Heart and Home(24)

But what could be more important than holding Jane? Her hands were  resting lightly on his ribs, and he could feel her trembling. He didn't  want her to be afraid. He tried to wrap his arms around her, but,  sitting as they were, it was a little awkward. He brought his lips to  hers again and lowered her gently to the floor.

The confusion Jane felt when Adam first leaned toward her was quickly  replaced with something she had no name for. She had been aware of her  attraction to Adam for some time, had fought the desire to be near him,  to hear his voice, to savor the slightest accidental touch.

She wasn't fighting now. She knew she should be. But this was the first  thing that had felt right in a long time. And he was so gentle, achingly  gentle. She found her hands grasping the fabric of his shirt.

"Shh," he whispered, making her realize that she had moaned aloud. "I  want to show you how I feel. I don't know how to tell you. Let me show  you."

His lips hovered above hers as he spoke, then settled over them again,  eliciting another moan. This kiss was stronger, more demanding, driving  the last objections from her mind.

His fingers alternated between stroking her burning skin and unfastening  her buttons. She was much more aware of the former than the latter.  Each touch produced a desire to touch him as well.

He rose above her to balance on his knees. She was afraid it was over,  that he had had enough. She followed him up, ready to plead for one more  kiss. Before she could speak his lips found her willing mouth, and she  read an urgency she had missed before. It spoke to something deep inside  her.

She was more ready than ever to plead with him to stay when she heard a  collar button skitter across the wood floor. She took that as a good  sign and helped him with the buttons on his shirt. It was soon tossed  aside, followed by an undershirt, leaving a broad expanse of bare chest  and lean ribs for Jane's eager touch.

While she explored the texture of taut flesh and the sprinkling of fine  hair, he went to work on the bodice of her dress. Though he had hurried  with his own shirt, he seemed to take an excruciating amount of time  with hers. With each button he teased the skin beneath it or dipped his  fingers under the lace of her chemise. By the time he pulled the hem  free of the waistband of her skirt, she was breathless.                       
       
           



       

How odd that she didn't feel embarrassed, sitting before him in her  undergarments. He didn't seem to be disappointed, but rather looked at  her most admiringly.

Had he seen Doreena like this? Did Jane really want to know if he had?

His eyes locked with hers and all other thoughts fled. She felt his warm  fingers trail down her throat and slip slowly beneath her chemise. His  eyes never left hers, watching, perhaps, for her reaction.

She had no thought of stopping him, even when his hand encircled a  breast and gently lifted it free of the lace barrier. She had had no  idea how sensitive her skin could be, how exciting it was to feel her  nipple harden under his palm.

She couldn't stand the intensity of his eyes any longer and closed hers.  At once she felt dizzy, as if she were floating, then realized he had  lowered her back to the floor.

While her fingers twined in his hair, he spread kisses on all her newly  exposed skin, sending ripples of sensations through her entire body. It  was these sensations, she was sure, that prevented her from realizing  what his hands were doing until she felt his fingers against bare skin  on her upper thigh. Her skirt was bunched at her waist and her pantalets  were on their way to her knees. Well, more likely her ankles.

This was exactly what her grandmother had warned her against. This was the seduction that would ruin her.

Even as the thought came she shut it out. This was Adam. This was the  man she loved. He had said he wanted to show her how he felt. She wanted  to show him, too. With the slightest shift of her hips she helped the  pantalets on their way.

He raised his head and looked down into her eyes as if he were surprised  at the decision she had just made. "Ah, Jane," he murmured. "Tell me  you want this."

A gentle tug at her knee separated her legs, and he moved to kneel  between them. She felt both frightened and frustrated. She was breathing  too hard to answer him.

"Tell me," he persisted. "Tell me I'm not taking advantage of you. Tell me you want this as much as I do."

"Adam," she moaned.

He leaned over her, planting a tender kiss on her lips. "Please, tell me."

"I want this," she breathed. "I want to love you."

He sealed her declaration with a fiery kiss that sent her senses  spinning. By the time she recovered enough to realize he had pulled  away, he had his pants nearly undone.

The lamp on the desk cast his face in a warm, soft light and left the  rest of his body in shadow. Jane got only a glimpse of his manhood  before he was braced above her again.

"Do you trust me, Jane?" he whispered between kisses.

"Yes," she whispered back, and marveled that it was true.

"I don't want to hurt you. Tell me if I hurt you."

This was a new aspect she hadn't considered. She tensed, but his kisses  quickly banished any thought of pain from her mind. Desire that had  seemed to tingle in every part of her body began to center itself  between her legs, causing her to arch toward the warm body that pressed  against her.

Perhaps he sensed her urgency because the next moment he let his member  brush against her, then slowly eased inside of her. The sensation was  too exquisite. Jane moaned, but what passed her lips was Adam's name.

"Jane," he breathed.

With one swift movement, he entered her, tearing the barrier and making her cry out at the sharp, unexpected pain.

"I'm sorry," he soothed near her ear. "Please, forgive me. I didn't want to hurt you. It'll pass soon."

He kissed her cheek, and she knew he was kissing away her tears. He was  right, though-already the pain was fading and the earlier desire was  returning full force.

He murmured against her cheek, "I'll stop if you want, Jane."

"No," she whispered, clinging to him. She found it impossible to keep  from moving against him, under him, around him. They were one. The  realization filled her with awe.

In a moment, all thought was overshadowed by the feelings that built  inside her. His breathing quickened to match hers and she realized he  was feeling the same things she was. She clung to him and called his  name as they went over the brink together.

The world seemed to hang suspended for several minutes. Jane came back  to the present when Adam rolled off her. Her clothes were a tangle  around her. She started to sit up to bring them somewhat aright when he  caught her and brought her up against his side. "Don't go anywhere just  yet."                       
       
           



       

She snuggled against him, content to do nothing more.

"I can't believe we did that," he murmured.

"Regrets already?" she asked, feeling a pain much sharper than she had felt moments earlier.

"Not regrets, Jane," he said. "I just want you to know I didn't plan this."

"Neither did I," she said, feeling a little defensive, but uncertain why.

"I know." He found her hand and twined his fingers with hers. "I only meant to talk to you. But it'll keep until morning."

Morning, she thought, after a night spent in his arms. She couldn't  possibly sleep like this. But moments after she thought it, she found  herself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Adam shook Jane out of a deep sleep. "It'll be light soon," he said softly.

"What?" Jane started to push herself off her bed to see who was in her  room, then realized she wasn't in her room. A naked Adam was lying on  his back looking up at her with a seductive smile on his face. She  quickly adjusted her chemise to cover herself more effectively.

"Much as I hate to let you go, you probably should get back to the boardinghouse."

"Yes." She tried to shake the sleep out of her brain.

"We'll be along later for breakfast."

"We?"

He grinned at her then, evidently enjoying her confusion. "Peggy and I."

"Peggy!" Only yesterday Jane had vowed to work twice as hard to prove to  the placing board that she could support Peggy. Here she was in Adam's  front room, her clothes in shambles and her brain too foggy to think of  anything except the man beside her. She had to get away from him so she  could think. "Yes, bring her over for breakfast."

She found her bodice and slipped it on, her fingers shaking as she  worked the tiny buttons. Her pantalets had also been tossed aside but  she was too mortified to do anything but wad them up and clutch them to  her side.