He pulled it out of her way and added an index finger to his list. “I have also observed that you enjoy it when I go down on you—and again, our interests are perfectly in alignment.” He took the two fingers he’d used to make his list and tapped his forehead. “So I took my big brain and put those two things together. My god. It’s almost like you’re sleeping with Elon Musk.”

“Elon Musk? Gross!”

“Hmm. Elon Musk is a mood killer. Noted. Mark Zuckerberg?”

“Ugh!” She couldn’t help but laugh, though.

“Perhaps it’s the tech-sector angle you’re objecting to in these analogies. Who else is known for their intelligence? Hmm. Angela Merkel?”

“Oh shut up.”

“You know what would be an extremely efficient way of getting me to shut up right at the moment?” He wagged his eyebrows and licked his lips.

Well. Who was she to pass up this opportunity? She scooched herself up until she was kneeling over his face. “What if I smother you?”

“Ah, what a good way to go.”

“But then Sebastien will have to be duke.”

He lightly swatted her butt. “This is not a good time to talk about my brother. Or my dreaded fate.”

“Yeah, yeah, point taken. I—” And, wow. He looped his arms around her thighs like he was anchoring her to him—or him to her, she wasn’t sure which—pulled her down, and . . . went to town.

Historically, Dani had enjoyed oral sex, but honestly, she’d never totally gotten the hype. It had never been at the top of her list. But there was something about the combination of Max’s mouth moving against her and the pressure from being on top. There was also something about the noises he was making. He was clearly enjoying himself.

She couldn’t keep herself from moving, and she couldn’t hold back the obscene-sounding moans that were slipping out, because dear god, she was writhing around on his face and she had never felt anything so good. She never wanted it to end, but it was going to, and soon.

“Oh my god, Max!” she cried as an orgasm started to overtake her. Absurdly, it felt like it started in her toes and moved up her legs in a wave, coming to a head at the juncture between her thighs, where his mouth met her, and just kept . . . exploding. She, not historically a screamer, screamed.

He chuckled, and the vibrations joined the aftershocks zinging through her core.

She lifted herself up onto her knees and looked down at him. His face was wet—and nearly split in two from the widest grin she’d ever seen on him.

She was struck by the astonishing thought that she had never felt this good before, and she didn’t mean just physically.