“Oh, Lord.” She made a face. “Feel free to jerk me back to reality when I get too demanding. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Say whatever you want. I mean it. Most of the world tells me what they think I want to hear. You’re different.” He touched her cheek gently. “In every imaginable way.”

“And I like your world-class orgasms that delight me in every imaginable way,” she said with a lift of her brows, determined to restore the playful dynamic between them. “Really, I can’t thank you enough.”

His practiced smile was instant and effortless. “So, we did good?” He smoothly slid the provisional dildos free.

Her smile in response was angelic.

“It was a thousand times better than good.” She lazily stretched as though recalling every lush sensation. “God, I missed you—and all this… the defenseless desire, the insatiable need”—she smiled—“the mind-blowing happy endings.”

While he found his overwhelming need for one woman bewildering, he understood with unequivocal clarity the incredibly intense sex they shared… He’d missed that too. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said quietly.

Her smile was wobbly again, his earnestness affecting her tenuous hold on good judgment. “I’ll probably drive you away I’m so crazy needy.”

“I like your crazy.” Bending low, his dark hair falling forward to frame his face, he brushed a kiss down the fine bridge of her nose. “I have from the first. So you won’t drive me away.” He arched one brow. “And just so we’re clear, you won’t be leaving any time soon either.”

“I can’t.” She ran her fingers down his arm and said in a breathy little hiccup, “I’m truly addicted.”

He grinned. “You just like to fuck.”

“I hope that’s not a problem.” Her voice was teasing again; there were certain rules to this game.

“I hope it’s not a problem when I fuck you twenty-four/seven.” A purposeful statement without a hint of teasing.

A flicker of unease in her eyes. “You’re kidding.”

“Uh-uh.” He reached for the tie on her left wrist, pulled it free, then reached for the second tie.

“You can’t mean it.” Her apprehension was plain.

“I do.” He pulled the second tie loose and shot her a blank look. “You’re my constant wet dream, baby.” Revealing his emotions was a radical departure best managed in small doses. He’d admitted more of his feelings in the last few minutes than he had in his lifetime. He preferred the familiar world of sex and more sex. That was his comfort zone.

“If you didn’t sound so scary, I’d say, thank you.”

“Believe me, I should be thanking you. I’ve never been so horny. Come on,” he said, picking her up and putting her on his lap. “Let’s see if those ben wa balls turn you on when you walk. And then I’m thinking a couple of orgasms. Yours first, of course, because I’m not stupid.” He slid his index finger inside her for a quick check; nothing distracted her like sex. And he’d had enough talk for one night.

She caught her breath, uttered a small throaty moan on cue. Then another, as he slid off the bed, the pressure of his forearm on her bottom wedging the silver spheres deeper. “You okay?” he said, setting her on her feet.

“Not really.” She drew in a breath; her knees had gone weak and a high-wattage delirium was jolting her senses in a tumultuous frenzy.

He politely held her upright until her agitation diminished. Then he said, “Good now?” as though understanding perfectly the finite pitch and measure of her arousal.

She nodded.

He dropped his hands. “Now don’t move”—he began to say and caught himself. “Just relax for a minute.”

She smiled faintly. “Good save.”

“I’m walking a damned tight rope tonight, baby,” he murmured with a lazy smile. “No question.”

“Consider it a learning experience,” she purred.

His gaze was suddenly blast furnace hot. “Maybe for us both,” he said with exaggerated courtesy. Then he turned away, walked across the bedroom to a linen-covered sofa set against the wall, and sat, facing her. Stretching out his arms along the sofa back, he slid down on his spine, spread his legs slightly, his perfectly formed erection fucking beautiful, Kate thought like a genuine, grade A addict. “Okay, baby.” He crooked his finger. “See if you can make it this far.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Those ben wa balls are small.” He spoke softly. “You can do it.”

“What do you mean small?” She could feel them with every feverish nerve; she was creamy wet and antsy.

“As in not large,” he said with a flicker of a smile. “You can take more. You know you can. We don’t have to argue about that. Now, come to daddy, baby. Move slowly. One step, then two.” He pointed to the floor before his feet, then looked up. “Got it?”

“I hope that’s not an order.”

“Would that be a problem?” he silkily inquired.

“Maybe. Why don’t you come here and fuck me instead.”

“Because that’s not the way it works.” His voice was patently tolerant, as though explaining particle physics to a novice.

“You said—”