by Lucy Monroe
"I'm assuming you didn't have sex with the wannabe pitcher."
He watched with interest as she turned pink. "No."
"So, what exactly does he have to do with the fact we're in the living room instead of the bedroom on our wedding night?"
She grimaced. "I knew I'd get this wrong. I'm no good at relationships, Alex. You must have figured that out by now. Bettina isn't just my closest friend, she's almost my only long-term friend. I'm much more comfortable with my clients than acquaintances."
"I'm your friend, too, and I'd say you're doing just fine in our relationship." He would never have guessed a woman as warm and generous as she was would have such insecurities about how she related to others. Didn't she see the way the people around her adored her?
Hell, even Marcus felt protective toward her. He'd made his concerns for her feelings known during their last racquetball session and even in a small aside after the wedding.
She made an apologetic face. "That's why we're here in the living room instead of that incredibly romantic oasis you made of the bedroom, right?"
So his attempts at romance had not been a complete bust. "I thought you were leading up to that."
"I was. I am. The thing is, I was hesitant to date for a while after that fiasco my sophomore year. Making lasting friendships has always been hard for me, and boyfriends only added another dimension to my failures. In fact, I didn't start seeing anyone again until I was a junior in college."
"Let me guess. He wanted your dad to get him a shot at the first string football offensive team?" he teased, hoping to lighten the look of seriousness settling over her features.
It worked. A smile that actually reached her eyes lit her face and she relaxed slightly against him. "No, but you're close. He wanted an internship with the marketing department in my dad's company. The one and only time we had sex, he told me it wasn't worth going to bed with a—"
He wouldn't let her finish. "He's the one that said you were frigid and untalented at sex?"
She nodded, her teeth chewing mercilessly at her tender lower lip.
"And you believed him?"
She glared at him. "Yes, I believed him. I thought he loved me. He didn't. I felt stupid and I felt like a failure at intimacy."
"Oh yeah, you're a real failure," he said, as he pushed the pretty lace robe off her shoulders and his body instantly responded to the heated thoughts her confession had evoked.
He looked forward to showing her just how much of a nonfailure she was at making love. By morning she'd think she'd earned a degree in it. "Sweetheart, you make me so hot, I could melt rock."
Her breath hitched and she smiled, albeit a bit tremulously.
He slid his forefingers under the thin straps of her silk gown. "Do you trust me?" he asked, knowing her answer meant more to him than he would have believed possible.
She nodded and he smiled his approval for her reply as he lifted the straps and slid them over her shoulders and down, down, down until her gown caught momentarily at her hips before slithering to pool at her feet. He cupped her naked breasts with both hands. They felt so good, so soft. He kneaded them, allowing his thumbs to brush across her nipples again and again until they were hard, swollen, and red from her excitement
Her head tipped back and she moaned.
"Do you like that baby?"
"Yes, Alex. I like it too much." Her eyes closed.
This is how he wanted her: warm, willing, and uninhibited in her passion, like she'd been before. Moving forward until he could rock her lower body with his, he focused on giving her pleasure. Her hands dug into his shoulders as she mimicked his rocking motion. The feel of her soft curls through the silk of his boxers pushed at his control.
Sliding to his knees in front of her, he inhaled the sexy scent of her arousal.
She gasped. "Alex, what are you doing?"
He smiled as he knelt on the floor between her thighs. "Showing you just how undesirable I find you."
Then he did one of the things he'd been fantasizing about all week. He tasted her. Isabel's hands gripped his hair. "Stop. Alex. You can't do this. I'm standing up. The lights are on. Alex…"
Her protests ended in a moan and the hands that had been pulling his hair, started pushing him closer. He brought up one hand and caressed her clitoris with his thumb while he kissed her pouty, swollen lips. He would have congratulated himself that she'd gone nuclear so quickly, but he was too busy concentrating on not losing it before he was inside her. Her thighs tightened on either side of his head in a scissor hold. Her body convulsed and she screamed. His name.
She went limp, her thighs spreading farther apart in absolute feminine surrender as she fell forward over his shoulder. He stood up, catching her against him. "You ready to go upstairs now?"
She nodded against his chest. Cradling her in his arms, he started from the room. Her furry high heel slippers clattered to the hardwood floor, leaving her completely naked for the first time that night.
Chapter 13
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When they reached the bedroom, Alex went straight for the bed and dropped her onto it. Isabel looked at the extinguished candles with regret. Maybe they could make love by candlelight another night.
She watched in unashamed fascination as he slipped out of his silk boxers. He was fully, magnificently aroused. She told herself that he probably wasn't that big. It was just that she hadn't seen a lot of naked men. She wasn't going to go all hysterical on him again. She'd read books. She wasn't a total novice. Of course he was going to fit.
Men and women had been doing this for centuries. No way was Alex a virgin, which meant he'd fit before. The woman had probably been an Amazon. Almost choking on the disturbing thought, Isabel tried breathing deeply and reminding herself she had enough to worry about without hyperventilating over the size of Alex's erection.
Besides, he'd make it work. Any man who could do what he'd done to her downstairs would have no worries when it came to actually making love. As he turned away from the bed, her eyes misted happily when she realized he intended to relight the candles. He turned the stereo back on, too.
