“Less obvious, I admit,” I concede as I pull his belt from him and wrap it around my hand.

“Hmm, here.” He leans into me, gently biting down on my nipple through the fabric of my shirt.

“A lot of women have sensitive breasts. That’s to be expected,” I whisper as I wriggle against him.

“True.” He pulls my shirt from me and his lips find the delicate skin inside my elbow, sucking it gently.

I breathe in, close my eyes. Who knew that was a “spot”?

Lander . . . Lander knew. He’s learning my body like a geographer learns the landscape, testing it, feeling it, mapping it out to ease his future travels.

“And you like it when I pull your clothes off you slowly,” he adds. “Like this.” He pulls my skirt down my legs, so that the fabric rubs against my skin.

“Take off the rest of your clothes,” I instruct.

I sit and watch as he removes his shirt, his pants, as he stands before me naked and beautiful . . . so strong . . . and so surprisingly vulnerable. That dominant man I slept with on that first night isn’t here right now. This man is playful, sweet . . .

. . . and sexy as hell.

Lander is such a versatile actor.

I stay on the counter as I remove my bra, slowly at first, and then I rip it off, swing it over my head, and throw it toward his jacket.

“Very pretty,” he says, his eyes lingering on my curves, the smile on his mouth a little wistful, a little mischievous. “You do know you’re not done.”

I pucker my lips teasingly and then slip my thumbs into the waistband of my panties and wriggle out of them as he watches closely.

He’s getting harder.

“My beautiful warrior.” He gently lifts my chin. “You’re mesmerizing.”

“Yeah? Well, you’re going to have to come out of your trance.” I uncurl the belt, swing it over the wide part of his back, and use it to pull him to me. “I want you now.”

His mouth spreads into a grin as his hands grab my thighs. With hard-won flexibility and grace I uncurl my legs and put one over each of his shoulders so now I’m in a perfect V.

“Did you not understand me when I said ‘now’?” And with that I pull again on the belt, drawing him even closer. In an instant I feel him pressing against me and then inside my walls.

He groans as I lean back, using the belt to support myself. “Do you know how good you feel?” he asks.

I answer by pulling harder on the belt, bringing him closer, deeper, feeling his bare skin against mine, nothing separating us. He’s so deep now, he’s filling the emptiness I’ve lived with for so very long.

He doesn’t have to ask me to look into his eyes tonight. Tonight I don’t want to look anywhere else.