“Here. Right here.” He put her down only long enough to toss both their coats to the floor, pull her tights and underwear down her legs and free himself from his pants and roll on a condom. “Now.” His desperation seemed to match hers as he lifted her again, bringing her down slowly onto his rigid length. “Yes,” he whispered fiercely.

As her body stretched to accommodate him, she held on tight, half afraid he would drop her but knowing in her heart of hearts that he never would. She was safe with him. That much she knew for certain.

“God,” he said, his lips close to her ear. “You’re so hot and tight. You make me crazy.”

She wanted to tell him he made her just as crazy, but the words were lost in a deep thrust that triggered her orgasm.

His fingers dug into the dense flesh of her ass as he hammered into her, riding the wave of her climax into his own.

“Christ,” he uttered between deep breaths. His forehead dropped to lean against hers, the heat of his skin warming her from the inside. “What just happened?”

Erin laughed at his befuddled tone. “I think we had mudroom sex.”

“Hottest mudroom sex I’ve ever had.”

“Me, too.” She stroked the sweaty hair off his forehead. “How about we take this somewhere more comfortable?”

“Mmm, as soon as I’m sure my legs still work, we’ll do that.”

Smiling, Erin stroked his hair while he continued to breathe like he’d just run a marathon. A feeling of profound contentment and peace came over her, making her wish for things she’d thought weren’t going to happen for her. Now she wasn’t so sure. She wasn’t sure of anything other than how he cut through the numbness that had been so much a part of her and made her feel.

He took a deep breath and released it before withdrawing from her and setting her gently on her feet, holding her until she got her bearings. Tugging her tights and underwear over her knees, she followed him up two flights of stairs to her bedroom. Only then did he drop his hold on her hand so she could sit on the bed to remove her boots.

Her body continued to quake and tingle with aftershocks from the hottest sex of her life.

After ducking into the bathroom to deal with the condom and removing his sweater, Slim sat next to her on the bed, putting his arm around her. “I was rough with you. Are you okay?”

“You really have to ask?”

“Yeah, I do. I don’t know what came over me—”

She rested her finger on his lips. “Please don’t apologize. It was incredible. I’ve never done anything even remotely like that, and if you apologize, you’ll ruin it.”