What was Luke going to think when he found out? How was he going to react when he discovered that
his wife had never been acquainted with any other man the way she was about to become acquainted
with him?
Five
L uke felt Haley’s body tense as he guided himself to her and his protectiveness returned tenfold.
“Open your eyes, sweetheart.” When she did, he thought he saw a brief shadow of fear in her blue-green
gaze. “You do trust me, don’t you?”
She stared at him a moment before she slowly nodded. “Y-yes. But there’s something I should probably
tell you.”
“Do you want me, Haley?”
“Y-yes.”
“That’s all I need to know.” Giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, he brushed her soft lips
with his, cutting off anything she was about to say. “It’s going to be all right, Haley. I know you haven’t
been seeing anyone and it’s probably been a while. But I don’t want you to worry. We’re going to be
good together and I promise to take care of you.” He moved his lower body forward a fraction of an
inch. “I’ll make sure that you get as much pleasure from our lovemaking as I do, sweetheart.”
As he entered her, Luke gritted his back teeth and forced himself to go slow in order to allow her body
to adjust to the invasion of his. He’d been right in his assumption that she didn’t have a lot of experience
at making love. She’d been too inhibited about him seeing her body and he could tell that she’d been
genuinely surprised by the way he’d made her feel when he’d touched her. And if that hadn’t been
evidence enough to prove his theory, the mind-blowing tightness surrounding him now was.
But when he met a slight resistance within her, then the feeling that he’d pushed past a thin barrier, he
froze and tried to come to grips with his newest discovery about her. He’d thought it had been some time
since she’d been intimate with a man, but it had not even crossed his mind that Haley might still be a
virgin. After all, she was twenty-eight years old and extremely attractive. He couldn’t believe some man
hadn’t swept her off her feet at least once.
“You’ve never had sex.” He hadn’t meant for the words to come out more as an accusation than a
statement of the fact.
“No,” she whispered. A couple of tears slipped from the corners of her tightly closed eyes and Luke felt
like the biggest fool alive.
He knew she was experiencing a bit of discomfort and careful to hold his lower body completely still, he
wrapped his arms around her and cradled her to him. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I know it must be
uncomfortable, but try to relax. Just a little more and you’ll have all of me.”
He waited until he felt a slight easing of her feminine muscles surrounding him, then moving forward,
joined their bodies completely. The realization that he was claiming her in a way that no other man had,
caused the possessiveness within him to reach heights that he never expected and didn’t even want to
think about.
But concentrating on more pressing matters, he ignored the fire in his belly that urged him to complete
the act of loving her. Her body needed more time to get used to the newness of accommodating his. And
the very last thing he intended to do was hurt her any more than he had already done.
“It’s a little better now,” she said, opening her eyes. The spark of desire he detected in the turquoise
depths and the easing of tension in her slender form reinforced her statement and he knew that the
unfulfilled passion he’d created within her was beginning to return.
As he eased his hips back, he captured her gaze with his. “I want you to promise me that you’ll let me
know if I’m hurting you in any way.”
“I promise,” she repeated, bringing her arms up to encircle his shoulders.
The feel of her arms embracing him and her soft body accepting him almost sent him over the edge. But
focusing all of his attention on making things as easy for her as was humanly possible, he slowly began
to rock against her.
His body demanded satisfaction, but Luke refused to give in to his own needs without ensuring that he’d
first met hers. He knew it wasn’t always enjoyable for a woman the first time she made love, but even if
had his way, quite pleasurable.
When her body began a tentative movement that joined the rhythm of his, he knew his efforts had been
worth the hell he’d been going through to ensure her comfort. But all too soon he felt her gently tighten
around him, signaling that she’d reached the pinnacle and was about to find the ecstasy he was
determined to give her. Deepening his movements, he waited until he felt the trembling of her delicate
body beneath his and heard her softly cry out his name before he let go of the slender thread he held on
his control. Only then did he give way to his own desire and allow himself to find the release he so
desperately needed.
Luke’s pulse pounded in his ears and he thought he just might pass out from the rush as he thrust into
her one final time and wave after wave of intense pleasure flowed through him. As he filled her with his
essence, he felt as if he’d been completely drained of energy and eased himself down on top of her.
He wasn’t certain how long he lay covering her as he tried to catch his breath, but when he finally
gained enough strength, he moved to her side and gathered her to him. “Are you all right?”
“That was…” She paused as if trying to find the right word. “…absolutely amazing.”
Smiling at the fact that he’d taken her virginity and still managed to bring her pleasure, he reached down
to pull the sheet over their rapidly cooling bodies. “I promise next time our lovemaking will reach
incredible status.”
