A shirtless Rhystan wasn’t anything she hadn’t seen before on the Belonging—she’d gawked enough from her perch on deck. But ogling from afar and knowing she was seconds away from running her fingers over all those mouthwatering ridges and valleys were two vastly different things. She swallowed hard as his fingers unbuttoned his trousers, letting them gap open to hang on his narrow hips as memories of his cabin swamped her.

Pausing, his eyes lifted, his gaze full of wickedness. “More?”

“Definitely more.”

With a grin, he gave her what she wanted, shoving the fabric down until he was standing there like a proud warrior god. Nude, muscled, spectacular. All he was missing was a wreath of laurel leaves and a sword.

Well, she supposed he did have a sword of sorts. Her eyes dipped to view a very prominent, large, heart-palpitating weapon jutted from his groin. Her mouth dried as her gaze dashed away, a hand flying up to her throat. Sarani couldn’t breathe because her damned lungs refused to work.

“Guh…”

And evidently, intelligent speech had deserted her as well.

Rhystan grinned and joined her on the bed. Despite her momentary panic—she was not uninformed in the ways of carnal joining, after all—Sarani gave in to her desires, letting her palms run over his thick arms. “No wonder you’re so strong,” she murmured. “You’re as hard as rock.”

“Lately, my natural state where you’re concerned,” he said with a pointed look down.

He was teasing her, but yes, that was hard, too. A sudden burst of nerves skittered through her. Was she really going to do this? Give him her maidenhead? Offer him her body without the vows of marriage in place?

Sarani almost laughed out loud. Given Rhystan wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing and she wasn’t covered in much more, they were quite beyond the point of misgivings. But a lifetime of indoctrination regarding a woman’s place and a woman’s worth did not vanish so easily.

His fingers caressed her cheek, his gray-blue eyes the color of a brewing storm. “What is it? You don’t have to do this.”

“No, I want to do this. With you.” She searched for the right words, wanting to articulate what she felt. “Right here and right now with nothing between us…no titles, no rules, no duty. Just you and me. A man and a woman making a choice to…” Make love.

It wasn’t love. Sarani knew that.

She bit her lip, cheeks going hot. “Do what we’re doing.”

“Fucking,” he said helpfully.

“Must you be so vulgar?”

He kissed her, biting her lower lip and tugging on the ties to her night rail. The garment loosened with shameless ease, pooling to her hips in a glimmer of silk and lace. “You like it.”

“I do,” she admitted on a moan as his clever mouth dipped to find her bare breast.