"You said you weren't any good at romance."
Incredibly, he looked uncomfortable. "I'm not, but you said you liked what I did earlier."
"I did. I do."
He nodded but didn't join her on the bed.
"Alex?" She didn't think it was a good idea to give her a lot of time to think about what was to come.
"You're so beautiful, sweetheart. I'd stand here and look at you all night if I wasn't hurting so bad to be inside you."
The words left her speechless as he finally joined her on the bed, lying down next to her with that magnificent hardness pressed against her thigh. It felt big, too. He caressed her body in one long stroke from her neck to her knees. She sighed with enjoyment as delight zinged along her nerve endings.
She wanted to make love.
He settled his mouth over hers with another one of those possessing, making-her-his kisses. She loved the way his lips moved and his tongue teased hers. He tasted like brandy, a surprisingly erotic flavor. She wanted to push him onto his back and have her way with him. She'd seen a woman do that in a movie once and it had looked very sensual.
He deepened the kiss while taking her nipple between his thumb and forefinger and squeezing. She almost stopped breathing it felt so good, so right. She had never considered the difference it would make to truly belong to Alex when he touched her, but it was overwhelming. The other night he had brought her more pleasure than she thought possible. Now, there was an added element to the pleasure. It felt like tenderness, permanence, and possession all rolled into one.
She moaned and reached down to touch him. The moment her fingers closed around his hardness, he stopped moving. So did she. Her fingertips barely connected and he didn't feel like she had expected. The skin was soft, like really fine velvet, drawn tight over what felt like a rock-solid muscle. Except that she knew it wasn't muscle but rather
blood-engorged tissues. Her mind knew that, but her hand felt like it had locked around a heated pipe.
Something else unexpected was how much it excited her to hold him like this. She looked up at his face, wanting to know if he liked her touching him as much as she did. His features were locked in a grimace and she snatched her hand away.
"I'm sorry."
"So am I. Put it back, Isabel. Touch me again." He didn't wait for her to comply, but reached down and grabbed her wrist, moving her hand into contact with his hardened flesh again. "Hold it, baby. Put your hand around it like before."
She uncurled her fingers and did as he said. An almighty groan was her reward. He exerted slight pressure until her hand moved up and down the length of his heated skin. She liked that. She liked it a lot. So did he. He moaned and pushed himself into her hand, lifting his pelvis off the bed.
He let her do it for only a few strokes before pulling her hand away. "I want to come inside you this time."
This time? That sounded promising.
He slipped his hand between her thighs, pushing his forefinger into the wet heat there. She bucked against that finger, wanting more of it, wanting all of him. She closed her eyes in bliss as the pleasure between her legs began to radiate outward. She felt his lips close over her nipple. He started to suckle her, and she felt herself swelling around the finger he'd pressed inside her.
He caressed her clitoris with his thumb in a beguiling circular motion and slipped a second finger inside her. "Damn, baby. You're tighter than a fist." He withdrew his fingers and then slid them in again. He repeated this motion over and over again, all the while caressing her pleasure spot with his thumb.
The sensation of being on the edge of a precipice came back, only this time she wanted her husband inside her when she went over. "Alex, please."
He knew just what she was asking for, coming over her with a burst of speed and masculine aggression. "Are you ready for me, honey?"
She spread her legs in unmistakable invitation. "Yes."
He teased her with the broad tip of his penis. "Are you sure?"
She tried to arch up under him. "Yes."
"Then bend your legs for me, sweetheart."
"Wait."
He stared down at her, his eyes reflecting frustrated desire before he closed them. He seemed to count to ten and then he opened them again. "Is something wrong?"
She took a deep breath. The words Alex had uttered downstairs were still shifting through her mind. "I'm still not on the pill."
His look grew puzzled. "Why would you be? The point of this marriage is to make babies, isn't it?"
Even now, so close to making love, he sounded slightly bothered by that assertion.
She smiled, her love reaching out to wrap around him even if he didn't know it. "You can use a condom if you like. I don't mind waiting a while to have children."
"How long?" he asked, his eyes unreadable.
"Until we're both ready."
"And if I'm not ready a year from now?"
"Then we'll wait." She may have started off this crazy business with her desire for a baby, but along the way she'd fallen in love, and Alex had become of primary importance to her. She couldn't stand his having even a lingering doubt that she was forcing herself to make love to him in order to get pregnant.
His smile warmed her insides. "Bend your legs for me."
Her insides melted at the heated promise in his voice and she obeyed him. He slid an inch inside of her. "I don't want anything between us tonight, Isabel. I've never made love with the conscious thought a baby could be the result, but I like it, sweetheart. I like it a lot."
He had stopped and was letting her adjust to his initial intrusion. He pushed forward a little more only when her inner muscles had relaxed slightly. She felt herself stretching to accommodate him, but she didn't want this slow wooing. She wanted all of him. The knowledge that he wanted to give her a baby was the strongest aphrodisiac she could ever have imagined.
"Stop playing with me, Alex, and do it," she demanded.
