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g his arms and beckoned her with one finger.
She crossed to the bed as if drawn by an invisible string. It would probably be better to get this over with—her eyes dipped and then jerked back to his face—and not notice how low the duvet sat on his hips.
He patted the mattress beside him. ‘Sit down.’
She perched on the edge of the bed. ‘I really ought to be going,’ she managed, her mouth so dry the words rasped against her throat like sandpaper. ‘Tess will be wondering where I am.’
His eyes searched her face and then he lifted his hand, and brushed his thumb across her cheekbone. She stiffened, the contact unexpected. ‘How old are you?’ he asked gently.
‘Twenty-four.’
He released a long breath. ‘You look younger without make-up on,’ he murmured.
‘I should go,’ she said more demonstrably this time, the insistent melting sensation between her legs getting more acute.
She tried to stand, but he grasped her wrist, and held on. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘Why not?’ she asked breathlessly, the feel of his thumb absently caressing the thin skin of her wrist not doing a thing for her sanity issues.
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘Tell you what?’ she asked, the blood surging into her cheeks as her stomach dipped. Did he know? How could he know?
‘That this was your first time?’
She swallowed convulsively, looked away from his seeking gaze, the blood coursing so hard now she was fairly sure her cheeks could double as fog lamps. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about…’ Her voice trailed off as she faced him. She’d never been a good liar, and from his penetrating stare it was clear he wasn’t fooled.
‘I had to change the sheets,’ he said matter-of-factly, and her cheeks burst into flame.
She stared down at her hands, clasped in her lap, and his long fingers still looped around her wrist. Could he feel her pulse hitting his thumb like a jack-hammer?
She croaked out a laugh. Forget about awkward, this was now officially the most humiliating experience of her entire life. And given her pitiful history with members of the opposite sex that was quite an achievement.
Hooking a finger under her chin, he raised her gaze to his. ‘Why didn’t you say something?’
Good question.
And one she had no intention of answering in any detail. ‘I thought…’ She paused, gave a stiff shrug. ‘I thought you might stop if you knew.’
His thumb continued to circle her pulse point in lazy strokes. ‘Why would I have stopped?’
‘I don’t know…’ she murmured. ‘I thought you might not want the responsibility… Or something.’
He sent her a puzzled smile. ‘You’re an educated woman who’s past the age of consent. Why would your virginity be my responsibility?’
The blush flared back to life. ‘It’s not. Obviously it’s not,’ she said, backtracking furiously to cover the excruciating embarrassment. ‘That’s not what I meant.’
He tipped his head to one side, considering. ‘So what did you mean?’
How had she dug herself into such a huge hole? And how was she going to climb out again with even a small measure of her dignity in tact? ‘Just that, if you knew I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, you might not want to…’
She mumbled, the last of her confidence leaking away under his unwavering gaze. ‘You know… Do it… With me.’
Her pride crumbled to dust when he choked out an incredulous laugh. ‘You’re not serious?’
The astonished amusement in his tone crucified her. He was laughing at her, and while she already knew how ridiculous she was, she couldn’t see the funny side. ‘I have to go,’ she said, tugging on her hand.
Instead of letting go, his fingers tightened. ‘Shh, calm down, sweetheart.’
