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“Jake,” Emily whispered, “oh, Jake, I...”
Jake groaned, thrust one last time, and the world came apart in a shattering explosion of light.
CHAPTER NINE
JAKE buried his face in Emily’s throat, kissed her damp skin, then rolled onto his side and curved her tightly against him.
“Em.” He looked deep into her eyes. “Are you all right?”
All right? She was wonderful. Her body tingled; her skin felt flushed and hot. Was she supposed to tell him that?
“Baby,” he said, drawing her closer and running his hand gently up and down her spine, “sweetheart, I’m sorry.”
“For what? I wanted... I wanted you to make love to me, Jake.”
“Yeah.” A teasing smile angled across his lips. “Oh, yeah, Em. I know that.” Jake threaded his fingers into her hair, brought her mouth to his for a long, tender kiss.
What did he mean, he knew she’d wanted him to make love to her? Yes, of course he knew. She’d told him. But there was something in that little smile...
“Really,” she said quickly, “it was-it was fine, just the way you did it.”
“Fine, huh?” He laughed softly. “Is that the best you can do?”
His tone was gentle. He was teasing her, she knew, just as she knew she should make some equally teasing response. She couldn’t. Her heart was still racing but her mind was blank. There had to be a protocol for this but for the life of her, she had no idea what it was. Did you say thank you to the man who’d just shown you ecstasy? Or did you just lie here and wonder where this magic had been, all your adult life?
Nothing she’d read, nothing she’d imagined, had prepared her for the reality of what had just happened. The feeling of Jake, deep within her. His hot skin. His clever mouth. His slow hands. She didn’t want to ruin it now, by saying the wrong thing. As it was, she’d come close to doing just that. She’d almost said ... almost said...
She’d almost said, Jake, I love you. And she didn’t. Of course, she didn’t. She’d just been so overwhelmed by sensation...
“Em, talk to me.” Jake eased her onto her back and leaned over her, his weight on his elbows as he looked into her face. “Did I hurt you? I know I went too fast. I’m sorry. I couldn’t...” He took a breath, laid his forehead against hers. “You should have told me,” he said softly.
“Told you...”
Heat flooded her face. That she was a virgin. That was what he meant. And he was right. She probably should have. Jake was accustomed to being with women who knew about sex. He’d signed on to teach her about passion, not to spend a night with a trembling novice.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, and closed her eyes. “I guess I should have, but—”
“I’d have slowed down, if I’d known.” He gave a little laugh. “At least, I’d have tried.” He took her face in his hands, brushed his lips over hers. “To be honest, I don’t know if I could have. I wanted you so badly, Em. And when you let me know you felt the same way...”
“I did?”
“Uh-huh.” Jake kissed her again, and she felt his lips turn up in a smile against hers. “‘Take me,’ you said. ‘Come inside me,’ you said. What man could think straight, after that?”
Take me? Come inside me? Had she.. .could she possibly have...Emily felt a stab of anguish. Yes. Yes, she had. That was what he’d meant when he gave her that smug little smile. She’d said all that. She’d begged him.
And now, she wanted to die of embarrassment.
She’d done everything wrong. She’d pleaded for him to take her, made him come too quickly, been a virgin when a virgin was the last thing a man like Jake would expect. And she’d come within an inch of saying she loved him when, of course, she didn’t.
Perfect, she thought. An absolutely perfect debut, Emily. Too bad there was nothing left for an encore.
“Jake.”
“Mmm?”
He was kissing her throat, lightly nipping her skin. And she, dammit, she was getting aroused again. She could feel it happening: the liquid rush deep inside, the tingle in her breasts...
“Jake, let me up, please.”
“In a minute.”
He moved lazily, settled himself lower on her body, kissed the rise of her breast. “You have too much clothing on,” he said huskily. “Does this dress have a zipper?”
Her dress. Oh, it was worse and worse. She still had her dress on, even her boots. Jake was fully clothed, too. She hadn’t even given him the chance to—
“Jake. I want to get up!”
