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‘I don’t think that will work,’ she mumbled, pulling away from him and smoothing down the T-shirt.
‘Why not?’ he asked, resting his hands on her hips.
‘It’s just …’ She paused, heat pumping into her cheeks.
Talk about awkward.
‘You’re a bit too …’ She glanced down at the telltale ridge in his trousers, which looked even more daunting than before. She chewed on her lip. ‘We could do something else,’ she ventured hopefully. But she didn’t have a clue what to offer.
Given that he was about to burst out of his pants, Rye didn’t know whether to laugh at Maddy’s artless offer or howl with frustration. ‘Damn. Was I that much of a clod?’
‘It’s not that,’ she said, rushing the words as the pink flags in her cheeks got pinker. ‘It’s not your fault.’
A strange pang squeezed his chest as he realised she was trying to spare his feelings. The irony struck him first. Women had thrown themselves at him ever since he was sixteen. And he’d never had a single complaint. Apart from that one time with Marta.
Until now.
‘It’s a matter of biology,’ she continued. ‘And … um … anatomy,’ she stuttered, so red now she was practically glowing. ‘We just don’t …’ She trailed off, flicking another wary glance at his crotch. ‘Fit. Very well.’
He gave a humourless laugh. A little stunned by the evidence of how inexperienced she was. He’d liked her innocence yesterday, because it had made him feel superior and helped to repair his battered ego. He didn’t feel so good about it now.
Had he seriously accused her of sleeping with Phil? He’d be astonished if she’d slept with more than a couple of guys in her whole life. That they hadn’t delivered in the sack went without saying—or why would she be so clueless about sex?
He wondered if the childhood trauma she’d described had anything to do with her inexperience, then dismissed the thought. No need to go there.
He’d got her to talk about the incident to remove any barriers to them sleeping together again. The swell of anger and empathy when she’d recounted her father’s sickening behaviour wasn’t significant. He didn’t want to think about that traumatised little girl or feel bad for her.
‘Maddy.’ He settled his hand on her nape, felt the punch of her pulse beneath his thumb and tried to come up with a way to explain the situation without sounding condescending. ‘I’m not a small guy; I know that. But, believe me, we’ll fit together fine.’
‘How do you …?’
He pressed his finger to her lips, silencing her. ‘I was rough. I didn’t give you time to adjust. That’s why it was so uncomfortable.’ He dropped his hand, her widening eyes crucifying him.
‘But I don’t …’ she began.
‘I’ll be careful this time.’
‘But what if …’
‘Maddy—’ he cut her off, skimming soft flesh as his hand cruised under her T-shirt ‘—I can do better, I swear.’ He pulled her flush against him, cradling the painful bulge in his jeans against her stomach and touched his lips to her forehead. ‘Will you trust me?’
He almost added that he knew what he was doing, but stopped himself. Seeing her hesitate, seeing the wary confusion in her eyes, he wasn’t so sure he did know what he was doing. When had he ever wanted a woman with this much intensity?
He forced the thought away.
She was sweet, sexy and vulnerable in a way he’d never encountered before. But the urgency, the driving need to have her again was only because, for the first time in a long time, he had something to prove.
Maddy flattened her palms against Rye’s chest, felt the rapid ticks of his heartbeat matching her own and couldn’t bring herself to say no.
No man had ever looked at her with such need before. As if they’d die from wanting her. She could see the tension in his jaw, the way his pupils had dilated to turn the vivid blue black with desire, and feel the outline of the disturbingly large erection.
‘All right, if you’re sure it’ll be okay?’
He chuckled, the deep throaty sound sending a ripple of awareness down her spine. ‘It’ll be more than okay.’
His hands moved lower—but, when he flipped open the button on her jeans, she grabbed his wrist. ‘Wait. We can’t do it here. In Phil’s office? In broad daylight?’
He smiled. ‘Sure we can.’
