*CONTENT WARNING* This chapter will contain detailed descriptions of sexual activity. If you would rather not read that, then please skip from the first bolded line to the second – this will cut out the sauciest parts of the chapter while keeping the plot intact.

I woke in the moonless gloom, in the lonely span between midnight and dawn, when light is so scarce that the world turns greyscale.

For a moment, I wanted nothing more than to snuggle deeper into the sheets and fall back asleep.

But I couldn't.

I was boiling.

Curled up in Dwayne's embrace, I was roasting in the cocoon of his body heat.

Shit.

As much as I wanted to tiptoe downstairs for a glass of ice water, I knew that I wouldn't be able to get out of the bed with the possessive vise of Dwayne's arm holding me tight against him.

Maybe... maybe if I lose the shorts?

It might just cool me down enough to fall back asleep.

As I listened to Dwayne's deep, even breathing, I shifted my hips slightly, inching the waistband of the shorts down as I was able, first one side, then the other.

I was sliding it over the curve of my ass when I felt him move.

Freezing, I held my breath.

He made a throaty grumbling sound, nestling his nose in my hair before falling back asleep.

Exhaling slowly, I waited until I was certain he was out before I continued, wriggling the shorts down my legs and tossing them onto the floor.

"Hmm?" Dwayne stirred behind me.

Crap.

I looked over my shoulder, intending to apologize for waking him, but then his eyes fluttered open.

There was a moment's dazed befuddlement, then he focused on me, and the softness, the tenderness in his gaze stunned me silent.

Taking his hand off of my stomach, he reached up, brushing a piece of hair away from my mouth.

He lingered there, fingers lightly tracing over my cheekbone and the edge of my jaw, almost like he was memorizing me.

Turning over, I faced him, letting the intensity of his stare wash over me.

There, in the dark, with his eyes on me, time ceased to exist. Eternities passed as his thumb explored the curve of my lips. I watched him, studying the way the shadows softened the plane of his cheek.

This man had frightened me. He had scared me so out of my wits that my only instinct had been to run away.

And now, there was nothing I wanted more than to be right here, in this bed, with him.

Well, there was one thing...

And for the life of me, I couldn't think of a single reason why I shouldn't have it.

Reaching up, I threaded my fingers through his hair, cradling his head as I eliminated the space between us.

He tasted like home.

And as his lips melded with mine, they felt right, like these were the lips that I had been made to kiss.

So, I did.

And he kissed me back, and a fierce hunger started growing in my core.

At some point, his shirt was tossed to the floor. Followed by my shirt. And the sheets. And his shorts.

Kneeling on the bed, Dwayne coaxed my briefs over my hips, and as they were discarded, all of my attention was riveted on him.

The man between my thighs was gloriously, exquisitely naked. The darkness in the room obscured the intricate designs in his skin but did nothing to hide the growing proof of his arousal.

I felt an echo of my earlier anxiety but brushed it aside. If my lips had been made for him, then that had been made for me...

Lowering himself to rest on his elbows, Dwayne's hot breath buffeted my sex, and he looked up at me, waiting.

In that instant, an awareness of my power flooded through me. This beautiful, imposing man was built to dominate, to conquer.

And yet...

If I said the word, he would stop everything.

He would hold himself back, restrain his inner wildness.

For me.

I felt a tremor race through me, and I nodded.

Immediately, I felt his mouth and his hands on me and in me, working with a single-minded determination.

Rolling my head back against the pillow, I closed my eyes, savoring the bright sparks of pleasure shooting through me.

With my hands twisted in his hair, I struggled to breathe as he tormented me, his tongue swirling and suckling in time with the relentless thrusting of his fingers.

Glancing down, I saw the avid attention he was giving me and panted, "You're enjoying yourself way too much."

Looking up, eyes wolfish and predatory, he grinned against me. "It's not my fault you taste so good to me."

