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“Take my dress off,” she whispered.

Niall needed no further instruction. His hands found the zipper at her back and he peeled the dress off so that Cordelia stood before him in the moonlight, naked except for a pair of cotton underwear designed to look like a slice of watermelon.

“Oh,” she said, realizing she was wearing yet more food. She grinned sheepishly. “I didn’t do that on purpose. It’s laundry day.”

Niall chuckled, tracing the line of fabric across her stomach and feeling the goose bumps blossom on her skin. “Let’s see if they taste as good as they look,” he said, and got down on his knees. He kissed her just below her belly button and then looked up at her. Her breasts swelled, both nipples hard in the cool air, and Niall couldn’t resist reaching up and pinching one pert bud between his fingers. She gasped and bit her lip and Niall’s cock grew so hard it hurt. She brushed a lock of his hair away from his face and let her hand fall gently against his jaw. He turned his head to kiss her palm, then gazed up at her again.

“Cordelia James,” he said. “You are so beautiful.”

Her eyes widened a fraction and her lips parted but Niall couldn’t wait. He kissed her mound softly, reveling in the moan that escaped her, louder and more primal than the little ones before, and he couldn’t wait to set her truly free, to learn how to make those moans grow in pitch, to understand her inner workings until he had her shuddering.

He hooked a finger around the watermelon underwear and pulled it aside, tasting her at last. She was wet and ready and he slid his tongue along her clit, feeling her thighs quiver, pressing his hand flat against her stomach to hold her upright. He licked and sucked at her, sensing when she tightened and when the wetness flowed, falling into a pattern of gentle circles around her clit, sinking lower and lower toward her opening.

“Niall,” she gasped as he slid a finger inside her. “Wait.”

“I can’t,” he murmured against her.

“Oh god,” she said and he tilted his head to see she was gripping her hair with one hand. “I think I’m going to fall over.” She met his gaze. “Bedroom.”

That was the only word that could have gotten him to move from what he considered to be the most perfect spot in the entire world. His knees creaked as he stood, kissing her deeply and then bending to sweep her legs out from under her, cradling her against him as she shrieked.

“You bastard!” She giggled, swatting his chest.

“And a very strong bastard at that,” he said with a grin. She wrapped her arms around his neck and arched up to kiss him.

“More please,” she whispered.

“Oh yes,” he murmured in agreement. He wasn’t done with her yet. Not by a long shot. He strode through the small living room with Cordelia in his arms.

“Wait, the lights,” she said.

“Fuck the lights,” Niall growled.

Cordelia was a tangled, twisted up, writhing knot of pleasure.

Her skin was on fire. Her heart pummeled against her sternum. The tender spot between her thighs seemed to have its own heartbeat and Cordelia ached for Niall’s mouth on her again. He carried her easily as he kicked open the door to the bedroom and laid her down gently on the bed. He towered over her, his skin shining like pearl in the dim light spilling through her bedroom window, his eyes dark as lapis.

“You still have pants on,” she said, sitting up. “No fair.” She unbuttoned his jeans and left a trail of kisses across his stomach, feeling the muscles clench and tremble beneath her lips. She lay back and waited as he took his shoes and socks and jeans off before crawling across the bed to stretch out alongside her, his head propped up on one hand.

His fingertips ran from her throat down her chest, between her breasts and over her stomach until he was slipping his fingers over her clit. She gasped, tension coiling inside her at his touch. He grinned and stroked her gently, like he had all the time in the world. He started doing that circular thing he’d been doing earlier with his mouth and Cordelia groaned, spots of light flashing in the edge of her vision. He dipped to suck at her breast again, biting ever so gently on her nipple and Cordelia had to suck in a scream.

“You’re so tense,” Niall murmured, moving to take her other breast in his mouth. Cordelia’s head spun, the waves of sensation forming a delicate buzz across her skin. There was a taut silken line connecting all the way from her nipples down to her clit, and just when she thought she was going to faint or shatter, he slid his fingers inside her again.

She cried out and Niall shifted his position so he was hovering over her, balanced on his forearm while he teased and stroked her, dipping in to touch her G-spot and then sliding back out to run his fingers in that goddamn miraculous circle. She brought his mouth to hers fiercely as her thighs clenched together around his hand, her hips arching to coax him deeper. She was right on the edge of that ultimate release, but she didn’t want to give in yet. She didn’t want a single scrap of fabric between her and Niall when she did.

“Take them off,” she pleaded and he didn’t need any more encouragement. With one swift pull, the watermelon underwear was yanked off and tossed aside.

“Yours too,” she whispered against his cheek. She felt him move on the bed and then heard the soft sound of his boxers falling to the floor.

Cordelia had thought that whenever she felt comfortable enough to have sex again, she would be shy and awkward, embarrassed by her nudity or second-guessing herself. But not with Niall. He looked at her like a man dying of thirst looked at a jug of water, like she was the most precious jewel he’d ever seen. She felt precious. Precious and sexy and alive and happy. She’d never felt such pure elation, like she was floating. The rules of gravity no longer applied.

She let her gaze travel across his shoulders, down his chest, to the V of muscle she’d seen in the back room yesterday. Was it only yesterday? Niall was full and hard and she reached down and took his cock in her hands, marveling at the softness of skin over hard muscle. She heard his breath catch and she grinned wickedly, stroking him as gently as he’d stroked her, looking up to see his jaw clenched.

“Now who’s tense?” she teased.

He gave a throaty chuckle. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

Cordelia gripped his shaft tighter and he moaned. “Not tonight, let’s hope.”