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  The knock on the door startled her. Greg was here. Oh God! What would he think of her small place? What would he think of her? Her hands brushed over her dress one last time before she walked to the door of her apartment. She peered through the peephole to see Greg standing in the hallway with a bouquet of fresh flowers. Her heart began to race. He looked delectable. A pair of dark jeans with a snug grey t-shirt that clung to his every muscle. She could feel the dampness in her panties already.

  “Are you going to open the door?” she heard him say. “I can see your eye in the peephole.” Oh shoot! She unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door. He froze and his gaze scanned over her… top to bottom and back to the top. Tessa felt her body flush as he thoroughly took in every inch of her. “Definitely worth the wait,” he said, before handing her the flowers.

  “Thank you,” she said shyly, bringing the flowers to her nose and inhaling their beautiful scent. “Come in.” She turned in the doorway and he followed her through, closing the door behind them. Tessa walked the few feet to her small kitchen. Opening the cabinet under the sink, she pulled out a clear glass vase and filled it with water while Greg looked around her apartment.

  “So, everything turned out okay with your car?” Greg asked, watching her in the kitchen.

  “Yes, thank you so much. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you,” Tessa replied. “Jarod dropped it off early this morning good as new. I was able to make my morning classes without catching the bus.” Placing the flowers in the vase, she set it on the counter between the kitchen and the dining area. “They’re beautiful,” she whispered. Greg made short distance of the space between them and pulled her body against his. His hands rested at her low back.

  “Not nearly as beautiful as you,” he said before lowering his mouth to hers. Tessa moaned softly at the feel of his lips on hers again. Greg’s lips nimbly worked hers, coaxing her to open up and accept him. And she did. The feel of his tongue slipping into her mouth and mingling with her own was exquisite. And he tasted amazing. Not the caramel coffee of earlier, but rather something minty and fresh. Her hands gripped his grey t-shirt as she held on for dear life. The kiss lasted for several minutes and Tessa was completely breathless when it ended.

  “Christ, I’ve been waiting for too long to do that again,” Greg said softly. He kissed her on the forehead and the nose. But Tessa had other ideas. This man turned her inside out and one kiss was not enough to start the evening. Her grip on his t-shirt tightened and she pulled him back to her lips. This time she took some control over the kiss. Her tongue flicked over his lips and then between his lips and into his mouth. The growl that escaped him only encouraged her. One hand moved from his shirt to the back of his neck and up into his short hair. His hold on her low back tightened as she deepened the kiss. Grabbing her hips, he lifted her onto the edge of her countertop and pushed his body between her legs. The fabric of her dress rode up her thighs, and she could feel his erection pressed against her core. Tessa gasped and pulled back from the kiss.

  “Greg,” she whimpered, looking into his heated grey eyes.

  “Don’t stop, Tessa,” he said roughly. His arousal was apparent in his voice. Weaving his fingers into her curly mane and bending forward, Greg slammed his lips against hers. His hand flexed at the back of her head, holding her in exactly the position he wanted her. And he kissed her senseless, his tongue licking the inside of her mouth as if it couldn’t get enough of her. Tessa lost all sense of control. Both hands slid into his hair and pulled him even more into her. Her hips pushed off the counter and ground against his hips. He rubbed his erection against the center of her, hitting her clit with each stroke. With her one hand resting against the countertop, she threw her head back, breaking their kiss. She didn’t recognize the mewling sounds that escaped her, but she didn’t care. This man knew how to use his body to please her and she was sure she was going to come fully clothed upon her countertop from his shameless efforts.

  “Oh God,” Tessa cried out. The wave of an orgasm crashed over her and her body shuddered as she splintered into a million pieces. Her hand once again gripped his shirt for support in order to keep herself upright. And Greg still rubbed himself against her, making sure to let her ride out the full wave of ecstasy.

