His hands grasped my ass and lifted me against him, pulling my dress up so I could wrap my legs around his narrow hips. Only once I was secure in his arms did he slowly pull away from our kiss. “I want everything from you, Sofia Genovese. I want your body and your mind. I want your secrets and your trust. I want to tell you every horrible thing I’ve ever done and know you’ll love me anyway. I know it’s going to take time for us to get there, and I’ll have to work my ass off to earn it, but you’re worth it. You were worth all the pain of walking away, and you’re worth the groveling it may take to get you back. I didn’t come near you all those years because I knew I’d never have the strength to stay away. I never once stopped thinking about you and never will. You’re it for me, Ladybug. Let me show you how much I love you.” He sucked my bottom lip between his, then nibbled on the soft flesh.

“Wait,” I breathed, pulling my lips from his. “My parents are downstairs.”

“Their bedroom is on the opposite end of the house.”

“But it’s still their house.”

His eyes softened to a warm velvet. “It’s the way it should have been—us as teenagers, sneaking away to explore one another. I think it’s only right that it happens here.” He didn’t give me a chance to respond, but I couldn’t have formed words if I’d wanted to. I was totally swept away with emotion.

Everything he’d said—it had filled the hole in my heart that never seemed to heal.

For a moment, I let myself believe that maybe, just maybe, there was a chance for us. That maybe the obstacles that sat in our way were surmountable. That maybe, I’d have my Nico back.

The temptation was too great.

I gave in to the sensations, rolling my hips to rub my core against his thick shaft straining against his pants.

He groaned, resting his forehead against mine. “I want to do this right. I’ve been fantasizing about it all night.” Lowering me to my feet, Nico stepped back, eyeing me with a predator’s gaze. Slowly, he stalked around behind me, stepping closer until I could feel his breath ghost across the skin on the back of my neck as his hands lower the zipper on my dress.

My body became overly sensitized; each hair stood on end, desperate for his touch. I couldn’t believe this was happening, after so many years. It complicated matters, but I couldn’t seem to care. I wanted Nico so badly my body ached for him.

“This is how it always should have been,” he mused as his rough fingertips eased the straps of my dress off my shoulders. “You and me. We should have been each other’s firsts—each other’s one and only.”

My belly dipped and swirled at his words, and his possible reaction to what I needed to tell him. “Um, actually, I’m not sure how to say this … but I haven’t … been with anyone else. I’ve never done this,” I whispered the words. I wasn’t ashamed or embarrassed, but it felt awkward to say. I was a twenty-two-year-old virgin.