A laugh bubbled through me, cut short by a sudden gasp as his fingers stroked a place that turned my legs to jelly.

He paused. "What was that? I don't think I heard you."

Then, he stroked me again, and I couldn't hold back the cry that tore from my throat.

"Baby, you're going to need to speak up."

I would have told him off if I could only remember how to form words.

Smirking, he lowered his head and latched his mouth onto the throbbing ache at the apex of my thighs.

Helpless, I heard as garbled oaths poured out of me into the shadowed room, but I could do nothing to stop them. All the self-control I had was gone, lost as I was in the dizzying sensory havoc Dwayne was causing.

I writhed on the brink of my orgasm, so close to release that my thighs shivered against Dwayne's head.

"Please-" I found my voice and begged. "Please!"

And then I was gone.

Throwing my head back, I lost myself in the ecstasy that rocketed through my body. Dwayne's fingers continued their work even as my pussy clenched around them. His tongue didn't stop until my legs stopped shaking around him.

Slowly, the aftershocks quieted, my breathing returned to normal, and Dwayne climbed up the bed, lowering his lips to mine as his arms wrapped around me.

I kissed him back with the unsteady fervor of someone whose world has just been solidly rocked. Drawing up my knees to cradle his hips, I felt the hot pressure of his erection against my stomach.

Pulling away, Dwayne gazed down at me, and seeing the raw desire in his eyes sparked an answering need in me.

Mustering my courage, I raised my hand to clutch his bicep.

"Dwayne?"

"Yes?"

"I-" I swallowed roughly, "I want you to fuck me."

He stiffened above me. Pausing for a moment, he asked, "How do you want me to fuck you?"

I took a breath like I had an answer, then laughed shakily, "I don't really know. Riding you didn't exactly work out so well last time. I was hoping maybe you'd have some ideas..." I trailed off as I saw the wicked ferocity stealing over his features.

"Baby, I have ideas-" Dwayne's grin grew mischievous.  Pushing himself up, he sat back on his knees.  Slowly, his hands stroked my thighs as his eyes narrowed, apparently considering his options.

"Do you trust me?" Dwayne startled me with the suddenness of his question.

Looking up at him, I answered, unhesitatingly, "Yes."

His eyes riveted on mine, clearly not expecting that answer.

I ran my thumb over the back of his hand. "Dwayne, I wouldn't be here if I didn't trust you."

An indecipherable emotion clouded his features, and he bent down to claim my lips with his.

I surrendered to the unrestrained hunger of his kiss, to the indulgent mastery of his lips and tongue, some primal part of me needing to satisfy this man.

Then, he released me, sitting up, voice hoarse as he ordered, "Turn around and lean against the headboard."

It took a moment for the meaning of his words to become clear.

And when it did, what choice did I have?

I obeyed.

Leaning my arms against the top of the wooden headboard, I felt my knees sink into the soft cloud of the mattress.

Then, I felt Dwayne come up behind me, radiating heat as he leaned over me, brushing my hair aside and pressing his lips against the back of my neck.

I shivered, overwhelmed by the decadent sensation of his skin against mine.

And then he wound his arm around my abdomen and rubbed his fingers against my clit.

My hands clutched into fists, and I gasped.

Dwayne's other arm came up to rest on the headboard, fingers entwining with mine. I whimpered as he began to stroke me, letting his lips graze my ear.

"I'm going to fuck you, Lauren, but not yet; not until you're ready, until you're aching for it, until you can't stand not having me inside you."

Lowering his mouth to nip at delicate flesh of my earlobe, "Any objections?"

Slow fire was spreading through me, and I shook my head - objections were the farthest thing from my mind.

Dwayne took my consent and began to torment me, slowly, deliciously, circling my clitoris just long enough to send electric sparks shooting down my nerve endings, only to take his hand away and plunge his fingers inside of me. A frustrated whine escaped me, and I angled my hips, trying to increase the pressure and the friction.

