“Not in the least.” Feet planted and back straight, he began the rhythm of times long past, sliding his cock in and out, moving naturally, impulsively, driven by that which underlies the heart of every man. Sexual hunger.

Standing as he was, he didn’t stagger or flag with fatigue, attesting to the graceful mastery of a seaman accustomed to using his strength and balance on the rolling decks of a warship.

And the man could move. Thrusting at a sensual pace, he rotated his hips and worked my body in measured strokes. Breathless gasps tumbled from my lips, and he fed on them, kissing me, watching me, and setting me afire.

Gradually, our passion built into a roaring flame. My hands clawed at his back, my nails sinking into muscled flesh as I clung to him, biting and groaning with my legs clamped fiercely around his waist.

He fucked into me harder, deeper, heightening my need for completion. I arched to meet him, holding his gaze as my insides convulsed with a violence that shook me to the core. He was right there with me, his kisses losing precision and careening into the wilds of madness.

When his legs began to shake, he spun, and my back hit the nearest bulkhead, jarring an oomph past my lips. His hand flattened on the wall, and he used the leverage of that hard surface to tunnel inside me with unrestrained savagery.

Senses heightened. Fingers clawed. Gazes held, and we exploded into urgency, possessed by passion, grinding and gripping, lips reaching and missing.

My vision clouded, and a primal noise wrenched from my throat.

“I’m going to come.” I bore down on his cock, trying to slow the detonation.

“I’m with you. Jesus Christ, Bennett. I’m… Goddamn—” He jerked, lost his breath.

I peaked. He followed, and I kept coming and coming, hurling my screams loud and wide as I chanted his name and stared into his eyes.

Watching him fall apart was the most erotic thing I’d ever seen. Throaty male groans hissed past clenched teeth, his head thrown back and cords stretching along his throat.

I felt him releasing—the intense throbbing of his shaft against my muscles and the molten wash of fluid spurting deep within. He held my gaze and clutched me hard in the flex of his arms, rocking into my body as if trying to milk his pleasure to the last drop.

Then he expelled the low humming breath of an exhausted, thoroughly satisfied man.

“Incredible.” He slid a hand into my hair and kissed me lazily, deeply, sweeping his tongue through my mouth. “Nothing compares, Bennett. Nothing.”

Hard to argue. I felt so peacefully content. There was no room for regret. Not even thoughts of Priest could wreck the moment.

Ashley continued to hold me against the wall, his hands roaming around my face and along the curves of my body.