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“I thought you might.”

“Thank you. It means a lot to me.”

We keep talking, but his mind drifts. His fingers tap against my leg, and twice he loses track of what I’m saying. Every so often, he draws a breath as if he’s about to tell me something, then reaches for his wine instead.

I cover his restless hand with mine. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He turns his hand beneath mine and links our fingers. “Not yet.”

“Okay.”

I don’t push. Instead, I set down my wine and climb onto his lap.

Eric’s surprise lasts less than a second. His hands close around my waist as I kiss him, and I feel the restless tension leave his body. I press closer, my knees braced on either side of his hips.

When I move against him, he slides both hands beneath my thighs and stands.

A startled laugh breaks from me as I lock my legs around his waist. He carries me down the hall while I kiss his neck. By the time he pushes open the bedroom door, his breathing is almost as uneven as mine.

The room is darker and richer than the rest of the house. A huge ring of glass hangs from the ceiling, catching the warm light. Dark wood covers the wall behind the bed and continues into shelves lit from within. White pillows rise against the headboard, and a dark throw lies across the foot of the bed.

He drops me onto the bed. I bounce once and start laughing. Eric pulls his shirt over his head, and I hurry to open my blouse. There’s nothing slow or graceful about it. He nearly falls while stepping out of his sweatpants, and I get one wrist caught in my sleeve before throwing the blouse onto the floor.

By the time the last of our clothes hits the floor, we’re both breathing hard and smiling. Eric reaches for me, but I press my palm to his chest and push him toward the bed. Surprise flickers across his face before he gives in and lies back on the white sheets, watching me take a condom from the nightstand.

I tear open the packet and roll it over him. His stomach tightens beneath my fingers, but he stays where I put him. I climb across his hips, and his hands slide up my thighs as I rub myself along the length of his cock. I’m already wet enough to leave him slick.

I guide him to me and sink down. The stretch steals my breath as I take him inch by inch, stopping only when he’s buried inside me. A rough moan leaves him, and his head presses into the pillows.

With my palms braced against his chest, I begin to ride him. I lift slowly, feeling every inch drag through me before I sink onto him again. His gaze moves between my face and the place where our bodies meet. Each time I take him deep, his fingers dig a little harder into my thighs.

Eric could take control whenever he wanted. I see it in the tight line of his jaw and feel it in the strength of his grip, but he holds himself back and lets me use him.

It makes me feel powerful.

The power lasts until my thighs begin to burn. My movements grow shorter, and Eric catches the change almost at once. His hands close around my waist. He lifts me off him, turns me around, and draws me onto my hands and knees. The ease with which he moves me sends a fresh rush of heat through my body.

Eric settles behind me and grips my hips. He guides himself back to my entrance, then pushes inside with one firm stroke. The force rocks me forward, but his hold keeps me from going far. He pulls me back onto him before driving in again, setting a pace that leaves me gripping the sheets.

I glance over my shoulder.

Eric is kneeling tall behind me, his chest rising with each rough breath. Sweat shines across his skin, and the muscles in his arms and stomach tighten with every thrust. One hand is locked around my hip, using his strength to draw me back against him.

His gaze lifts to mine. The focus in them makes me clench around him. His grip tightens, and he drives deep without looking away.

Then his free arm slides around my body. His fingers find my swollen clit and begin to rub while his hips keep their hard, steady rhythm. He holds me exactly where he wants me, filling me again and again as the pressure builds.

When my hips jerk, he changes the angle, lifting me slightly beneath his palm. His next thrust drags across a place deep inside me that sends a rough moan from my throat. He feels me tighten and finds it again, then keeps hitting the same spot without breaking his rhythm.

My arms give out, and I lower my chest to the mattress. Eric stays upright behind me, keeping my hips raised as he drives into me. His fingers continue their steady circles, building the pressure until I can’t tell where one feeling ends and the other begins.

I come with my face pressed into the sheets. My body clenches around him in hard pulses, but he doesn’t slow. He keeps thrusting and touching me until the last wave passes.

The way I tighten around him breaks what’s left of his control. His breath catches, and the hand between my legs moves to my other hip. He grips me with both hands, pulling me back against each rough stroke.