After the Storm (KGI #8)(89)

Then his gaze grew more serious. “Are you too tender, sweetheart? There are other ways of pleasuring you that doesn’t require me to penetrate you.”

Gah, but she had to stop this endless blushing every time they spoke intimately. But he seemed delighted with her shyness, his smile as gentle as his words.

“I’m okay, Donovan. Truly. And if it hurts too much, we can stop, can’t we?”

“Absolutely. I’ll not do anything that hurts you, Eve. Ever.”

As he said the last, he moved in close, his body heat wrapping her in its soft cocoon. He trailed a finger down her cheek, caressing, sending shivers down her spine. Just his touch. Something as simple as the slight touch of his fingertips and she was shaking with need. Would it always be so? Would she always need him, desire him as she did in this very moment?

Perhaps it would only heighten with time. If it did, then she certainly had much to look forward to. And then she realized that for the first time she was actually thinking of the future in optimistic terms. As if she didn’t have the very real fear of Walt and the police and her reality of being a wanted criminal.

Donovan did that for her. He gave her hope. He gave her the confidence that her future was not fixed. It was in fact undecided. It could be what she wanted it to be. And she wanted her future to be with Donovan.

A sigh escaped and he drew away, staring intently into her eyes.

“What are you thinking, honey?”

She smiled, allowing her happiness to spill onto her features. “The future.”

“Ah, happy thoughts then, I hope?”

“The very best,” she whispered.

His eyes gleamed in satisfaction. “Then how about we make those thoughts even happier? I want to undress you. I want to make love to you again, Eve. And tonight I want to take it nice and slow. As I should have last night. Let me make it up to you, honey. Let me give you the experience I should have given you last night.”

“Oh, Donovan,” she breathed out. “Don’t you know? Last night was perfect. The most perfect night of my life. You can’t make it any better. It’s not possible. It’s only your first time once, and my first time was more than I could have possibly ever imagined.”

Her eyes narrowed and she glanced up at him in question.

“Tell me you haven’t worried about this all day.”

To her surprise he looked slightly embarrassed and discomfort registered in his eyes.

“It may have occurred to me a few times,” he muttered.

She laughed. “Good Lord, Donovan. You’ve got to stop with the virgin guilt. You didn’t hurt me. I quite enjoyed our lovemaking. And if you think you’re getting out of it tonight, you’ve got another think coming.”

He relaxed, a charming grin curving his mouth upward. “Far be it for me to deny my lady anything.”

“Good,” she said huskily. “Now if we’ve gotten that out of the way, there is the matter of us both still being dressed. Think you can do something about that?”

“Last one naked is a rotten egg,” he challenged.

“That’s not fair,” she sputtered as he started ripping at his shirt. “Women have far more to take off than men!”

“Less talking, more undressing,” he said as he began peeling his jeans down his thick legs.

She hastily tore her shirt over her head, fumbling with her bra straps even as she reached for the fly of her jeans. She hadn’t even stepped from the confines of the denim before he was standing in front of her, naked, arms folded over his chest in mock impatience.

She shook her head. “I guess you’ll have to help me.”

He gave an exaggerated sigh. “I guess I can make that sacrifice.”

She rolled her eyes as he turned her to unhook her bra. But there was no impatience to his movements. His fingers worked slowly as he removed her bra, pulling it forward to slide the straps the rest of the way down her arms. Then he turned her back, reaching for her hands so she could step the rest of the way from the one leg of the jeans still remaining around her ankle. Then he reverently pulled her panties down and let the tiny scrap fall to the floor.

“That’s better.” His gaze raked up and down her naked body. “Much, much better,” he murmured as he bent his head to kiss her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in close as their mouths melted together. She wasn’t sure who sighed. Maybe they both did. But there was a harsh exchange of breath. She could taste him on her tongue. Inhaled his scent, holding and savoring it before finally letting it go for the briefest of moments before inhaling it all over again.

He backed her slowly toward the bed, arms wrapped as solidly around her as hers were wrapped around him. It was almost like dancing. A slow, decadent, seductive thrill. Moving sensuously, unhurried, as if they had all the time in the world.

She didn’t want slow and unhurried. She wanted him with a ferocity that until now had been completely alien to her. Never had she felt such raging want. Now that her sexuality had been awakened, now that she’d been shown how very good it could be. Unspoiled by memories of Walt’s depravity. She savored the coil of desire that whispered through her body, becoming more urgent with each passing second.

He started to ease her onto the bed, but she pulled him with her, surprising him with her strength as he tumbled down on top of her.