Even after stretching, she doesn’t get up from her place on the bed, half on top of me, and half next to me. Instead, she rolls onto her stomach next to me and reaches up to nuzzle her face into my neck.

Having her so close has my heart pumping in my chest. She has to be able to hear that.

“Easy,” I mumble, even though I do not want her to go easy. At all.

“Why?” she groans, drawing out the word.

“Because I trust you even less than I trust myself.”

She pulls away and looks into my eyes. “Why don’t you want me?” she asks, and my jaw drops. She catches herself and fixes her question. “What I mean is…why would it be so bad if we were together?”

“I don’t want to be your first, Sierra,” and she scoffs at me, which is adorable. Her perfect face with those angelic blue eyes hardly does her temper justice. She couldn’t pull off grumpy if she tried. So, I tuck her hair behind her ears and explain myself. “That sort of thing stays with you forever. And you won’t be around for more than a week. You should give that to someone who can give you a real future, Sierra. Someone worth it.” Saying that out loud is nearly as painful as thinking about it. I never want another person to touch Sierra, but it’s a far better scenario for her to have a better chance than to give herself away to someone like me.

She tilts her head to the side and watches me as if she’s trying to figure me out.

“I don’t understand why you don’t see what I see, Logan.”

“Because you don’t know how low I’ve been.”

Then she rests her head on my chest again, and I feel a powerful tug to hold her close. I want to wrap my arms around her, not just now, but for so much longer. And as much as I tell her that I want her to find someone worthy, I absolutely fucking hate the idea of another guy pawing all over her. What if he isn’t gentle? What if he doesn’t know how goddamn amazing and delicate this girl is? What if he takes her boldness as an invitation to be too rough or too demanding? My stomach turns at the idea.

If I thought it meant she would stay and that I could keep her safe, I would do it now. I would flip her over on this bed and make sure she came at least three times before I even thought about my own pleasure. I would ease into her so gently, keeping her safe from pain. Then I would own her tight little body all night long, making her completely mine, now and forever.

And when we came together, I would memorize the sound of her voice as she said my name.

But I know better.

I can feel her slender body moving against mine. She’s restless. So when she sits up to kiss my mouth, I expect it. I bury my fingers in her blonde strands, pulling her lips impossibly close until we are breathing the same air.