“I don’t mind that, you know,” she said, gently trailing the backs of her fingers along his rough cheek.

“You’d better think about this.”

“I haven’t thought about anything else. And you know it.”

“Okay,” he said, running his hand over her shoulder and down to her hand, lacing his fingers in hers. “Here are your choices. Try to be smart. I can take you home now, or take you home with me. Because we either have to stop this here and now, or get it done.”

She smiled at him. She leaned toward him and pressed her lips softly against his. “Let’s get it done,” she whispered.

Luke pulled the bike up in front of his house, dismounted and put it up on its stand. He took her helmet from her and hung it on the handlebar. Then he put his lips against hers as he lifted her off the bike and into his arms. He carried her inside, threw the latch and moved quickly and impatiently toward the bedroom.

His brain was numb; all he could think was that soon he would be cured. Once he had her, he’d be over the insanity. But in spite of his desperation, he was determined that it wasn’t going to be too fast. It was going to be slow and sweet and he was going to make her feel so good, she’d faint. Then he’d be cured.

He sat her gently on the bed. He let his jacket drop from his shoulders and took hers, tossing them into the chair in his room. He unfastened his chaps and drew off his boots. Kneeling on the floor in front of her, he slowly pulled off her boots and carefully drew her sweater over her head, placing small kisses on her chest, shoulders, breast, neck. She trembled and he pulled her into his arms for a moment, reminding himself to take his time, take it slow, reassure her that he wasn’t going to be the shark right now.

Her bra disappeared and his tongue brought her nipples to life, hardening them into peaks. He gently pushed her back onto the bed and unsnapped her jeans, giving them a tug. She lifted her fanny to give assist and they slid down and off. He was left to view an incredible body, naked but for a tiny, transparent wisp of sheer fabric that barely covered her below the waist. He ran a finger slowly under the elastic.

He made fast work of his own clothes, getting down to his boxers. Leaning over her, he began to place kisses all over her body, from her neck to her knees. Then he slid over her, his thighs on her thighs, chest to breasts, devouring her mouth. He heard her moan, felt her arch toward him, and his erection was throbbing against her belly. He nibbled at her lips and said, “You have about ten seconds to change your mind.” He looked into her soft, hazel eyes and saw her give a small smile and shake her head. “You’re sure?” he asked, wondering what the hell he would do if she tried to stop him now. He was like a runaway train, the blood roaring in his brain.

“Do you have a condom, Luke?”

“I’m on that,” he said.

“Then I’m sure.”

He ditched the boxers and grabbed a condom from the nightstand. He thought abstractly that it was strange he kept them there when he never brought women home. He had never liked having women in his nest. But Shelby was here, and it seemed perfectly natural. He had the condom on in record time, but his hands on her were slow. He tugged off that tiny wisp of lace; he thought he heard a tear as he was getting it off. He might owe her a pair of panties. Running a hand down her belly, over her pubis and lower, he nudged her legs apart and massaged her, paying special attention to the small, erogenous knot in the middle, a contact that caused her to moan and push against his hand. He let his fingers move lower and dip in, finding her wet and ready to go. And he was ready to give her the ride of her life.

Easy, he told himself. It has to be good for her. He held himself over her and gently probed, pressing himself toward her. He found the path and moved farther as she lifted her hips up, but he met with resistance. He pushed a little, gently, but she was tight. Maybe he hadn’t taken enough time getting her ready for this. He looked into her eyes and brushed back her hair. “Honey, you’re awful small.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered.

But it wasn’t okay; he spent a little more time stimulating her while he kissed her, making sure she was slick and aroused. He wasn’t sliding in even though she was ready. He didn’t want to force it. There shouldn’t be any discomfort with this. It should all be good.

She put her palm against his cheek. “It’s okay, Luke. Just do it.”

“Something’s not right,” he said, shaking his head.

“It’s the first time,” she whispered.

Instinctively, he drew back. It almost deflated him, he was so stunned. “That’s not possible,” he said in a breath. “You’re twenty-five!” But she only nodded her head, letting her eyes gently close. When she did that, she squeezed out a couple of tears that ran into the hair at her temples and it tore at his heart. How does a woman this beautiful, this sexy, remain a virgin? was all he could think.

He found himself gently kissing those tears. “Aw, Shelby. This isn’t good.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered again. “It’s time. I want it to be you.”

“But I already made you cry and I haven’t even done anything yet.”

“Luke, I swear, I’m ready,” she said. She reached a small hand down between their bodies and took hold of him, causing him to inhale sharply. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this to happen. Please don’t make me wait any longer.”

On the upside, news that she was intact held the advantage of helping him slow down. Way down. In fact, it nearly rendered him incapable of proceeding. But he was mad for her and decided to explore the explanations later and for now, take good care of her. “Okay, baby,” he said, placing soft kisses on her lips. “I’m going to make this all right. I’ll try to make it nice for you. Trust me and let me do the work, okay?”

“Okay,” she answered.

