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His eyes followed the movement of my tongue and his grip on my ass tightened. “Anythin’.”

“Hmm,” I started slowly as I pressed myself against him. “If I could choose anything to do, I choose… you.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

I felt Jake’s growl in his chest as he lowered his mouth to mine.

All of the city sounds faded, every thought I had fled, and all I could do was feel.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, both to hold him close and to support myself. We lost control as the kiss became hot, intense, and incredibly inappropriate for a city sidewalk.

“Let’s go,” Jake rumbled as he lifted his head and broke the kiss, leaving me swaying slightly on trembling legs.

We walked in silence to Jake’s car, as if uttering one word would break the tenuous hold we had on acting like civilized adults. The air around us was filled with tense anticipation.

The ride went faster than when we’d been heading to dinner as he pushed the speed limit.

When we got to his condo, Jake let us in and locked the door. He turned to face me, though he didn’t close the distance between us.

Like a pause button had been hit, we just stood and looked at each other.

Moving slowly, Jake kept eye contact as he slid his jacket off, revealing pure, masculine beauty. His every movement was rigid and controlled, but I could sense it was fading fast.

I knew he was giving me space to breathe. Time to think or change my mind.

I needed neither.

His eyes stayed locked on me as he dropped his coat to the floor.

My hand released my purse at the same time, letting it clatter to the floor as its contents spilled out.

I didn’t see what went where and I didn’t care.

Just like that, the standstill was done. Instead of just pressing play, though, someone pressed fast forward.

Before I could blink, I was against the wall with Jake’s mouth hard on mine. Our movements were frantic and urgent, a race to touch and feel all we could. His hands trailed my body, making every nerve ending come to life. I touched every part of him I could reach and felt his muscles flex and ripple in response.

I whimpered and my arms tightened reflexively as Jake moved back slightly to look down at me.

“I’m not walkin’ away, Piper. I tried to but I couldn’t. But say the word and we’ll stop. If you don’t like somethin’, if you want me to stop, even if you just wanna slow down, just say so. Yeah?”

“Okay.” Even as I said it, I knew there was no chance I would want or need to stop.

“Fuck.” He pulled me from the wall and led me into his room. “You deserve soft and sweet for your first time, but that isn’t me. I don’t know if I even have that in me, but as bad as I want you? I don’t think my control could hold for me to make love to you.”

“I didn’t ask you to. I know what I want and it isn’t soft and sweet.” I began unbuttoning his shirt.

He dipped down so I could push his shirt off his shoulders, then repeated the action so I could whip his undershirt off. I traced the gears in his arm tattoo, feeling his bicep muscles tighten under my fingertips.

“What do you want?”

“I want to taste you,” I blurted out.

“No one’s stoppin’ you.”

I felt his hardness straining against the zipper. My fingers shook as I tried to unbutton his pants. When Jake’s large hands covered both of mine, I stopped and looked up at him.