Subtle was the best that could be said about them.
Her shoulders hunched. “I’m not very...”
“You’re gorgeous.” His hands enclosed her breasts, and ever so gently rotated, sensitizing her nipples.
Allie closed her eyes, lost in the extraordinary sensation. There he was again, being so careful, and yet his tough calluses scraped her skin and sent a rush of heat arrowing between her legs. A sound escaped her, a moan or even a whimper.
Nolan said something rough and shaken, then lifted her and laid her back on the bed. She heard her sandals hit the floor. His knee came down between hers, and he bent to place his mouth where his hands had been. He kissed and licked and nuzzled before suckling her. Allie was groaning nonstop now, arching to make herself more accessible to him.
He eventually tore himself away from her breasts long enough to strip Allie of her jeans and panties. As he surveyed her, dark color streaked his cheekbones. She was stunned to see that he’d meant it when he said she was beautiful. The way he looked at her almost made her believe she was.
Suddenly she wanted to see him, too. As she reached for the button of his jeans, Allie had a flash of memory: being an almost-teenager and feeling enormously curious about the bulges—some more substantial than others—outlined so conspicuously by the leotards that the male dancers wore. Her father was modest enough that she’d never even caught a glimpse of him without clothes on. She’d seen her brother naked, but only when they were young. She couldn’t quite picture how what he had down there could have metamorphosed into anything that...large.
A giggle bubbled in her chest now, a little like champagne fizzing on its way down. The fact that she hadn’t wanted to look closely at male genitals the other times she’d had sex should have been her first clue that something was wrong. Because she very definitely did want to see now.
Stripping him wasn’t as easy as stripping her had been, though. The hard ridge beneath his zipper made pulling it down potentially perilous. His face contorted a couple of times while she oh-so-carefully proceeded, and he made some interesting sounds, too. Her apprehension faded when she realized the sounds expressed pleasure, not distress.
Her eyes widened at what she found when she pulled his underwear down. He lifted his hips to cooperate when Allie tugged jeans and briefs all the way off before she crawled back up to...explore.
His size was daunting. Until now, it hadn’t occurred to her that their relative sizes mattered. She’d liked feeling petite, dwarfed by his powerful body. But now... Her fingers couldn’t close around him, and she raised alarmed eyes to his face.
He lifted his head. “You look freaked.”
“Is this going to hurt?”
“What?” He looked stunned. “No! Why would...? You’re not a virgin?” Now, he sounded alarmed.
“No, but...I think maybe those guys weren’t so big. And I’m not very big.” Her voice wasn’t, either. It was shrinking into nothingness before she finished.
Nolan’s head dropped to the mattress and he gave a choked laugh. “Damn it, Allie. No one has ever said... I’m not huge, you know. You’re just small.”
“I know that,” she said indignantly.
“We’ll fit.” He reared up and cupped her face, the curve of his mouth tender. “I can promise that much.” He kissed her gently, nibbling at her lips.
She closed her eyes and let him wash away her fear. Not all her fears, nobody could do that, but this one, yes.
The next thing she knew, she was on her back, and he was kissing her passionately and stroking one calloused finger between her thighs, where she was wet and aching. She was utterly lost from that point on; she surfaced only long enough to be aware he’d torn open the package and was putting on the condom. She had to watch that, in fascination. A part of her wished he didn’t have to wear one.
If we stay together, I could get a patch, or go on the pill, and he wouldn’t have to.
The memories of those questions he’d asked in the kitchen, wanting to know about her mother, her father, where she’d lived, everything, flickered through her mind, and her heart contracted with a different fear that was more real. If this went on, she’d get more and more muddled, more unsure of what she could say and what she couldn’t...and what she’d already said.
But he was back, touching her again, kissing her, his weight half on