and then pocketing them. Slowly, he shucked his shirt, letting it fall, unnoticed, to the floor.
He moved with precision and control. His expression taut and hungry, gazing into her eyes as if he had to cling tightly to the last shreds of his control or lose it completely.
Ten
Closing the distance between them, he cupped her cheek with one hand. With his other, Ward carefully plucked out the bobby pins holding back her hair. Once the silken waves were free, he brought them to his face and inhaled deeply, drinking in Ana’s intoxicating scent. Then he poured all of that desperate need into his kiss. Her mouth was warm and inviting. A tempting buffet of textures and sensations.
There were so many things he wanted to say, so much emotion he needed to express. So many things he didn’t even know how to tell her. All his life, he’d used words to seduce. But that only worked when he had a guitar in his hands. When he could coax out a melody to create the mood, to entice a woman into feeling what he wanted her to feel. Kissing Ana now, he felt vulnerable. Woefully inadequate. Barely up to the task of making love to her.
He had no way of knowing what was going on in that stubborn brain of hers. No way of judging if she wanted him with the same desperate neediness that he felt. All he knew was that he’d never felt this way before. Not even with Cara.
With Cara, everything had been right on the surface. There’d never been any deeper meaning, no hidden indecipherable emotions. No need to take things slowly. And no desperation.
With Ana, everything was different. More intense. And his innate talent with words failed him.
In the end, all he could do was worship her with his body. With reverent hands, he pulled her sweater up over her head. Her breasts were bare beneath it. Perfect. Lush and inviting. Begging to be kissed, lathed and lavished with attention. Which he did with complete devotion.
But still, the rest of her body beckoned, tempting him farther down. She shimmied out of her jeans and he quickly stripped her of her silken underwear. When he slipped his hand between her legs there was an instant of resistance before her thighs fell open to his touch. But once he eased open her lips, she was delightfully moist and hot enough to burn him. All but trembling with need, he dipped his fingers into her over and over again as his thumb found the nub of tender skin at her entrance. A groan pulled from low in her throat as she bucked on the bed. He felt her muscles clench around his fingers as the very first tremors of an orgasm coursed through her. He couldn’t resist tasting her then, suckling the sweet honey of her arousal as he pushed her over the edge into oblivion.
Ana was trembling, drifting slowly back to earth, feeling as though all the molecules of her body had been scattered and were only now pulling themselves back together.
She was only vaguely aware that Ward’s warmth had left her. She shoved herself up onto an elbow to watch as he stripped off his pants and boxers.
“Condoms,” she said with a nod toward the bedside table, surprised by how breathless she sounded.
She’d bought them just last week. Her first ever condom purchase. Terrified she’d fumble and embarrass herself, she’d sat in her bathroom for an hour one evening practicing with a banana. Ward never gave her the chance to show off her fledgling skills, but rather extracted one from the package and quickly put it on. A moment later, he was above her again.
He thrust into her. Pain seared through her as her virginity was ripped away. She squeezed her eyes shut, sucking in a deep breath.
It hurt. Worse than she’d expected. Worse than the novels she’d read had led her to believe. She seemed stretched. Too full. But as she breathed out, slowly, the tightness eased.
Only then did she open her eyes. He’d stopped moving completely. His eyes were wide in an expression of surprised confusion that made her cheeks redden with embarrassment.
She squeezed her eyes closed again. So much for him not noticing.
“Ana,” he gasped.
She forced herself to look up at him, taking in the grim set of his lips as he sucked shallow breaths.
“It’s okay,” she said.
“It’s not.”
She felt him pulling away from her. “Oh, no you don’t,” she ground out. The pain was