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He was a foot taller than her
and twice as wide. He could see his stature intimidated her, but he wanted to
put her at ease. “Feel this.” He grabbed her hand and placed it over his
pounding heart. “I’m more nervous than you are right now.”

She looked surprised. “Why
are you nervous?”

Tucker wasn’t the type of man
to hide behind lies or pull punches, and he had no respect for someone who did.
“I’m so afraid of screwing this up.” He held his hand over hers. “The truth is,
I’m falling for you, Rachel, hard.”

She smiled. “I know how you
feel.”

“So we’re just gonna take
this slow tonight. You tell me what you need from me.”

She licked her lips as her
eyes traveled over his chest. “You’re so powerful, so muscular…” The color rose
in her cheeks. “I want to touch you and kiss you… Is that okay?”

He gave a silent prayer of
thanks that he’d had the good sense to add a fully equipped gym to the plans
when he finished renovating his house last year. The look of awe in her eyes
when she looked at his well-developed muscles made every excruciating bicep curl,
lunge, and squat worthwhile.

“You can do whatever you want
to me.” He smirked. “I’m yours for the taking.” He was used to taking a much
more dominant role with his lovers, but he sensed Rachel needed to take the
lead tonight, to get comfortable with her own sexuality, before she could trust
someone enough to take care of her needs in bed.

She tentatively pressed her
lips to the spot where their joined hands had been.

As soon as she flicked her
tongue across his flat nipple, his cock jerked in response. He fisted his hands
at his side as he tried to rein in his body’s eager response. “Yes,” he
whispered. He closed his eyes and tipped his head back as her mouth and tongue
moved over his smooth chest.

She reached for his belt
buckle and he knew his restraint was going to snap as soon as she put her hands
on him. “Baby, lie down on the bed. I want to kiss you… touch you. Will you let
me do that?” He wasn’t going to do anything until he was certain she wanted it.

She reached behind her back
and un-did her bra.

His mouth watered when she
finally let the garment it fall to the floor. Her tits were spectacular. The
rest of her body was fairly lean, he assumed because of her years of dance
training, but her breasts were spectacularly full and lush with large, dusky
nipples.

She laughed self-consciously.
“I heard you’re a leg man.” She looked down at her toned, short legs and rolled
her eyes. “I’m afraid I can’t help you there.”

He frowned. He didn’t know who
had told her about his preferences, and right now he didn’t care. The only
thing that mattered to him was making sure she realized how much she turned him
on. He grabbed her hand and set it against the bulge in the front of his jeans.
“That’s what you do to me. Long legs, short legs, big or small breasts…” His eyes
fell to her abdomen. “Scars… it doesn’t matter to me. You are the most gorgeous
woman I’ve ever been with…” He leaned in to kiss her. “Ever. And I never want
this night to end, Rachel.”

She closed her eyes. “Neither
do I. I’ve never… I mean… I never thought it could be like this. The
excitement, the anticipation…” She opened her eyes to look at him. “I always
associated sex with fear.”

He took a deep breath. His
anger had no place in this room tonight. There would be time for that later,
when he finally tracked that prick down and punished him for all the years he’d
punished Rachel. “You have nothing to be afraid of with me. You know that,
don’t you?”

She nodded. “I do.” She
smiled. “I trust you, Tucker. I don’t why, but I do.”

People often believed that
because he was a cop, he must be trustworthy, but he had learned to respect
women long before he earned that badge. Had he not treated the women in his
life with the respect they deserved, his mama would have been the first in line
to slap some sense into him.

“I’ll never make you regret
trusting me, Rachel. I promise you.” He knew there had been too few people in
her life she could trust, and he wanted, more than anything, for her to count
him among that select group. He intended to work tirelessly to live up to her
expectations, because whatever was happening between them, he didn’t want it to
end.

She took his hand and led him
toward the bed.

Before she could lie down, he
pulled her back against his front and began kissing her neck. He pushed her
hair aside as his exploration intensified.

She moaned softly as she
pressed her ass into his hard shaft. “Oh God, I love the way that feels,
Tucker. Mmmm…”

He would do anything to illicit
that sound from her. That hum of pure bliss let him know she was here with him,
in this moment, and that he’d been able to banish the ghosts from her past, at
least for a little while.

He nibbled a moist trail up
the side of her neck as he slipped his hand inside the waistband of her panties
and nudged her legs apart with his knee. “Just relax,” he whispered in her ear.
He knew she was getting there, but he could still feel the tension in her
shoulders as his tongue moved down the slope of her collarbone.

“I’m trying.” She reached
around to wrap her arms around his neck from behind. “Mmm… I have to admit, you
make it pretty easy.”

He smiled against her skin.
He wanted to know that he had the power to manipulate her body and her mood
with little more than a soft caress. “I love the way you smell…” It was a
subtle, spicy fragrance. Not overpowering. In fact, it was so subtle, he would
have to be this close to even be aware of it. “The way you taste…” He knew he
couldn’t wait much longer to taste her intimately.

She moved her hips slightly
as he slipped a finger inside her tight channel. She let her hands fall to her
sides as she spread her legs further apart. “Tucker… I…”

The sound of his name on her
lips when she was on the verge of coming was almost more than Tucker could
stand in his state. He wanted this to last, to show her how good it could be
when she gave herself to him completely, but he couldn’t remember the last time
he’d been this turned on. “That’s it, sweetheart, just let go for me.” He stroked
her nipple with his free hand, rolling the tip between his thumb and
forefinger.

