An Innocent, a Seduction, a Secret

He stood up and snapped open the button on his jeans before pushing them down and off, taking his underwear with them. Edie couldn’t breathe. He was naked. And massively aroused.

If she’d had any sliver of doubt that he wanted her it was gone.

‘Your underwear—take it off.’ He sounded hoarse.

Edie tugged down her panties too. She held her breath, suddenly very aware that perhaps he was used to women who were more...groomed. But she sneaked a glance and the way he was looking at her... She could see a flare of colour across his cheekbones in the low lights and her insecurity drained away.

‘You are more beautiful than anything I’ve ever seen before.’

Edie ducked her head. She was sure that she wasn’t—at all—but she didn’t want to let reality intrude right now. Insinctively she reached out and curled her hand around him.

He sucked in a breath as she tentatively moved her hand up and down, exploring the potency of his body, the glide of hot silky skin over steel. So vulnerable but so strong.

And then he put his hand over hers, stopping her. She looked up, feeling dazed. Drunk.

‘Stop...or I’ll lose it right here and now.’

A very feminine thrill moved through her at the glazed look in his eyes. To know that she was doing this to him... She’d wanted to see him lose control and it was headier than she’d imagined.

‘Lie down, Edie.’

She did as he asked, realising that her legs were feeling seriously weak. Sebastio’s gaze was tracking down over her body and emotion pricked her again. She ruthlessly pushed it down. This was no time for emotion. This was fantasy fulfilment, pure and simple. Karma. Ridding herself of the burden of innocence.

And it had been a burden, she realised now, even if she’d kept it to the back of her mind. Insidious doubt had been growing. What if something was wrong with her? What if something had been damaged during her cancer treatment? Her hormones? Her libido?

But the way she felt now allayed all those doubts and fears. She just hadn’t met the right man. Or she had, but four years ago. And now...

Thankfully he came down on the bed beside her, and her thoughts were fast eclipsed by a surge of lust and need when he skated his hand tantalisingly down over her breasts, and then her belly, and down further to the juncture between her legs.

He applied a little pressure and she opened her legs. She saw intense concentration on his face. She realised she trusted him. Really trusted him.

She quickly pushed away that revelation.

His fingers were exploring now, between her legs, and her breath hitched when they parted the folds of flesh, releasing the damp heat that had been building there.

She could feel herself, slick against his fingers, and she might have been embarrassed if he hadn’t said, with a definite note of satisfaction in his voice, ‘You’re so ready...’

Edie tried not to squirm against him, her hands clutching the sheet underneath her body. Tension rose as his fingers thrust inside her and her back arched off the bed. She bit her lip, trying to lessen the intense pleasure as he moved them slowly in and out. Tension coiled tighter and tighter, until she was afraid she’d explode like she had the other night, exposing her inexperience. She held on with every atom of control she could muster...

Sebastio was so hard he hurt. He was torturing himself as much as Edie by prolonging the pleasure. He could see the mute pleading on her face, feel her body quiver around his hand... He needed to be inside her but he also needed to see her come. Now. Like this. At his mercy. On some level it was restoring a desperate need to feel some semblance of still being in control.

He felt the tremors in her legs, in her whole body, as she fought to hang on and he bent over and kissed her, saying, ‘Let go... I’ll catch you...’ just as he thrust his fingers deep inside her, feeling her body lose its grip on control. She went wild, spasming with pleasure around his hand.

It almost pushed him over the edge of his own fraying control to feel how tight she was. He knew he wouldn’t last much longer.

Sebastio moved over Edie?

?s body, spreading her legs further apart. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes slightly unfocused in the aftermath of pleasure. Her mouth was swollen. He felt a surge of very masculine pride.

He smoothed some damp hair off her forehead. ‘Okay?’

After a long moment she nodded. Her hands came up and circled his biceps. He moved between her legs, notching his erection against the exquisite damp heat of her body. Four years of abstinence had not prepared Sebastio for this overload of anticipation...

He gritted his teeth and clung on to his control just for a little longer. He pushed into her body, feeling its resistance, and rested there for a moment, letting her get used to him. Even if it was killing him.

She brought her legs up around his waist and tilted her body up, making him slide in a little more. Sebastio was lost, drowning in an inferno of need. He needed this like he needed oxygen.

He said, ‘This might hurt a little at first, but trust me it won’t last...’