  “Fuck, Tessa,” he said, nuzzling into her neck as she slowly came down from the high. “That was amazing. I want so desperately to touch you. To taste you. To be inside of you.” Tessa stared into his eyes. Now, his face was flushed. She knew that he was worked up. She could feel it between her legs. She slid her hand down the length of her body to the edge of her dress. His gaze followed the path of her fingers as they slipped under her dress. She slid her panties to the side and slipped her middle finger between her wet folds. “Tessa,” he growled. But before he could say anything else, she pushed her finger into her sex and moaned. He gripped the countertop so tightly his knuckles turned white. Removing her finger from her wet pussy, she offered it to him.

  “Taste me,” she said with a confidence she didn’t know she had. His gaze never left hers. The heat in his eyes… the heat of his mouth around her finger made her heady. And she knew there was no turning back. He was about to stake his claim on her and she had never wanted anything more in her life.

  Chapter Five

  Holy fuck! Watching Tessa finger herself then offer him a taste almost made him come in his pants. He truly was so close, and she tasted divine, a spicy feminine flavor that he planned on enjoying more thoroughly. He pulled her hips to the very edge of the counter and lowered onto his haunches. The exhilarating scent of her hit him and made his cock unimaginably harder. He spread her legs farther apart and hooked her panties around two of his fingers to move them out of the way. Fuck! She was a true blonde! Her pussy was covered in short, soft, blonde hairs. His thumbs separated her lips and he growled at the sight of the soft pink flesh, his mouth watering.

  “Greg,” she pleaded. His gaze rose to hers. Her head was bent forward. Her hands gripped the countertop.

  “Tessa, you told me to taste you and I have every intention of doing so,” he whispered against her inner thigh as he kissed his way up. “Every intention.” As he reached the apex of her legs, his tongue flicked out and over her clit. She practically shot off the counter. Holding her legs down and apart, he lapped up her sex and between her folds, taking his time to taste every part of her. He gave particular attention to that little bundle of nerves that he planned to use to set her off again.

  “That feels amazing,” she said breathless. “I’ve never… Oh God!” He watched as her head went back and her breathing became even more erratic. He kept his gaze on her as his mouth closed around her clit and he sucked on it. “Fuck!” she yelled. He groaned against her. He had yet to hear her say a true swear word so it was a turn-on to hear her use one in the midst of pleasuring her. Her body trembled, her legs quaked. Sliding a finger inside her wet pussy, he felt it clamp down and pull him deeper. Christ, she was incredibly tight! The thought of her covering his cock was beyond comprehension. The way she gripped his finger told him she’d be like a second skin on him and his cock throbbed against the fly of his jeans. He watched as her head came forward, her eyes closed tight, and her breath came out in short pants.

  “Look at me, Tessa,” he ordered, flicking his tongue against her clit and fucking her with his finger. “I want you to know who is making you feel this way.” Her eyes opened slowly. He noticed the lusty haze in her eyes as his tongue continued to assault her clit. He felt the quiver of her cunt around his finger and he observed as she crested over the edge.

  “Ohhhh,” she cried, thrusting her pelvis up. Her hand gripped the back of his head and held him against her until her body started to relax. When she finally sighed, he pulled himself up to his feet and slipped his finger free of her body. Leaning over the counter to where she had slumped in relief, he pressed his lips, moist with her juices, against her mouth.

  “I could taste you all night long,” he whispered against her
lips.

  “I’m pretty sure I couldn’t survive you doing that all night long,” she whispered back. He felt her smile against his lips. “I’ve never had a man give me an orgasm… let alone two so close in proximity.” Greg pulled back from their soft kisses.

  “What?” he asked, hearing the worry in his voice. “Are you a virgin, Tessa?” The thought brought back the reality of their age difference. She was twenty-seven. Though he didn’t know how men weren’t throwing themselves at her, he supposed it was possible that she was not sexually active… that she was a virgin. Tessa laughed.

  “Not in the true sense of the word,” she said. “I’ve had sex with a few guys. They just never got me off.” Greg felt an unfamiliar feeling rise up inside of him. It was a mixture of jealousy of the guys that had been there before him and anger that those guys hadn’t taken care of her.

