“Would you mind?”
“Not in the least.”
When I took a step toward him, he held up his hand. “Stay there. Not yet. Give me a moment longer. I have imagined this so many times that I want to savor it. And I won’t have your first time—our first time—be over too soon. I won’t let you rush me.”
“Have you seen yourself?” I demanded, impatient.
“Only in the mirror.”
“I never would have imagined that I could be jealous of an inanimate object.”
He laughed again. “I give you my royal permission to look upon me as often and as long as you’d like.”
“I am going to take advantage of that offer.”
“I’m glad that the way I look pleases you.”
“It drives me to madness,” I confessed.
“Good. It means we are suffering from the same affliction. Because I have not felt entirely myself since I first laid eyes on you. You’ve turned me into something new. Something better. The man I have always hoped I would be.”
His words made me melt, had my heart expanding in my chest. I loved him so much that—
Then he reached for me and dragged me against him and I lost the ability to think. Our heated flesh pressed together ... it was everything I had ever wanted.
“By the goddess,” I murmured, reaching up to feel his muscles twitch and spasm under my fingers. This was what he’d said I should do—that I should touch him. I glided my fingertips down, across the ridges in his abdomen, heading toward—
He grabbed my wrist. “Not that.”
“Why not?” That was the most interesting and different part of him.
“Because it will be over too soon if you do.”
“But why—”
“Lia, I promise to answer all your questions later. For now, let me revel in the warm, naked woman in my arms that I need to kiss more than I need to breathe.”
His mouth finally returned to mine, and the smoldering sensuality of kissing him with no clothing in our way was intoxicating. One kiss glided into the next, until my mind was coated with pleasure.
He deepened the kiss, his hand moving to the back of my head to maneuver me into the position he wanted. His tongue claimed mine, hot and wet, stroking, and I could taste his desperate desire. Despite all his claims about planning to go slowly, he was quickly unraveling.
I was no better—I was completely lost in the taste of his mouth, the feel of his body, the sound of his ragged breathing. He ignited me, drowning me in flames.
He began to guide me, leading me to our bed. When my knees hit the back of it, he picked me up by the waist and then laid me down. He followed, caging me with his body.
“Are you nervous? Scared?” he asked me.
I reached out to run my hand across his shoulder. “No. I’m with you. I’m more excited than anything.”
“I’m nervous and scared,” he admitted.
“You are? Why?” I asked, trying to hide my smile.
He still saw it and leaned down to kiss me quickly. “Because I want this to be perfect for you.”
Each word melted into my skin like falling embers. “I’m with you. It already is perfect.”
He smiled. “If at any point you want me to stop, tell me and I will.”
