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When her fingers lost their grip on his hair and her legs flopped uselessly off his shoulders, his generous well of patience dried up. She was wetter than she’d ever be—her pussy squelched with each thrust of his fingers, and her juices were soaking into his beard—and the only way he’d get her to relax any more was by knocking her out.

The fun, easy time was over.

Pressing his lips to her mound, Merrick savored this last precious moment of the present before they stepped into a new future. Before he stripped her of her innocence and helped rebuild her into a strong, confident, sexy as fuck siren.

Kissing a path up the middle of her body, he prowled over her, finally nuzzling the underside of her jaw. “Still got all your faculties, little owl?”

She hummed contentedly.

“Happy and relaxed?”

“Mm-hmm.”

He leaned on his right forearm, reaching for a condom. Ripping the packet open with his teeth, he pulled out the rubber and rolled it down his shaft with care. The slightest pressure in the wrong place and the night would go drastically awry.

The empty wrapper was tossed into the fire.

Slow and steady, he reminded himself. It was no different to any other time he slept with a woman who hadn’t played with him previously… fuck, who was he kidding?

It was completely different, and a hell of a lot more important on so many levels.

Using one hand, he managed to pump a few squirts of lube into his cupped fingers, liberally coating the condom. He wasn’t willing to take any risks with her and, as wet as she was, a little extra wouldn’t hurt.

“Tamsyn, look at me.”

Dazed, heavy lidded eyes drifted to meet his; she smiled as though she’d smoked half a pound of weed and was on her third rotation of flying around the planet. “Merk.”

“Hey, darlin’. You okay?”

She nodded, still beaming.

“My good girl,” he murmured, studying her eyes. “We’re gonna try something new now. Need you to keep on being my good girl and tell me if I go too far or I hurt you. Think you can do that?”

Her faculties were still in order, he noted gratefully. The dip in her smile and the awareness creeping through her high told him she was on the same page. They both knew what was coming next, only his knowledge was a lot more extensive than hers right now.

Lowering his weight more fully onto her, he guided his cock against her entrance, sliding one arm under her neck and curling the other around the pillow. “Eyes on me, little owl. Don’t look away, don’t close them. Keep them on me.”

There was more he wanted to say, but it was more for procrastination than anything. Delaying the inevitable only made it worse for her; the longer he waited, the faster her high would dissipate beneath the smothering fog of anxiety.

So instead of words, he used his body to do the talking instead.

*

Tamsyn

It was strange to have her voice back and still feel unable to use it.

A weird and wonderful kind of strange.

Her throat felt raw and constricted, as though speaking only a few words after weeks of silence was more than her vocal chords could handle. It was an inconvenience, especially when she needed her voice now more than ever.

The rug was fluffy beneath her; a direct contrast to the hot, hard man pinning her to it. Warmth from the fire and several orgasms were responsible for the faint sheen of sweat adorning her skin, and her extremities were limp.

Even her brain was disconnected, barely tethered to her body.

She licked her lips nervously when Merrick shifted, caging her head and shoulders with his arms. His pelvis settled into the cradle of her hips, his sheathed cock wedging into her like a tangible threat.

As ordered, she maintained eye contact, losing herself in the green as he saw through her and scouted for the emotions she was hiding.