  “So these guys you’ve been with just got themselves off?” he asked, trying to disguise his anger at the idea. “They didn’t touch you? They didn’t taste you?” What kind of guy just shoved his dick inside of her without any concern for her comfort or pleasure? Fuck, that pissed him off!

  “No one has ever gone down on me before,” she said, shaking her head. “But that was amazing. Oh my God! Amazing!” Her blue eyes were big and looking at him in wonderment. “I could get used to that.” He watched as a slight blush flowed across her face at this admittance. She was so fucking adorable.

  “Oh, Tessa, you better get used to it,” he said, smiling at her. “I plan on doing that to you every single chance I get.” She gasped as he picked her up from the counter and kissed her on the lips before setting her on the ground. “Do you want to freshen up before we go? We do have a date to go on.”

  “What about you?” she asked sweetly. “Can I take care of you?” She pushed her tight little body against his and he felt his cock immediately spring to life.

  “There’s plenty of time for that,” he replied, running his fingers through her hair and tilting her head up to look at him. “Go get your shoes and your purse and let’s go get something to eat.” He placed a small kiss on the tip of her nose before turning her around and slapping her firmly on the behind.

  “I’ll make you pay for that,” she yelped, looking over her shoulder at him as she headed into her bedroom. He saw the heat in her eyes and his cock pressed tightly against his jeans. He realized that he was so sexually on edge right now that anything she did was going to be sheer torture.

  Chapter Six

  “I know it’s a little late for this question given the events back at my apartment and the fact that we sit here on a date eating dinner, but you aren’t married, are you?” Tessa asked sheepishly. She felt ridiculous asking the question. She had been spread eagle on top of her kitchen counter with his face buried between her legs only an hour ago. The memory of his eyes looking up at her as he swiped and curled his tongue all over her wet slit caused heat to course through her. He had demanded that she watch him. It hadn’t been a request. It was a demand. And that vision would be seared in her memory forever. She’d never experienced anything so erotic.

  “Tessa,” he said, throwing his head back and laughing a deep belly laugh. “Good God, you are the most adorable thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.” His hand reached out for hers across the table and he entwined their fingers. He looked her straight in the eyes. “No, I’m not married.”

  “I had to ask,” she said softly. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I dated a guy for a couple of weeks before I found out he was married. I’m usually a little paranoid about it, but I guess I just got so swept up in you that I was afraid to ask. Afraid of the answer.” They had spent the last forty-five minutes eating dinner, sipping drinks and talking about all sorts of things. She learned a little about his parents and two younger brothers and the fact that he grew up in the Sarasota area. She found out that he went to the University of Florida for undergrad and law school. He was interesting to talk to and he was interested in what she had to say, though she had been successful in steering the conversation away from her own family. Her family basically consisted of herself and her drunken mother. She’d never met her father. In fact, she wasn’t entirely sure who he might be. And her mother was always too far into the bottle to ever have had another child to care for.

  “You don’t have to apologize,” he said, giving her hand a little squeeze. “I’m not that kind of guy. I never cheated on my ex-wife. And I’d never do that to you.” Tessa’s eyes widened at his use of the word “ex-wife.” She knew there was no way she was the first woman to claim him, but the idea that he had earlier promised his life to a woman made her a bit jealous.

  “Ex-wife?” she said, drawing out the words.

  “Yes, Tessa, I was married,” he said. He brought his pint of beer to his lips and took a sip of the dark brew. “I married Nicole when I was twenty-two. Right out of college. We graduated at the same time, and we married the summer between undergrad and law school for me.”

  “Why did you divorce?” she asked. Curiosity had gotten the best of her. Tessa didn’t know how much of his previous marriage she wanted to know about, but she couldn’t stop herself from digging deeper.