He wasn’t exactly an expert on the female body, but he knew one or two things. He wasn’t going to get inside her without pain unless she was real soft and loose, and there was only one way to ensure that. He kissed his way down her body until he got to the center and once there, he worked that erogenous spot with his tongue. He groaned in pleasure; she was sweet, intoxicating. Her hands gripped his shoulders as she squirmed beneath him, making small noises that convinced him he was on the right track. He slid his hands up her ribs to her breasts and gently kneaded them, softly running his thumbs over her nipples. Her sighs became pants, which became little cries, and he buried himself in her until he felt the quivering turn to clenching spasms. She dug her fingers into his shoulders and clamped her knees against him, locking him there while she reached a powerful orgasm that seemed to hold on to her forever. He didn’t move until it finally set her free and she collapsed beneath him.

Then he rose slowly, a bit reluctantly, kissing his way up her body until he reached her lips. “Better,” he whispered.

“I want the rest,” she begged breathlessly.

“We’re getting there, sweetheart. We need to take a little time with this.”

He gave her a few moments of gentle kisses before letting his fingers wander south. What he hadn’t expected was for his whole objective to change, from dying to get inside her to free himself of the insatiable craving, to wanting to make this memorable for her, do right by her, especially if this was, insanely, her first time. He found what he knew he would between her legs—her tissues were plump, soft, damp and loose.

When he sensed she had mostly recovered, he let his fingers work that precious little knot, getting her stirred up all over again. When she started to make eager noises and move against his hand, losing herself in the sensations, he gently positioned himself to slowly enter her. He rose above her and watched her face, prepared to stop the second she winced or gasped or showed signs of discomfort. No way he could hurt her. There was still some resistance, but not nearly what he had felt before. A woman’s body was miraculous; nothing like a thundering climax to open her up. He moved carefully, just a little bit at a time, until he made his way inside, filling her. He was still, letting her get used to the sensation of having him inside her, and soon he saw her slow, satisfied smile shape her lips.

“You should have told me,” he said between soft kisses.

“You would have run for your life.”

“I might have been better prepared.”

“It turns out you were prepared enough. And I want to know about this. I want you to show me.”

He began to move, deep, slow, even strokes, watching her face, taking pleasure in her sweet smile. He reached down and pulled her legs up, bending them at the knees, then his hands went to her hips. “Move your hips a little, honey. Help me find the right spot. We have to find it together….”

He kissed that gasping mouth, again and again. She moved around a little, then suddenly she threw her head back and muttered, “Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God.”

He smiled down into her eyes. “There you go,” he whispered. “That’s what I’m talking about. The love spot,” he said against her lips. He matched his movements to hers, apace with her. He chuckled, a deep lusty sound. “That’s my girl. You know what you want, don’t you, baby?” he asked her in a hoarse whisper.

“Yes,” she said. “Oh, yes.”

“Doesn’t hurt?”

“No,” she whispered. “Oh God…”

Soon the little murmurs once again became more passionate and his strokes faster and deeper. The tempo increased and her hips lunged toward him until finally she lifted her pelvis against him, instinctively digging her heels into the bed for traction to push against him and the storm took her on another frenzied ride. She froze, gasped and closed around him with a heat so intense and power so strong, his brain froze. Again, it held her in its grip for a long, wondrous moment, a pleasure so blinding and spasms so fierce that they pulled his climax out of him. He thought he might lose his mind, it was so good. He’d never felt anything quite like it.

“Oh! Luke!” she cried in a passionate whisper. The sound of his name on her lips made his experience even more incredible.

And then she drifted slowly back to reality in his arms, and he found this to be the most tender part. He held her, ran his hand over her soft, perfect body in long, slow caresses while she caught her breath and calmed.

Something happened to him. The tension was gone, the physical relief was welcome, but he wasn’t completely satisfied. He didn’t want to leave her body. He found himself thinking, I’m in a place no one has ever been, and it’s the sweetest place imaginable. The thing he usually did to prove he knew how to treat a woman right, holding her for a long, precious moment after the lovemaking, he was doing now because he simply couldn’t let her go. When he thought about her leaving his bed, it made him feel empty inside. Holding her, kissing her, touching her, felt right. Perfect and normal.

At long last she let out a deep, satisfied sigh.

Reluctantly, he let himself slip out of her body. He braced his head on a raised hand and looked down at her, idly toying with the hair at her temple. “Was that everything you thought it would be?” he asked.

“Oh, man,” she said, her voice quivering with a small laugh. “Now I know what the girls have been talking about. It’s even better than I imagined.”

“Okay, even if I can believe you haven’t had sex before, it’s going to be damn hard to convince me you’ve never had any kind of orgasm. I started having mine at twelve, all by myself.”

“Yeah, I’ve been there. But there’s a definite difference between that and this. Whew.”

His lips found her neck, shoulder, ear. “You’re going to have to help me understand this.”

“It’s not interesting, Luke. You already know, if you think about it. My mom. She got sick when I was eighteen. I never left her for long.” She shrugged. “I got out a little with friends, but I never got involved with any guys. I even had some dates, some very dull dates. The last couple of years were all about helping my mom to the end.” She touched the short hair over his ear. “I’m a late bloomer, huh?”