“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” He pressed himself against her. “Nice and easy,” he said. “It’s okay. It’s good.” And he pressed into her very, very slowly. He kissed her deeply as he went all the way. She moaned. “Okay?” he asked.

“Mmm,” she murmured. “Okay.”

But damned if he was! This was the best place he’d been in a very long time. And she hugged him like a velvet vise. A quivering, soft, slick vise. He was dying. He started to move, slowly, looking for that sweet spot, pressing deeply into her, listening to the sounds she made, trying to judge them for the right spot, the right friction, the perfect stimulation for her. As for himself, if he unclenched his molars for one second, he was gone.

“Oh.” She sighed. “Oh! Oh! Oh!”

“Oh, yeah,” he said.

“Please,” she said, gripping his shoulders. “More. Please!”

He moved a little harder, hanging on for dear life. He took her mouth again, kissing her deeply as he moved inside. “You’re beautiful, baby,” he whispered. “You’re perfect.”

“I think maybe you’re perfect,” she said.

“Only with you,” he said. “With you I feel perfect.” And he followed that with a kiss. And a thrust.

She came apart. She clenched him inside her body, drawing on him, leaving him to wonder if it was his expert moves or the words. Then thinking stopped. She closed her eyes, tilted her head back and her pelvis forward, upward, bit her lip and if he could see, he’d bet she curled her toes. So he did what came naturally, thrusting a couple more times and having the best orgasm of his life, right then, right there, with her. His eyes teared; his brain clouded over and he wondered if he lost consciousness for a second. He pulsed until there was nothing left in him. Even his brain was empty; her body was still holding him for so long he was amazed. She rode through it with him, the whole way.

He pressed his lips softly to hers, kissing her gently. She didn’t move. He gave her another kiss. She still held him in a beautiful, delicious, unimaginable grip. “Gracie,” he whispered. “Breathe.”

She let out her breath in a slow whoosh. “Holy shit!” she said.

He smiled. “Nice?”

“Mmm,” she said, her lips curving into a smile.

He chuckled. “Just when I was wondering what to get you for Valentine’s Day...”

“Oh. My. God. Do it again.”

He laughed. “Maybe in a little bit,” he said, but there was really no maybe about it. “No regrets?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“I might not have figured it out,” he admitted. “Except I also might not have tried so hard to go slowly and patiently. Because, really, Gracie, you had me in a real vulnerable spot there for a while.”

“I did?”

“You did. We came together like old pros.”

“If I hadn’t told you, what would you have done?”

“I think I’d have just gone for it. I think first, to be sure you had everything you deserved, I’d have licked your whole body. Then I would have just gone for it.”

“Okay. We’ll do that next time!”

He couldn’t help but laugh at her, she was so damn cute. “You like sex, don’t you, sweetheart?”

“I like sex,” she admitted, smiling. “Oh, God, is that a slutty thing to say?”

“No, Gracie.” He brushed her rich brown hair back from her brow. “It’s the perfect thing to say.”

* * *

They made love again and again. Troy knew he was screwed, and not in the usual way. He had himself a beautiful young woman who thought he was pure magic, who would do anything he wanted to do, bring him greater satisfaction than he could remember having and...and he didn’t know anything about her. Added to that, he wasn’t sure what had caused it, but being the first man to ever get inside her like that really did something to his head. A kind of possessiveness consumed him; he couldn’t even think about letting her go. But who was this young beauty who hadn’t been properly loved until now? Who asked questions about whether it was difficult being a young male teacher surrounded by teenage girls with crushes? Who was this young woman who’d never been in a traditional classroom yet who seemed to be smarter and more worldly than other women her age? And did mothers and daughters really part ways over the choice to own a flower shop?

He was lying on his belly in her bed, thinking about how he was going to get the answers to these questions when he felt her small hand, slightly calloused from hard work, slide over his buttocks.

“You have the nicest guy booty I’ve ever seen.”

“Roll me over and see what else I’ve got that’s nice,” he said.

“I’m afraid to,” she said with a laugh. “I think you’ve had enough. And I’ve definitely had enough!”

“Feeling a little tender?”

She nodded and blushed.

He laughed. “After the gymnastics of last night, how can you blush?” he asked her.

“It’s daylight,” she said.

“Better yet,” he said, rolling over to show off his rather impressive morning erection.

“Oh, my,” she said. “Keep that thing away from me!”

He ignored her and pulled her into his arms. “Let’s talk about how to have fun when we’re feeling a little...delicate.” And he began kissing his way down her body, over her belly, between her thighs. Just a few minutes later he had to say again, “Gracie. Breathe.”

“Oh, God,” she said weakly.

His pleasure couldn’t have been greater.

“Is it my turn now?” she asked.

“Not this time, honey,” he said, hoisting himself out of the bed. “Much as I’d like to lie around in bed all day, I have things to do. I have to get ready for classes tomorrow and I’m working at Cooper’s all afternoon and evening. You should nap, rest up. If you want me to drop by later to make sure you’re okay, just say the word.”

“The word,” she said with a smile.

“Would you like me to take you to breakfast at the diner before I start my chores?” he asked.

“Would you?”

“I definitely would. You make a man hungry, but I have to go home first and, you know...freshen up.”