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I stroke through the moss once more, then close my hand around him and feel his body tighten above mine. There’s nothing restrained about his response. He has no idea that he’s supposed to hide any of this from me, and I’m beginning to hope nobody ever teaches him.

When I kiss him again, I’m wet enough that every shift of his thigh between mine makes me ache. His hand slides along my side, then over my hip, and I guide it between us. He knows where to go now.

His fingers find me, and the first touch makes me breathe his name into his mouth.

He remembers exactly what I showed him downstairs.

One slow circle is enough to make my hips lift. Kell does it again, and for a little while neither of us seems particularly interested in getting anywhere else.

His cock is still in my hand. His fingers are between my legs. We kiss until my breathing turns uneven and wanting him matters more than taking this slowly.

I finally loosen my hand and look at him.

I don’t want to stop touching him, but I want something else more.

“I want to feel you inside me.”

Kell’s whole body tightens, and this time I know exactly what it means.

“You want me here?”

“Yes.”

His voice drops lower. “Inside you.”

“Yes.”

“Say it again.”

“I want you inside me, Kell.”

He positions himself at my entrance and presses forward. The first slow push steals my breath, and he stops.

For one suspended second, his whole body seems to forget what comes next. He’s inside me now, just barely, and knowing what this would feel like didn’t come close to the reality.

I’m having a reality check of my own. He’s warm and completely firm, but the living willow has a resilience human flesh doesn’t, and the shallow ridges give him a texture I’ve never felt before. After four years without sex, my body needs more time than my brain did.

“Slow,” I whisper, my palms moving over his woven back.

His hips move again, giving me another inch. He shudders and leans close enough for his lips to touch my ear. “I am inside you, Laura.”

The wonder in his voice sends a fresh rush through me. I tighten my legs around him and turn my mouth against his jaw. “Yes, you are.” I hold him there for a few breaths, letting my body adjust around him.

“A little more.”

He gives it to me slowly. The stretch turns sharp enough that my hand closes around his hip. “Wait.”

Kell stops immediately. I breathe through it, one hand still on his hip, the other sliding up his back. He stays exactly where he is, close enough that I can feel the faint resonance running through him.

“Do you want me to pull back?”

“No. I want you right where you’re at. Just give me a minute.”

Something in him eases at the answer.

“Okay.”

He kisses me instead. No movement below the waist. No attempt to hurry me. Just his mouth on mine while my body gradually relaxes around him. That helps. A lot.