He kissed her again, rough and demanding, and carried her back onto the bed. Then he was covering her body with his—she was lost underneath him, squirming at his every touch, rocketing his erection to full strength in seconds. He lifted his mouth away from the demands he was making of hers long enough to rip open her blouse. The soft, silky fabric gave way under his fingers. She gasped, but it was filled with pleasure. He shifted one claw, just enough to slice free the front of her bra. Her eyes were wide now, her chest heaving, and those perfectly rounded breasts were calling to him with their tightly puckered nipples. He dove in, hands and mouth feasting upon them. She made a mewling sound, like a kitten, that went straight to his cock and turned his kneading of her breasts even more rough. He bit down on her tight nipples, making her cry out, and satisfaction coursed through him. He yearned to take her fast and hard. Now.
His need for her was so great, he almost didn’t hear her words.
“Jared,” she gasped. “Jared!”
He jerked back. “What?” His breath was heaving, but a cool spike of fear lanced through him. “Are you okay?” Not waiting for an answer, he scanned her body. Red marks were blossoming where his hold on her creamy white flesh had been too strong. “Oh God…” He lifted himself off her completely. “Grace… are you all right? Please tell me you’re all right.” The fear running through him—that he’d hurt her—turned every muscle to jelly. The only thing keeping him on the bed, next to her, was the desperate need to hear from her own lips that she was… that he hadn’t…
She groaned and heaved up to sitting, then rolled closer to wrap her arms around his neck. Her skirt rode up as her leg hooked over his hip. It took him a second to realize that her groan was frustration, not pain.
“For God’s sake, Jared… don’t stop.” Her beautiful blue eyes blazed with heat as she stared into his, her panting breath washing over him. “I just had to tell you something first.”
“Tell me something?” His hands had found her again without him even thinking about it, but they were holding her gently now. Skimming her back, gliding over her hip, but softly, softly… he didn’t care what her fantasies were, he wasn’t losing control like that again.
“I just… needed to tell you…” She was leaning into him, clenching her small hands on his shoulders to leverage closer. Her bare chest rubbed against the cotton of his shirt, and he ached to have her skin-to-skin. But he wasn’t moving a muscle in that regard, not until she got out what she was trying to say.
He threaded one hand into her hair. “What is it, Grace?”
She swallowed and ducked her head, which meant she was staring at the point where their bodies touched. “It’s just that this is my first time. So… you should probably know that.”
“Your first…?” He pulled back. Did she mean… “You’re a virgin?” He peered down at her, trying to catch her gaze. She wouldn’t look at him. “Jesus, Grace! You don’t want me to be your first—”
Her head whipped up. “Don’t start with that again. I absolutely want you to be my first!”
“But… I…” His brow wrinkled up. “I’m sorry, Grace, but you’re a gorgeous woman. You’re smart and vivacious and… alive. Why…” But he stopped—because that wasn’t the right question to ask.
The tight anger on her face told him he figured that out about five words too late.
“I’d like to see you try to have sex when you’re the Senator’s daughter and everyone watches your every move!” She was angry, but he could hear the hurt. She pushed away from him, falling back on the bed. “Not to mention that my damn wolf comes out every time I get…” She pressed her lips together, blushing furiously, sneaking a glance at him, then turning her back on him.
“Hang on, now.” He reached for her, but by the time he pulled her back, tears were already leaking from the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean… I was just… surprised. What is this about your wolf?” He slid closer on the bed, drawing her against his body again. It sent a flood of relief through him, a melting feeling like he hadn’t felt since… since Avery. But he shoved that thought aside, focusing on the tearful anger on Grace’s face as she cuddled into him, head ducked, fingers playing with the buttons on his shirt. He bent to kiss the top of her head, inhaling the sweet fragrance of her beautiful hair. The knot she’d tied in the back was slightly askew from their brief tumble.