His eyes glinted with laughter as he said, “Did you notice we crossed off number seven on your list?”

Confused for a moment, I froze. “Number seven?”

“Your list today.”

And then it dawned on me.

7. AHHHH!

I threw my head back in laughter, not missing the way Gray watched me with tenderness. When I finally stopped giggling, he cupped my face and pressed a sweet kiss to my lips. “Wait there while I deal with this condom. Bathroom?”

I pointed and he pulled up his trousers before striding over and into it. Feeling the shiver of want cascade over me, I knew I was nowhere near done with him. First I pulled my dress up and off and threw it on a nearby chair. My bra and sandals followed next.

Gray came back out of the bathroom, fully clothed, and stuttered to a stop at the sight of me waiting on him in the nude.

I felt every inch of my skin blush as he visually devoured me. When his gaze finally locked with mine, tears burned in the back of my eyes at the awe I found there. “I’ve never seen anything as fucking beautiful as you in my whole life, angel. And I’ve seen a lot of beauty.”

My smile trembled with emotion and I took a step toward him. “Shirt off,” I whispered.

He immediately obeyed, throwing it on the chair to join my dress. Gray made to take a step toward me but I shook my head. He frowned but stayed still and I loved him for it.

I loved him.

I loved him.

How that could be I didn’t know, but it was true.

Grinning at my little (or big!) secret, I strolled toward him with an exaggerated swing in my hips that made my breasts bounce, and Gray’s eyes turned molten. As soon as I stopped before him, my body almost flush with his, he reached up to cup my breasts in his large hands, swiping my nipples with his thumbs. Sensation flooded through me, heading straight between my legs and I dropped my head back as he touched and caressed and squeezed my breasts. My own hands roamed his hard chest, my thumbs brushing his nipples, exploring him in a way I’d wanted to from that first night in the bar.

Then suddenly his mouth was on me, tonguing and sucking my nipples until I was whimpering and moaning with need.

It took me some time to find my way out of the fog and it was with much reluctance that I pressed my hands to his shoulders to push him back.

He scowled impatiently at me and I had to bite my lip to stop from smiling. “My turn to cross something off my list.”

Gray’s eyebrows furrowed and this time I grinned. “Number eight.” I slid my hand down his hard, beautiful stomach and rubbed the heel of my palm over his zipper where his erection aggressively strained. Up on tip-toes, my hard nipples brushing his chest, I leaned in to whisper in his ear, “I suck.”

Somehow, he got even harder under my hand and when I pulled back his whole face was taut with need. I watched him—unbelievably turned on by how much he wanted me—as I unzipped his trousers and released him.

When I lowered to my knees in front of him I swear to God his eyes almost rolled into the back of his head before my mouth even got near him.

Gray’s lips moved down my stomach, his tongue licking my belly button before moving further down. My lower belly rippled in a mini-orgasm as his mouth got closer to where I wanted it the most.

After I took him to heaven in my mouth, Gray had undressed completely, and then we’d made love on the big four poster bed in my suite. We’d dozed for a while until I’d become fully alert at the feel of Gray’s mouth on my breast. And now he was making it clear he was about to offer his own oral gift in return for mine earlier.

My legs fell open, inviting him in, and I heard his grunt of satisfaction seconds before his tongue touched my clit.

Want slammed through me and my hips pushed into his mouth. He gripped them, pressing them back to the mattress, and he started to destroy me in the best way possible. He suckled my clit, pulling on it hard, and as I began to undulate against his mouth, Gray stopped.

I made an incoherent noise of frustration and felt a puff of breath against me that suggested he’d just laughed.

“Gray,” I begged.

He gave me his tongue back, this time licking inside me. I writhed because it wasn’t enough. I needed more.

Hearing my whimpers, Gray returned to my clit, let go of my left hip and gently pushed two fingers inside of me. I was so swollen and sensitive, it was the most intense kind of pleasure burn.

“Gray.” I bucked against him as he used both his mouth and fingers to push me to climax.

And then he stopped again. Just as I was about to explode.

“No!” I gasped in frustration.

And so it went, Gray bringing me close to coming and then stopping.

“Gray, please,” I whimpered, feeling tears of desire thicken my throat.

At the sound of my emotional plea, he suddenly braced over me, his hand on my inner thigh, pushing me open as his other pressed into the mattress at my shoulder. He brushed his lips over mine. “I’ll take care of you, angel. I’ll always take care of you.” He quickly reached for one of the two condoms he’d dropped on the bedside table earlier, thankfully took seconds to put it on, and then he eased inside of me. One glide, two, and that was all it took.

I shattered around him and Gray kept pumping slowly in and out. His expression darkened and tensed with need as he controlled his thrusts and just watching him move over me, beautiful and strong, feeling his thick hardness inside of me, got me hot all over again. I gasped in wonder as that familiar need coiled tightly low in my belly and Gray’s eyes flared with understanding.