This climax is a rolling wave, tossing me up and under, and when I resurface, I feel like I’m floating in warm, calm water. Slowly, I become aware of my body’s weight against the mattress, the sheet covering my bottom half, the scratch of Ryan’s shirt collar against my cheek. The press of his lips against my hair and his voice murmuring, “Watching you fall apart is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Fuck,” I whisper. I am in so much trouble with this man.

“Is that an exclamation or an instruction?”

I blink. “Huh? Oh. Both.”

Without further ado, I reach down and grab his belt. We’ve had plenty of slow—I’m ready to speed things up. I bat his hands away and whip that belt off, then unbuckle his pants to reveal baby blue boxers and a bulge veering to the left.

I palm him and he groans. It’s clear that Ryan is a giver, but now I’m desperate to see him take it, to watch him unravel and know that I’m the cause.

“My turn,” I say.

I’d like to say I have as much finesse as he does, but I’m a trembling mess as I pull his shirt off him, then struggle to get his pants down. He helps me, tossing them on the floor. I reach into his boxers and wrap my hand around him.

“Oh, thank god,” I whisper.

“What?”

“I was terrified that you’d have some monster giant dick.”

An awkward laugh. “I’m not sure how to respond to that.”

“I’m thrilled,” I say honestly. “I know women in romance novels want to be knotted or split up the center or get their backs blown out—and good for them—but this woman is ecstatic to see a penis that appears to be proportional and manageable.”

“That’s…” He pauses. “Good?”

“It’s great. Perfect. Wonderful. I mean, nothing about you is small.” I tug his boxers down; he helps me take them all the way off and send them in the direction of the rest of his clothes. “On your back.”

He obeys without a word. It’s almost comical, how much space he takes up in the bed, his legs sprawled out so his feet don’t dangle over the edge. Finally, I have him completely naked. Thick thighs and muscular calves, all covered in curly golden-brown hair. The skin near his upper thighs and hips is creamy and soft and I have half a mind to make him roll over so I can see that view. Instead, I make my way down, kissing the smooth skin near his hip bone, running my hand down that nice happy trail until I get to where I want to be. I wrap one hand around him and lick the tip.

“Fuck,” he hisses.