exhale in little gasps that seemed in rhythm with her body.
It was over almost before it began, the tightness diminishing, then disappearing as quickly.
Nick was looking at her curiously. “Did you just climax?”
“I … I think so. A little.” She could feel herself blush. She wasn’t sure. “Can we turn out the light, please? I’m embarrassed.”
“No need to be embarrassed. Nothing should embarrass a man and a woman when they make love.”
“The light, Nick. Please.”
“No, I want to see you. I need to see you, sweetheart. All of you.” And with that he took the hem of her nightgown and lifted it over her head.
Lamplight shone through the room, showing her naked body to him for the first time. “Beautiful,” he murmured, reaching out and resting the palm of his hand on her stomach, leaving it there as if soaking up the touch of her skin. Her pulse shimmied through her veins, building anticipation. She wanted him to touch her more.
So much more.
Instead he leaned down and placed his lips against her there and just as she recovered from the shock of it, he gave a deep groan and pushed himself off the bed.
Her gasp was not because he’d left her, but because he was shrugging out of his bathrobe. In the blink of an eye her focus was on him, her sensibilities shocked at seeing a man in his full glory for the first time. Transfixed, she reached out to touch him. She could see her hand shaking but once she slid around him, he was her rock.
The air grew thick.
“Sasha,” he said in a guttural voice.
She thrilled to the sound of him, to the sight of him, and now if she could just keep on …
“I need to touch you, Nick.”
He made a low sound deep in his throat and that was all the encouragement she needed. Tentatively she ran the tip of her finger over the head of his erection. She wanted to see what power she had over him.
He jerked. “No more,” he growled and took her hand off him, twisting away to take a condom out of the bedside drawer and roll it on himself, entrancing her by his very masculine action. She’d read about all this in magazines, but the reality was overwhelmingly intimate.
“Slide over,” he ordered, and he joined her on the bed, where he grasped her waist and rolled her on top of him.
She felt a rush of heat at the full length of his body against her own for the first time, and the feel of his hands cupping her bottom.
Their eyes met.
She wanted to look away but couldn’t. Not when she could feel that curl starting in her toes again, making her want to tighten her legs and grind herself against him.
Suddenly he rolled her over and slid on top of her like he was meant to be there. And then he nudged her legs apart and pushed inside her a little.
She winced at the slight pain.
He stilled, his eyes widening in shock. “You’re a virgin?”
She wanted to deny it. Wanted to say that she was experienced so he would keep making her feel this way. Only she couldn’t lie.
“Yes.”
He swore but amazingly didn’t pull out. He took a deep breath and then began to move slowly, his eyes never leaving her face. Carefully he filled her, and when he was fully inside her he stopped.
“Okay?” he asked hoarsely.
She nodded, too emotional to be able to speak. Nick had made her a woman.
His woman.
He began to move, and the world faded away. No one else existed, and nothing mattered. It was just the two of them, and when she climaxed Nick followed, and they came together in their own private world.
After Nick returned from the bathroom he sat on the bed and took her hands in his. “Why?”
Sasha swallowed. “Why didn’t I tell you? You said it would make a difference and I … well … I wanted you to make love to me.”
His mouth softened with tenderness. “You silly goose. The difference would have been in the way I made love to you, not in whether I made love to you at all.”
“Oh.”
“Your first time needs to be handled gently.” A moment later he grimaced.
She saw the hint of regret in his eyes. “Nick, you were very gentle with me. Thank you.”
He kissed her briefly. “Thank you for saying that.” Then he leaned back with a penetrating look in his eyes that made her uneasy. “I seem to remember