How had this enchanting creature gone so long without knowing a man’s touch?
Were the men of her world fools? Jorlan shook his head in wonder, for aye, they were. For what manner of man left such a prize without a fight? Delight, wonder and awe wound through him. He was no fool. He had wanted her, needed her, and so he had won her. He alone had seen Katie flushed like this. He alone had heard his name on her lips as she came. What a sweet gift she had given him, a gift he would cherish all the days of his life.
“We’re not done, are we, Jorlan?” she asked hesitantly. She chewed on her bottom lip.
He gave a strained chuckle. “Nay, my katya. We will not be finished for a long while yet.”
“Oh.” Her legs wrapped around his waist, sending him deeper inside of her. She winced. “I’m not sure if I’m ultraexcited or a little bummed.”
She winced, aye, yet he groaned at the exquisite sensation. “You will enjoy it soon, I swear it.” He would move heaven and earth. “How bad did I hurt you?”
“Not too bad,” she hedged.
“Wish you told me.” Why hadn’t she told him? “Never taken a virgin before, so I do not know exactly how long I should wait to move.” Not long, he hoped, for sweat was already beading on his forehead. His muscles were already clamoring for more. But he was determined to finish as slowly as he’d begun. “Tell me when you are ready.” His restraint was quickly breaking, and he was fast losing his control.
Her breath fanned across his cheek. She moved her leg experimentally, sending him even deeper inside. The movement nearly drove him mad with need. If she pulled back now, if she said no more, he would stop, but he would want to die first.
“Jorlan?” The firm tone of her voice did not bode well for him.
“Aye.”
“Move,” she said.
Dread speared through him, desperate and achy. “I will move away if you want me to, but I think you’ll like it if you’ll just give it more time. You’ll feel better and become used to me.”
“No.” Voice as thick and sweet as honey, she told him, “I don’t want you to move away. I want you to move inside me.”
Comprehension dawned, spurring him into action. He pulled out and sank deep, then did it again. And again. Such pleasure. Indescribable! He gave thanks to Percen. Without his brother, he would not have experienced this moment.
Jorlan hooked Katie’s knees over his elbows, spreading her wider, pressing against her center. She purred like a sweet little kitten.
He reached between their bodies to circle the center of her desire with his thumb. She gasped, cried out. He felt her inner walls tighten and spasm against him, and he moved faster. Harder. Deeper. Only when he heard his name rip from her throat did he spill inside her.
When the last pulse subsided, he remained as he was, surrounded by her essence. Silently, he gazed down at her. Katie’s eyes were closed, and she appeared to be asleep.
That had been the most intense, satisfying experience of his life, but he didn’t have the strength to examine why just yet. By Elliea, he was not sure he would be able to move ever again. Still, he didn’t want to crush Katie during the night.
Careful not to wake her, he leaned to the side. After a while, he grew drowsy, the sound of their combined breaths a tranquil kind of music.
This is the life.
How am I supposed to give this up?
* * *
“JORLAN?” KATIE ASKED a while later.
“Hmm?”
She opened her mouth to ask for praise. Or comments and suggestions. “Nothing. Never mind.”
Gah! She lay still, exhausted but unable to sleep as she waited for him to say something, even though she hadn’t asked him anything.
Minute after minute dragged by, and he remained quiet.
“Jorlan?” she repeated.
“Aye, katya.”
Again, she paused. “Nothing.”
His warm, silky breath fanned her ear, and he sat up, suddenly wide-awake. For some reason, he grinned. “Say what is on your mind or neither of us will sleep this eve.”
Maybe she should praise him first? “That was wonderful, Jorlan.”
The corners of his lips faded to a frown of disappointment.
Her blood flash freezing, she gazed up at him with wide eyes. “You didn’t think it was wonderful?”
“’Tis not that.” He settled at her side. “I had thought you were about to profess your love for me.”
“Oh.”
A long sigh escaped him. “Mayhap you still need some persuasion, which I will most happily provide once you are not so sore.”
She waited for him to say more. When he didn’t speak again for a long while, she asked, “Is there anything else you want to say to me?”
“Aye. Good eve.”
She jolted upright, hitting his chin with the top of her head in the process. “Good eve? Good eve! Well, you can shove your good eve right up your as—”
In the next heartbeat she found herself flipped over and pinned to the bed. Jorlan loomed over her. “Did you wish to hear something from me, little witch?”
Mutinous, she glared up at him.
“You were more than I could have ever dreamed,” he said softly.
Well, that was better. “And?”
“And what?”
She slapped his chest.
He chuckled. “You owe me money, katya. I should like to collect my payment now.”
She gasped. “I’m not paying you for sex, you—you gigolo. In fact, I was so good, you should pay me.”
He blinked. “You misunderstand. You owe me a quarter for every time you spoke a foul word.” His lips stretched in a grin. “The closer you came to your peak, the more profanities you uttered. And I—” he kissed her softly “—loved every moment of it.”
Her features softened. “How much do I owe?”
“Too much. I fear I must allow you to pay me in trade.”
That sounded intriguing. “What sort of trade?”
“You will listen to my next words without comment.”
Curious at his sudden seriousness, she nodded. “All right. Deal.”
He waited a moment to assure himself she listened. “Never have I experienced a joining like ours. You captivated me, amazed me and stole the breath from my lungs. Had I known you tasted so sweet, I would have sampled you that very first night, and every moment since, even without your approval.”
Katie didn’t know what to say. His confession was more than she’d ever dreamed, headier than a kiss. Then he began touching her once again and the added sensation made her purr.
Oh. Oh, my. Oh, yes.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
WHAT WAS I THINKING, Katie wondered dreamily, to deny this man so long?
So the wait had only been a couple of days. Her thought still stood. She should have jumped him at moment one.
Most of the candles on her dresser had long since extinguished. She lay atop Jorlan, her head cradled protectively in the hollow of his neck. The rest of her was draped over his body like a winter quilt. They had just made love. Again.
She could not get enough.
Right now, he was absentmindedly caressing the curve of her spine, and she was shivering with delight. She might not ever let him out of bed.