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Zac struggled to understand through the fog of lust clouding his brain. ‘What did you say?’
Her cheeks coloured dark red, and she said it again—starkly. ‘I’m a virgin.’
For the longest moment he could only look at her. She might as well have said that there was a unicorn on the other side of the room—that was how little he could understand what she was saying. Then her words slowly impacted and he thought of how responsive she’d just been, and he noticed how she was holding her clothes together...
He suddenly needed space. He stood up and asked a little hoarsely, ‘How old are you?’
‘Twenty-two.’
Zac shook his head, as if it might encourage his brain cells to start working properly again. ‘And you’ve never...?’
Rose stood now too, arms crossed over her shirt to try and hold it together. Her skirt was still ruched up over her thighs. She looked dishevelled...undone. Sexy as hell. And he could see that she didn’t have a clue how alluring she was.
Something inside him tightened.
She avoided his eyes. ‘I’ve never had a boyfriend—not like that. I never wanted to have sex with anyone... It’s just me and my father at home. He found it hard to cope after my mother died, so I never went out much...’
The tightening sensation in his chest increased and Zac reeled as this revelation of her innocence sank in fully. It struck him powerfully—especially after all the secrets and lies he’d found in his own family. The tragedy that had ensued as a result of them.
He knew he should be sending her away. He didn’t do virgins. Just as he didn’t do relationships. He was from a world that had stripped away any illusion that innocence or happy families existed a long time ago... And yet he found that he couldn’t make himself do what he knew he should.
He moved closer to Rose and reached out and put a finger under her chin, tipping her face up. As soon as their gazes met he knew that he was not letting her go. In spite of her innocence. He wanted to claim her for himself with a fierceness that shook him.
‘You said you’ve never wanted to have sex with anyone...do you now?’
After a long moment that had all Zac’s nerves stretched taut enough to snap, Rose nodded.
Honesty was something he prized now, above almost anything else, and right at that moment this woman in front of him stood for something he’d never experienced before. A kind of purity.
He closed the gap between them and pulled her closer, his thumb sliding across skin as soft as a rose petal. She’d been named well.
She looked at him, something swirling in those big green eyes. ‘You’re not...sending me away?’
The thought made Zac feel feral. He hid it. ‘Why would I do that?’
She swallowed. ‘Because I’m not experienced.’
Her expression of bravado mixed with something much more vulnerable made him feel inordinately protective. He shook his head. ‘No way, sweet Rose. You’re not going anywhere.’
Her eyes flared at that. She was hungry for him. And he was ravenous—even more so now.
He reached for her hand to lead her into his bedroom before he took her on the floor like an animal, but she squeezed his hand and he stopped to look at her. She was pale now...worried.
‘I’m not...on the pill. You need to protect us.’
Relief made Zac’s chest expand. For a moment he’d been afraid she’d changed her mind. But she was concerned about protection. And so was he. Zealously so. This should be the least of her worries.
He slid a hand around to the back of her head, under her hair, and pressed his mouth to hers. Already his body was responding with a carnal hunger that he knew wouldn’t wait.
He pulled back. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure we’re protected—believe me.’
Her concern only made her honesty even more pronounced. Zac knew well that if she was more experienced she might see the knots he was tied in and take advantage of that. But she wasn’t.
He led her into his bedroom, anticipation coiling in his gut like a living thing. There was something incredibly raw and visceral about knowing that no other man had touched this woman. That he would be the first to mark her...brand her. She would be indelibly his.
He shook his head faintly, as if to try and dislodge these uncharacteristically primal flights of fancy. He associated animalistic feelings with the boardroom. Not the bedroom. Or he had up till now.
He let Rose’s hand go and turned to face her at the foot of his bed. Her eyes were huge. Her mouth was still swollen from his kisses. The hard tips of her breasts were evident under the material of her shirt.
