When Day Breaks(56)

She smiled and reached up to caress his face, paying special attention to his scar. “It was wonderful, Swanny. I never imagined my first time would be this perfect. And maybe that’s why I held back. Something inside me told me that none of the other men would give me what you’ve given me.”

“It’s you who have given me something more precious than anything I’ve ever received,” he said, sincerity shining in his eyes. “You can’t possibly know what it means to me that you trusted me to be your first. I wanted it to be special for you. For us both. In a lot of ways this feels like my first time as well. I’ve never made love to a woman without a condom, and I’ve damn sure never felt this way about any woman I’ve been with.”

“I’m glad,” she said, huskiness lacing her voice. “And it was perfect, Swanny. You made it so special. I’ll never forget my first time for sure. You were so gentle and patient. You were perfect.”

Fire blazed in his eyes and he reached down to claim her mouth. He kissed her lingeringly, sweetly and so very reverently.

“I’m going to pull out now, honey,” he said gently. “It may hurt you a little but I’ll go as slow and as easy as possible. I need to clean us both up. I think I came a gallon.”

She laughed and then braced her hands on his shoulders as he began withdrawing inch by precious inch. As he’d predicted, she winced when he finally pulled free, but at the same time she felt like she’d lost that connection with him that she so savored.

He rolled to the side and got off the bed. He leaned down to kiss her again. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move. I’m going to try not to mess up the sheets any more if possible so we aren’t sleeping with a wet spot.”

Then he disappeared into the bathroom and brought back a warm cloth and carefully cleaned her sensitive areas before wiping down his own groin and still semierect penis.

He checked the sheets, lifting her hips to feel beneath her, and then frowned. “It’s a little damp and I don’t want you sleeping on a sticky mess, nor do I want to have housekeeping in at this time of night and put a damper on the mood, so I can put a towel down over the spot and we can sleep like that.”

“A towel is fine,” she said, smiling at him. “I honestly just want to go to bed and have you hold me.”

“That sounds wonderful to me too, but first I’m going to draw you a nice hot bath and let you soak for a bit. You’re going to be sore and I don’t want it to interfere with your shoot tomorrow. So give me a bit to draw your water and then I’ll let you soak in the tub for a while and then we’ll go to bed.”

“That sounds heavenly,” Eden replied, touched by the depth of his caring and the fact that he saw to her every need.

A little while later he came back into the bedroom and lifted her into his arms, cradling her against his chest. It was a novel experience to have a man pick her up and carry her anywhere. She was tall and though she didn’t weigh much, she was still tall enough that a normal man wouldn’t have been able to carry her.

But Swanny was hardly “normal.” Could never be considered average. He was muscled, absolutely fit and so very strong. He made her feel cherished in a way she’d never dreamed of being cherished. She sighed as he lowered her into the bathtub and then sat on the closed toilet, watching as she relaxed into the water.

“There was a little blood on the sheets too,” Swanny said quietly. “And I cleaned some off you and me. I hate the idea of having hurt you. I would have done anything to spare you that pain.”

“You didn’t hurt me,” she denied. “It was a little uncomfortable at first, but as big as you are I think I would have felt that slight discomfort even if I hadn’t been a virgin. You did everything right. Perfect. You were so slow and patient and so very gentle. I couldn’t have possibly asked for a better first time. I mean that truly.”

“I’m glad,” he said gruffly. “I’m still just blown away by it all. It will take me a long time to come to terms with the gift you gave me, that you trusted and wanted me. It’s hard to take it all in.”

She slid deeper into the water, letting it lap to her neck, and sighed in pleasure at the hot water she soaked in. He was right. She was tender in her vaginal area, but the hot water was doing wonders to alleviate that discomfort.

“One day you’ll see yourself the way I see you, Swanny. If it’s the last thing I do, you’ll see a loyal, fierce warrior, a survivor, not to mention a gentle man with a heart of gold and not an ounce of meanness in his body. At least not toward me. I know enough about your job to know you handle some sticky, hard situations, but with me? You’re nothing like you present to the world. I see the real you, the man behind the scars, and I like what I see a lot.”