Tobias wouldn’t let himself think about anything—not what Harper knew or didn’t know about his past, not the rock star she’d been married to, that she had kids she’d most likely never want him to meet or that she’d soon be leaving Silver Springs. She was here in his arms; he had this one night. That was all he could be certain of. In case it ended here, he planned to make the most of it. Other than his brother, nothing good stayed in his life for very long. He’d learned not to expect it.

It wasn’t hard to get lost in Harper. The feel of her nipples tightening against his tongue. The curve of her waist. The way she slid her legs between his. All of it put him right on the edge of climax. But he took his time with her, reveling in her trust and the eagerness of her responses—and making the most of each new sensation, each new quiver and gasp.

“You’re so beautiful,” he told her, admiring her bare body in the moonlight filtering through the blinds.

She’d turned off the light when he removed her clothes. He didn’t mind that; the darkness contributed to the overall effect of disconnecting from the rest of the world and forcing time to stand still for just a little while. This was his Christmas present, he decided. He didn’t care if he ever got anything else. But he also wanted to see her a bit more clearly, to memorize the heavy-lidded expression on her face. Nothing made him quite as hard as the way she was looking up at him right now. As though he really mattered.

She groaned and covered his hand with both of hers as he found the sensitive spot he’d been looking for. “That’s good,” she said on a long exhalation. “That’s so crazy good.”

He tilted his head to take her nipple in his mouth again, but she caught his face with both hands and brought it up so that he’d have to meet her gaze.

“You are so…”

“What?” he murmured when she didn’t finish that statement.

“Fucking amazing.”

When he started to laugh, she did, too. He kissed her nose. “Let’s see if we can make you swear a few more times.”

“Holy shit,” she said, almost immediately, but they were too caught up in pleasure to laugh. Her smile faded, and she allowed herself to be carried away by what he was doing with his hand.

“Now,” she whispered. “I need you inside me.”

He’d been drowning in testosterone just watching her hips move with his hand, hoped he wouldn’t climax as soon as he pushed inside her, so he took a few seconds to regroup while putting on a condom. Then he tried to distract himself as he rolled her beneath him by thinking of something distinctly unerotic.