Hidden Summit (Virgin River #17)(29)

“Oh, God, it’s time....” she nearly cried, pushing against him.

“You’re killing me,” he told her. “Almost time…”

“Harder,” she asked in a whimper. She couldn’t believe it was her! She’d never cried out for what she wanted before! “Faster!”

And he laughed deep in his throat. “Almost time,” he said, slowly and deeply invading, one long stroke at a time, torturing her.

She moaned and rose against him. Her knees bent, her heels dug into the bed, she whimpered and moaned again and again. A cry came from her, and he must have known that her orgasm was on him; his fingers found her most erogenous spot, his lips bruised hers in a hard, possessive kiss, and he pounded himself into her. Deeper and faster. And she broke apart, exploding all over him. He growled low and with appreciation. And then he said it. “God…Leslie…” It went on forever, the pleasure, the whimpering and growling, and she wasn’t quite done when he suddenly let go of her mouth, moved his lips to her nipple, and he grabbed her h*ps to plunge himself deep inside of her, holding her still but for his powerful throbbing. He groaned in ecstasy. She wasn’t sure where her orgasm ended and his began, and it was beyond anything she’d ever experienced before. Then he grabbed her chin in one big calloused hand, tilted her mouth toward his and took her mouth with almost the same force.

She thought it was a wonder she didn’t faint.

Seven

She felt herself smiling and yet on the verge of tears. He held the bulk of his weight off her, his eyes closed. Then his features slowly relaxed, and he kissed her several times, on the lips, the cheeks, the neck, chin, forehead. She reached up to his thick eyebrows with her fingertips and smoothed them, and he opened his eyes.

He took a deep breath. “That was the most amazing…”

“Oh, my God,” she said. “I had sex on the first date!”

“You and I had very good sex on the first date,” he said with a laugh. Then he frowned again and wiped a thumb along her temple. “Hey, forget what your mother said. It’s not a bad thing! We’ve been over this—it wasn’t really a first date! Are you crying?”

“Sorry… I might be a little emotional or something....”

“Leslie, was I rough? Did I hurt you?”

She shook her head. “You were wonderful. I think I might be a little crazy,” she said. “I can’t believe I was worried. I was so worried....” She gave a little hiccup of emotion.

“Because it was so long since the last time?” he asked.

“More than that,” she said. “Oh, Conner, you just can’t imagine the kinds of things I’ve believed about myself. That I wasn’t much of a lover, for one thing…”

“You can’t be serious. You put me on another planet....”

She laughed through a tear. “I’m just overthinking things again.” She put the palm of her hand against his cheek.

“Tell me,” he insisted.

“I’ve been told I…” She took a breath. “That I could be more interesting.”

“That’s ridiculous,” he said. “Whoever said that probably needed practice.”

“I’ve always wondered…you know…if that was one of the reasons…”

“That he strayed? That he left?” he asked.

She gave a weak little nod.

He laughed in spite of himself. “You’re wonderful, Leslie, you can trust me on this. You make love like a goddess. An angel. A very wild, wonderful angel.” He laughed again. “Jesus, what a mean way to undermine a woman’s confidence. From what I could tell, we worked together just great. Hmm?”

She let out a shaky breath. It was one of the most exciting, intense moments she’d ever had with a man, but she’d hold on to that information a little while. “Are you uncomfortable? Holding yourself up like this?”

He shook his head. “I don’t want to move. Ever.”

“Me, either. I think it’s the mustache that makes the difference.”

“Oh, we haven’t even put the mustache to work yet.” She shivered, and he laughed, a low rumbling. She put her arms around his neck to hold him and just closed her eyes, comfortable and relaxed like never before. “Do you need to fall asleep?” he asked.

“Nope. Not tired.”

“Good. I’m not tired, either,” he said. “I’d like to check and see if it can get better than perfect....”

Her eyes opened in surprise. “Really?”

“Oh, really,” he said. And then he clutched her close and rolled with her until they were on their sides, still locked together.

In the early morning, Conner pulled Leslie close and nuzzled her, kissing the back of her neck. She mewled and snuggled closer, and he splayed a big hand over her belly. He wanted her again, but he didn’t want to wear her out. They’d made love three times in the night, and while it seemed she slept, curled up against him, he didn’t sleep much. Instead, his mind was working.

She was perfect. Sweet, funny, passionate, smart. He couldn’t imagine what more a man could want. She should want a lot more than him, that was his next thought. And he was a little angry, too. He hoped it hadn’t shown, but the very idea that a man would tell her she wasn’t enough, it roared inside him with a carefully held fury. He knew who that would have been. She hadn’t been with many men. It would have been the cheating ex, the bastard. It made Conner want to mess up his face because it was becoming clearer by the hour just how much that ass**le had hurt her. And hurt her. And hurt her.