He shook his head. "No, baby, you might as well be a virgin, you're so tight. If I took you like you want me to, it would hurt, and I'm not going to do anything to mess up your memory of our wedding night."
As his hard flesh pushed farther inside on the next thrust, she had to accede to the wisdom of his view. Even slow and easy was becoming slightly uncomfortable. She felt like she was stretched to the limit, and he wasn't even all of the way inside yet. She moaned and shifted under him, trying to find a more comfortable position and succeeded only in forcing his penis farther inside—stretching unused, blood-engorged tissues to the point of pain.
Tears stung her eyes and she bit her lip to keep from crying out, but Alex knew. He rained kisses all over her face while keeping the lower half of their bodies completely still. "Shh, baby. Let me get inside you and everything will be all right. Just don't move again."
She shook her head from side to side on the pillow. She wasn't moving. She couldn't. She was pinned to the bed by the overwhelming male flesh in and around her. He kept up the slow rocking motion until her body suddenly relaxed and adjusted to his invasion, allowing his entire length to settle inside her.
The feelings of pleasure that had not quite abated, even with the discomfort, started to grow. "Alex?"
"Yes?" There was sweat on his brow and his muscles were taut from the effort he'd made to make their first joining special.
"I think you can move now."
He thanked God out loud and then did just that, but only one strong, slow stroke. Pleasure poured through her and she begged him to move more. He did, but he kept the pace slow and it was driving her mad.
She tried to buck against him. "Faster, Alex."
Then he was moving just like she wanted, fast and deep. Her sensitive inner flesh clasped greedily around him and the feeling of pleasure spiraled until it exploded inside her. She convulsed around Alex again and again. "I love you, Alex. I love you!"
His eyes opened and he looked at her with his fathomless dark gaze. Then his entire body went stiff. He shuddered and came inside her for the first time.
A long while later, he rolled off of her and got up to blow out the candles. He grumbled about how unromantic it was to have to leave a warm bed to do so, and she smiled. How could she help it? The man was none too steady on his feet and she'd done that to him. When he got back into bed, she scooted into his arms with brazen speed. He sighed and cuddled her close.
"I guess I'm not such a dud in this department after all," she said, feeling not the least bit guilty over the smugness in her voice.
She was too happy that she hadn't messed it up to feel guilty.
"If you were any more of a firecracker, I'd have to get a permit for TNT to keep you in the house."
She grinned against the musky warmth of his chest. "If I'm a firecracker, you're the match that lit the fuse."
Suddenly the lazy, satiated male who had been cuddling her with sleepy relaxation was looming over her, all dominant masculinity and vibrating sexuality. "Unlike a match, baby, I never burn out."
She swallowed a startled gasp as his mouth swooped down on hers before he spent the rest of the night proving his arrogant claim.
* * *
Isabel woke up, her nose wrinkling with appreciation for the smell of bacon and coffee wafting in through the open bedroom door. She stretched, letting her legs slide luxuriously against the sheets on Alex's … their bed. Then she sat up and winced. Alex took his challenges seriously and he'd been seriously intent on proving the steady heat of his fire to her last night.
Her inner thigh muscles ached from their strenuous workout while places she'd been unaware of for most of her life were making themselves known. A long hot bath would be just the thing. She wondered if she could convince Alex to join her.
She smiled at the thought, while looking around her new bedroom. Alex's favorite color must be gray. A little lavender and silver to go with the solid oak fur
niture and pewter-colored comforter should soften the masculine décor in here enough to make her feel comfortable. Feeling domestic and content at the thought, she slipped out of bed.
The smells from downstairs were growing more tempting by the minute, so instead of running a bath, she pulled a T-shirt from Alex's drawer and slipped it over her head before padding downstairs and into the kitchen. Alex stood at the stove wearing a pair of sweats riding low on his hips and nothing else. She couldn't decide if she was hungrier for food or for him. He opened the oven and pulled out biscuits, and she decided her carnal nature could wait.
"Those smell heavenly."
He laid the pan on the tile counter and turned around to face her. His look traveled over her, stopping briefly on her bare legs and then rising to her face. "Good morning, honey."
"Good morning."
"You're wearing my shirt."
"I didn't think to pack a robe of any substance. I didn't think you'd mind."
He smiled, the possessive look she'd noticed last night in his eyes once again in evidence. "I don't."
She bit her bottom lip. Should she offer to help him with breakfast? Should she kiss him good morning? How did a bride behave the morning after her wedding night, especially after the strange one she'd had?
"Come here." It was gently spoken but a command nevertheless.
She didn't hesitate. When she got within reach, Alex pulled her into his arms and kissed her. His mouth was warm and tasted like coffee. She melted against him. When he stopped kissing her, she leaned her cheek against his bare chest.
Somehow, this touching seemed every bit as intimate as what they had done last night.
"I like having a wife." The complacent way he spoke nearly made her laugh, but she couldn't quite work up the amusement.
"I like having a husband, too," she admitted.
His hands traveled down her back. "Isabel?"
"Hmmm?" This felt so nice. She could stand here in Alex's arms all morning.
"Are you really, really hungry?"
At the unmistakable intent in his voice, she shivered. "That depends on what you're referring to, food or you."
