Gracie was practically vibrating with excitement as she dropped coins into the machine to collect her subway ticket, her giddy energy drawing looks from the people around us. It was almost as much fun watching her here as it had been at the Empire State Building-maybe even more.

I just wished I'd kept my damn mouth shut when she'd asked if I'd been there before.

What the hell had I been thinking?   Idiot.

"This is just like my mama said it would be," she gushed, her voice flooding with wonder as she smiled at yet another passing stranger, throwing out cheerful hellos like she was back home.

She was completely oblivious to the wary glances they shot back at her.

The moment we made it to the platform, she started bouncing on the balls of her feet, and every so often, she'd shoot me one of those crooked grins, the kind that lit her up from the inside before dissolving into laughter-pure, unfiltered, drunk-on-life kind of laughter.

Seeing this happiness and amusement fix itself onto her gorgeous face was now my favourite image in the whole universe. And every reaction to the city was like seeing it for the first time myself. Gracie had this way of turning even the mundane into something extraordinary, like a kid on Christmas morning.

And me? I was just lucky to be standing next to her.

Hours flew by, and we'd spent far longer on the subway than planned and by the time we finally reached the hotel, I was ready to take a shower and chill for a couple of hours before we went out to dinner. But the second we stepped inside the suite, all that exhaustion disappeared.

Gracie froze in the entryway, her mouth falling open as she took it all in. "Wyatt..." Her voice was a mix of awe and disbelief.

The suite was decked out, far beyond the basic room she'd probably been expecting. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view of the city, and the sitting area was arranged with plush, modern furniture. A tray with chocolate-dipped strawberries and a chilled bottle of champagne sat waiting on the coffee table. The place oozed luxury, but none of it compared to her expression.

"You like it?" I asked, knowing full well I'd nailed this one.

"Like it?" She spun around to face me, her eyes practically sparkling. "This is... Wyatt, this is fancy! You didn't have to—"

"I wanted to," I said simply, cutting off her protest. She deserved this-every bit of it.

She went and picked up a strawberry, biting off the top and making a humming sound that went straight to my dick... reminding me exactly what her mouth was capable of.

Finishing chewing, she wandered through the space, fingers teasing over the furniture as I palmed my unruly dick back in place.

"What's in here?" She opened the door and stepped into the bedroom.

Her gasp echoed back to me, and my stomach did a little flip-flop. I followed her inside, and her wide eyes landed on the centrepiece of the room: the bed. One bed.

All sleek linens and soft lighting, it seemed to glow in the room-but not as much as her grin, which spread like wildfire across her face. With my jeans now becoming uncomfortable, I watched Gracie, unable to focus on anything else.

"What's this I see?" she asked, "Hmm." Her eyes danced between me and the bed, adding, "Just one bed, huh?"

I cleared my throat, trying to sound casual. "It's what they had available."

That wasn't exactly a lie. It was what they had available—after I asked for it.

Booking the room with just one bed had been a gamble—but after last night, that worry eased off when she'd seduced me, rendering me absolutely speechless, not to mention all the teasing on the plane, my girl could keep me hard better than any medication on the market.

That said, diving straight into her proverbial pot of gold? Tempting, definitely, but I wasn't about to sprint to the end of the rainbow just yet.

I wanted at least a few dates under my belt first.

Gracie tugged off her coat, letting it fall to the floor, toed off her boots and sauntered over to the bed, dragging her fingertips lightly across the crisp white duvet. She looked back at me, her bottom lip caught between her teeth in a way that sent heat racing through my veins and made my mouth turn dry.

"What do you say we stay in, order room service?"

My heart skipped a damned beat, but I shook my head. "Nope. You've got a whole New York bucket list, and I'm not letting you miss a thing. You'll thank me later."

We were only here for three days.

She gave a playful pout, moving toward me. I dropped my gaze down her body, wandering over the swell of her breasts, along the curve of her hips and then along those legs. She wore thick pink socks, which did nothing to dampen what was happening behind my zipper.

