traced the fine, chiseled muscles of his chest. She gasped. Though his skin was incredibly warm, it was as hard as iron. A powerful need deep within her core coiled like the winding of a spring. She swirled her fingers through the downy hair on his chest before trailing her hand down the center of his rock-hard abdomen.
Eoin’s moan rumbled with basal desire.
His erection jutted from a nest of tight mahogany curls. Helen’s need scorched her insides and she licked her lips while her fingers twitched, not daring to go further.
Rocking his hips forward, the tip of his manhood touched her finger. She gasped.
So did he.
Meeting his gaze, Eoin nodded and lowered his lashes, telling her what he wanted simply with a look.
Her lips parted as she gradually wrapped her hand around him and stroked. Letting out a belabored breath, Eoin pulled her into his arms and pressed himself against her.
His hardness made her head swoon. Helen rocked her hips toward him, craving friction.
“I cannot hold back much longer,” he growled, tugging up her shift and pulling it over her head.
Completely naked, Helen slid back onto the bed and wrapped her arms around her knees—totally at a loss for what she should do. “I want you to join with me. And believe me when I say I’ve never uttered such words before. I feel like a virgin.”
“Then I shall be all the more gentle with you.” His voice rumbled like distant thunder.
Tugging her arms open, he crawled over her, and levered himself between her thighs. Helen could not drag her eyes away. The thick column of his erection pointed straight at her nether parts. With a stuttered inhale, Helen prepared herself for a jolt of pain—one she would welcome from Eoin MacGregor.
But he did something completely unexpected.
Rocking back on his haunches, he ran the pad of his thumb down her sex and swirled it through her moisture. “You’re so wet for me.”
“’Tis a good thing?” she asked with a tremor in her voice.
His deep chuckle rolled through her chest. “Aye, a very good thing.”
Helen closed her eyes and moved her hips in tandem with his caresses. Gently, he slipped a finger inside her. In and out—oh, how unbearably tantalizing his touch. Helen’s breathing sped. Never would she have believed she could feel this completely aroused. Only her deep love for Eoin could allow such unabashed intimacy. She opened her eyes and drank in his manhood while Eoin tempted her with his feather-light strokes.
Gasping, she could manage one syllable. “Now.”
Eoin grinned and shifted his hips forward while guiding his erection to her entrance. Helen spread her legs wider. His tip filled her, stretched her taut, yet it felt amazing. She braced herself for the pain.
He took his weight onto his elbows and lay atop her without crushing. Rocking his hips forward, he slid deeper inside while covering her mouth and entwining her tongue with his. Completely and utterly alive, Helen gave in to the most thrilling experience of her life. Devoid of pain, her insides were slick with moisture, and welcomed him, as if telling her this had always been the man with whom she should be joined.
Together their breathing sped as they united in a glorious dance between a man and a woman who’d spent most of their lives suppressing their affection for one another.
Helen closed her eyes and gave in to the amazing merging her body and soul with the only man she had ever loved. The years apart only made their lovemaking all the more enjoyable. Just when she thought the pleasure could not grow better, her body shuddered on a pinnacle of pure ecstasy. Losing complete control, she cried out, bursting into magnificent spasms around him.
Eoin pressed up with his palms and thrust deep and fast. With a basal, shuddering moan, he pulled away and found his release.
Helen smoothed her fingers up and down his back, soothing him while his entire body tremored above her.
Gradually his breathing stilled and he kissed her with a passion more fervent than their first kiss in the shed on that rainy day.
Helen’s heart squeezed tight while a tear moistened the corner of her eye. “I had no idea it could be like this.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Helen’s eyes flew open at the sound of Maggie’s cries. Beside her, Eoin’s body was so warm, she hated to slip out of bed into the chilly morning air. But her daughter needed tending, and through God’s grace, she was now the only person to provide that care.