The Ranger (Highland Guard #3)(95)

But then he kissed her and proved that she was wrong.

Anna felt a sharp pinch as he entered her and wanted to cry out in pain. But she could see him struggling and bit it back, knowing how badly he was trying not to hurt her. It wasn’t his fault God had made him so ... oversized. It must make things terribly uncomfortable—

Wait. He was distracting her with his kiss, but she thought she’d felt ...

There it was again. A twinge. A twinge that felt nice. Very nice. In fact, it felt amazing. Her body had softened around him and the pain had subsided. Now she could feel him. Hot and hard, filling her in a way that she’d never imagined.

And then he started to move. Slowly at first. Sinking in and out in long, smooth strokes.

She gasped as each thrust reverberated through her body. It felt as though he were claiming her. Possessing her in the most primitive way possible.

It felt incredible. She had to move with him, lifting her hips to meet his thrusts, taking him deeper. Harder. Then faster.

She clutched his shoulders, drawing him closer. Wanting to feel his weight on top of her. Their bodies seemed fused together. Skin to skin. It was so hot. Her body so achingly heavy.

Passion gripped her in its shimmery hold. Sensations fired inside her. Building. Coiling. Concentrating in that most feminine part of her. He felt it, too. He was like steel under her fingertips, his muscles tense and flared, ready to explode.

But it was the look in his eyes that sent her over the edge. Intense. Penetrating. Dark with not just desire but also with emotion. Reflected in those golden-amber depths, she saw the love that burned in her own heart.

He loved her. He might not realize it yet, but she did.

He held her to him, not letting her turn away as he thrust into her again, burying himself as deep as he could go, and held her there.

Something powerful and magical passed between them. A connection unlike anything she’d ever imagined.

Her breath caught high in her chest as sensation took hold. For one moment everything seemed to stop. Her body held at the very peak of ecstasy, balanced on the heavenly precipice.

She let out a sharp cry as the first spasm of release sent her careening over, shattering into mindless oblivion.

“That’s it, love, come for me.” He started to move again, pounding into her with fierce abandon. “Oh God. You feel so good. I can’t ...”

With a deep groan of satisfaction that seemed ripped from his soul, he drove into her one last time. His body stiffened, then shuddered as his release caught the tiding wave of her own. His face was fierce and beautiful, primitive in its passion.

When the last sensation had flickered to an end, he collapsed on top of her, their bodies still joined. All she could hear was the heavy sound of their breathing and the fierce pounding of their hearts.

She wished she could stay like this forever, but too soon he rolled off her, breaking the connection.

Cool air swept over her flushed, damp skin, making it prickle with gooseflesh. She was conscious of her nakedness but too spent to move. Her limbs were like jelly. But she had no cause for embarrassment; Arthur wasn’t looking at her.

He stared up at the ceiling, still breathing unevenly but ominously quiet.

Shouldn’t he be saying something?

She bit her lip, wondering what he was thinking. It had seemed wonderful to her, but what if—she felt a pang—she’d disappointed him?

At last he turned his head to the side to look at her. Lifting his hand to her face, he gently swept the hair back from her face. Seeing her uncertainty, he smiled—a lopsided, boyish smile that wrapped right around her heart and would never let go. She knew she would never forget how he looked at this moment.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say. I’ve never ... I’ve never felt anything like that.”

She beamed back at him, unable to hide her joy. “Really? I didn’t have anything to compare it with, but I thought it was wonderful.”

“Aye, it was.” He bent down and gave her a tender kiss. But when he lifted his head to look at her again, his gaze had clouded. “I’ll never regret what just happened, Anna, but for your sake I wish it hadn’t.”

Anna felt a flicker of unease, hearing the unmistakable air of warning, but she pushed it aside, refusing to let anything cloud the moment.

Instinctively, she tucked herself against him, nestling under his arm and resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad it did,” she said.

Now they were bound together and nothing could break them apart.

Arthur gazed down at the tiny, naked woman snuggled in his arms and felt his heart catch. What they’d just shared had been unlike anything he’d ever experienced. He’d had more than his fair share of women, but swiving for him had always been about sating lust. He’d see to a woman’s pleasure and she would see to his with one goal in mind—release. Once accomplished, that was the end of it. He didn’t linger. And he sure as hell didn’t want to hold her in his arms and wish that they could stay like this forever.

Compared to what had just happened with Anna, what had come before seemed almost mechanical—as if he’d just been going through the motions to get the prize.

But with Anna, the prize had been the experience itself. The pleasure was in the exploration, in the discovery, and in the details. It was in the way she responded to his touch—the arch of her back, the press of her hips, and the little sounds that came from her lips. It was the look in her eyes when he slid into her, the flush that spread over her cheeks as she neared her release, and the way her head fell back and lips parted when she finally found it.