long enough. I flipped our positions—only because Ian allowed himself to be rolled. Now he was laid out below me like a feast.
I started with his luscious mouth and then moved south. I laved one flat nipple into a hard point with my tongue while I gently pinched the other. He made a low sound of pleasure that thrummed through me.
I continued down, kissing my way across his washboard abs. I stopped every so often to lick and nibble. His hands clenched. “Bianca,” he said tightly, “please.”
I bypassed the place he wanted me most and pressed a delicate kiss to his inner thigh. He made a deep sound of dissatisfaction. I took pity on him and wrapped my fingers around his length. His body went taut and he stopped breathing.
The first stroke was a light caress, designed to tease and tempt. He was almost too beautiful for me to believe this was real. All tanned skin and rippling muscles. Even his cock was perfection, long and thick. When he shot me a desperate look, I took pity on him.
I worked him with lips, tongue, and hands until his body vibrated with tension. He gasped my name. Then he pulled me up and kissed me deeply. His eyes were twilight blue, dark with desire. “There are no condoms,” he said softly. “We both have nanos, but are you protected?”
Nanobots protected from disease, but they didn’t protect from pregnancy. “I have an implant,” I told him. “I’m protected.”
“Thank fuck,” he growled. He flipped us over and pressed against me. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, now,” I demanded. I ached to be filled.
He nudged forward and we both hissed in pleasure. “Let me know if I need to slow down,” he said tightly, the muscles in his neck standing out.
“You need to speed up!” I wrapped my legs around his hips and tried to pull him closer.
“Bianca,” he growled. But still he resisted, barely moving. Why had I mentioned it’d been a while? I’d be dead before he decided I was ready.
Deciding to take matters into my own hands, I pulled myself up until my mouth was next to his ear. “Fuck me, Ian,” I whispered. “Fill me with your cock.”
He shuddered and his hips snapped forward, driving him a few centimeters deeper before he caught himself. My eyes crossed in pleasure. I skated on the edge of orgasm.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he gritted out, all honor and anguish.
“You feel amazing. You’re not hurting me, except by holding back. Let go, Ian.”
He searched my eyes for several long moments before thrusting in to the hilt with a deep rumble of pleasure.
I sucked in a breath. He felt better than amazing. Nothing had ever felt this good. I teetered on the brink, wanting to fall over, wanting to draw it out. He pulled back, thrust again. And again. Wait, nothing had ever felt this good. It was only when he chuckled that I realized I’d said it out loud.
Ian sucked my nipple into his mouth and bit lightly. The tiny, sweet pain seemed tied directly to my clit as pleasure zinged between the two. “Again!” I demanded. I felt his smile against my breast before he complied.
I sailed into orgasm groaning his name. His thrusts turned harder, more demanding, before becoming erratic as he, too, tipped into bliss. He collapsed beside me. We both panted like we’d run a marathon.
“That was . . .” I trailed off, trying to come up with an appropriate adjective. Glorious, amazing, and magnificent all fell short. “Mind-blowing,” I decided.
“Yes, it was. You’ve killed me.”
“Was it a glorious death?” I asked with a smile.
His answering smile was tender. “Very.”
For two days we ate, slept, fucked, and tried to fill the hours of the day. I taught Ian the rest of the kata we’d started in his ship. He taught me more breathing and meditation exercises I could use for pain management. He built me up rather than tearing me down, and the contrast to my time with Gregory could not be clearer. I felt calmer, more centered, and more confident than I had in years.
Over food, we discussed a wide range of topics, but we were careful to not discuss the future. I didn’t know why Ian didn’t bring it up, but I avoided it because I’d half convinced myself that this was some sort of fever dream I’d wake from at any moment.
Even so, I was blissfully happy.
We were in the lounge, sipping after-dinner coffee and pretending we