She gasped and reflexively jerked away from the invasion.
But he held her fast, gritting his teeth, forcing himself to still. “Sorry.”
“It’s-” She sucked in a couple of breaths. “Ouch.”
“Yeah.” He kissed her gently, slowly, savoring the taste of her lips, holding his lust in check while he let her body get used to him.
Then she kissed him back. Her arms went around him. And her hips gently flexed.
He stroked her thighs, positioning her legs, moving slowly at first. Then, encouraged by her reaction, he increased the pace. She was hot and slick and gorgeous in his arms. Her scent surrounded him, while her breathing seemed to echo in his soul. He couldn’t stop tasting her, couldn’t stop touching her, as his primal brain kicked his body into an accelerating rhythm.
Heat flashed in front of his eyes, popping like colored fireworks. He braced an arm in the small of her back, tilting her toward him, as he kissed her deeply, thrusting his tongue in and out of her mouth. A roar in his ears rose like a freight train, obliterating everything else.
He barely heard her cry out his name. But her body shuddered, convulsing around him, and he surrendered to paradise.
The world came slowly back into focus, and he realized he had to be crushing her.
“I’m sorry,” he shifted.
“No!” She tightened her hold. “Don’t move.”
“You okay?” He pushed his weight onto his elbows, freeing a hand to brush her damp, messy hair back from her face.
“I’m not sure.”
“Did I hurt you?”
“Little bit.”
“Little bit?” he pressed. “But not a big bit?”
She mustered a smile, and he couldn’t resist kissing it. Then he braced her body against his.
“Hold still for a minute,” he instructed. “Let me do the work.” He gently rolled onto his back, bringing her with him until she was on top, and there was no danger of him squishing her. Her slight weight felt good against him.
“You can stay there just as long as you like,” he told her.
“Really?” She pulled back far enough to look him in the eyes. Her gaze was soft on his, voice barely above a whisper. “Because that might be a very, very long time.”
“No problem.” He brushed the pad of his thumb across her swollen lips. “It’ll be two, maybe three days before they come looking.”
He’d happily keep her in his bed that long and longer. He didn’t know what had happened, or more accurately, what had
“I went to an all-girls school,” Katrina found herself explaining, still draped across Reed’s naked body. She’d hate him to think there was something wrong with her. “From when I was ten all the way to college. I mean, we saw the boys from the affiliated school occasionally. But it wasn’t as if we had time to get to know them.”
“Are you saying you didn’t date in high school?”
“I didn’t date in high school,” she confirmed.
She slowly slid from his body to his side and let her cheek rest on his shoulder.
He settled a wool blanket over them.
“And then I went to the college affiliated with Liberty Ballet,” she continued. “I’ve been really busy with my dancing career. So, you know, even though I live in New York City, and my social life is quite active with all the events and parties-”
“Katrina?”
“What?”
“Are you apologizing for being a virgin?”
“Yes. I mean, no. I’m not apologizing.” Exactly. “I’m telling you it wasn’t my fault.”
His body rumbled with laughter, and his lips brushed the top of her head. “You don’t understand men at all.”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you.” The man was exasperating.
“Yeah?” His tone turned serious. “Well, listen up, Katrina. Because I understand men perfectly.”
“Bully for you.”
“You’ve got it all wrong.”
“I’ve got what all wrong?”
“How I’m feeling. What I’m thinking.”
“Okay, what are you feeling and thinking?”
He seemed to choose his words, his tone deep near her ear. “I’m feeling privileged and proud. I’m thinking someday, a long time from now, when I’m very old and very tired, and there’s nothing left of my life, I’ll be remembering this night, and you, and that I was the first.”
Something flip-flopped Katrina’s stomach. She drew back, tipping her chin so that she could gauge his expression. “That’s a really great line, Reed.”
“Thank you.”
“Ever used it before?”
“Of course not. How can you ask that?”
So he was serious? He’d be thinking of her on his deathbed? She had no idea how to respond, so she laid her head back down on his shoulder and just breathed for a few minutes.
Reed spoke first. “But is there something wrong with all the men in New York City?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
“Because I was with you all of five minutes before I realized I’d never be able to keep my hands off you.”
“Five minutes?” She couldn’t help but be pleased to hear that.
“Did they ask you on dates and you turned them down?”
“Five minutes?” she repeated.
“Focus, Katrina.”
“I am focusing.”
“The men? In New York City?”
She gave up. It was really just her ego that wanted him to admit it anyway. “Some asked for dates,” she admitted. “Most I turned down. The others didn’t really work out. And Quentin Foster, well he just skipped right to the proposition.”
“Quentin Foster.”
“Just a guy,” said Katrina, regretting even saying the man’s name out loud.
“Did you meet him at one of your fancy parties?”
She shook her head. “He’s on the board of directors for Liberty. I’ve known him for a while. He’s a big contributor, and people kowtow to him. I don’t think he has much of a life outside the ballet company, because he’s always hanging around. He comes to rehearsals. And he’s forever closeted with the ballet company director discussing… I don’t know what they discuss, funding, I guess.”
Reed came up on his elbow. “And he propositioned you?”
She scrunched her face up in a grimace. “Yes.”
“As in solicited sex?”
“Is there another kind of proposition?”
Reed blinked several times. “A man in a position of power over you actually asked you to sleep with him?”
She came up on her elbow, mirroring his posture. “Is there something confusing about the way I’m putting this?”
“You said no,” Reed confirmed.
“Absolutely. Quentin had hinted around for months, and I tried to ignore him and avoid him. But then one day, he cornered me, and came right out with it, and I said no.”
