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He understood everything. He understood all her fears. And she understood his, and they’d face them together.
Alex picked her up in his arms, carrying her along the hallway and kicking the bedroom door open.
* * *
They undressed each other. Alex had thought about this so many times before, but never dared go there. He wasn’t in the habit of sleeping with girlfriends on a first date, but he’d never known someone so well. The challenge was so much greater, and yet the rewards might be equally so.
It would be all right. He’d dreamed his dreams, and now that Marie held them in her hands he knew that they were safe there.
‘I never imagined you’d be so exquisite.’
He’d lingered over taking off her underwear and they were both trembling now. She flushed with pleasure. Her fingertips were exploring his body, her gaze fixed on his. This was the first time he’d made love to a woman who really knew him.
‘You’re the only one, Marie, who knows who I am.’
‘I’m not going to call you Rudolf.’ She whispered the words. ‘I prefer Alex.’
‘So do I.’
He lifted her up, feeling the friction of their bodies healing him. He knew exactly what to do now. When he tipped her back onto the bed she gave a little cry of joy that made him feel like a king. A real one.
She was reaching back, her hand feeling behind her to the curved wooden headboard. Alex grinned, warming to the task of making it as hard as possible for her to concentrate on anything but him, and she moaned, her body arching beneath his.
Long minutes of teasing ensued, but finally she managed to do what she’d set her mind on. Marie knew that about him too. She hadn’t forgotten that late-night conversation between five young doctors during which Alex had declared that the best place to keep condoms was taped to the back of the headboard. Always handy to reach, and never in the way.
She pressed the packet into his hand. He wouldn’t normally reach for them so soon, but he knew they were both ready now. They’d waited for this for years, and there was no denying it any more.
‘I can’t wait any longer, Alex. We’ve waited too long already...’
CHAPTER TWELVE
ALEX WAS THE kind of guy who liked to talk. Marie liked that, because he knew what to say and he also knew exactly when to stop talking.
The first time, he’d been as careful and tender as any new lover should be. It might have lasted hours if it hadn’t been for the groundswell of emotion making every gesture into something that had taken them both to the very edge. When he’d pushed gently inside her they’d both known there was no going back. And when the moment had come it had gripped them both with the same splintering, tearing pleasure, ripping the world as they’d known it apart. Marie could pretend all she wanted, but things were never, ever going to be the same again.
He’d held her in much the same way as he was holding her now—curling his body around her as if she were finally truly his. They should have drifted off to sleep, but it had still been early, and light had been streaming in through the windows. Marie had felt more awake than she’d ever felt, and Alex had murmured comfortable words until shared jokes and whispered tenderness had become spiked again with longing.
That seemed like a very long time ago now. They’d made love and slept in equal measure for hours, and now it felt as if his body and hers belonged together.
‘You’re awake?’ Marie shifted slightly in his arms as he spoke.
‘I’m too comfortable to open my eyes. What’s the time?’
She heard him chuckle and felt the brush of his lips against her cheek. ‘Four o’clock. We don’t have to get up yet.’
‘Hmm... Good.’ They’d been in bed for ten hours already, but Marie didn’t want to move. Not yet.
‘I really liked ten o’clock...’
Marie opened one eye. ‘You were looking at the time?’
‘You’re not going to tell me that you didn’t hear the clock chiming in the other room, are you?’
‘Yes, I heard it. Was that ten?’
‘I counted ten. Did you lose count?’
The innocence in his tone made her smile. As the clock had chimed ten she’d been astride him, and he’d taken hold of her hips, moving suddenly in the same rhythm as the sound. Marie had got to three and then lost count. A couple more thrusts and she’d started to come so hard that ten hadn’t even existed.
