watch Alec. The shadows darkened his powerful form. She could hear the rustle of clothing, knew he was stripping out of the rest of his garments, and in that moment of separation, she became desperately afraid.
God help her, she wanted to run. Alec caught hold of her before she had even rolled over. His hands grabbed hers, stretching her arms high above her head in one fluid motion before he completely blanketed her with his body.
The contact of his hot skin against hers made her gasp. Alec made a low groaning sound before claiming her mouth again. The kiss was openly carnal. He meant to have her surrender. When she arched up against him, he knew her passionate nature was overcoming her timidity. He let go of her hands at the same time he thrust his tongue inside her mouth, then let out a grunt of satisfaction when her fingers dug into his shoulderblades.
His chest rubbed against her soft breasts while he stroked her. Jamie kept trying to edge away from the junction of his thighs, but when she felt his hardness against her belly, she quit her struggles. A warm, tingling ache suddenly claimed her full attention.
Alec massaged her breasts, cupping the undersides with loving care. His thumbs rubbed her distended nipples. His ragged sigh told her how much he liked touching her so intimately. Jamie was honest enough with herself to admit she liked the chaos his touch evoked.
When his mouth replaced his hand on her breast, when he took the nipple inside and began to suckle, she thought she would go out of her mind. The sensation was so overwhelming that she squeezed her eyes shut and let the wonderful feelings wash over her. She arched against him with need and her legs moved impatiently against his.
Alec took a deep breath to try to calm his need and braced himself on his elbows so he could look down into her face.
She felt the change in him immediately. Jamie opened her eyes and looked into his. She reached up to stroke his jaw. His whiskers tickled her fingers, but she didn't smile. Alec was the most frighteningly appealing man she'd ever encountered. The moonlight hadn't softened his features. He looked hard… and determined.
'Have you decided to stop, then?' she whispered.
'Do you want me to?' he asked.
She didn't know how to answer him. Yes, she told herself, of course she wanted him to stop. A bride should have a proper wedding bed, shouldn't she? 'Not yet.'
She hadn't realized she'd said that until he smiled at her. 'You confuse me, Alec. I don't know my own thoughts when you're touching me like this. Maybe we should stop…'
'Not yet.' Sweat dotted his forehead. His jaw was clenched, his breathing labored.
He didn't have any intention of stopping. Her eyes widened when that realization hit her. Alec must have read her mind… and her fear, for he suddenly pushed her legs apart with his thigh. The action was rough, demanding.
While he held her stare, his right hand moved down between them, low on her stomach. His fingers slid into the junction of her thighs. Jamie reached down and tried to pull his hand away. 'No, Alec. You mustn't.'
He wouldn't be deterred. His fingers stroked the tender folds. When he felt the wetness there, he almost lost his control. 'You're hot for me, Jamie,' he whispered. 'God, you're so sweet, so soft…'
His finger slowly penetrated her, then stretched up inside. 'You're so tight.'
Her mind wanted him to stop but her body didn't have any reservations at all.
She raised her hips to keep him inside her when he started to pull away.
'Now are you going to stop?' she asked in a voice that betrayed her.
'Not yet,' Alec repeated, smiling over the confusion he heard in her voice. He took hold of her hand, then pressed it against his hardness. Her reaction was instantaneous. Her whole body shivered and bucked against him. 'Hold me,' he instructed. 'Like this.' He forced her fingers to close around his shaft, then thrust his fingers inside her again to rid her of her fear.
He pulled her hand away when he couldn't stand the sweet torture any longer. His mouth branded hers and his tongue thrust deep inside to the back of her throat.
Jamie was soon as wild, as out of control as Alec was. He knew just where to touch, how much pressure to exert, how to make her melt in his arms.
He became rougher in his quest. 'We aren't going to stop, are we, Alec?'
'Nay, love, we aren't.'
He withdrew his fingers, then thrust them demandingly into her tight sheath again.
She cried out in pain. 'Don't do that, Alec. It hurts.'
'Hush, love,' he whispered. 'I'll make it easier for you.'
She didn't understand what he was telling her. His mouth claimed hers for another long, hot kiss then and she decided he really was going to stop when his hand moved away from her most private place.
Alec kissed a slow trail down her neck, her chest, her stomach. When he moved lower, into the soft triangle of black curls shielding her virginity, she cried out again and tried to push him away from her.
He wouldn't be deterred, though. The taste of her was intoxicating. His tongue teased the sensitive nub of flesh, then pressed high into the soft, slick opening.
She became lost to the splendor he forced on her. She clung to him now, demanding more. The muscles in her thighs tensed against him in anticipation.
She welcomed the rush of blazing ecstasy consuming her.
As soon as Alec felt the first tremors of release, he moved. He spread her thighs wide and eased into her. He paused when he reached her maidenhood, then drove forward with one powerful surge.
Jamie cried out in pain. Alec immediately stilled his movements. He was fully embedded inside her now, his possession complete. He tried to hold on to his discipline, wanting to give her time to adjust to his invasion. 'Don't move just yet,' he ordered, his voice a grating sound against her ear. 'God, Jamie. You're so tight.'
She couldn't have moved if she'd wanted to. His weight held her in place. He cupped her face, then slowly licked the salty tears from her flushed cheeks. Her eyes were dark blue with passion, her rosy lips swollen from his demanding kisses.
'Does it still hurt, Jamie?'
He sounded as though he'd just run a great distance uphill. But the worry was there, too, in his tone of voice and his intense expression. Jamie nodded, then whispered, 'It will pass, this pain, won't it, Alec? Am I supposed to be this tight?'
'Oh, yes,' Alec groaned.
When he started to move, to begin the ritual as old as time itself, Jamie thought he was finished. She wrapped her legs around his thighs to keep him deep inside her. 'Don't stop, Alec. Not yet.'
'Not yet,' he promised.
Neither one of them was capable of speaking again. Alec did withdraw from her, then thrust deep inside once more. She raised her hips to meet him halfway. She wanted all of him to squeeze tight. Passion, like wildfire, raged between them.
Alec buried his face against her neck as he slammed into her again and again.
He wanted to be gentle.
She wouldn't let him.
She didn't know her nails dug into his shoulderblades. Alec didn't mind. When the climax was almost upon her, when she thought she was surely going to die from the incredible pressure building inside her, she clung to her husband and cried out his name.
'Come with me, love,' Alec whispered. 'Come with me. Now.'
She didn't know where Alec was taking her, only knew she was safe in his arms.
She gave herself over to the blissful surrender and found that surrender was also fulfillment.
He'd known all along where they were going, yet never before had he been so out of control or felt such overwhelming passion. He wanted to show her the stars.
He was the experienced one, she the innocent. He knew where to touch, where to stroke, when to push, when to retreat. And yet, when he finally reached his own release, he realized his gentle little bride had taken him far beyond the stars.
She'd taken him to heaven.
She slept like the dead. Morning sun was full upon the meadow when she stretched herself awake. Jamie let