"You're no fun," she teased, her voice low, tugging on my fraying resolve.

I stepped toward her, closing the distance, and brushed a thumb along her cheek, letting my voice drop. "Oh, I'm plenty fun. Just wait."

Her laugh was soft and breathless, and when her hands slid up my chest, my grip on self-control slipped just a little further.

Why was I holding back?

The thought clawed at me. What was it about pacing myself? Respecting some imaginary timeline I'd built in my head?

The city could wait. Hell, the world could wait. I wanted her to know she was the centre of mine. Starting now.

"I think I might need you to prove you're plenty fun..."

Was that a challenge? "You're eager for some fun, huh?"

"Yes," she admitted, her cheeks flushing as her fingers curled into my shirt. "I'm eager. Very eager."

"Hmm," I hummed, letting my hands rest on her waist, pulling her closer. "I suppose we could...test how comfy that bed is."

"Yes! I mean, no-" She gasped suddenly, her hand pressing over my heart as if something had startled her. Her wide-eyed expression caught me completely off guard.

What just happened?

"I need to use the bathroom," she said, her tone quick and almost frantic.

It threw me for a loop, and my eyes darted to the far corner of the room. "Uh, try that door."

She rose on her toes and pressed a quick, almost hasty kiss to my lips. "Hold that fun for me, doctor."

And just like that, she disappeared, leaving me standing there, stunned, confused, and... waiting?

Shaking off the unease, thinking I might just be overthinking, I kicked off my boots and socks, letting my toes sink into the plush carpet. This place might have cost an arm and a leg, but damn, it was worth it.

The bathroom door creaked open, and when I glanced up, Gracie was walking toward me. Her hair was loose now, framing her face in soft waves, but her eyes were cast down, and there was a quietness to her that hadn't been there before. It had me second-guessing myself again.

"Everything okay?" I asked, my voice softer than I intended.

Gracie lifted her head, and in that instant, every ounce of doubt disappeared. Her hands slid behind my neck, her fingertips brushing the nape of my skin, setting it alight.

"Yeah," she said, her voice low. "I just needed to do something first."

"What?" I asked, a mix of curiosity and relief flooding me.

"Oh," she said with a little shrug. "Just take off what I had on under my dress."

Huh? She'd lost me.

"Yeah," she continued as if this were the most casual confession in the world. "I didn't want any fun to include you seeing me in my not-so-sexy underwear."

I sucked in a sharp breath, the air catching in my throat as her words sank in. "What do you mean?"

Without thinking, my hands moved to lift the hem of her dress. My eyes dropped, and—holy shit.

She wasn't wearing anything underneath. Just bare skin, soft curves, and a small, tantalising patch of curls that deserved a lifetime of attention.

Time stopped. My pulse roared in my ears, drowning out everything but the sight of her standing there, so effortlessly vulnerable and confident all at once.

"Gracie..." I exhaled her name, part disbelief, part awe.

"What?" She fluttered her eyelashes "You were the one who suggested we test the bed, right?"

My eyes dropped again, but Gracie tipped my chin so I'd look away from her pussy and into her big green eyes. "Have I shocked you again?"

Another bolt of lightning went straight into my brain and down my balls. "I thought you might be teasin' me again."

She kissed me softly, quickly, playfully. "Does havin' a sneak peek makes you want to rip my dress offa me?"

Yes. It did. But that would make this over too quickly.

Taking a step back, it was game on. "I'd rather watch you take it off for me. Slowly, deliberately, watch it touch every single inch exactly like I will soon be doing. Tease yourself for me. Tease me."

Gracie took some steps backwards until she was barely an inch from the bed. She grabbed the hem, inching it up her legs. "Like this?"

"Yes." This was so goddam surreal. "It feels like I've been engaged in the longest foreplay in human history waiting for you."

