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“Why?”
“You said it wasn’t right for us to sleep together, so it’s not right for you to touch me. Not yet.” Carefully, she set aside the photo on the nightstand. “Maybe in time we can go back to the way things were.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
Nellie looked at him, her eyes huge and swimming with emotion. “You don’t want even that?”
His heart lurched as if she’d slapped him. Rather than answer, he drew her across the bed and into his arms, covering her mouth with his lips and swallowing her soft cry. Whether it was in protest or pleasure, he didn’t know. All he knew was she felt like she’d been meant for his arms.
The less than roomy full bed would barely hold the two of them but he didn’t care. He had to have her now. “I’m going to undress you. Tell me if you want me to stop.”
She pressed her hand against his chest, holding him back. “What does this mean?”
The words caught in his throat. Words that would likely cause him pain if she didn’t feel the same. At least he could keep his dignity if he didn’t tell her. But he had to be honest, with her and himself. “I never expected this. I’m not ready.”
What a cop-out. Worse, it was another quarter-truth between them. Ready or not, he’d already fallen. Onto big, jagged rocks that impaled his heart.
“Because of Maureen?”
God, no. Because of you. You’re so much and I don’t know if I’m enough.
Mutely, he shook his head and closed his eyes, opening them when her lips molded to his. Her bunny T-shirt and panties disappeared quickly, as did his jeans, shirt, and underwear. Only when he was lying on top of her with his forearms bracketing her flushed face did he remember the condom that had provided such an impediment the night before. He’d have to get up and find one. Eventually. Right now, he had all he needed right here.
Languorously, he bent down to suck each of her nipples, continuing until they bloomed deep red. His fingers took up the rhythm while he trailed kisses up her throat. The faintest trace of vanilla tickled his nose as she bowed back and pressed her head into the pillow, thrusting her breasts up with such fervor that he groaned and caressed them with his tongue. It still wasn’t enough. He slid his hand between her legs and another groan erupted when her slick heat met his palm. How could he go slow when she felt this good?
“I’ll do better later,” he promised, spying the object he sought on the nightstand. Sitting right there for anyone to see.
Like his little sister.
His face warmed. Jesus. “Did you—is that—“
“Shh. I put it there right before I fell asleep. She never saw.” Nellie’s husky laughter made him feel like he was the younger one all of a sudden.
Maybe he was embarrassed, but she wasn’t. She just reached for the latex and slid on the condom, a single tremor of her hand the only giveaway that she might be more nervous than she seemed.
He brushed a kiss over her forehead, a habitual gesture he couldn’t shake. Didn’t want to. “You do realize,” he began, his voice as thick as the lump in his throat, “that once we do this, I’m going to want to do it all the time. Daily. Maybe hourly, at least until the cramps set in.”
Nellie smiled up at him, her eyes more golden than he’d ever seen them. In the early morning light, she looked ethereal and impossibly pretty. “I damn sure hope so.”
Jake pressed her back into the mattress and covered her body with his. She reached for his hands. Knotting their fingers one by one felt like an oath, and his heartbeat sped up at the feel of the pulse in her wrist. Trust swelled between them, linking them as surely as their bodies, when he dragged in a breath and thrust inside her with one long stroke.
She cried out and he dropped his forehead to hers. His thighs quivered with the effort it took to stay still, and his skin stretched too tightly over nerves that skittered from the sensation overload. Even his body seemed aware of the significance of this moment.
“Jake.”
“Nellie,” he replied hoarsely, kissing away her wince. He’d been rougher than he intended but he’d make it up to her.
When he started to move, she hurried to keep up, her hips arching and falling in a graceless rhythm. No matter how hard he tried to gauge her reactions, he couldn’t match her movements. The exact opposite of their well-orchestrated kisses, this was awkward and messy and real. Not some star-dusted love scene, but inept sex.
Ironically, it made him feel miles more confident.
Eventually, he gave in to the laughter dying to escape and released one of her hands to grip her chin. “Stop thinking,” he whispered, dropping small kisses all around her mouth. “Just this once, give me the reins.”
“Okay.” She blew out a breath and rolled her eyes toward the ceiling, as if concentrating on loosening her muscles one by one. Almost immediately some of the tension left her body.
“There’s my girl.” He sucked the underside of her jaw in a way that left no doubt of how she made him feel. Hot, hungry, wild with need.
Like magic, she relaxed further into the sheets. Letting him take control and guide her where they both wanted to go.
