Royal Holiday Bride. Brenda Harlen

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СКАЧАТЬ hands stroked over her again, arousing her, arousing himself. He could feel the blood pounding in his veins, hot and demanding. He could hear the beat of his heart, fast and fierce. Did she know how desperately he wanted her? How he ached for her?

      Maybe she did, because her eyes—those gorgeous green eyes—met his and her hips lifted, and the silent urging snapped the last of his self-restraint. He guided himself into the slick heat between her thighs. But despite her apparent readiness, his entry wasn’t easy. He gritted his teeth and fisted his hands in the quilt, forcing himself to go slow, to give her time to adjust to his size. His muscles ached with the effort of holding back and his heart pounded against his ribs as he inched a little farther, swallowing her soft sighs of acceptance, of pleasure.

      He frowned when he felt an unexpected resistance, but before he could begin to comprehend what it might mean, her legs lifted to lock behind his hips, pulling him deeper so that he pushed through the barrier of her innocence.

      He held himself completely still over her, his arms locked in position, his brows drawn together behind his mask.

      How was this possible? How could he not have known? And what was he supposed to do now?

      But she seemed oblivious to his inner turmoil. Her legs were still hooked around his hips and her hands clutched at his shoulders as she instinctively moved against him, until his control finally snapped and there was nothing left to hold him back.

      He drove into her, hard and deep. She cried out, but he recognized that the sound wasn’t one of shock or fear but pleasure. She met his rhythm, thrust for thrust, in a primitive and almost desperate race toward the release they both craved. When the next climax took her to the edge and finally over, he could do nothing but surrender with her.

      It was a long time before Marissa managed to catch her breath. She felt stunned, overwhelmed and exhilarated. She’d never even imagined that so many emotions and sensations could rocket through her system at the same time.

      She’d felt desire before, subtle tugs that had piqued her curiosity and made her wonder. But there had been absolutely nothing subtle about what she’d experienced in Jupiter’s arms. It had been so much more than she’d anticipated, so much more than she ever could have hoped for, and she would always be grateful to him for this night.

      Unfortunately, she could tell that he wasn’t feeling grateful. He was angry, and she was afraid that she knew why.

      “You were a virgin,” he said.

      The accusation in his tone confirmed her fears and took some of the shine off of the experience for her. She shifted away from him, pulling up the corner of the quilt to cover herself.

      “And you wanted someone with more experience?” she guessed, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

      “I wanted to know.” He rose from the bed and paced across the carpet, apparently unconcerned by his own nakedness. When he faced her again, his anger was visible despite the mask he still wore. “I had a right to know.”

      She pushed herself off of the bed, dragging the cover with her. “I’m sorry you were disappointed.”

      She started to gather up her costume, but it was hard to see through the tears that blurred her eyes. She’d had the most amazing, exhilarating sexual experience of her life, and her partner wished it had never happened.

      He crossed the room in three quick strides and caught her arms. “I wasn’t disappointed.”

      She couldn’t read his mood. He’d sounded furious, but now he was looking at her with such tenderness in the depths of those beautiful dark eyes. She wished, for just a moment, that she could push the mask off of his face, to really see this man for who he was. But that wasn’t just a futile wish, it was a dangerous one. It was the assurance of anonymity that had given her the courage to follow through with her plan. She couldn’t let him discover her identity now.

      “But you’re angry,” she said again.

      “At myself.”

      “I don’t understand,” she admitted.

      “I should have realized.” Sighing, he thrust a hand through his hair. “If I’d known, I would have been more careful.”

      “You didn’t hurt me.”

      But Dante knew that he had. Every muscle in her body had tensed when he’d pushed through the barrier of her virginity. He’d been stunned by the knowledge, and appalled that even when his brain had finally registered that she’d been an innocent, he hadn’t been able to stop.

      He’d wanted her with such desperation that even knowing she’d been untouched hadn’t tempered his desire. In fact, discovering that he was her first had somehow stoked the burning need to take, to claim, to possess. One thought had echoed in his mind: mine.

      Of course, she couldn’t be. Not for more than this one night.

      It was something they both knew, though neither had spoken aloud of the fact. The anonymity had served his own purposes—he’d thought this night would be one final fling without the heavy cloak of royal responsibilities that had settled around his shoulders. But now he was ashamed, knowing that he’d taken the innocence of a woman and he didn’t even know her name.

      He brushed his knuckles gently down her cheek. “Actually, if I’d known you were untouched, I would have made sure you stayed that way.”

      “Why?”

      “Because your first time shouldn’t have been with a stranger.”

      “It was what I wanted,” she insisted.

      “You deserved better. You deserved more. And I can’t give you anything more than this night.” His words were heavy with genuine regret.

      She lifted her chin. “All of this night?”

      It was more of a challenge than a question, and he fought against a smile. She had spirit and spunk and a willingness to go after what she wanted, and he felt both honored and humbled that she’d wanted him.

      “Did you think I was going to turn you out of my room now that I’ve had my way with you?” he asked lightly.

      “How would I know? This is new territory for me,” she reminded him.

      He took the gown that she’d twisted into a ball and set it aside. “I would very much like you to stay.”

      Marissa thought those words meant that he wanted to take her back to bed. Instead, he excused himself and disappeared into the adjoining bathroom. A few minutes later, he was leading her toward a deep tub filled with fragrant bubbles and surrounded by dozens of flickering candles.

      “I thought a bath might help ease some of the soreness in your muscles,” he told her.

      “I won’t be sorry to have aches to remind me of this night,” she said, and meant it. “But how can I refuse when you went to so much trouble?”

      He smiled and brushed a soft kiss over her lips. “Take as much time as you want.”

      She didn’t plan to be long. She didn’t want to waste a single minute of the short time they would СКАЧАТЬ