“Really?” She shook her head. “I don’t see how it could be any better than what I just experienced.”
“That’s because you haven’t had anything to compare it to.” He hugged her close and tried not to dwell
on the possessiveness that threatened to consume him. “My mission is to see that every time we make
love the pleasure keeps getting stronger for you.”
“I’ll have to take your word for that,” she conceded, sounding extremely sleepy.
He kissed the top of her head pillowed on his shoulder. “Get some rest, sweetheart. We’ll talk after
you’ve had a little nap.”
As he held Haley while she slept, Luke couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the fact that he was the only
man to make love to her. Had he ever been a woman’s first time before?
If he had, he knew for certain he would have remembered it. Taking a woman’s virginity wasn’t
something a man was likely to forget.
Glancing at Haley sleeping so peacefully next to him, several questions kept running through his mind.
Why had she waited so long to be with a man? If she’d been holding out for the permanence of marriage
before taking that step, why had she agreed to birth his heir when she knew their arrangement would
eventually end? And how had she managed to save herself from players like Chet Parker, who were out
there just looking for the right opportunity to swoop in and seduce a woman as beautiful and innocent as
Haley?
When Haley moved closer to him in her sleep, he ti
ghtened his arms around her and kissed her soft
cheek. He didn’t want to analyze his uncharacteristic protectiveness toward her or the unfamiliar need to
possess her. They’d reached an agreement and she was his for now—the woman he’d chosen to be the
mother of his child. As far as he was concerned, that was reason enough.
Oh, he still wanted answers to his questions regarding her lack of sexual experience and an explanation
of her motives for agreeing to have his child. But he wasn’t overly concerned about getting them right
away. As he got to know her better, he’d learn her secrets and reach a satisfactory conclusion to the
mystery of Haley Rollins.
In the meantime, he had every intention of enjoying the pleasure of making love to her every night and
reaching his goal of soon having an heir to inherit the vast holdings of Garnier Construction.
Slowly opening her eyes, Haley found herself alone in the big log bed and wondered if she’d been
dreaming. After all this time imagining what it would be like, had she really slept with Luke?
As she stretched to loosen the kinks of sleep from her limbs, the feel of the sheet sliding over her bare
skin and the interesting little aches in her lower body quickly told her that they had indeed consummated
their marriage. Her cheeks heated as the memory of what they’d shared in the early predawn light came
flooding back.
Luke had seen her as no other man had and made her feel things she would have never thought possible.
But once he’d learned she was a virgin, his incredible patience and the extra care he took to reduce any
discomfort she might have had touched her deeply. He’d seen to it that her first experience making love
was pleasurable and even though their marriage was destined to end one day, she’d never be sorry that
she’d waited for her husband.
“I see you finally woke up, sleepyhead,” Luke greeted her cheerfully, shouldering the door open. He
carried a breakfast tray with two plates of delicious-looking food, glasses of orange juice and a single
rose in a glass bud vase. “Time to rise and shine.”
His thoughtfulness was unexpected and quite touching. “I haven’t had breakfast in bed since I was
child,” she reminisced, holding the sheet to cover her breasts as she sat up. “And I was too sick to care
about eating anything then.”
“Well, I hope you have a hearty appetite now, because Mrs. Beck outdid herself,” he noted, referring to
the housekeeper. “I think she cooked every breakfast food known to man.”
“Could you get my overnight case, please?” Haley requested, wanting to retrieve the new bathrobe she’d
purchased for the trip.
“Uh-oh.” He gave her a sheepish grin. “When I got up and went to shower and change, I moved it to my
room.”
“What am I going to put on?” she asked, looking around for something—anything—to wear.
“I really like what you’re wearing now,” he observed, setting the tray on top of the dresser.
“I’m naked under here.”
“Bingo.”
Her cheeks heated at his lascivious grin. “Seriously, what am I going to wear?”
“I think you wear nothing very well,” he commented, rocking back on his heels. “It really looks good on
you.”
“Will you be serious?” she pleaded, feeling a little desperate. “I can’t even go downstairs to get my
clothes without something to cover up with. Poor Mrs. Beck would probably have a massive coronary.”
He looked thoughtful. “I guess you might have a point.”
“I do have a point.” She shook her head. “And unless you intend for me to stay in this bed the rest of the
day, I need something to put on.”
“Staying in bed presents some very interesting possibilities,” he responded, his grin widening. When she
tugged the sheet free from the end of the mattress, he pulled the tail of his shirt from his jeans. “If you’re
that adamant about it, I’ll have to make the sacrifice.”
