“You’re sweet,” he said, trailing his fingertips up and down her spine. “I can’t believe there hasn’t been anyone. I know you’ve dated.”

“That’s not the equivalent of putting out.”

“It’s not?” He laughed, and she smacked him on the arm.

“No, it’s not. I’ve dated a few guys. None of them did anything for me. Then there was an incident…” She trailed off, not sure she really wanted to tell him about that. She should have known he would pick up on it. Suddenly his voice wasn’t low and seductively rough, but sharp and like the crack of a whip.

“What incident?”

The memory was still as vivid in her mind as it had been the day after it happened, but she no longer felt the crushing panic in her chest she’d felt then. Surely it would be safe to share it with him without freaking out. “It was something that happened at Deanne’s graduation party. This guy was drunk and wouldn’t leave me alone, and he ended up trapping me in a corner, pulling a forced seduction bit. I’d let him kiss me at first, but when his hands started wandering, I tried to push him away and he wouldn’t stop. He got his hands under my shirt and was saying really nasty things in my ear. I guess to everyone else we looked like another couple making out in the corner, and it seemed to go on forever before anyone intervened. Deanne’s fiancé finally dragged him away, but he was Tyler’s friend so they were all playing it off like it was so funny. Saying, ‘Oh, don’t mind him, baby, he’s just drunk’. But for a minute there, I was scared to death. I couldn’t stop shaking afterward.”

“Who was it?”

“No one you know. He doesn’t live here.” Fortunately for him, because Brian’s tone held the promise of murder.

“Fucking bastard,” he growled. “Tyler’s a bastard, too, for not yanking his boy in line. I can’t stand that little frat-rat douche bag, and if I knew the son of a bitch who wouldn’t stop pawing you, I’d break his arms for you, Candace.”

She couldn’t resist the glow that spread through her chest, so she reveled in it. “Don’t worry too much about it. For a while I didn’t want anything to do with any guys, but I got over that. Obviously.”

“Whatever happens with us, you can trust that all you have to do is say the word and I’ll stop. Hell, you don’t even have to say the word. Unlike the dumbass who cornered you, I can tell when you’re enjoying it and when you’re not.”

“I know.”

“But I have to say.” He trailed his fingers down her cheek, his eyes glinting wickedly at her in the faint light. “I didn’t get nearly enough of you. You told me to do one thing, and I did it, but we didn’t stipulate as to whether I could do it more than once. So with your permission, of course, I’d love to get another taste of you. Draw it out. Make it last.” He pulled away, searching her face. “You don’t mind how I talk to you, do you?”

So lost in ecstasy over his request, she almost missed the question. “I love it. There are things you want to hear from some people, but not so much from others.”

“Mm-hmm.” He coaxed her over onto her back again. With a stroke so soft and slow she could scarcely feel it, the tip of his finger slid up the middle of her sex, tantalizing every inch of her. She sighed and opened her legs wider. “That’s good. Because I want you to know how soft and wet and perfect you are. How crazy you’re driving me,” he said, grazing her throat with his lips.

“Yeah, you can keep that up all night,” she murmured, squirming against the sensations he was building all over again. His fingertip trailed from her clitoris to her entrance, dipped inside, and spread the wetness he found all through and around her folds. She arched upward, needing more, seeking a deeper contact, and he kept his hand between her legs as he kissed and licked his way down her body.

She threaded her fingers through his hair and left them there as he took position between her thighs again, holding them open as he’d done before. Just when she thought she couldn’t bear another moment without his mouth on her, he lowered his head and leisurely built the pressure to a towering inferno all over.

Jesus, did all guys know how to do this so well? She doubted it. She liked to think that for her first non-self-induced orgasms, she’d found the absolute best.

He caught her at the edge of the precipice and slid his fingers deep inside. The sudden tight burn was all it took to push her over. This time, when her release swept her away, it was long, and rolling, and he knew just how to stoke it, just how to draw it out with the gentle thrust and drag of his fingers. She finally collapsed, utterly drained as the last contraction bled her of all remaining strength, her hands relinquishing their death grasp on the sheets because she couldn’t hold on anymore.

Brian rose up over her. She managed to crack open one eye to peek at him. “Wow.”

“Wow,” he agreed. She could smell her own musky scent as he nuzzled under her jaw to kiss her neck. She tipped her chin to the side and bared it for him, noticing his erection still strained his jeans. He’d said she could see him, was he going to keep it zipped up all night?

Steeling her resolve, she made a bold move. She reached down between them and stroked it. Damn if he didn’t do that sexy hiss sound again, right in her ear.

“Candace.”

“Your jeans are still on,” she pouted.

“They need to stay that way, honey. All that control I was bragging about just now? Yeah, it’s pretty much hanging by a thread. If you get your hands on my cock, I’m afraid I’ll lose it and f**k you senseless right here.”

Her soft gasp was involuntary. His words at once thrilled and terrified her. Whichever emotion was more dominant, it caused her blood to hit flashpoint. She was about three seconds—and a whole lot of courage—away from begging him to do it.

“Is that really what you want? I’ll hurt you.” Even now his voice was shaky, and more savage than she’d ever heard it. Like this, he scared her, and she loved it. If only her stupid virginity weren’t in the way, the two of them could have one hell of a time together.

“I know it’ll hurt.”

“I’m talking more about in the long run.”

She ignored that. Now, at this moment, she couldn’t ponder any future heartbreak he might bring her. “You’re insinuating that I don’t have good judgment in determining who I want to sleep with.”

“I have the advantage. I think I know me better than you do.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is. You just gave me two orgasms. What difference does it make that it was with your mouth and not with your…” She snapped her mouth shut.

“Oh, please say it.” He laughed.

“Fine. Your dick.”

“Filthy-mouthed little minx.”

“Ha! You’re one to talk.”

“I know how I talk. But you’re so sweet, baby.”

“You’re changing the subject.”

“I’m actually trying to talk myself down.”

“Is it working?”

“Not really.”

If the hardness pressing into her thigh was any indication, it definitely wasn’t. And when she truly examined her feelings, she realized that all of her lust-charged courage had fled her now. “Brian, I could…do something else for you. Whatever you wanted. It isn’t fair to leave you like this.”