“Without a doubt, my love.” He tossed his shirt aside, then scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. “And Iwould never let you go.” He untied her slippers and flicked them away. Her suddenly pensive look made him pause. “Gracie? What is it?”
She chewed on her bottom lip, eyeing him as if afraid to share her thoughts.
With her ankle in his hand, he gently tapped on her stocking-covered toes. “Tell me, my love. What is wrong?”
“I have read a great many things,” she said, then wrinkled her nose. “But none were as detailed as I needed them to be.”
“Things?”
“What am I supposed to do topleaseyou?” She folded her hands atop her stomach and nervously tapped her thumbs together. “You treated me to unimaginable pleasure at the ravine that day, but I did nothing for you.” She frowned, worry in her eyes. “I don’t want you wandering because I don’t make youhappyin this room.”
“Firstly, I would never wander.” He slid his hands up her leg, untied her garter, then slipped off her stocking and tossed it. “You are mine as I am yours. Never will there ever be another for either of us.”
That seemed to please her, but he still read uncertainty in her face. He made short work of her other stocking, then stepped back and stood at the side of the bed.
“What are you doing now?” She rose and propped herself on her elbows, her golden curls tumbling across the pillows and the subtle curve of her breasts teasing him through the thin material of her chemise.
“I am divesting myself of my clothes.”
“Oh.” She glanced down at her shift. “I suppose I should rid myself of this, then?”
As he unbuttoned his falls and let the buckskins drop, he held her eyes with his. “I would consider that not only an honor, my lady, but the perfect wedding present.”
Her gaze boldly raked down his body, and her eyes went wide. “Oh my—you are nothing like the statues.”
“Is that good or bad, my lady?” He climbed in next to her and gently tugged on the chemise she had yet to shed.
“Uhm…good. I suppose. Might I get back to you on that particular point, since I have no experience with such things?”
He laughed as he helped her wiggle out of her shift. “You may, indeed, my love.” The sight of her in all her glory threatened to undo him before he even got started. Leaning over her, he teased her with a slow, tender kiss, growling with pleasure as she pulled herself closer and pressed the length of her body against his.
“Warm silk,” he whispered against her mouth as he ran his hands across her. Never in a thousand lifetimes would he get enough of her. He kissed his way lower, reveling in the taste of her.
She arched against him as she had done at the ravine, wrapping her legs around him and squeezing. Her little noises of delight as he explored her guided him along. Every time between them needed to be special, but this first time especially needed to be perfect, properly melding their vows.
“I adore you,” he said as she cried out and clung to him, achieving the first of the many pleasures he intended to give her this evening. It was a long time before dawn, and they had much loving to do. He kissed his way back up to her mouth and settled his hips between her legs, gently prodding as though tenderly requesting admission to her bliss.
“Make me your wife,” she rasped, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him closer. “Fully and completely.”
“Gladly.” He slid in, forcing himself to go with care and grant her the time he knew she needed to adjust. Clenching his teeth, every muscle tensed, he fought the need to plunder her fully with every ounce of raging lust pulsing through him.
Her breath coming in quick little gasps, she slid her hands down his sides and gripped his buttocks. “Oh my—now I know what I needed so badly at the ravine.”
“And what I needed so badly to give you,” he answered with a groan. With his forehead pressed to hers, he forced himself to hold. “Was the pain terrible, my love?” He had only deflowered one other virgin, and that lady had carried on as if he had cleaved her in two with a dull sword. He ached to move, to continue on, but refused to do so until he knew his precious wife was all right.
“The pain is still terrible,” she said in a desperate, gasping whisper. “The aching is much worse than before, and I need relief. What do we need to do?”
While he wanted to throw back his head and roar, he didn’t. He should have known his beloved, fearless Gracie would match him in passion. After all, she perfectly matched him in everything else. “We do this, my love.”
He started slow, increasing the rhythm and building the fury with every thrust. She met him each time, arching and drawing him in faster and faster. Then she split the air with a throaty shout and clung to him, pulsing with wave after wave of rapturous shudders.
Unable to maintain control any longer, he gave in to the relentless need to bury himself and release, filling her as she emptied him. He buried his face in the curve of her neck, a groan escaping him as he gasped for breath.
“That was…unimaginable,” she said, her voice ragged as she combed her fingers into his hair.
He smiled and pressed a kiss to her throat. “In a good way?”
“In a most delightful way.” She shifted and kissed his forehead. “How do people not do this all the time?”