Dwayne obliged, and I felt the tension within me coil tighter and tighter, but no matter how I moved or how I squirmed, satisfaction was always just out of my grasp.

As I shifted beneath him, I felt the insistent heat of Dwayne's arousal pressed between us, growing harder as I rocked my hips and desperately chased the orgasm Dwayne was denying me.

"Please-" I whimpered.

"'Please' what, Lauren?"

Was he going to make me beg?

"Please-" Gasping, I felt his fingers sink into me. "...please, let me come!"

Dwayne growled against my neck as his hand gripped me intimately, possessively. "I'm not going to let you come on my fingers, Lauren. You come on my cock, or you don't come at all."

He stroked me, teasing me as I quivered beneath him.

Stripped of my pride, my throat struggled to utter the word. 

"...yes."

I barely recognized his voice as he snarled, "'Yes' what?"

Oh, fuck me-

"I want you inside me – please! I need to come- fuck me!"

Half-aware, I felt Dwayne leave me incoherently babbling. Glancing over, I watched him digging through his nightstand until he returned, the foil pouch of a condom between his fingers. Tearing it open, I heard him roll the rubber over the length of his cock before setting one hand on my hip.

Slowly, he rubbed the sheathed head against me, letting it grow slick with my own wetness.

And then, I felt the heat as he began to press in.

"Oh-"

The exclamation left my lips before I could help it. The pressure grew, and I felt myself stretching around him before he withdrew.

Dwayne leaned forward, resting his arm on the headboard, weaving his fingers between mine.

"Okay?" His breath was hot on my neck.

I bit my lip and whispered, "Go slow?"

Dwayne answered, "I will."

Pressing a soft kiss against my spine, he squeezed my hand as he began to sink back into me, going just a little farther before pulling back. With each thrust, he delved just a little deeper before retreating, giving my body a chance to acclimate to the unfamiliar intrusion.

And the entire time, my hand was clutching his.

When his hips were firmly pressed against my ass, I was magnificently filled by him, pussy stretched tight around his cock. Every time he moved, I saw stars and a helpless, breathy moan escaped my throat.

I felt Dwayne shudder against me, "Oh my god-"

Breathless, I trembled beneath him. "Isn't that my line?"

"Fuck, Lauren-"

"Am I doing okay?"

"Okay?" He nestled his face in the curve of my neck. "Holy shit..."

His vulgar appreciation of my body had me purring, proud of the way I was pleasing him.

Groaning, Dwayne took a breath before asking, "Is it okay if I go faster?"

I nodded, and he began to pump his hips against me, building sublime friction within as his fingers returned to the rigid nub that ached for release.

I heard my breath hitch, realizing just how close I was, and every stroke, every thrust pushed me closer and closer to the edge.

Dwayne knew it too, and he brought his lips close to my ear, whispering beautifully filthy words of encouragement.

Then, he bit me.

And that, the sharp sensation of his teeth pinching my earlobe, shattered my control.

I cried out, feeling myself spasm around him, feeling the hot flush of pleasure overwhelming me.

Dwayne didn't relent – he growled against me, thrusting harder, faster as my body tightened around him like a fist.

As the last sparks of my climax began to fade, I felt the heat of Dwayne's rapidly approaching. Shivers erupted across my skin as he fucked me, restraint slipping as his thrusts grew wilder, and more erratic.

Suddenly, he drew me back hard, burying himself as deep inside me as he could go and letting loose a guttural, animalistic groan. Bone-deep contentment filled me as he came, and I luxuriated in the knowledge that I had been the one to satisfy him.

His breath came hot and ragged as he leaned his forehead against my back and pulled out of me. Warm from his embrace and the cozy haze of the afterglow, I closed my eyes and smiled, savoring the moment.

Then his arms wrapped around me and we held each other in the silent dark.

As I listened to the strong, steady beating of his heart, I chuckled.

"What is it?"

"Just thinking about how I was going to apologize for waking you up."