flesh of his throat, which she had to admit
looked much better after Rella’s attention.
“Sore.”
“I
guess
you’re
hungry,”
she
murmured.
“Are you staying then?”
“I shouldn’t.”
“But you will?”
“Do you want me to?” She looked up.
He touched her cheek and she would
have had to have been blind not to see his
feelings for her shining in his remarkable
golden eyes. “Always,” he whispered.
“I’ll stay on one condition.”
He grinned suggestively. “What’s
that?”
“That you’ll remember to lock the
door at night.” She preferred not to find
strange women in bed with her.
He chuckled. “That’s a deal.”
“Nash?” Now that she was revealing
her secrets, she had one more thing she
wanted to know.
“Yes?”
“Why don’t you ever mount me?” It
was an unsavory word, but she had no
other to put in its place.
He surprised her by blushing and
lowering his eyes.
“Don’t you want to?”
“You know I do,” he whispered.
No, she didn’t know. He always held
back. He’d penetrated her with his fingers,
his tongue, but never the thick shaft she
really craved. “Then why?”
“I don’t want to hurt you.” He looked
up at her from where he was kneeling
between her legs and touched her cheek.
“Our
bodies
don’t
seem
to
be
compatible.”
She puzzled over his words for a
moment. Perhaps things between them
weren’t as fantastic as she had believed.
“I’m sorry. I thought you were receiving
as much pleasure as I was,” she said. “I
guess I still don’t know what I’m doing.
I’ll try harder to please you.”
He emitted a breathy laugh. “Don’t kid
yourself, Maralee. You give me more
pleasure than I have ever known.”
Relief loosened the tension in her
chest. “Then we are compatible.”
“You misunderstand,” he said. He took
her hands and looked into her eyes, as if
he were explaining something far less
personal than their sex life. “You are very
small inside and I am much too large for
your body to accommodate.”
“There’s something wrong with me?”
“No, love,” he said. “I think it’s the
other way around.”
She was not afraid of him hurting her,
frankly could not imagine finding anything
but ecstasy in his arms. “I want you to try
it anyway.”
He leaned away from her. “No.”
“It won’t hurt you, will it?” she asked
him, her hands tightening around his so he
wouldn’t move away until she was
finished talking to him.
He laughed hollowly as if her words
pained him. “I’m sure I would find it most
enjoyable, but it will undoubtedly hurt
you.”
“Then why won’t you try it? I will be
the one to feel the pain and I want you to.”
“Maralee, I won’t do it and that’s
final.”
“Then maybe I won’t let you touch me
at all.”
“If that’s what you want.”
“I won’t touch you anymore either.”
“Fine!”
“And you can sleep on the sofa,” she
added.
“It’s my bed. You sleep on the sofa.”
“Fine!” she said, shoving him away
from her and standing up.
She was still without her shirt and she
could tell he would have a difficult time
not touching her. His eyes were already
moments ahead of his hands and mouth as
he watched her breasts swell above the
cups of her bustier. He would give into
her demands long before she gave in to
her need for him.
“I’ll make breakfast then,” she said.
She went into the kitchen, purposely
leaving her blouse on the sofa. She’d have
him begging for her within hours. At least
that’s what she told herself.
CHAPTER 17
Nash healed remarkably fast, at least
everywhere he could reach with his
tongue. His shredded forearm looked in
better condition than his slightly injured
back, and Maralee could only conclude
there was some sort of healing agent in the
man’s saliva. He had sent Rella away the
next time she had come to clean his
wounds, and Maralee decided she had
sentenced him to unnecessary pain in
healing. She knew it was selfish, but she
didn’t want another woman’s tongue on
his body, even if it were for the sake of
healing.
He was still absorbed in his books and
she thought about mentioning the similar
one owned by her family, but she hadn’t as
of yet. She simply could not come up with
a way of telling him about it, without
revealing she had glanced at his books
without his knowledge.