She stared shamelessly as Luke unbuttoned the garment and revealed his wide chest. Earlier when
they’d made love, she’d been too nervous and preoccupied with the newness of it all to pay a lot of
attention to his physique. But as he shrugged out of the shirt, her breath caught and her heart did a funny
little thump against her rib cage.
His body was absolutely perfect. Every muscle from his shoulders all the way to the waistband of his
low-slung jeans was well-defined and he was most definitely the type of man dreams were made of. At
least, her dreams.
When he handed her the shirt, then stood there expectantly, she forced her thoughts back to the matter at
hand and shook her head. “Turn around.”
His smile sent a wave of sizzling warmth shimmering over her skin. “Sweetheart, I saw your body when
we made love and believe me, you have no reason to be self-conscious. You’re beautiful.”
“I’ll have to take your word on that,” she remarked, refusing to give too much weight to his appreciation
of her body. “But it’s extremely difficult to throw caution to the wind after twenty-eight years of
keeping myself covered up.”
Apparently deciding she meant business, he finally blew out an exaggerated breath, shook his head and
turned his back to her. “We’ve already made love once and I anticipate doing so again quite frequently.
It won’t take long before I know your body as well as I know mine.”
“In less than a week, we’ve gone from nothing more than boss and employee to sleeping together,” she
tried to explain, pulling on his shirt. The delicious masculine scent surrounding her as she buttoned the
garment caused Haley to feel warm all over. “We only went on one date—if you want to call it that—
and that was the night before we got married.”
When he picked up the breakfast tray from the dresser and turned to face her, his expression was
thoughtful. “So what you’re saying is, you don’t switch gears quite that fast.”
“Something like that.” Maybe he was beginning to understand how she felt.
“I guess that makes sense,” he said absently as he set the tray over her lap, then lowered himself to sit on
the mattress beside her. He looked pensive for a moment. “Since we’re discussing your inhibitions, were
they the reason you were still a virgin?”
She knew he’d be curious and ask about it. “It’s quite simple, really. I went to a very strict, private high
school for girls. In our Freshman year, we were encouraged to take a pledge to stay pure until we
married. I promised that I would.” Reaching for a slice of crispy bacon, she shrugged. “Besides, I never
met a man that I cared enough about to be intimate with.”
“Never?”
“Oh, I was tempted a couple of times in college with one or two of the guys I dated.” She shook her
head. “But I always found a reason not to break my vow. Probably because it just didn’t feel right with
them.”
“Do you always keep your word, Haley?” His question was casual enough, but she could tell he was
extremely interested in her answer.
Swallowing the bacon she’d been nibbling on, she nodded. “It’s not always easy, but if I tell someone
that I’ll do something, I try my best to do it.” She smiled. “I have had to break my promises a few times,
but I’ve never made a habit of it.”
“So that’s why you followed through when I ca
lled your bluff about having to be married,” he
proclaimed, capturing her gaze with his. “You gave me your word.”
Haley nodded again. She wasn’t overly surprised that he’d figured out that she was discouraging him
when she laid down the terms to have his baby. He was very perceptive and it was one of the many
reasons he was such a highly successful businessman.
“Knowing how you feel about relationships, I thought mentioning marriage would dissuade you,” she
admitted. “If I’d tried to back out when you said you were agreeable, you wouldn’t have given me a
minute’s peace until I honored my word.”
“That’s true, but why didn’t you just reject my request outright?” he asked, obviously trying to figure
out what made her tick as he took a big bite of his scrambled eggs.
“Because I know you well enough that when you set your sights on something, you don’t give up.
You’re like a dog with a juicy bone.” Picking up her glass of orange juice, she gazed at him over the
rim. “Would you have abandoned the idea of me having your child if I’d said no right away?”
Chuckling, he shook his head. “Not a chance in hell, sweetheart.”
“My point exactly.”
“So, if you know me so well,” he argued as he placed his fork on his empty plate, “why do you keep
insisting that we need to get to know each other further?”
How could she explain that it was the little everyday things that she wanted to know?
“Do you have any idea why my hair is straight when I’m at the office, but when I’m at home it’s curly?”
she finally asked.
His expression clearly stated he thought she’d lost her mind.
“Bear with me for a minute.”
He gave her a dubious look. “Okay. I assume you’re like my sister and use a curling iron when you want
to make your hair curly.”
“Just the opposite.” She couldn’t help but laugh. “I use a flat iron to take the curl out.”
“Your hair is naturally curly?” He shook his head. “I wasn’t aware of that.”
“That’s what I meant about knowing each other. Don’t you think that’s something a man would know
about the woman he has a child with?”