She let the dress snag over her pussy, dust over her torso, catch on her pebbled nipples and brush over her lips. "Are you tellin' me you got a serious case of the blue balls, Dr Carter?"

I swallowed. "Sumthin' like that." Last night with Gracie had been the first time anyone had had their hands on me since... well, since I realised the feelings I had for Gracie had changed.

Gracie discarded the fabric into a puddle beside her sockless feet.

And now she was standing in front of me completely naked. My heart was stuttering and skipping beats. And completely in awe, I shook my head. "Good God, Gracie..."

"So I take it you like? You're pleased?"

It was the first time I'd heard any hint of worry in her voice.

My eyebrows shot into my hairline. "Like?" Three strides. "Pleased?" I was towering over her, and she looked up. "C'mere." I lifted her and she wrapped her legs around me and I walked us around the bed to the wardrobe where beside it was a full-length mirror. I wasn't missing out on seeing my perfect woman from all the angles, not in a million years.

"You're incredible, and I'm the luckiest man alive for getting to see you, all of you."

"Yeah?" It was the shiest smile that had ever graced her lips.

It was crazy to me she didn't quite get how hot I thought she was, but on the other hand, I liked being the one to make sure she didn't doubt what I was saying.

I kissed her smile and put her down in front of the mirror and turned her around. "Yeah, baby. You're perfect." I pressed my jean-covered erection into the small of her back as one hand snaked across her stomach, and the other secured her hip and pulled us closer together.

"See how we fit together?"

She nodded.

"You were made for me, Gracie."

Her eyes went round.

"And I know you feel that," I rolled my hips, making sure she felt how much I wanted her.

She nodded again.

"Good. Now, how's about we get you on that bed and I will show you how pleased I am."

She flipped around. "I will, but we gotta even the score a bit first." Her fingers travelled up my chest and started working on my shirt. Button by button, she peeled it off my torso, dumping it somewhere behind me.

As her fingers moved to the buckle on my belt, I caught her hands. "The jeans stay."

Her brow furrowed as she looked up at me. "Why?"

Because if the jeans came off, there was no way she was leaving this room a virgin—and I wasn't about to let that happen. Not just yet. I leaned closer, my voice firm. "I can't trust myself around you. The jeans stay."

Her lips pressed into that goddamn adorable pout again, and it hit me like a sucker punch.

"I don't want you to trust yourself around me. I want you to lose control," she murmured.

I shook my head, the words slipping out before I could stop them. "Trust me, around you, I barely have control."

She didn't have time to respond before I spun her around. "Go, get on the bed, baby."

She froze for a beat, then cast a glance over her shoulder. There was something in her eyes-something I was starting to see every time I called her "baby." She liked it.

But she wasn't moving fast enough.

"Now," I added, voice low, and that seemed to do the trick.

She climbed onto the bed without protest, and I watched every move, my gaze trailing the sway of her hips until she turned and stretched out. "Lie down."

My blood burned as I stalked toward the bed, the mattress dipping under my weight as I closed the space between us. She lay there, bare and breathtaking, her skin catching the soft light like she was made of something I didn't deserve to touch. The way her eyes followed my every move-wide, waiting, wanting—had my chest tight and my pulse racing.

I lowered myself until our faces were just a breath apart, close enough that I could feel the warmth of her exhale. My hand found her jaw, guiding her gently to meet my lips. The kiss was slow, deliberate, meant to tease. I took my time exploring the softness of her mouth, savouring every tiny sound she made.

Pulling back, I let my lips graze hers as I murmured, "You're so beautiful."

Her cheeks flushed, and she squirmed beneath me, but I wasn't in any rush. I trailed kisses along her jaw, down her neck, tasting her, breathing her in. When I reached the hollow of her throat, she let out a soft gasp, her hands curling into the sheets.

"You like that, don't you?" I murmured against her skin, my voice rough with need.

