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“Why didn’t you call?” He scanned the bed, then the bedside table, but there was no phone. “I’d have come straight back.”

She lifted her shaking hand and began waving it around haphazardly. It took some effort, but he figured out she’d tried to pick it up and… knocked it off the table? The phone hit the carpet and disappeared under the bed, where she couldn’t retrieve it because the base was too low to the floor.

Merrick lifted his head when Violet set a cup on the table, the contents gently steaming. She gave him a nod, then moved over to the hearth to get the fire going again. “If I sit up, you gonna freak out again, darlin’?”

Her arm shot up and hooked around his neck, pulling him closer. He settled his weight more firmly on top of her, knowing it was the wrong move, but by God, even with the robe between them, she fit him perfectly. He might be taller, his limbs longer, but the core of them was an undeniable match.

Trapped in his jeans, tortured by the orgy, his cock responded eagerly, thickening and lengthening swiftly. He didn’t have a standard, run of the mill, perfectly average penis, that was for sure.

Fascinated by the way her fear leeched from her eyes, softening with something more palatable to his soul, he brushed his lips over her cheek, tasting another tear. If he were a fanciful man, he’d say he could taste her terror, her apprehension, her relief in that salty drop, but emotions weren’t transferable through taste, were they?

“Merrick,” Violet said softly, a hard edge in her tone. “Not tonight.”

The Mistress was right to pull him up, he thought, but as his cock tried to punch through his zipper, he didn’t appreciate her interference. He wanted those soft, plump lips under his; he needed to kiss that silent mouth and feel Tamsyn’s groans reverberate inside him.

He was fucking obsessed.

Whether to annoy Violet or test his own control, he skimmed his lips over Tamsyn’s, grumbling happily under his breath when she opened for him, her hesitation warring with eagerness. Running his tongue over her lower lip, he took the firm flesh between his teeth and dragged it free.

Arousal flared in her eyes, her hips lifting to press against his erection.

It would take him seconds to reach between them, yank his zipper down, and release his cock.Seconds. That was all that stood between ejaculating in his jeans and filling her up with more cum than she could handle.

Fuck, he was a bad, bad man.

Trying to tone down his aggressiveness, Merrick claimed her mouth in a long, slow kiss before he pushed away from her. Standing, he adjusted his dick before he injured himself, noting how Tamsyn’s eyes followed the movement of his hand.

She didn’t move, sprawled on the bed with one side of the robe shucked up her thigh. Eyes dilated, breath panting, she was a goddess waiting to be plundered, the ultimate picture of tempting, wanton woman.

Evidently, his legendary self-control meant fuck all when she was in the vicinity.

Her lips curved in a dreamy, tremulous smile as she held up an index finger.

Merrick cocked his head. “First kiss?”

When she nodded, he felt his chest puff out slightly, as if some primal part of him was proud to take one of her firsts. What the hell would it feel like if he gave in to his base instincts and claimed her sweet, innocent pussy? Her tiny, untouched asshole?

King of the motherfucking world.

Shaking off the urge to touch her again, he walked over to the dresser to give himself a few seconds to get his lust under control, pulling out a clean T-shirt. Several deep breaths and a stern lecture later, he returned to her with a smile and his control back in place.

“Sit up, darlin’. Little owls who have their first kiss deserve sweet dreams.”

Awkwardly, she used her good hand to ease herself up, swallowing hard as he unbelted the robe and removed it off her shoulders. He took one long, delicious second to drink her in before he maneuvered her cast through an arm hole and tugged it over her head, letting her work her good arm through the other side.

“Before you go gallivanting around in the cold next time, if you look in that closet over there,” he pointed to a door in the corner, “it’s full of clothes that should fit you. Footwear, too. Violet bought what she thought would suit you, and she’s got a good eye.”

“Why, thank you, kind sir,” the woman in question purred from the doorway. “Have you finished your display of staking possession on the poor girl yet? Peeing around the bed might be just as effective.”

“Don’t tempt me.”

“What happened to ‘I’m not the right man’? Women talk,” Vi pointed out when he glowered at her. “Linnie’s a friend. Don’t worry, your passionate decree to stay away from Tamsyn hasn’t gone any further than me. I’d hate you to look like a love-whipped jackass and choke on your retraction when you do the unthinkable.”

Merrick ground his teeth lightly. “A man’s entitled to change his mind.”

“He’s entitled to fall in love,” she correctly quietly. “Especially when it’s returned.”

A small tug on his hand drew his attention down to his tawny-eyed, exhausted girl. She beamed at him even though she could barely keep her eyes open; she’d pushed well beyond her limits tonight, depleted vital energy supplies, and run the gamut of emotions.