have wanted that. You were also wanting to see how I got on with Eamon.”
“He’s a big part of my life,” he said softly. “Any woman who wants me… well, Eamon’s part of that package, unfortunately.”
“It’s not unfortunate at all,” she said fiercely, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Do you hear me? He’s part of you, and he’s wonderful. And so are you.”
And then he was kissing her again — and this time, it was clear that no conversation was going to interrupt them. It felt like a dam had burst — as though all the passion they’d both been storing up over all this time was suddenly crashing over them, and they were both desperate to find an outlet for it. His hands were roaming all over her body, touching places she’d never let anyone touch her before — and the more he touched her, the closer she wanted him. To her great surprise, she even found her own hands roaming — it was as though they had a mind of their own, exploring places she’d never dreamed of being brave enough to explore… and before long they were both breathing hard, and she was fighting with the laces of his tunic, determined to get as much of his skin in contact with hers as possible.
Then she squeaked as he lifted her, effortlessly, as though she was made of paper — and carried her down the hallway to an unfamiliar door she’d never seen before. The door to his bedroom — she grinned to herself, kissing him harder as he carried her through and gently but firmly pressed her down to the bed. She sat up immediately, drawing him closer, reaching for his clothing — he was already tugging at her tunic, too, and she giggled breathlessly as she pulled it off over her head. She’d always thought she’d be too shy to be naked in front of another person, but for some reason she didn’t feel anything of the sort. Being naked… well, that was their natural state, wasn’t it? The clothes were just an impediment to knowing him — and she was desperate to know him much better than she’d ever known anyone. They tore their clothes off like wild animals and then he pulled the covers back and pulled her under them with him, their body heat quickly overcoming the chill in the room.
“Niall,” she gasped as he kissed a line of hot kisses along her throat. And just like that he was back with her, his eyes on hers, his hands still holding her close but not pressing, not pushing her any further than she wanted to go. She could trust him, she realized in a dizzy rush. Even now, even in the heat of passion, he respected her too much to rush her or manhandle her. “I — I wanted you to know — this will be…” God, she felt ridiculous. She reminded herself of what Elena had said — to be brave, to be honest. “My first time.”
A smile broke out across his face. “I’m honored,” he said softly, pressing a deep, probing kiss to her lips that left her gasping for breath. “We’ll take it slowly,” he breathed into her ear, sending shivers down her spine. “If at any time you want me to stop, just say so and I will. Okay?”
She grinned, her heart pounding dizzily in her chest. “I don’t think I’m going to want you to stop,” she whispered, and the low chuckle that resulted made her dizzy as he continued to press kisses to her throat, to the side of her face, nibbling at her earlobe, his hands roaming over her body… she’d never felt like this before, never felt this liquid fire racing through her body. She did her best to please him, too, to stroke and caress the hard, packed muscles of his torso — it was unbelievable, how powerful he was, how sleek the skin was as it moved over the muscles he’d built after a long career of lifting and hauling things on the docks… the power in his body was magnetic, electrifying, overwhelming, and when his hands moved down across her breasts she shivered at the fires they lit in the sensitive tissues there. Nobody had ever touched her breasts except her… nobody… not even the handful of men she’d gone on lukewarm dates with before making up some excuse to never see them again.
It was strange — she was almost glad, in