She didn't answer—couldn't, I'd wager-but her body told me everything. Her back arched, and I took the invitation, sliding lower, pressing kisses over the curve of her shoulder and down to her collarbone.

I paused there, letting my hand follow the curve of her side, gliding over the dip of her waist and the swell of her hip. Her breath hitched when my thumb brushed the sensitive skin just above her thigh, and I grinned against her shoulder.

"Wyatt..." she whispered, her voice trembling.

"Hmm?" I murmured, distracted as my lips found the curve of her breast.

Her breathing grew shallow as I traced my tongue along the edge, teasing the sensitive skin. When I finally closed my mouth around her nipple, the sound she made—a soft, desperate moan—nearly undid me.

I sucked lightly, rolling the hardened peak between my lips as my free hand moved to cup her other breast. My thumb brushed her other nipple, circling it slowly, and her body responded like a live wire, writhing under me.

"God, you're so sensitive," I muttered, half in awe, half in praise.

She was a symphony of soft sounds and shifting limbs, her hands clutching at my shoulders, my arms—anything she could reach. When I kissed lower, down the curve of her ribs, she let out a shaky exhale that had me grinning.

"You make the prettiest noises, baby," I said, my voice low and rough. "I could listen to you all night."

Her hips shifted beneath me, and her legs pressed together instinctively. I slid my hand lower, gently guiding them apart as I continued my trail of kisses down her stomach, letting her anticipation build with every inch.

"Let's see if these whiskers of mine live up to your expectations, huh?"

I moved down the bed and into position my shoulders, forcing her legs to widen even more, giving me one of the best visuals on the entire planet. I took a mental snapshot. Her pussy, pink and wet was an open invitation. I wanted her so badly my cock was damn near punching a hole through the zipper, but this wasn't about me. "I wish you could see yourself this way. Spread open for me."

I barely caught her words, but her gasp was divine when I scraped my whiskers against the soft skin of her thighs not wanting to wait another second my mouth lowered, and I licked through her slick folds until I found her swollen clit, flicking it with my tongue before sucking it into my mouth. Her hand dived into my hair and gripped hard.

"Oh god," she whimpered, her voice breaking.

It would've been easy to push her over the edge right then, but I pulled back, letting my tongue trail down until I found her entrance and plunged inside. She tasted like heaven and sin, better than any damn dessert I'd ever had.

My gaze lifted to see her lips parted, her eyes glazed, and her chest rising and falling faster.

"Please, Wyatt..."

I lifted my head just enough to tease. "Please, what?"

Her hips rolled in desperation. "Heck. I don't know, just please..."

God, she was beautiful. Smiling against her skin, I lowered my mouth again, sucking her clit, only this time I slid a finger inside her wet heat.

Holy-hell.  She was suffocating my finger. How the heck was my dick gonna fit in there?

That was a problem for later-though not much later. Because having had her naked and trembling beneath me, I wouldn't last long before needing her entirely.

But right now? Right now, I wanted her to fall apart.

I sucked harder on her clit, my finger curling to find that spot inside her. When her moans turned into little choked gasps, I added a second finger, working her carefully but relentlessly. She writhed beneath me, her back arching, her legs trembling around my shoulders.

"Oh, oh, God, Wyatt!"

Her voice was high and raw, her breaths stuttering as her body tensed. And then she shattered. Her scream filled the room as her thighs clamped around my head, holding me there like her life depended on it.

I didn't stop. I licked and sucked and finger-fucked her through her climax, even as my hips ground into the mattress beneath me, unable to hold back. My own release hit me like a battering ram, and I didn't care that I came whilst still wearing my jeans and without her touching me.

When her body finally slackened, her grip on my hair eased, and she collapsed against the bed, boneless. I crawled up to her, brushing the hair from her damp forehead as she blinked at me, her eyes barely focused.

"That enough fun for you?" I asked, pressing a soft kiss to her parted, dry lips, smiling against them.

"For now," she answered with a sleepy grin and her eyes fluttering shut.