Her look grew exasperated. “What?”

I winked a second before I dropped her over the middle of the bed. Her squeal ended in a grunt as she bounced. Her mouth opened, and I knew she was about to cuss me every way but straight. I was on her before she could start what she was about to say, sliding my hands up under the hem of the shirt. In a second I had it off her and she was beautifully, magnificently bare. I shucked off my pants.

Her breath leaked out of her as I climbed onto the bed, admiring my handiwork. “So,” she said, her voice soft. “What about this Shortcake business?”

“Well, it’s a nickname.” I kissed the space between her breasts. “For you.”

“That much I figured.”

I placed another kiss along the underside of one breast and then below her rib cage. “I came out with it the first time I met you.”

“The first—oh!” She jerked as I tongued her navel, clenching the covers on her bed. When she spoke again, her voice was husky as I moved down. “The first time we met?”

“Yep.” I kissed the inside of her left thigh and then the right. “It was the day you ran into me outside of astronomy class—a class you need to retake.”

Shortcake groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

I didn’t know if she was talking about the class or the running into me part. “When I first saw you and your hair . . .” I paused, kissing her between her legs. Her soft gasp brought a smile to my face. “All I could think was that Strawberry Shortcake . . .” I paused once more, running my tongue the length of her. “That Strawberry Shortcake had run me off.”

She laughed as I lifted my head, prowling back up so that we were eye level. “Wow. I don’t understand how your brain works.”

“You love it.”

“I do.” She slid her foot along my calf. “So you’ve been calling me Shortcake in your head all this time?”

I nodded as I settled between her legs. “I might have . . . a few times.”

“And you never slipped until now. Wow. That’s kind of amazing.” Her eyes danced with humor. “And it’s kind of cute.”

“It’s definitely cute. It’s—” I groaned as she rolled her hips up, joining us together. “Well then . . .”

She giggled and then neither of us were laughing or talking. I let out a ragged moan at the tight fit. I lost sense of everything except her body and I wanted to be deeper, closer. We moved together, our bodies flushed and straining. It was crazy, but I couldn’t get enough of her. It appeared the same for her. My mouth closed around her breast as I thrust into her. She matched me move for move until she arched her back, crying out.