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The truth was that he was dying to kiss her, to put his hands on those beautiful breasts, which were on display through the sheer fabric of her nightgown and robe, and that he had been sporting one hell of an erection ever since she'd stepped out of her bedroom in those flimsy garments.
If he were eloquent, he could have found a roundabout way to say that without being so blunt or causing her alarm, but he wasn't. He could say the truth, or he could lie, and lying was not a good strategy when trying to win a female's heart.
Releasing her hand, he let out a breath. "I'm not patient, and if not for your reluctance, I would have picked you up, carried you to the bedroom, and shown you why you shouldn't wait. But I resolved to think of you as a skittish virgin and to let you set the pace." He narrowed his eyes at her deer-in-the-headlights expression. "You are not a virgin, are you?"
Margo was still gaping at him, and he struggled to resist the urge to lean over, hook a finger under her chin, and close her mouth, or conversely, cover those lush lips with his and kiss her like she should be kissed.
He was willing to bet that all of her inhibitions would fly out the window once she got a taste of what being with a god entailed and how none of her prior experiences could prepare her for that.
Finally, Margo closed her mouth and shook her head. "I'm not a virgin. I gave away my virginity on my eighteenth birthday."
He had a feeling that there was a story there, but since she hadn't said that it had been taken away from her or stolen, it had been consensual.
"Giving it away is not a term I have heard before. Humans usually refer to it as losing their virginity. And your eighteenth birthday is a very particular date. Did you choose it on purpose?"
A small smile bloomed on her face. "You're paying attention. Two more merit points to Negal."
"Thank you, but that's not an answer."
She drank what was left in her coffee mug and put it back on the table. "It was the summer before college, and all my friends were boasting about their experiences. Well, Mia didn't, but Frankie did, and most of the girls in my class did. I'd been dating a boy for all of senior year, but we never took the final step. We were not going to the same college, and I knew that I was running out of time. We promised each other that we would stay true and continue our relationship over the phone and on vacations, but I knew that wasn't likely, so I decided to give him a parting present."
Her expression was so revealing that Negal didn't need any empathic ability to guess how that had gone. "Did he like his present?"
She laughed. "What eighteen-year-old boy wouldn't? Of course he did. But we were both virgins, and neither of us knew what we were doing. Roger's only reference was porn, and mine was romance novels, and I don't know which one of us was more delusional. Anyway, it wasn't fun. The second time was better, and the third was better than the second, but none inspired me to pursue sex. In fact, several years passed until I tried again."
"What happened to Roger?"
"He found a new girl a month into the semester. He's the type of guy who needs a woman and can't be without one, not because of the sex but because he's not good at being alone. They got married five years ago and have three kids together."
There had been no envy in her tone, but there was awe.
"So, your high school sweetheart got his happily ever after. What about you?"
Margo shrugged. "There weren't even any maybes. My mother says that I'm too choosy."
"You are, and that's a good thing." He grinned. "You were waiting for me."
52
MARGO
"Don't talk like that. You barely know me, and you are talking as if we were fated to be together. We haven't even kissed yet. What if I'm a terrible kisser?"
What if she was terrible at lovemaking?
Her lukewarm experiences hadn't been totally the guys' fault. She'd had a total of four lovers so far, including Roger, so that wasn't a big sample, but Margo was a realist. It took two to play, and if she were better at it, perhaps she would have enjoyed it more.
Certainly, it had to do with her attitude. She had a problem with smells; even faint ones were enough to turn her off, she hated to get someone else's sweat on her, and the whole thing seemed animalistic to her, which was kind of ironic since she was so much into shapeshifters.
"I'm sure that you are a wonderful kisser." Negal's eyes started glowing, which she now knew indicated arousal or excitement. "But just so we are clear, I'm going to wait until you kiss me. I'm not going to initiate." He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest as if he was issuing a challenge.
She had to admit that it was incredibly cute. "You are so sure that you are irresistible."
"I'm not sure of anything. I intend on spending as much time with you as possible, getting to know you, and giving you every opportunity to kiss me." He uncrossed his arms and leaned over the table. "So, what are your plans for today?"
"I haven't really thought about that. I need to check on Frankie and Jasmine, and if Mia is available, spend some time with her. I also need to find out whether the Perfect Match deal is still on or was just an excuse to get Frankie and me to come to the cruise so we can find out whether we are Dormants like Lisa suspected." She paused to take a breath. "What did you plan for today?"
"I had a little more time to think about it when you were asleep, and it occurred to me that you would like to go shopping. Your suitcase stayed in the hotel, and you have nothing to wear that's your own." His eyes traveled to her cleavage, but to his credit, they didn't linger there. "I have a feeling that you would have never chosen this type of sleepwear."
