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He stood above her without saying a word for several moments. Then he reached out and took it from her hands. “When we were up in the mountain and I saw firsthand how time can heal all wounds, I thought of the brooch and realized I bought it because I wanted you to know that lesson. Life can’t be touched or altered by any human form. Evil or not. It’s not influenced in any shape or form by the actions of mankind. It will continue on its path, heedless of the obstacles we put in its way. It has no beginning nor ending. It is a continual process and like a circle, cannot be stopped.”
Startled, Anna looked up into his face at the realization she too had come to the same conclusion. “Never ending.”
He smiled and took her hand and turned it over to lay the box back in the palm of her hand. “Never ending.”
She closed her hand around the box and brought it to her chest. Her eyes glistened as she recalled the deer and her fawn. “Thank you, Wade.”
Instead of replying, he gently laid a hand against the side of her head. His eyes studied her face and Anna felt her insides begin to stir. Her eyes spoke the words she was too frightened to say. She heard him sigh and lower his hand. Immediately, she dropped her gaze, then took an unsteady step away from him.
“Good-night,” she whispered softly and turned to go.
“Anna.” She halted and looked back at him. “I would like it if you slept in my bed tonight.”
Shock exploded down her spine before the realization of what his words actually meant sent an alarm ringing in her brain. Trying to appear composed, she nodded and left him. They had been married over a month now and she had waited for this moment with heart stopping anxiety. After it became apparent he was not interested in Anna in that form, she had buried that fear. Till now.
Not even having been with a man before, she was as naive as they came to matters in the marital bed. She worried all the way up the grand staircase what Wade would think of her then. He had been with many women and she feared greatly that he would find her a huge disappointment. An image of him in a sexual tryst with Marion came to mind. She squeezed her lids shut and willed it away.
She placed the box with the diamond brooch safely on his dresser than stripped out of her dress. Feeling every deplorable emotion inside, she crawled naked beneath the covers. Admittedly, her feelings were in turmoil. A great portion wanted this, had wanted it for a long time. But a bigger portion feared it. Reaching out, she doused the light.
She lay there for several minutes until finally she heard his footsteps along the hall corridor. Holding her breath, she waited until the door opened and he entered the room carrying an oil lamp. He did not look at her once as he went over to the opposite side of the room and began to undress. Anna instinctively looked away. Inside she wanted to watch, to see his beautifully naked form, but she was far too frightened.
The bed moved beside her and she realized that he had gotten under the covers. She bit her lip and waited. Darkness filled the room after he doused his own light. He laid next to her completely still and Anna frowned. She was so innocent where men were concerned, she realized that she really had no idea how to make love to a man. That one deplorable image of Marion came to mind.
Swallowing her inhibitions, she rolled over, pulled back the cover and lowered her head to his privates. With a start, she discovered he still wore his night shirt. Awkwardly, she tried to raise the hem.
“Whoa,” he exclaimed, obviously startled by her actions. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he pulled her away from that male portion of his body. “What are you doing?”
He had pushed her all the way to a sitting position, and Anna realized the bright rays of the full moon outside his window highlighted her naked form. With embarrassment she reached for the blanket. “I thought this was what you wanted.”
“What?” He sounded dubious and Anna felt herself grow pink with humiliation. “No—well, yes, but no. Anna, I just wanted to lie here with you.”
“I’m sorry,” she muttered and wished herself anywhere but there. She pulled the blanket closer.
He sighed and said, “I knew you weren’t ready. I thought if we took it slow, you might eventually come around and want to share my bed on a regular basis.”
She stilled and lifted her eyes. “You did?”
She saw him smile in the darkness. “Maybe I didn’t make myself very clear. It’s my own fault, I was trying not to frighten you. But I don’t have much experience in this field.”
Anna frowned. “What do you mean? You have plenty of experience.”
The thought of Marion haunted her once more, however Wade reached out and touched her arm. “What I’ve experienced won’t come close to comparing to what we will share. Together.”
She felt her heart do a ridiculous flip and realized no matter what he said, he had a knack of making her feel special. Anna searched his eyes in the darkness and wished she could see their blueness. His hand slowly moved from her arm to reach out and lay a finger against the tip of the blanket where her exposed chest peaked beneath the rim. She felt his finger begin to stroke her skin and realized he had noticed just the hint of her scar where the knife had plunged into her chest. With gentle hands he peeled the blanket away just enough to expose the remaining trace of the red and jagged wound.
Because it was too dark, she could not make out his expression, but she could sense in his touch the emotions he felt. Her heart overflowed with her love for him and Anna allowed the blanket to drop away from her completely. His hand froze and Anna waited a breath stopping moment before he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss over the wound. She sat utterly still while his mouth pressed soft kisses against her naked skin.
Then his lips trailed across her chest to cover one small breast in soft and tender kisses. Her breath caught in her throat and she waited for him to continue. Lifting his head, he looked down at Anna in the darkness. She could not see his features, but she had long memorized the shape of his mouth and she longed for him to cover her own.
His hands came out and gently moved Anna until she was lying on her back, her head resting on the soft down pillows of his bed. Then he returned to her breasts and continued the sensual attention he had been giving them. She was fully aware of the small size of her breasts and that she lacked what most women had. It was one of the reasons she was able to pass herself off so easily as a boy. However, at that moment she felt more woman than she could ever have imagined as Wade lavished them with loving kisses.
She caught her breath when she felt him draw one ruby nipple into his mouth. Then he went over and did the same to the other. A flutter of butterflies quivered in her stomach catching Wade’s attention for he moved his lips from her breasts to leave a sizzling path down her flat belly. Anna felt her heart rate start to rise and her blood temperature to increase. She was beginning to think there was nothing more wonderful than the touch of his mouth, when she felt his hand begin to caress the inside of her leg.
Slow and deliberate, it stroked her soft skin and raised the temperature in her blood even higher. Anna heard a soft moan and realized it had come from her own mouth. It triggered a corresponding response in Wade for his hand suddenly stopped stroking her leg, then immediately she felt its presence against her most private parts. She froze and felt the return of her fears.
Wade, however, continued to stroke and caress her belly until Anna relaxed once more under his touch. When she thought he would stop and finally make love to her, he startled her when the hand resting against her womanhood began to move and ever so gently stroke
d the secret folds between her legs. Her instinct was to pull away, but the warmth his touch evoked had her gasping in longing instead. The lips on her belly became more intense, causing her pulse to accelerate.
