She blinked at him. Her long lashes fanning down and then back up. “Probably not, but at least you think I am.” A slow smile softened her voice even more than usual. “And that’s saying something considering all the experience you seem to have.” Her legs slipped back to the mattress, as if she was suddenly too tired to hold herself around him.

He rolled, taking her with him, so that he was still locked inside her, but she was sprawled over the top of him. She was small and light, but warm and soft. He ran both hands down her back to the slope of her butt. He loved her ass. Soft. Firm. The little indentations. His fingers found them and he rubbed there.

“You ever think about getting a tattoo?”

She lifted her head, resting her chin on his chest, one eyebrow raised. “A tattoo? Of what? Where?”

His hands slid up her rounded bottom to find the curve at the small of her back. He stroked caresses there. “Right here. Something sexy and all you. That way when I take you on your hands and knees, I can see it.”

Her smile reached her eyes. “Do you think about anything besides sex?”

He grinned at her. “I did until you came along. You messed up my mind, Kitten, so now that’s all I think about.”

She laughed and turned her head to rest her cheek on his chest. His hands went back to smoothing over her soft skin. Making her his. Memorizing the shape and feel of her. His body enjoyed the occasional aftershock as her body began to relax all the way, her skin melting into the heat of his.

He had never held a woman this way. So intimately. He had never considered he might be a man to want to cuddle a woman, but he wanted her close to him. He wanted to hold her. He wanted to be inside her for as long as physically possible.

“You ever hear of a man named Jake Bannaconni?” he asked.

“Everyone’s heard of him, Eli.”

“He’s our closest neighbor. He and his wife, Emma, own the ranch next door. They have two children and another on the way, and they’ve invited us to come over and have dinner with them. Do you think you’ll be ready for company in a few days?”

She went quiet, the pads of her fingers tracing little patterns over his ribs. She seemed languid, drowsy, her lashes covering her eyes. “It’s dangerous, Eli. Of course I’d like to meet our neighbors, but Rafe will find us eventually. You know that or you wouldn’t have suggested training me and my leopard. You know he’ll come for me.”