And then, there was her current
predicament: all attempts to tease Nash
into submission excited her, while he
remained the epitome of self-control. It
had been three days since he had kissed
her last, and his sofa was a damned
uncomfortable place to sleep. Everything
else between them was the same. They
still played with the children in the
clearing, took walks to the icy stream and
through the forest to gather firewood. Only
their physical relationship was lacking. It
didn’t seem to bother him half as much as
it bothered her. She was starting to feel
like a tramp as she tried to bait him into
taking her as his lover.
She went to stand beside him at his
desk now, her fingers itching to touch him.
He glanced up at her and smiled. “Is
something wrong?” he asked.
“No. I was just thinking if you told me
what you were looking for in those books
I could help you find it. I do know how to
read.”
“Thanks for the offer,” he said, “but no
thanks.”
“I’m bored,” she said. “You scarcely
talk to me because you’re so wrapped up
in those damn books. Maybe I should just
go back to Sarbough.”
“Is that what you want?”
“I want you to put those books away
for a little while and…and…talk to me.”
“You want to talk now?” he said in a
teasing tone. “Five minutes ago I thought
you had something else on your mind.”
“Like what?” she asked, her eyes
narrowing.
He shrugged, turning his atten
tion back
to his book again. “The things we used to
do when you were bored.”
“You flatter yourself.”
He glanced at her, and his eyes drifted
down the front of her shirt to rest on her
breasts. She had stopped wearing her
bustier beneath her blouse, hoping to
break the stalemate between them.
Unfortunately, she was the one who
seemed to be excited by the rough cotton
of her shirt against her sensitive nipples.
He didn’t hesitate to point this out. “Then
why are you aroused now?”
She made a sound of impatience. “It’s
cold in here,” she hissed.
“I think it’s warm enough.”
She glanced down at the front of his
pants. “I’m not the only one aroused,” she
challenged.
“Can’t help it. It has a mind of its
own.”
“I bet I know what it’s thinking.”
He chuckled. “You are becoming
perceptively bold, love.”
“It’s
your
fault,”
she
accused,
frustrated to her breaking point.
“All you have to do is give in to my
terms.”
“Your terms are stupid,” she said,
crossing her arms over her chest.
“I don’t believe so. And it’s for your
benefit in the first place.”
“You are a stubborn man.”
“Not half as stubborn as you are.”
“Really?” she challenged.
“Really.”
She smiled at him. “Okay, you win. I
give up.”
“What?”
“You win. You don’t ever have to
mount me, but you have to touch me, Nash.
I can’t take this anymore.”
“Thank God,” he muttered and stood
up, surprising her by grabbing her and
kissing her roughly.
Apparently, he was just as frustrated
as she was. He was simply a better liar.
The fingers of one of his hands were
already fumbling with the buttons of her
shirt. He stroked her shirt from her
shoulders and it fell to the floor. He hands
found her freed her breasts and he tore his
mouth from hers to draw his tongue over
one puckered nipple and then the other.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for two
days,” he growled, nipping her sensitive
flesh and then drawing it into his mouth.
Fingers trembling, he worked at the
laces at fly of her pants. His mouth began
to travel down her belly leaving behind a
trail of hot, wet kisses.
“You smell good,” he whispered. “I
can’t wait to taste you again.”
“Yes, Nash,” she agreed breathlessly.
She didn’t even care that they were
standing directly in front of the window in
the living area. She needed him.
Immediately.
He pushed her pants down her thighs
and dropped to his knees between her
legs. His desk chair toppled over
backwards and crashed to the floor. She
leaned back against his desk and opened
herself to him, shuddering with pleasure
the moment his tongue touched her. Her
head fell back in wonder as he used his
mouth to drive her over the edge within
seconds. She emitted a shuddering gasp,
her back arching involuntarily. She buried
her fingers into his thick hair and urged
him upwards. He climbed to his feet to
kiss her waiting lips and she kicked her
pants aside before wrapping her legs
around his waist and drawing his still
clothed body up against her naked form.
“I want you inside of me, Nash,” she
whispered, kissing the corner of his
mouth.
He could feel her moist warmth
beckoning him through his pants. He
closed his eyes, and concentrated on his
breathing as he tried to regain some
control. “No,” he whispered finally, even
though he was grinding himself against
her.
She pushed him away, hopped down
from the desk and moved around him. “All
right,” she agreed and bent down to
retrieve her pants.
