She smiled a little less nervously. “Given the way we rushed over here, it did occur to me.”
“No way, sweetheart. We’re going to take this nice and slow.” He grinned slowly. “You can lose the coat and gloves, though.”
Kathleen shed them where she stood, letting the coat slide to the floor before kicking it aside. She tossed the gloves in the general direction of a chair. Ben’s coat and gloves landed on top of them.
“Do you want a glass of wine or something?” she asked.
“You’re intoxicating enough for me. What about you? Will it help you to relax?” he asked, stepping behind her to knead her tensed shoulders. “Your muscles are tighter than a drum, Kathleen.”
The warmth of his touch began to ease through her, releasing the tension. “I think you’re more effective than any wine could be,” she said.
“Good to know.”
Kathleen could almost hear the smile in his voice. “It wasn’t just idle flattery, Benjamin. You really are making this easy.”
“Easy?” His hands stilled. “Are you really afraid, Kathleen?”
“A little nervous,” she admitted, because there seemed no point in denying it. She wanted there to be honesty between them, not the lies and evasions that she’d attempted to keep her marriage bearable.
His massage resumed, even gentler now. “Sweetheart, there’s no need to be scared of anything, least of all making love. We don’t have anywhere to go. There’s no rush, no timetable. Nothing is going to happen until you’re ready. You’re with me now. There’s no one else in the room. No ghosts, okay?”
His patience almost made her weep. What had she ever done to deserve a man like this? Was Ben God’s reward for what she’d endured during the few brief months of her marriage? If so, she would spend the rest of her life on her knees thanking Him for His gift.
“Would you kiss me?” she pleaded, needing the fire of his mouth on hers, his tongue tangling with hers. That would chase away the last of her fears. She knew it would.
He turned her in his arms and took a long time simply gazing into her eyes before slowly covering her mouth with his own. It was a sweet, gentle kiss for about a heartbeat. Then the familiar hunger and need kicked in and Kathleen’s fears fled, just as she’d predicted. Instead, all she felt was the rising urgency, the powerful pull to have Ben’s hands all over her, teasing and tormenting until she was writhing beneath him.
Now she was the impatient one, fumbling with the buttons on his shirt, tugging at the buckle on his belt, reaching for taut, hot skin that felt totally masculine, totally alive beneath her fingers. The textures, the masculine scent inflamed her. She had something to prove…to him, to herself.
“I guess slow and easy is out of the question,” Ben commented, laughing.
“Yes,” she said, skimming her hand over his abdomen, reaching lower until she felt the hard, reassuring thrust of his arousal against her palm.
It wasn’t a lack in her—had never been—she exulted, when she felt that solid evidence of her power to stir a man. She was enough woman for any man, for this man. It was a heady, exhilarating discovery. The last of the tormenting doubts from her marriage vanished. If nothing more came of this night, she could be grateful for that.
But there was more. Ben wasn’t satisfied to let her do all of the exploration. His restless hands stroked and teased, first through the silky fabric of her dress, then against bare skin until her whole body was humming again, her flesh so sensitive that the slightest touch could make her soar.
When her knees went weak, he scooped her up and placed her in the center of the bed, where she was bathed in moonlight. The look of awe and wonder in his eyes was something she knew she would cherish for years to come.
“Do you have any idea what your body does to a man?” he asked. “Those beautiful breasts, those slender hips, those long, long legs? You’re incredible. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you.”
His words filled her heart, but it was the reverent way he touched her that made her fall in love with him yet again. That touch chased away already fading memories of the past and gave her the future.
“Come to me,” she said, unafraid.
He knelt over her, his gaze warm, his smile gentle, and waited, giving her time, she knew, time to accept his body, time to yearn for him.
“Really,” she said softly. “Come to me.”
He kissed her then, stroked her everywhere, and when the fire was at its peak, when her blood was thrumming through her veins, he entered her with a sure, deep thrust that stole her breath.