“I… I need your mouth on my breasts… and your hand between my legs.”

Before I could blink, Owen had ripped down the skin-tight athletic pants, leaving me bare before him and the material ruined.

“Take off the top,” he commanded, while his feral gaze stayed glued to my aching center. He placed his hands on my thighs, holding my legs apart as I sat up to remove my top.

My breasts bounced as they popped free of the sports bra and crop top. I tossed the material carelessly onto the floor.

Owen’s eyes darted up from my pussy to my breasts, triggering a growl from deep in his chest.

“Fuck. Baby, I’m so hungry for you. I… I can’t promise I’ll be gentle with you.”

Lifting my hand, I softly ran my fingers through his brown hair. Like a kingly feline, he purred at the contact.

“I don’t want gentle, Owen.”

With his eyes closed, he mumbled, “Yeah, but you deserve it. Lay back, baby.”

Swiftly, I followed his command and watched as he opened his eyes and ran a steady gaze over my body.

“Shit, I don’t deserve you,” he confessed as he bent forward and latched onto a nipple while one of his hands slipped between my legs.

Quickly, my body went up in flames as he paid special attention to my most sensitive areas. I’d never given much thought to the skin behind my knees, but as he nipped and sucked, the sensation sent a spark right between my legs. I was growing needier with each passing second. His name was an unrecognizable groan from my lips.

His mouth climbed up my thigh toward my sex as I quivered against his lips.

“I’m aching, Owen.”

“What do you need?”

“I… I….” It was a struggle to get the words out.

Owen sat up and rested back on his heels. Those strong hands that wrapped around my legs now held my ankles, and his thumbs brushed small circles along my ankles. The motion was soothing. Immediately, my thumping heart slowed to a steady beat.

“Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I’ve been thinking… I mean, I know what I want. I just….”

“Come on, cricket. You can tell me.”

“I want to have sex.”

Owen’s eyes darkened as his hands tightened around my feet.

“I know you probably have more experience and know what you’re doing, but I—”

“It’s okay, baby,” he inserted softly, and I had to remind myself this couldn’t be anything more than it was. Owen wasn’t ever going to stay here, and I was going to have to move on eventually.

“This is just sex, Owen. No feelings.”

The corners of his eyes creased, and his lips pursed.

“No promises, cricket. You’ve already branded me.”

“What does that even mean?”

“I’ll tell you later. Now, be a good girl and let me make you come.”

Worried he took my claims of inexperience as nothing more than having one or two partners, I reached for his wrist.

“I’m a virgin, Owen. I don’t know how to do any of th—”

Before I could finish speaking, Owen crawled over my body, reached a hand under my neck, and sealed my mouth with a kiss. My body craved more when he pulled back.

“You’re perfect, Aspen. You’ll be perfect.” He lingered over me, and we locked eyes. A softness replaced the lustful gaze from earlier, one a man would have toward someone he loved.

My stomach clenched at the thought.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

Without hesitation, I nodded, because I knew without a doubt that I wanted Owen to be my first. I wondered what sixteen-year-old me would think of this revelation.

Owen slipped off the couch and hoisted me into his arms, carrying me to the bedroom. With an unfamiliar gentleness, he laid me on the bed. His clothes fell in a heap on the floor while I laid in my birthday suit, watching in awe. I didn’t think I’d ever grow tired of looking at his body. It was a work of art.

“You keep looking at me like that and this will be over too fast.”

I chuckled as I leaned up on my elbows while he moved around the bed. The frame creaked as he climbed in beside me. Reaching over, Owen slid his hand through my long hair, resting his palm on the back of my head and lightly pulling my face toward his.

Our kisses grew frenzied and hands wildly stroked bare skin. It was both too much and not enough at the same time.

Owen rested on his back, tugging me on top of him. Something about the position made what I was about to do all too real, and my body began to shake.

Immediately, he sensed that something shifted. “Nervous?”

“A little.”

“You’ll be okay, cricket. I’ll take care of you. But you know we don’t have to do anything, right? I’m happy just being here with you.”

“But what if I do it wrong?”

“I can tell you with 100-percent certainty that there is nothing you could do wrong. Plus, right now, I just want you to focus on you. Let me finally make you come.”

Owen slipped his hand between my legs, running his finger back and forth along my wet slit. It was already coated in my arousal but grew wetter with each pass.

My breaths became pants as he continued on, swirling around my clit until I was a quivering mess. Against his lips, I cried out as I jerked, my orgasm crashing over me like a tidal wave.

“God, you’re gorgeous when you come,” he said as I bit my bottom lip to hold back my whimper when he pulled his hand free.

I may have been sensitive, but I wanted more. Yearned for it.