He grabbed her from behind, both
hands covering her breasts as he pulled
her up against him and rubbed himself
against her bottom.
“I’m not finished with you yet,” he
growled into her ear, before tugging the
sensitive lobe into his mouth between his
teeth.
“Oh, I thought you were,” she said.
“We’d better go to the bedroom then.”
He followed her without pause,
releasing her only when she ducked to
enter his room. She dropped down to her
hands and knees in the center of his pallet
and glanced at him over her shoulder. He
was kneeling just inside the door,
struggling to remove his clothes.
“I want you to taste me again,” she
told him, spreading her knees apart so he
could see her as well as smell her. He
didn’t refuse, just as she had known he
wouldn’t. She knew what excited him,
almost as well as he understood how to
push her over the edge. Naked now, he
kicked the door partially shut and crawled
up behind her, inhaling deeply before his
tongue found her flesh.
“Touch me too, Nash,” she urged,
wriggling with delight.
He never disappointed her. Within
minutes, he had her gasping with
excitement.
“I want you inside of me.”
She sighed with frustration, but did not
press him further. She moved away from
him instead and lay down on the soft
pallet. She opened her arms and beckoned
him closer. He moved to cover her body
with his. Resting on his elbows, he gazed
down at her in the dim light coming from
the partially open door. She squirmed
beneath him until he rested between her
thighs. The beckoning warmth at the
juncture of her thighs pressed against him.
He sucked a breath between his teeth.
“Are you trying to drive me insane?”
he asked.
She wriggled her hips, rubbing her
moist flesh against the tip of his swollen
cock. He gasped, his eyes drifting closed
in bliss.
“Is it working?”
“Not at all.”
She chuckled. He shifted and she
pressed forward at the same instant. When
he dipped inside of her slightly, he drew a
sharp breath. His eyes flipped open and he
looked down at her for her reaction. There
was no expression of pain on her face,
only bliss. When she arched her back and
drew him deeper inside, he knew he’d
lost. How could he refuse this glorious
gift?
She
was
both
excited
and
accommodating. Still, he had to proceed
slowly. He took possession of her body a
small increment at a time, overwhelmed
by the pleasure of burying himself within
her at long last. He wasn’t aware of her
stillness until her pained gasp alerted him
to his worst fear.
“I’m hurting you,” he said, although he
seemed unable to stop himself from easing
even deeper into her body.
“It’s not bad,” she gasped. “You are
bigger…than I…ow.”
He stopped moving, concentrating on
not driving himself mindlessly deeper. He
couldn’t stop now. He had to possess her.
“I’ll pull out,” he said, trying to convince
himself it was possible.
“I’m
okay.
Really,”
she
said
breathlessly. “I just need a moment
to…ow.” He had inched forward again
and she couldn’t deny she was hurting.
She sucked a pained breath through her
teeth, her thighs quivering as she forced
herself to remain stationary and not pull
away. He was already half way inside of
her. Surely, she could bear the stinging
pain a little longer. She had been the one
who wanted to take it this far.
He slowly retreated from her body.
His groin protested, but he couldn’t allow
himself to hurt her further. He moved
down her body to assess the damage he’d
done to her delicate tissue.
“You’re bleeding,” he told her.
“It was my first time.”
He was quiet for a moment as he
considered her words. “Will you only
bleed the first time?”
“That’s what I’ve been told,” she said.
She felt like a failure. She’d finally
convinced him to fully claim her body and
then she had balked at a little pain. It
hadn’t even been that bad.
His tongue moved to soothe the
remains of her tattered virginity. The pain
was gone in an instant and was soon
replaced by the familiar, gnawing need.
He kissed his way up her body and settled
between her thighs again, gazing down at
her in the semi-darkness.
“I know it is incredibly selfish of me,”
he said, “but I have to try again. I think the
damage to your body has been done, so it
shouldn’t hurt so much this time. I tended
your wounds. Are you in any pain right
now?”
She shook her head, but her heart gave
a little thump of anxiety.
“I love you,” he told her and guided
himself into her body once more.
He was right. It didn’t hurt at all this