If You Believe

"Oh, God . . . "

"Lower. "

She took a deep, trembling breath and curled her fingers around him, surprised by the velvety texture of his skin and the steel-hardness of his desire.

She felt how much he wanted her, and it filled her with an unexpected sense of her own power. All of a sudden she felt beautiful and sexy and desirable—all the things shed never been before. She tightened her hold on him and stroked him.

A quiet, animal-like growl erupted from his throat, and the sound, so primal and passionate, lodged like a spark of fire in Mariahs heart.

He sank deeper into the covers. His pelvis pushed up into her hand. "Holy Christ . .

. "

She looked up at him uncertainly. "Am I doing something wrong?"

He touched her face with trembling fingers. "Not hardly. " Before she could say anything else, he pulled her into his arms.

His lips crashed down on hers in a powerful, passionate kiss that drove the breath out of her lungs and left her trembling with need. Restlessly she pushed against him, pressing against the hard length of his thigh.

His mouth moved away from hers, slid down to her chin, then moved on again, trailing moist, openmouthed kisses along her throat, over her collarbone to the soft swell of her breast.

The wet tip of his tongue flicked against her nipple. She gasped and arched toward him, her arms coiling around his back.

Wave after wave of hot, aching sensation spilled through Marian, becoming a pulsing ball of fire between her legs. She trembled with longing, arched against him, grinding her mound against the hardness of his thigh. She couldnt keep still, couldnt keep quiet. She moaned his name as his hand moved down the quivering, sensitive hollow of her stomach.

"Oh, God . . . " She swallowed thickly and threw her head back into the pile of pillows behind her.

His fingers pushed through the curly fleece between her legs and kept moving, searching, probing for a point of pleasure. He found it, slid his long, hard finger against her.

Marian gasped. Her body shuddered and turned liquid, melting in readiness.

He rubbed his finger against her. She groaned and closed her eyes as his hand moved in a frenzied, focused circle against her hot, wet flesh. She clung to him, her arms shaking with need, her palms slick with sweat. Her fingernails dug into his flesh, scoring it.

The thudding beat of her heart roared in her ears. Sensations hammered her body, spilling through her in hot, liquid waves of fire. She thrashed restlessly, her every sense focused on his hand and the delicious, forbidden things he was making her feel. She arched up, driving her hips against his palm, pleading in a voice that sounded weak and desperate and frayed. "Please . . . please . . . " She didnt know what to say, what she wanted him to do. She only knew that she was desperate for something, some relief.

With a low, groaning sound, he pulled her beneath him and covered her body with his own. She felt his hardness between her legs, pressing into her.

He pushed up on his elbows and stared down at her. Their eyes locked.

In one sharp thrust, he entered her.

Pain stabbed through Mariah. It felt as if her insides were being stretched apart.

With a small, surprised gasp, she tried to sink into the mattress to get away from him, but his heavy body had her pinned in place. At his back, her fingers curled into tense fists and pressed against him.

He stilled. "Are you okay?"

She blinked up at him, feeling the embarrassing sting of tears in her eyes. "It . . . hurts a little. "

"I thought—" He shook his head. "Jesus, you said you werent a virgin. "

"Im not . . . precisely. " She bit her lower lip and stared up at him. "I hope youre not disappointed. . . . "

His gaze softened. "I would have done it a little differently, thats all. " He bent his head down and kissed her again, a soft, gentle kiss that filled Mariah with a raw, painful sense of loss.

She hugged him, desperate suddenly for the feel of him, the smell of him. He made her feel so alive, so beautiful and wanted and sexy. All the things shed never been in her life and never thought she could be.

Slowly his hips moved against hers. The physical pain of their coupling eased in the wake of the hot need that coiled around her insides, throbbed between her legs. She clung to him, her legs wrapped around his, her shoulders coming off the bed.