Carl took a deep breath as he looked up at Kayla’s partially nude body. She was breathtakingly beautiful. Her dark hair fell around her face, and her green eyes were full of desire. His hands wandered from her slim waist up toward her breasts. Her skin was incredibly soft, and the scent of her was intoxicating.

“Kayla,” he murmured, not wanting to break the moment but needing to say the words. “I’m a trader. Are you sure about this?”

She paused for a moment, and Carl started to wonder if she’d changed her mind. He was about to reach for her shirt when she said, “Just tell me you can’t get me pregnant.”

His eyes widened, and he shook his head. Of course she’d worry about such a thing. A pregnancy for a ruin rat could be disastrous. “OmniLab carefully controls procreation so we can maintain our resource levels. We’re all required to—”

“I don’t need a birth control lesson, Carl,” she interrupted. As she tugged on his shirt, he sat up to help her remove it. Kayla threw it on the floor and turned to him with a look of fierce determination. “And yes, I’m sure. I’ll face whatever comes. I don’t want to wait. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or the next day, but right now, this is what I need. I need to feel alive.”

Carl stared at her, powerless to refuse her. She was offering a large part of herself to him, and selfishly, he wanted to take it. He couldn’t remember ever wanting someone the way he wanted her.

She ran her fingers across his chest, and he pulled her close to him. When his mouth found hers again, he flipped her over, pinning her to the bed. As she wrapped her legs around him, he was struck by the intense need to be inside her.

This woman drove him to the edge of sanity. Her smell surrounded him, intoxicating him, and driving him to possess her. He forced himself to slow down and bent down to take one of her nipples into his mouth. Kayla gasped as he flicked his tongue against her nipple and suckled gently.

“Carl. I want… I need…”

“Shh. I know.”

He pulled off her shorts with nimble fingers while his mouth teased her navel. When he reached the soft mound of dark curls, he gently spread her open and tasted her sweetness. Kayla gasped, her hands fisted in the blankets.

Finding the sensitive nodule above her opening, Carl gently worked it with his tongue. When she cried out, shuddering in release, he moved back up to cover her body with his. Unhooking his pants and slipping them off, he positioned himself against her and paused.

“Kayla, look at me.”

Her eyes fluttered open, still dazed from her orgasm. He held her gaze as he began to push inside her, not stopping until he was fully seated within her. Kayla gasped, her fingers digging into his shoulders, pulling him toward her.

She was so tight and hot, it took all of his control not to lose himself completely. He forced himself to move slowly inside her, trying to give her time to get used to him.

Carl shifted her slightly and found the sensitive nub again with his fingers. He rubbed against it while she clung to him. His rhythm increased as her body responded to his. Feeling her writhing beneath him with her soft cries in his ears was a heady combination.

When she wrapped her legs around him again and whimpered in his ear, Carl felt as though he was already lost. He plunged into her depths without abandon as she met him stroke for stroke. When Kayla trembled with her release a second time, he couldn’t hold back anymore. He pushed into her once more and exploded inside her.

Collapsing on top of her, Carl buried his face in her hair. After a moment, he became dimly aware he was probably crushing her. He rolled over to give her a chance to breathe and looked down at her.

Her skin was flushed from their lovemaking, and she had a small smile on her face. Her eyes were closed, and he was struck once again by how stunning she was. Bending down to kiss her softly, she wrapped her arms around him in response.

He felt a faint stirring inside him already and was mildly surprised at the reaction she evoked from him. “Kayla?”

“Hmm?” she replied, lazily opening her eyes.

Carl propped himself up on his elbow, worried he’d been too rough. In the heat of the moment, he’d forgotten about her injuries. “Are you all right?”

She lifted her hand to touch his face and murmured, “Mmhmm. I’m better than all right. I feel wonderful.”

Carl lightly brushed her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. “Get some rest, sweetheart.”

Kayla closed her eyes and snuggled against him. He wrapped his arm around her and held her while she slept.