and her hometown were important to her. Attaching himself to her would drag her down.
Most importantly, it was obvious her family and her church would never accept him. He would never suggest she give all that up for a man, not even himself.
Religion was not his thing. He had a basic understanding of most religions but that was about it. He had no interest in attending church, and certainly not becoming a member. No matter what, Serena would always need religion in her life. It was a part of her. He would never take that away.
Damn, they had chemistry. His cock stiffened again just looking at her face, so peaceful. She had one hand curled up between her breasts, lightly fisted.
He’d nearly choked when he realized how nervous she was about being naked. He couldn’t fathom what it must have been like for her to scramble around in the dark under sheets and blankets to experiment with her boyfriend. What a picture.
Ajax closed his eyes again. It was impossible to let go of the visual of each of her orgasms. So fucking raw and sexy. Every emotion was on her sleeve as she came. Every sound coming from her lips was pure. She’d held nothing back.
He loved how she could get all flustered and embarrassed and then completely change course as soon as he kissed her or touched her intimately. And the fact that she’d thought they’d done all there was to do in the sex department after three generic orgasms hurt his brain.
He itched to show her two hundred more ways he could pleasure her. He wouldn’t have time to make even a dent in the list. In fact, this might be the only night he would get to have her at all. Tomorrow they would be in someone’s home again. No way would he fuck her as a guest in someone’s house.
She was noisy. He hated to think of stifling her sexy sounds. He hated to ever be in a situation where he even had to bring it to her attention. He doubted she had any idea how loud she was. It would embarrass her.
He stifled a groan as he ran a hand down his face. He ached to own this woman in every imaginable way. His hands shook at the thought of touching her. His cock would be stiff for the rest of his life every time he thought of her.
Nothing Ajax did or didn’t do would flush Serena out of his system. He was so far gone for her. He pictured her in every aspect of life. Watching her as she cooked or worked or jogged or practiced self-defense or held a child in her arms. She was so expressive, her face would be lit up with joy.
But he wouldn’t be there for any of that. He wouldn’t be there because the more he knew about her, the more he realized it would be a disservice to her to think he could have her in his life.
Ajax needed to rein in his emotions. Control his lust. Force himself to concentrate on the mission, not on the woman currently in his arms. He would never know if he’d done the right thing by introducing her to the kind of pleasure she deserved. Maybe he’d done more harm than good. Possibly even to himself.
It was too late to go backward now. What was done was done. The only thing he could control was how he acted in the future. If he were smart—and he certainly wasn’t suggesting he was—he’d retreat, pull back, not let things escalate. Damage control. For both of them.
He doubted he’d have the strength to do that, though. Tomorrow was a new day. He’d feel her out in the morning and adjust his responses accordingly.
Chapter 16
Serena jerked awake, her eyes bolting open. It took her a moment to remember where she was, and then she pushed herself to sitting and glanced around. She was alone. She was also naked. She’d been tucked in tight, fully covered, but now she had to grab the cover and pull it up over her chest.
She could hear shuffling outside, so she assumed Ajax had stepped out. Probably to find a bush, which she needed also.
She reached for her pack and dragged it closer to grab clean clothes. With her gaze on the door, she hurried to put a bra on and then a shirt before shoving the blanket out of the way and adding panties and pants.
She didn’t fully