My knees were giving out on me. He reached around me and held me up as he moved his lips down my neck. I’d never in my life felt so on fire…so desperate for another person’s touch.

I tried to talk, but nothing came out. His lips traveled down my body until he found my br**sts. He fondled my one breast and nipple while he took the other into his mouth.

“Oh God…” I threw my head back as my whole body trembled.

He slowly moved his lips down my stomach. I’d never had a man treat my body with such…adoration.

“I can’t get close enough to you, Whitley.”

My breathing started to pick up, and I grabbed his hair to keep myself from falling. As his lips moved farther down, his fingers slipped beneath my panties. The feeling that shot through my body was amazing. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced before.

He slowly started to slip off my panties. The trail of sensations he left with his fingers on my skin was more than I could stand. I was barely able to pick up my feet to get the panties off.

Then, I felt his lips on my upper thigh, and I ran my hands through his hair as I threw my head back again and moaned.

“Layton…”

I’d never let Roger give me or*l s*x—ever. At first, I’d practically begged him to, but he’d said it was dirty. Then, toward the end, he’d wanted to, but I couldn’t bear the thought of his lips down there.

Layton kissed me all the way up my leg and ended right above my clit. I wanted to grab his face and make him touch me with his lips, but he slowly stood up. He cupped my face with his hands, and leaning down, he kissed me with so much passion and love that I wanted to cry.

He slowly backed me into the shower. He pushed me up against the wall, and all I could think of was how jealous Courtney was going to be. All she ever talked about was shower sex and how she wanted it.

When I didn’t think we could kiss any longer and when I was in desperate need of air, he pulled his lips from mine. He gently bit down on my lower lip, and I let a moan slip from my mouth.

“Whitley,” he whispered against my lips, “I want to get to know every inch of your body. I want to make nothing but memories with you. Every day. Every minute. Every second.” He gently kissed me in between his words.

I’d never experienced such passion in my life. “Layton…I…I…”

His smile caused my stomach to drop.

Oh good God, I’ve never felt like this before. I love him.

“Tell me, Whit…tell me, baby.”

He placed both hands on my face and brought me in for another kiss. I was slowly losing myself to him. I never wanted this moment to ever end.

I slowly pulled away and looked into his eyes. “I love you, Layton. I tried to fight it, but…I want to be with you every second of the day. I want…I want you to…” I felt tears burning my eyes.

Can I do this? Can I open myself up to another man again? Can I trust that he’ll love me and never hurt me?

He slowly smiled as he reached around my body and lifted me up.

“You want me to, what, Whitley? Love you? Because I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you standing next to your car, since the moment your beautiful green eyes looked into mine. The moment I heard your sweet voice talk to me, I knew deep down inside that I would love you forever.”

I buried my face into his neck and cried.

I wasn’t sure how long he held me while I cried. He gently put me down and reached for the soap. He began to wash every inch of my body. He turned me around and placed my hands on the shower wall.

Everywhere he touched left tingles. The way he was washing me was almost as sensual as hav**g s*x. I didn’t want him to stop. I’d never felt this intimate with another person in my entire life.

Then, his hands began to wash my hair.

“Feels…so…good.” I could hardly talk.

After he rinsed my hair and body off, he reached over and shut off the water. I didn’t even care that we hadn’t had knock-my-socks-off wall sex in the shower. He’d just knocked my f**king socks off by washing me and giving every square inch of my body attention.

He took my hand and led me out of the shower. Reaching into a cabinet, he pulled out a towel. He looked down at me and smiled the most breathtaking smile I’d ever seen. His eyes sparkled, and his dimple—

My God, I feel weak in the knees.

I slowly smiled back as he let out a small laugh. He wrapped me up in the towel, and then he quickly grabbed another one and dried himself off. I looked up and down his perfect body. I knew he worked out every day, but holy hell, he was amazing.

He had a tattoo on his side of the U.S. Marine Corps symbol with Mike’s name on it. Under that was another name—Kate.

Who in the hell is Kate? And why is her name on his body?

I pulled my eyes away from her name and looked into his eyes.

He smiled and gave me a wink. “Kate’s my niece, Mike’s daughter.”

What?

I started to shake my head as tears began burning my eyes. “I didn’t…oh my God. How old is she?” My heart instantly hurt for this little girl who had lost her daddy. I can’t even imagine.

He smiled and placed his hand on my face. “She’s five. Don’t cry, baby.”

I slowly put my hands over my mouth. “Oh, Layton.”

He shook his head as he slowly unwrapped the towel from my body. “Only happy tears and memories tonight, honey.” He stepped back and looked my body up and down.

I instantly started to blush.

“Don’t be shy about your body, Whitley. You’re breathtaking, the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid my eyes on.” He reached down, scooped me up, and carried me into his bedroom.

