"Mmm…" Faith purred low in her throat as Connor wrapped his arms around her waist. She was standing on the second-story deck that overlooked his back lawn, savoring the fading rays of the sun as it slid beneath the horizon.

"Happy?"

She laughed joyfully and turned in his arms to face him. "Ecstatic. Can't you tell?"

Connor shrugged, but he couldn't hide the smile that bubbled up and out of his heart. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Connor dipped his dark blond head and slid his tongue along the line of her jaw. "So when do I get my birthday present?"

"Mmm, I don't know. Have you been a good boy?"

"The best," he murmured, kissing her ear.

"Well, you *have* been awfully patient, waiting all this time for me to be yours."

"Faith…you've always been mine. You just didn't know it."

They kissed. Faith opened her mouth and Connor slipped his tongue deep inside. He wanted her. In fact, he'd waited so long, he felt as though he'd been born wanting her. But that didn't mean he wanted to rush things. He wanted to capture each and every moment…forever.

His hands shaped her breasts through the blouse she wore and she groaned, "What if someone sees us?"

"Then they'll just have to explain why they were looking," he said matter-of-factly.

"What if—it's Luc?"

Connor paused in his efforts to possess her and laughed. "Luc's got his own problems. Horny little toad that he is."

"Hey, he's my brother!"

"And how many times did he walk in on us? How many times did he threaten to tell your Dad or mine? How—"

Faith reached out and apologetically covered Connor's lips with her fingers. "I'm sorry. I hope Kiarra puts him through hell."

"If she doesn't, her father will."

"Connnnn, what did you do?"

"Just put a little bug in Uncle Dav's ear, that's all."

"You didn't!" Faith exclaimed, outraged.

"I did," Connor admitted smugly.

"I should punish you for that," Faith pretended to scold.

"Oh, please. Just the thought of your hands on me, anywhere, makes me *so* hard…"

Faith pulled Connor's head to her chest, watching as her would-be lover buried his face between her breasts. Her nipples sprang to attention instantly, but the material of her blouse remained a barrier between their bodies.

She sank to the floor of the deck and kicked off her shoes. Connor pushed her onto her back, one hand plunging beneath the hem of her skirt to tug at her panties.

"Con!" she whispered heatedly as one of his fingers evidently found its mark.

"Am I hurting you?"

She closed her eyes, a expression of utter bliss on her face. "Hurt me some more," she murmured.

Connor wasn't foolish enough to chance penetrating her for the first time in a public place. But the two of them had skirted around the edges of this particular dilemma for more than a few years, preserving at least the illusion of virginity. As a result, Connor was skilled at things that lovers twice his age might find hard to master.

His thumb closed around the tiny nub that stood out above her womanhood and Faith melted. "Oh, yes…"

As much as Connor ached to claim her once and for all, there was something oddly exciting about their continued furtive attempts to make love. Faith's chest heaved as Connor manipulated the little bud between his fingertips, taking care to bring her right to the edge of ecstasy but no further.

When he felt her quiver tellingly, he removed his fingers. "Ohhh," Faith sighed disappointedly.

"You promised to be good for your birthday," she quipped mischievously. "But you're soooo bad."

With a flourish, he lifted her skirt, exposing the hurried way he'd pulled her panties to the side. Without another word, he took her into his mouth, tasting her excitement and her readiness on his lips and tongue.

Faith writhed under him, her hips bucking even as she spread herself wide for his most intimate caresses. "ConConConCon," she chanted, almost willing herself to climax.

He licked the nub that swelled and throbbed between her legs, and then, just as he felt the first quiver of her orgasm, he plunged his tongue deep inside her. She shuddered and came hard, so hard she nearly vibrated out of his grip, but he held onto her desperately, seeking yet another way to drive her higher.

With one shaking fingertip, he entered the shadowy opening that lay hidden at the base of her spine. "Oh, my God," Faith cried out as she began to come again.

"Did you like that?" he whispered to her when her restless movements finally ceased.

"Oh, yeah," she replied, looking like the proverbial kitten who'd gotten into the cream. "Can we do that again sometime?"

"Mmm, yeah," he said, soundly kissing her. "Someday…I'm going to put more than my finger up there," he warned, playfully thrusting his still rock-hard erection against her thigh.

"Really?" Faith's eyes sparkled a vivid green as she teased her lover. "You want to *fuck* me there?" she asked crudely, knowing that as close to climax as he was, it wouldn't take much to break his control.

His mouth opened and his teeth grazed her nipple through her blouse. "You're going to ruin my blouse," she commented blithely.

"I don't care."

"Someone might notice."

Connor settled atop her once more, sinking his hardness into her softness with a contented sigh. "They can bite me."

Faith chuckled. "Very funny."

"Not when *you* do it." Connor stared into her eyes so intently, Faith was convinced that he could see inside her.

"Can I touch you?"

"You'd better. It's going to be dark soon and we should get back before anyone misses us."

Faith smiled, her hands expertly unzipping Connor's jeans. With a heartfelt groan, Connor slid smoothly into the slick channel that he had promised not to violate. Yet. "Connor…" she said in a husky voice that belied any real irritation. "You're playing with fire."

"I won't fuck you. I just—" Just the feel of her, wet and willing, under him was enough to make him come. With two shallow thrusts that failed to breach her femininity, Connor came, spilling himself carelessly across her lush thicket.

"Uh oh."

"Shit."

"I'm sorry, Fee. Maybe we're okay. Maybe we're okay…"

Grabbing his handkerchief, Connor wiped both of them clean before primly rearranging their clothing. "I swear I didn't mean for this to happen. You know that, Fee."

To his surprise, Faith simply smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Connor lay his head on her stomach for a few moments, enjoying a feeling of contentment that had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with love. "Whatever happens, that'll never change."

"You realize that now you'll be my willing slave forever?" Faith giggled.

Connor rubbed his cheek against her stomach in an affectionate gesture that said so much more than words. Faith tangled her fingers in his dark blond hair and closed her eyes.

But not to sleep. Only to dream.

End