Page 105 of Colliding with Ten

That’s all it took for him to spring off the bed. I propped myself up on my elbows and watched him push his pants down. I’d like to say I was composed, that I’d handled Lennox's reveal with dignity, like a woman who had seen attractive men before. My eyes widened. I pressed my lips together so hard they turned white. A sound came out of me, somewhere between a laugh and a prayer.

He saw my expression and paused. “What is it?”

“Nothing. Just… adjusting.”

He dropped his head and laughed. The sight of it—of this man, bare, unguarded, and laughing because of what I’d said—made my chest squeeze in a way that had nothing to do with what was about to happen.

He reached into the nightstand drawer and tore open a condom wrapper, rolling it on with a practiced ease. I was grateful because I had not thought about it. My brain had checked out, and if left to my own devices, I would have remembered at the worst possible time and killed the mood. Thank God one of us was still operational.

He came back to me. I slid my hands up his chest, across the ridges of his abs, feeling the muscles tense and relax under my fingers. He shivered. The quarterback who didn’t flinch under a three-hundred-pound defensive end shivered because I touched his stomach.

“It’s my turn to explore,” I said.

He lay back, pulling me on top of him, and the shift in power went to my head. His hands gripped my hips as he leaned back against the pillows with his eyes on me. My body tensed.

“Hi,” I said, looking down at him.

He smiled. “Hi.”

“You’re letting me lead?”

“You asked to explore.” His thumbs made circles on my hip bones. “So explore.”

Now I wasn’t so sure. I wasn’t a virgin, but I didn’t have much experience. “What if I’m bad at this?”

He looked at me like I’d just told him the earth was flat. “You’re a dancer who can do a full split on command. I think you’ll manage.”

I laughed, and my nerves eased. This terrifying thing wasn’t terrifying anymore. It was just us.

My hand reached to guide him. His breath hitched at the contact, and that sound made me feel powerful. I sank down, taking him in inch by inch. The stretch stole my breath. I paused halfway, palms flat on his chest, fingers pressing into muscle as my body adjusted to his size. His jaw tensed as his fingers pressed into my hips. He waited, his eyes sending encouragement.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice strained.

“Give me a second,” I breathed.

“Take all the time you need, baby. But if you could go a bit faster, my sanity would appreciate it.”

I dropped my head and laughed into his chest. “I’m sorry, it’s been a while.”

He was shaking beneath me, half from restraint and half from laughing with me. “It’s okay, baby.”

I flushed at the term of endearment. When I lifted my head, his eyes were warm, a mix of desire and affection. It gave me renewed strength. I pulled back to the tip, then slid all the way down, feeling both pleasure and pain. He groaned low and raw, pushing his head deeper into the pillow. His eyes squeezed shut as his hands gripped me harder.

“Fuck.”

“Still think I can manage?” I whispered.

He opened his eyes and looked at me, making my toes curl against the sheets. “I should put you in charge more often.”

Rocking my hips, I began a slow pas de deux. He let me set the pace, his strength there if I needed it. The look on his face said he was holding back a lot to stay there.

I leaned back, arms extending behind me in an arch, my body curving open for him. His hand came up to my breast, thumb circling my nipple, while the other slipped between us and fondled my clit. The combination buckled in my core. I gasped, and my pace faltered. His hips rose to meet mine in a thrust so deep and powerful that I realized being on top didn’t mean I was in control. He was doing things from beneath me that shouldn’t have been possible, every stroke hitting a place that drove me wild.

He sat up without warning, arm wrapping around my back, his mouth on my neck, breath hot against my skin. Then his hands were on my hips again, lifting and guiding me onto my hands and knees. With my legs spread wide, he entered again in one smooth motion. The depth of it, God, the depth of it made me cry out. I pushed back, begging for more.

“No rushing,” he whispered into my ear, then kissed my shoulder.

I adjusted to him.