She was so hot and slick and tight, just waiting for him to fill her to capacity. And he would.
Aye, he would fill her deep and hard, and have her screaming out in release, begging him for more until they were both covered with sweat and thoroughly spent.
Kissing her, he circled her once with his thumb, then plunged it deep inside her.
“Please, Braden,” she moaned.
And in that miserable, awful instant, reality came crashing down upon him as he felt her maidenhead with his finger.
She was a virgin. And until he had come along, she had been completely untouched.
Against his will, he saw himself for the first time through her eyes. A wandering rogue with no thought of anyone save himself.
He had seduced her to this. And come the morning, she would feel used by him.
She would hate him.
Or worse, she would hate herself.
His painfully aroused body begged for hers, but he couldn’t take her. Not like this. Not out in the woods like some hoary beast with no regard for her or her feelings. She was a maiden and she deserved a better first time than this.
She deserved....
Maggie deserved to be taken by a man who loved her.
Damn it to hell! he roared at himself.
And damn her for giving him a conscience.
Infuriated at both of them, Braden forced himself to pull away.
She looked up at him with a frown.
“I’m sorry, Maggie… I forgot myself.”
And then, he saw the shame in her gaze.
Worse, tears filled her eyes as she pushed herself to her feet. Without a word, she took off running through the woods.
Braden went after her, catching her before she ran too far ahead. “What is it?”
“I canna believe I let you do that,” she said. “I’m not a whore to-”
He silenced her words with one finger over her lips. “Nay, you are not a whore. If you were, I wouldn’t have stopped.”
Her frown deepened.
“There is nothing wrong with what we did. You are a woman full grown and it was wrong of me to take advantage of you. If you want to hate someone for what just happened, then hate me. But never hate yourself.”
Confusion and pain mixed on her face as she studied him. “Why did you do it?”
“Because I want you,” he said, his voice breaking with need and emotion. “Even now my body craves yours in a way that is most painful.”
“Then, why did you stop?”
He moved his hand to cup her face. And right then, it was all he could do not to kiss her. Not to finish what they had started.
“Because I didn’t want you to hate me for it. Or worse, to hate yourself.”
