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I lifted her chin, our eyes meeting, and I kissed her again, my touch gentle yet passionate. I leaned down kissing and stroking her breasts. They were perfectly sized, fitted to my hands, and the nipples hardened as I flicked my thumb across them.

Our lips met once more, and my hands found their way to her waist, pulling her closer. Our magic continued to intertwine, creating a powerful connection that deepened with each passing moment.

Lifting her effortlessly, I turned and laid her back against the cushions. Then I kissed my way down her body, paying homage to every inch of skin with my lips and tongue. By the time I reached her navel, she was trembling beneath me, her breaths uneven.

I undid the clasp of her jeans, and Marigold lifted her hips, allowing me to slide the clothing off. She wore a simple pair of black panties underneath, and I couldn’t resist running my fingers over the lace edge

“Gorgeous,” I whispered and trailed kisses down her stomach. My hands roamed over her thighs, tracing patterns on her skin that made her shiver.

“Keane,” she moaned.

I nipped at the waistband of her panties before sliding them off as well. Marigold’s legs fell open for me willingly, and I took in the sight of her—bare and exposed to my hungry gaze. She really was beautiful and oh so real.

Leaning forward, I pressed a kiss to the inside of each thigh, slowly working my way towards my ultimate destination.

Marigold’s breaths came quick and shallow as I teased her with light touches along the edge of where she wanted me most. Finally, unable to hold back any longer, she reached down and tangled one hand in my hair while using the other to guide me to her apex.

I eagerly complied, dipping my tongue between swollen folds until she was writhing beneath me with pleasure. I worshipped her the way I wanted to—with my mouth, my hands, my everything. Licking her, savoring her, drawing every moan, every shuddered breath from her body like a prayer.

Her thighs trembling around my face as I pushed her closer, coaxing her toward the edge but never letting her fall too soon.My fingers slid inside her, and she choked on my name as her body arched off the couch.

Her hips bucked against me as she drew closer and closer to ecstasy. When it hit, her body tensed, her back arching, her hands clenching in my hair as she came, moaning my name like it was the only thing anchoring her to the world. I held her through it, my tongue working her through every aftershock, my fingers pressing deep until she was trembling beneath me.

Only when she finally sagged against the cushions, her breathing ragged, did I lift my head, pressing one last reverent kiss against her thigh.

She blinked at me, dazed, her lips parted. “Keane…”

I stood, taking off the rest of my clothes. Then I kissed my way back up her body, letting her taste herself on my lips as I settled between her legs. My cock throbbed with need, but I didn’t rush.

I never wanted to rush this.

She reached between us, wrapping her fingers around me, and I groaned, pressing my forehead to hers. Her touch was tentative at first, then bolder, stroking me slowly.

“Marigold—” I caught her hand, stopping her before I lost the last of my restraint.

She laughed breathlessly, utterly wrecked but still teasing.

“Now Keane,” she whispered. “I want all of you.”

A shudder racked through me at her words. She didn’t just want sex. She wantedme.

I lined myself up, pressing in slowly, inch by agonizing inch, watching every flicker of emotion cross her face. I felt her stretch around me, felt the moment I was fully inside her, buried in the only person who had ever made me feel whole.

I thrust into her slowly at first, savoring the way she clenched around me, the way her nails raked down my back, the way she breathed my name like it was salvation.

“Stars above,” I groaned against her neck, “you feel so good.”

“Keane,” she gasped, rocking her hips experimentally, and I lost the last thread of my sanity.

She met my rhythm, her body moving with mine, and it wasn’t just making love. It was something deeper, something carved into my bones, something that felt like fate.

I wasn’t careful anymore. I couldn’t be.

I pushed deeper, harder, dragging her against me with every thrust, needing her closer, needing all of her. My hands gripped her hips like she was the only thing keeping me from falling apart, like she was the only thing anchoring me to this world.

Her moans grew louder, more desperate, and I felt her unraveling beneath me. “Keane, I’m—”

“I’ve got you, love.”