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Gripping her by the upper arms, he hauled her down on top of him, the square packages sticking to her skin. “You are too much, darlin’.”
“So is that a yes?”
His grunt was damn sexy. “I wouldn’t want to disappoint you. Nor can I fight this a second longer.” He shifted on the bed, until she was beneath him. Most of the condom packets fell away. He used a forearm to prop himself up as his other hand skimmed her body from breast to thigh. He told her, “I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you. From the moment I saw you, I wanted you. Hell, I wanted you in high school, but you were just
so tin—”
She silenced him with a kiss and then said, “Let’s forego the size references. I can’t have you obsessing over that or this is never going to happen between us. And I absolutely need it to happen, Ryan.”
Ginger was out of her mind over him. It wasn’t just his ultimate-hero nature, his kind disposition and his drop-dead gorgeous body that had her hooked. It was everything about him, from the way he smiled at her, to the way he kept her close to him, to the way he said whatever popped into his head, without worrying how vulnerable it might make him in their relationship. He laid his cards on the table every time and he took all of her thoughts and concerns into consideration before he acted.
Yes, he was big and strong and she felt safe in his presence. But she also felt cherished in his arms.
She said, “I know you’re trying to be valiant and take things slow. You don’t want to push me into anything I’m not ready for. And I think you want me to be comfortable with the situation and sure of what we’re doing.”
“I don’t want you to have any qualms about this. About us.”
Her head rolled back and forth on a pillow. “There are no guarantees, especially when it comes to you and me. We’ve got issues we can’t just sweep under the rug. But one thing I’m certain about is how wonderful you make me feel. How breathless and weightless and…I don’t know…lost in lust and mutual admiration. And I’m so crazy about you, I can’t even imagine for a moment making love with you would be a mistake.” A fingertip graze his jaw as she confessed, “Not making love with you would be a mistake. A huge, lifelong regret if I never got the chance to do it again.”
His jaw set beneath her touch. His blue eyes shimmered with so many emotions, she couldn’t read them all. But she saw desire and passion and adoration. He felt things for her, she was sure of it. Significant, soul-deep, life-altering things. Whether they could reconcile their differences—or the way his family regarded her—Ginger didn’t know. But she had no doubt what they felt for each other was real and substantial. It’d started years ago, in high school. It had transcended time and distance. And it thrived between them now.
She didn’t question giving her virginity to him. There was no one else she’d rather be with. Period.
“Take your clothes off,” she said in a steady, confident voice. “Make love to me.”
That he didn’t ask her one more time if she was sure and he didn’t hesitate in the slightest way told Ginger there was something much bigger between them that neither one could escape.
He peeled a packet from her lower belly, just below the spot where the lace of her nightie bunched, and said, “This one will do nicely.”
Excitement shimmied through her. He dropped the condom on the mattress and then scooted away to undress. Ginger stripped off the material gathered around her midriff and crawled under the covers, causing the other packets and the rose petals to scatter, most of them falling to the floor. When Ryan was naked, she admired the view while he cozied up beside her. She instantly reached for him, finding it impossible not to touch him.
Her fingers glided over his chest and she said, “I never dreamed I’d be in bed with such a hunk of a man.”
He grinned at her. “You are very good for my ego, sweetheart.”
“And you are a Godsend for my libido, Ryan Bain.” Naturally, she didn’t miss the irony in that statement. “I’d resigned myself to eternal celibacy” she quipped, “because it was better than faking it or being disappointed. And then you came along…”
He dropped kisses on her temple and across her cheek. “You’re too pretty and much too passionate for eternal celibacy, sweetheart. But I’m glad I came home and found you hadn’t met Mr. Right yet.”
With a smile, she said, “I was holding out for Prince Charming. No other man would do.”
“Well, you get the preacher’s nephew instead,” he teased.
“No. I got exactly what I wanted.” She kissed him softly, then added, “In fact, I think this was what I wanted all along. I just didn’t fully know it in high school. How could I? It wasn’t good timing for either of us, but I always liked being in your company more than anyone else’s. And sometimes I loaded up on the books because I knew you’d be there to carry them. I wanted you to walk me to class. I wanted people to see us together and to wonder about us.” She paused as she considered all of this and then said, “You didn’t go to prom. Why?”
Ryan hadn’t given much thought to that big social event in a very long time, but he had to admit, “Who was I going to take? Dixon Hunter asked you way back in the tenth grade, you said yes and then you kept your word two years later.”
Staring into his eyes, loving how he neither flinched nor looked away when she gazed so intently at him, she said, “You would have gone with me?”
“Yes, ma’am.” His polite, southern response made her toes curl. But his deeper, more intimate tone turned her molten inside when he added, “I never carried another girl’s books to class and I didn’t carry yours because I was afraid you’d tip over. I did it for two reasons.”
Her brow lifted. “And they are?”
“One,” he said as he pushed the hair off her bare shoulder and then trailed his fingers down her spine, “I liked walking with you because it gave us a chance to talk.”
She shivered at the way his fingertips lightly brushed her skin as he reached the small of her back, then dragged his hand back up.
“And two,” his head bent and his lips swept over hers. “I wanted everyone to think there was something between us.”