“Oh… right there…” She began
rolling her hips as he glided his finger back and forth over her distended nub.
She crossed one arm over her body to dig her trimmed nails into his bicep. “Oh
my God… Tuckerrrrr…”

His name was almost a
mournful cry on her lips as he continued to stroke her while she rode out the
powerful climax. He didn’t say anything as he carefully withdrew his hand and
eased her back on the bed. There was so much more he wanted to do to her and
for her before he lost himself in her body, but he knew it would take some time
for her to recover, so he lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms.

She reached for his hard
shaft, but he grabbed her wrist to halt the action.

“Tucker, you need…”

“Sssh…” He kissed her lips to
silence her. “Relax, I’m going to get what I need. Right now, this is about you
and what you want.”

A tear slipped down her cheek
and fell on his chest. “I honestly didn’t think men like you existed.” She
chuckled. “You do realize you may become the standard by which I judge all
other men from now on, don’t you?”

The arm he had wrapped around
her waist tightened. He didn’t want to think about her being with anyone else.
Shit, he was getting in deeper than he thought with this woman.

She leaned up to look at him.
“What’s wrong? What did I say?”

“Nothing.” He kissed the top
of her head. “I’m good.” He didn’t want to ask for more than she was prepared
to offer, but before she left his home, he intended to make sure she understood
he expected this to be the first of many nights they spent together.

He leaned over to kiss her,
claiming her mouth in a kiss that expressed his intent more poignantly than he
ever could. His tongue stroked hers, heightening her arousal so they could move
on to the next phase. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, tearing his mouth
away from hers. Slow and steady had never been his mantra, but he knew it was
crucial for him to bank the fire raging inside of him tonight.

She slid her hands into his
hair as he lowered his head.

He licked her nipples slowly,
thoroughly, before rolling his tongue around the taut peak.

“Oh my God, what are you
doing to me?” she whispered, tipping her head back. “I’ve already come more
tonight than I have…” She paused, evidently considering how much she should
reveal. “In a long, long time.”

He wouldn’t push her anymore
tonight. She’d already confided in him more than he expected her to. He was
convinced that the rest of her story would unfold as their relationship
progressed. “I want to satisfy you, Rachel.” This time it was his turn to bare
his soul. He looked up, into her eyes. “I don’t want you to want anyone else. I
want to prove to you how good it can be between us, if you’re willing to give
me a chance?”

She sighed as she brushed his
hair off his forehead. “You make it sound so easy. I only wish it were.”

Nothing was going to stand in
his way, not her crazy ex, her intent to leave town because of her precarious
financial situation, or her mysterious past. He wanted this woman, and he
wouldn’t let anything, not even her fear, ruin their chance to make this work.
He smiled. “I’ll just have to make the decision easy for you, won’t I?”

She closed her eyes. “That’s
the problem, Tucker. You’re already pretty impossible to resist, which is why
I’m still here.”

He lowered his head, skimming
her soft skin with his lips. He wanted so much more than tonight. He wanted
tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that… Hell, he couldn’t
imagine not wanting her. His mouth drifted over her abdomen as he slowly worked
his way down to the apex of her thighs.

He positioned his body
between her legs as he kissed the inside of her thighs and drew the panties
over her hips. “Jesus,” he whispered when he finally bared her to his hungry
eyes. She was completely smooth and so wet she made him salivate.

A blush crept up her neck,
staining her cheeks. “I’m a dancer. It’s more practical.” She cleared her
throat. “Does it bother you?”

“Are you kidding me? I’m
practically drooling here.”

She laughed, seemingly
relieved.

He tossed her panties aside
and positioned his body between her knees as he hooked her legs over his
shoulders. He didn’t know which one of them was going to enjoy this more. He
knew nothing got a woman off faster than a little oral pleasure, and he
couldn’t wait to experience her explosion in the most intimate, erotic way.

He could feel her body
tensing, and he knew she hadn’t been on the receiving end of this kind of
pleasure often, if at all. “Just relax for me, baby. I’m doing this for me,
too.”

She opened her eyes, looking
confused.

Tucker couldn’t tell her how
much he was going to savor this, but he could show her. By the time she was
erupting in his mouth, he knew his cock would be harder than a steel rod. He
started slow, gliding his tongue up and down her slit and slipping his tongue
in and out of her tight, wet cavern.

She spread her legs wider,
moaning low and deep in her throat.

He peeled her apart gently so
she was completely vulnerable and exposed to him, and she seemed to relish his
intense invasion. He knew a few more nights like this and she would be his.

“God, you taste incredible.”
He was dying to slide his cock inside of her, but he wasn’t even close to being
finished with her. He intended to make her wild. He wanted her to beg and
scream for her release before he finally surrendered.

She reached up to grab the
headboard, obviously looking for something solid to anchor her.

“Stroke your nipples for me,”
he whispered, glancing up the length of her firm body.

He could sense her hesitancy,
and he knew based on her sexual history, she hadn’t indulged in a lot of self-pleasure.
“Please, I want to watch you.” He leaned back as he braced his weight on his
hand. “Show me how you like to be touched. Stroke your nipples and your clit
for me, finger your pussy…” He licked his lips as he eased two fingers inside
of her. “Come on, honey, do it for me, just like this.” He thrust his fingers
in and out, hard and fast, until she was moaning and using one hand to pluck
her nipples while the other rubbed her clit furiously.

“That’s it…” He tried to
steady his breathing. Watching her pleasure herself was one of the hottest
things he had ever experienced, but he’d be damned if he let it end like this.
He drew her hand away from her pussy.

Her eyes were glazed and
drifting closed as she muttered a protest. “I was so close, Tucker. Please…”

“I know, baby, I’m gonna take
you there. Just relax.” He re-claimed his position and was surprised when she
reached down to link her hands with his. It didn’t give him the freedom to use
his fingers to pleasure her, but the connection felt even more intimate as he
experienced, first-hand, the tension building in her body as he stroked her
with his mouth.