  “I’m pretty sure I never would have divorced. I took my vows seriously. She asked for it,” he replied. He took another sip of his beer and his gaze fell to his pint. But Tessa couldn’t do anything but hold on to his hand tighter. Was he still in love with his ex? “The years of marriage through law school weren’t so bad. She worked as an accountant for a small firm in Gainesville as I worked my way through law school. But afterwards, I took a job with Lowes & Kravitz in St. Petersburg. I wanted to be a little closer to my parents. And her family was in Fort Myers. She was pissed that I didn’t want to stay in Gainesville, but I wanted to be closer to the water. Christ, Florida is all about the beaches and sunsets, right?” Tessa nodded in agreement. She couldn’t imagine living anywhere where the beach was more than twenty minutes away.

  “But she eventually agreed to move with me. We got a small house just outside of the city limits and Nicole found a job at an accounting firm in the city. I was just an associate at the law firm and I had to work twelve and fourteen hour days… sometimes seven days a week. She started to hate me. I had made her move to a city where she knew no one and then worked my ass off until all I wanted to do was pass out when I got home.” He looked back up at her and his eyes were sad. “We fought almost constantly for two years until she finally asked me for a divorce. She just told me she couldn’t take being in the marriage by herself.”

  “I’m sorry,” Tessa said. She had no idea what to say.

  “I tried to convince her that it would just be another couple years of these hours and then I’d be partner and things would slow down. I’d have more free time. But I think by that time, she was seeing someone else… someone from her accounting firm. And even though I had taken my marriage vows very seriously, I could already tell I’d lost her. So, I didn’t fight it.” Tessa’s heart ached for him. He was unbelievably handsome and sweet and sexy, and it seemed like he had really been heartbroken.

  “And so you decided to just stay single?” she asked quietly. She needed to know if he had given himself in that way to anyone else.

  “I decided to put my job first,” he said smiling at her as if he knew exactly what she was asking. She felt her heart rate accelerate. What he did to her with just a smile baffled her. “Until now.” He brought her hand up to his lips and pressed a kiss against the back of her hand.

  Tessa slid out of her side of the booth and into the side where Greg sat, all the while still holding his hand. She never wanted to let him go. She tucked her leg underneath her bottom and pushed up to press her lips to his. He moaned against her lips and she took that as an invitation to deepen the kiss. She thrust her tongue into his mouth. He tasted of dark beer and a hint of the blackened spice from his grouper he had eaten for dinner. It was an interesting and exotic blend for her. His hands gripped the sides of her
face and he licked deep into her mouth, tangling his tongue with hers.

  “Tessa,” he moaned. Her hand ran down his chest, feeling his hard muscles underneath. God, she wanted this man to be real… more than anything. She slid her hand further down to the waistband of his jeans until she could feel his erection against her hand. He was rock solid and straining against his jeans. She wanted to unleash him and take him in her mouth… right there. Her fingers started to unbuckle his belt, but his hand grabbed hers. “Stop, Tessa!” he said, breaking their kiss and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead before looking her in the eyes. “I’ve been on the edge of exploding for a while now. And I don’t want to do that until I’m deep inside your beautiful body.”

  “Then we need to get out of here now,” she whispered. “Because I want to make you come more than I want anything else right now.” The look of shock on his face, though brief, made her giggle.

  “Fuck,” he said, shifting to take his wallet out of his back pocket. He pulled out three twenties and threw them on the table before scooting her out of the booth. He grabbed her hand and quite literally dragged her through the front door and into the parking lot. It was a gravel and shell lot and with her wedges on, she had to grasp his bicep to keep her balance.

  The sun had set a little over an hour ago and twilight had fallen. The air was filled with saltiness and moisture clung to her skin from the still high humidity. When they reached his BMW at the edge of the lot, he spun her around and pressed her back against the passenger side door. He caged her in with both of his hands on either side of her shoulders. She had just enough time to look up at him and see the lust in his gaze before he slammed his mouth down on hers and kissed her like she was his source of oxygen… like he needed her to live. One of his hands slid down her side and over her hip. He cupped her ass and pulled her into him.