by not being honest. Because she knew that it was only a matter of time now before that came back and bit her on the ass.

But when this was over, she’d miss him. She’d miss his laugh, his wit, his inner strength…She’d miss everything, including just looking at him. She wanted to memorize him, every single inch: his square jaw and the perpetual scruff, his sexy chest, the cut of the muscles at his hips, his thighs, and what he had between them—which, for the record, was just about the most gorgeous thing she’d ever seen. And that was saying a lot, because in general, guy parts weren’t all that gorgeous.

It was then, halfway through her inspection of his body, that his warm breath tickled her ear as his teeth sank gently into her earlobe. His tongue flickered over the spot before his lips slid down her neck to the hollow at the base of her throat, and that slow burn in her belly spread south.

His scent was already familiar to her and still so erotic, making her dizzy with longing. “Cole…”

“Kiss me,” he said, as if he was feeling all the same things. And then, without waiting for her, he yanked her down and kissed her, a soft, openmouthed connection that made her gasp as the tip of his tongue outlined her lips. She opened for him, but he pulled back.

Watching her, eyes hot, he smiled. She stared at his mouth, wanting it back on hers so badly she could taste him.

He gave in with a soft, fleeting kiss. And then another. One more…

He was teasing her.

“Cole.”

“Come here, Warrior Woman,” he murmured, and gathering her in, he finally gave her what she wanted. It was a really great kiss too, hot and sexy, with just the right amount of tongue to make her breathing quicken and her entire body quiver for more.

He knew what he was doing.

And she didn’t. Not when it came to him. Oh, she knew the mechanics, but he’d taken it so far beyond simple mechanics that she felt a little lost, and more than a little panicky.

“You feel good,” he said, tucking her beneath him. “You feel right.”

His words infused her with confidence, and not done with being on top, she rolled them back.

And right off the bed.

She gasped and he laughed as he planted his fists on either side of her shoulders to lift his weigh off her. But she liked it, and wrapped her legs around his hips to show him how much—

A knock sounded on the wall right above them. The wall that she shared with the next apartment over. Callie’s.

Both Cole and Olivia went still.

“Hello?” came Callie’s voice through the wall. “Olivia? Is that you? Are you okay?”

Olivia stared wide-eyed at Cole. “Yes,” she said, but had to clear her throat of the sexual rasp and try again. “Yes, it’s me. I’m—”

Cole slid down her body and put his mouth to a breast, sucking her into his mouth hard, and her entire body quivered. “Oh, my God.”

“What?” Callie asked. “You got a spider? Did you fall? It sounded like you fell.”

“Thin walls,” Olivia whispered to Cole.

Lifting his head, he flashed a grin and switched to her other breast, which he licked and nuzzled, and then gently closed his teeth over her nipple.

“Oh, my God,” she gasped again.

“What?” Callie asked. “You keep saying that! Listen, I’m coming over—”

“No!” Olivia sucked in a desperately needed gulp of air as Cole shifted down her body. “No,” she said. “I’m—” God, his tongue was shockingly talented. For a guy who professed to not having done this for two years, he hadn’t forgotten a damn thing about a woman’s body. “I’m fine,” she managed, squirming as Cole kissed her hip and worked his way inward from there. All she could see of him now was the top of his head and the broad width of his shoulders, gleaming by candlelight between her legs.

“You sure?” Callie asked. “I’ve got a lantern. We could—”

“No!” Sweet baby Jesus. She tried to soften her voice, but Cole had her about to sing the Hallelujah Chorus. “Don’t come!”

“Well, jeez. Okay,” Callie said.

Again Olivia lifted her head and stared down her torso at Cole. He had a big hand on each of her inner thighs. Holding her gaze for a beat, he then dropped his head and locked in on her goods.

“Beautiful,” he mouthed, and let his thumbs brush her core.

And then again, and this time his thumbs were slick from her arousal.

Eyes on hers, he brought one of those thumbs to his mouth and sucked her wetness like it—she—was a delicacy. Her mouth fell open, and she must have made some sort of sound because Callie knocked again. “Olivia? You sure you’re okay?”

Not appearing to be concerned that he was driving her to the very brink of sanity, or that she was trying to shoo Callie off, Cole bent his head back to his task, using his tongue now, up and down, and back up…

Olivia arched into him, managing to rasp out “I’m sure!” to Callie. She looked at Cole. “She’s not coming,” she whispered.