Just when I didn’t think he could make the butterflies in my stomach any crazier, he did something else that made them take off into flight. He gently put me down and then crawled onto the bed.

“I’ve never in my life wanted someone as much as I want you, Whitley. I’m almost unable to breathe because I want to be inside you so badly.”

My chest started heaving up and down. “I need you, Layton,” I barely whispered.

I did need him. I needed him to make me forget every bruise caused by a man who had never truly loved me. I needed him to make me feel whole again. I needed him to make love to me. In that moment, I realized that Roger had never made love to me. He’d simply f**ked me.

Layton slowly started to kiss my stomach, and as he moved his burning kisses up my body, he ran his hand up and down my leg. By the time his lips met mine, I felt like I was going to scream.

Jesus…touch me, for Christ’s sake!

“Layton, please!” I practically willed him to touch me as I pushed my h*ps up to him, pleading for him.

I felt him smile against my neck.

“I’ve dreamed of this, Whitley, for the last week and a half. I don’t want to rush.”

I wanted to scream. As much as I loved how slow he was going, I needed to feel him closer to me. I needed to feel him inside me.

He brushed his lips against my neck and then captured my lips again.

“I’m going to make sweet love to you now, baby.”

Oh God. “Yes,” I whispered as I felt his hand move up my leg.

The moment he touched me, my whole body jerked.

“Oh God!”

I was so afraid I was going to come the moment he touched me. He slowly rubbed his thumb against my clit.

“Oh God, Layton.”

Right before he placed his finger inside me, he kissed me with so much passion that I started to cry. Then, he slid two more fingers in, and my h*ps jerked up. He moved his hand in such a way that I felt like I was floating on a cloud of pleasure.

He pulled back slightly, and against my lips, he said, “Oh, baby…you’re so wet.”

“I want you inside me, Layton,” I said as I breathed heavily.

He started moving his hand faster. I swore I could feel the build-up starting from my toes. It was moving up my body, and I grabbed his arm as I moved my h*ps faster.

Then, he pulled his hand away.

Wait! What is he doing? Why did he stop?

My head was spinning, and I was so confused. Then, I felt him on top of me and our eyes met.

“I want to be inside you the first time you come.”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Condom?” he asked.

“I’m on the pill, and I’ve only ever been with Roger. I was actually tested not long ago when I, um…when I found out he had been cheating. They all came back clean.”

Layton smiled as he looked at me. “I’ve always used a condom, even with Olivia.”

I just stared at him. “Always?”

He nodded and smiled.

“So, I’m kind of, like, your first?” I crinkled up my nose and let out a giggle.

“Yeah, baby, you are, and I pray to God I last at least a minute.”

I smiled and put my hands on his back. He teased me for a few minutes as I felt his dick just barely enter me before he pulled out.

“Oh God, Layton…you’re gonna kill me.”

He smiled and shook his head. “I’m so afraid I’m gonna lose it, Whit. I don’t want this feeling to stop. It feels like heaven.”

I slowly moved my fingertips up and down his back as he began to move again. He leaned down and brushed his tongue over my lips, and I let out a soft moan. I opened my mouth to him, and he slowly slipped his tongue inside. The way our tongues danced together was amazing. I pulled away and threw my head back as he pushed himself oh-so slowly inside me.

I let out a gasp, and he instantly stopped moving.

“Am I hurting you?”

“Don’t stop! Feels so good…please don’t stop.”

I moved my hands to his ass and pulled him closer to me.

Oh my Lord…he is huge.

But I didn’t really have much to compare him to since I’d only ever been with Roger.

He pushed more and let out a moan that traveled through my whole body.

“Jesus…you feel incredible,” he whispered against my ear. “Whitley…”

“Layton, it feels so good, so amazingly good.”

He moved his lips to mine and kissed me as he made such passionate love to me. I was feeling something I’d never felt before. The way he was moving in and out of me felt like pure heaven. He was so gentle, but at the same time, he gave me so much pleasure.

Then, I felt the build-up.

Oh yes! Oh dear Lord…what is happening? This has never felt so amazing. Never.

“Layton…Oh God, don’t stop! I’m…” I couldn’t even finish talking.

The orgasm swept over my body so fast and hard that all I could do was call out his name. I grabbed his ass as he started to move faster, harder.

“Yes!” I called out.

Just when I thought I was coming down from my orgasm, another one hit when he started to call out my name.

Oh God.

I almost needed him to stop. It was so intense.

“I can’t…Oh my God, Layton…”

My whole body was vibrating as he slowly came to a stop. It almost felt like I was still coming.

“Oh my God, I’ve never experienced anything so incredible in my entire life.”