My breath hitches as he increases the pressure. “It feels good. So good. I just…”

“What?”

“I feel bad taking so much time and…and effort.”

Another brush of lips on my temple. “I’m in bed with my fantasy girl, and she’s naked and warm and soft, and I’m touching her exactly where I’ve been dreaming of touching her. I’m having the time of my life.”

A warm glow settles in my chest. “Fantasy girl?”

“You have no fucking idea.” The words are a deep rumble, and another wave of pleasure rolls through me.

“Tell me.”

He lets out a chuckle. “You want me to talk dirty?”

“Sure.” It’s not something I’ve liked in the past, but Ryan is getting me to believe in the power of change.

“Let’s see…the day you moved those squeaky bookcases, I was watching your ass. Trying not to think about how I wanted to pull your skirt up and pull your panties down and bend you over and bury myself inside you.” His fingers pick up the pace, and I feel a rush of heat. “Even when we were fighting, I’d have these impulses to press you against a bookcase and kiss you until you squirmed. Dreams, too. I’d wake up so hard I couldn’t function.”

My legs begin to tremble. He keeps talking, keeps touching me.

“I’ve imagined waking up with you in that bed at the inn, and we’re spooning and I get harder until you let me slide inside you, both of us lazy and sleepy, my lips pressed to the back of your neck and my hand between your legs.”

My fingers find his open shirt and I clutch it, bracing myself against the intensity of this feeling. It’s more than the building arousal—it’s his words. This isn’t simple dirty talk. These are his most intimate thoughts, murmured in my ear like confessions.

“At work I find myself listening for your voice and thinking about how your lips look like a perfect bow, and how your neck starts flushing when you get riled up. Like right now.”

I can’t respond; I’m on the edge, and he lowers his mouth to my ear and says, “Of all the books I’ve ever read and all the fantasies I’ve ever had, none of them hold a candle to the reality of being with you. You are what I’ve been waiting for.” He presses his lips to my jaw. “Please trust this: I will do whatever it takes to give you every single thing you have ever wanted.”

I’m starting to believe him. He’s so patient, and it’s paying off—my legs are tense and I’m breathless. My grip tightens on his shirt, and I squeeze my eyes shut and arch my back and—