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“Don’t think this is an invitation to stay,” she whispered as Skye’s fingertips grazed down her neck. His face was so open, so raw, it left her breathless. “This is still my shower. I’ll be checking your timecard.”

“You’re really committed to this bit.”

“I’m nervous.” His thumb grazed her nipple. Her breath hitched. “Just let me have it.”

Dipping his head, he touched his brow to hers. “Fine. The shower is yours.” She shivered as those fingers continued to circle her breast. “Though I’ll need to find my timecard. I think I left it in my coat—”

He moved to pull away, but Taly gripped him by the shoulders and hauled his mouth back to hers.

The first time he kissed her—the first time she’d ever been kissed—he’d been so gentle. It was the kind of kiss she’d always read about, the kind of kiss that still brought a dreamy smile to her face.

This wasn’t that. This was teeth and breath and desperation. Her nails carved down his back, and he groaned, low and wrecked, into her mouth.

Each kiss blurred into the next, more frantic, more frenzied. It was everything at once—years of tension and restraint crashing together, longing unfurling like a whipcrack. They were two forces colliding, with no hope of slowing down or pulling away.

Except then he did. He broke free of the gravitational pull binding them together. Taly’s growl was immediate. Any hard feelings, however, were immediately forgotten when his lips found her neck.

“Tell me that you love me,” he demanded, nipping and licking a slow, teasing path down.

“I love you,” Taly sighed as warm water cascaded down her body, competing with the heat of his mouth.

“Say that you’re mine.”

“I’m—” But the words got caught when he sucked her nipple deep into his mouth. His teeth scraped against her, biting down gently. Her entire body arced off the wall as she moaned, “I’m yours.”

Skye moved to her other breast, teasing her with tongue and teeth. Nimble fingers made quick work of the buttons on her trousers.

Then he was on his knees.

His mouth moved lower, pressing searing, open-mouthed kisses along her stomach. His fingers skimmed down the backs of her thighs, and only then did she realize her pants were gone, tossed onto their pile of discarded clothing—along with her undergarments.

He hooked a hand beneath her knee, lifting and shifting her leg aside with clear purpose.

Taly was shaking—from fear, nervousness, but also heady anticipation.

Their eyes met through the valley of her breasts. He didn’t ease her into it.

Spreading her with two fingers, his tongue dragged clean up her center.

Taly jerked, more surprised than anything.

On the second pass, he ended with a flick to her nub that sent sparks of electricity sizzling through her.

“Like that?” he murmured.

“I, uh…” It was a whimper that turned into a groan as he licked her again, flattening his tongue over that little aching nub. “Oh my Shards, why do you have a magic tongue?”

He pulled back just enough to breathe against her, the heat of his mouth replaced by cool air and a smirk she could feel more than see. “Yeah. Like that, I think.” One finger pressed into her, already hot and slick. Her hips jerked instinctively. “So, exactly how much time have I earned?”

When she didn’t answer—couldn’t gather enough conscious thought to form words—he licked her again.

Her eyes nearly rolled back into her head as her head hit the shower wall with an echoing thud.

“Does that mean I can stay?” One finger became two, and Taly whimpered at the fullness. “Because it feels like maybe you wouldn’t mind if I stayed.”

It made no sense how good Skye’s fingers felt between her legs, why they felt so much better than her own.

“Answer me, Taly, or I’ll stop.”