‘Yeah, but—Jesus, Brendan. I’m not that good an actress. I mean, surely you can see the kind of effect you have on me? I love you touching me.’

‘Let’s see, shall we?’ I ask, and I dip my mouth to her nipple, sucking on it lightly. The skin puckers into a sweet little rosebud between my lips, and she arches against me.

‘Come here.’ I release her nipple and slide an arm under her head, wrapping it around her shoulders and pulling her against my body. ‘That’s better.’

It is. She’s flush against me, her head cradled in the crook of my arm, her face so close to mine. Don’t get me wrong; I love flipping her over and fucking her from behind. I go crazy when she obeys my commands to crawl away from me only for me to dive on her.

But this is cool, too, even if it’s uncharted territory for me to cuddle a woman while I bring her to orgasm.

She tilts her face up towards mine, a silent plea for my mouth. I bend my head to meet her, parting her lips with my tongue as I hold her close against me, my hard-on flexing against her hip. ‘Open your legs for me, love,’ I whisper against her mouth before diving back into the kiss and using my free hand to stroke her breasts. At this angle they’re almost flat, the taut nubs of her nipples the best kind of fidget toys.

I play with them for a few moments as our tongues entangle and she makes soft noises of appreciation into my mouth. Then I let my hand trail down between her breasts, over the velvety-soft skin of her stomach, to the neat little triangle of fair hair that marks nirvana for me. Her knees are drawn up, her legs parted, one of them resting on my thigh, and I marvel at the intensity of this position: of feeling so close to her. Of being able to see every flutter of her eyelids.

When I slide my fingers between her legs, she’s wet and silky, her promised land exposed just for me. I stroke her flesh so, so softly, in awe that this lush, fertile habitat can unearth itself for me, that the female body is such a subtle and intelligent and complex thing. I brush my fingers over the glossy button of her clit and explore the delicate petals that enfold it before circling her entrance.

And all the time, I kiss her.