Dream Wedding(157)

He slipped one hand down and rubbed against her until she was breathing hard. She rocked her hips in rhythm with his movements and felt herself reaching for that perfect pinnacle. Then something hard probed at her. He pressed in slowly.

Cassie told herself not to stiffen. She took deep breaths and tried to go with what was happening. He filled her, inch by inch, stretching her. It wasn’t exactly painful, but there was a little discomfort. She concentrated on the unfamiliar weight of him on top of her and how safe that made her feel. She inhaled his scent and promised herself she would remember this forever.

Ryan raised his head slightly. “You feel incredible.”

His face was all harsh lines and need. His eyes opened briefly, then sank closed as he slid in deeper. He paused, flexed his hips, then looked at her again. “There’s something wrong,” he told her.

She’d been afraid of that. There was physical proof of her virginal state. He couldn’t stop now. She was close to having all she’d ever wanted. “Everything is fine,” she said and placed her hand on his hip. “Be inside of me. All the way.” When he still hesitated, she pulled him close. “I want this,” she whispered, then kissed him.

She felt his questions and his concern, even as she nibbled on his lower lip and plunged her tongue inside of his mouth.

“How the hell am I supposed to resist you?” he asked with a groan.

“You’re not.” She looked at him. “Unless you want to.”

“The only thing I want is to make love with you.”

She smiled. “We seemed to have undressed for the occasion and assumed the position.”

“That we have.”

He thrust inside with a force that made her gasp. The sharp pain faded as quickly as it had appeared. Ryan froze.

“Don’t stop,” she said. Then she raised her hips, offering herself to him.

For a second, he didn’t move. Cassie was terrified he was going to stop. She wouldn’t be able to stand that. She wanted to know. She wanted to make love with him. She wanted him to experience the same release she had.

Acting on instinct, she clenched her muscles tightly around him, then relaxed. After she repeated the action twice more, he groaned low in his throat and began moving. He withdrew only to fill her again. Her body stretched and welcomed him, the last of the discomfort faded.

“I want you,” he growled. “I want to be in you, even though I shouldn’t.”

She touched his face, his arms, then boldly reached down and cupped his rear. “It feels too right to be wrong. Make love to me, Ryan. Show me what all the fuss is about.”

“A challenge?” A faint smile tugged at his lips.

“Absolutely.”

Then the smile faded and he was kissing her—the same deep, soul-touching kiss that first changed her life. He slipped his hands under her back and hauled her closer, all the while moving in and out of her. She felt herself reaching for release again, in that strange way that had happened before, except this time it was different. This time….

He tensed in her arms. “Cassie!”

The way he said her name made her shiver with incredible delight. Her body began to convulse around his. She felt the pleasure, the rightness, then he was shuddering and kissing her and the moment was as perfect as she’d known it was meant to be.

* * *

RYAN HELD CASSIE close and prayed for inspiration. Nothing in his life had prepared him for this moment. What the hell had he done? It wasn’t only that he’d destroyed her life by causing her to break up with her boyfriend of nine years and then put her in a position where she’d had to hear about his new fiancée, but he’d just stolen her virginity. The fact that their lovemaking was the best he’d ever experienced in his life was no excuse.

“Someone should shoot me,” he said, releasing her and rolling onto his back. “That’s about what I deserve.”

“Is this about the lovemaking not being very good or something else?” she asked.

Her voice was low and soft, laced with concern. Ryan looked at her. Cassie was as beautiful naked as he’d imagined. Now, with her hair mussed and her mouth swollen from his kisses, he couldn’t imagine ever wanting to be with anyone else. Despite the fact that he’d just finished, his body stirred at the thought of being with her again. Which meant he was lower than slime. He was a single-celled creature that aspired to be slime.

He touched her face. “The lovemaking was wonderful. I swear.” He tightened his jaw.

“But I should have told you that I was a virgin.”

He’d known, of course. He’d felt the barrier, then broken through it, but still, hearing the word spoken aloud made him wince. “Yeah, you should have told me.”