“I said nothing about being tired. Only that I was ready to go to bed. With you. Sleep, however, is not on the agenda. At least not right away. But later?” He gave her a lazy smile, his eyes gleaming with purpose. “Yeah.”
A delicate shiver danced over her skin as she let him pull her to her feet. She slid against his body, nestling herself under his arm. His strength vibrated against her, warm and reassuring. She let out a contented sigh as he turned her toward his bedroom.
“Not nervous, are you?” he asked when they entered the room. Had he sensed her hesitation? Just that tiny bit of nerves quaking over her?
He closed the door silently behind them, providing a barrier between them and the rest of the world.
She shook her head and then nodded before shaking it once more.
He chuckled. “Decisive tonight, aren’t you?”
“This is new to me,” she blurted.
His smile turned as warm as his eyes and he pulled her around so they were facing each other, his head lowered, his fingers tipping her chin up to meet his gaze.
“I know it is, honey. I’m not likely to forget what you gave me last night. That I was your first lover. It’s a gift I’ll treasure forever.”
She blushed, her cheeks going warm beneath the heat of his gaze.
“Are you tender today?” he asked gently.
Her cheeks flamed with heat even more, and she ducked her head, pulling from his grasp.
He laughed softly and nudged her chin back up with a tender touch.
“I don’t ask to embarrass you. I just want to know if you’re up for what I have planned.”
She smiled, suddenly shy as his thoughts were broadcast in his smoldering stare.
“I’ll suffer through it.”
“Ah, such a grand sacrifice,” he said, amusement twinkling in his green eyes. “I will endeavor to not make you suffer too badly.”
“Oh, I’m sure you will,” she said breathlessly.
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.