Luke 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 it killed him, he was going to see that Haley found their lovemaking at the very least pleasant and if he 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 tightened 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