‘Yes.’ She moved under him, her breathing unsteady. ‘Yes, very. Please...’
With a swift movement he sheathed himself and then he lowered his head and kissed her, capturing her mouth with his as he positioned himself, obviously unable to wait even another moment. With infinite care and gentleness he entered her, giving her time to adjust to his strength and size before pushing deeper.
‘Mark!’ The heat and power of his possession as he surged inside her made her gasp and curl her fingers into the smooth muscle of his broad shoulders.
‘My Holly.’ Mark groaned her name softly and Holly drowned in the sensations that swamped her, moving instinctively to the rhythm that he set.
Suddenly breathing seemed difficult. Never in her life could she remember a time when she’d had to remind herself to breathe—until now. Never in her life had she imagined that to make love would feel like this—as if she were totally and wholly part of another human being.
In awe of the feelings that washed over her heated body, she lifted a hand and touched his face, gasping as he quickened his movements, as he lifted her hips to take him deeper.
The excitement spiralled out of control and with a soft cry she felt the sensations explode inside her, driving her to the edge of sensory awareness. Clutching his shoulders, she cried out his name, knowing from his harsh groan that he’d reached the same peak, that he understood what she was feeling because he was feeling it, too.
Mindless, she clung to him, feeling the sheen of sweat on his powerful shoulders, aware of his harsh breathing, as uneven and ragged as her own. Then he released her from his weight and rolled over, taking her with him, his arms still wrapped around her possessively.
Risking a glance at him, she saw that his eyes were firmly closed, thick dark lashes brushing his incredible bone structure.
Mark. Her Mark.
Relieved that he didn’t want to talk, she nestled closer to his hard body and allowed herself to relax against him, knowing that this was probably the last time she’d be able to do so. For the rest of the night she could still pretend that everything was fine.
But everything wasn’t fine. Not really. After tonight how could anything ever be the same again?
Tomorrow she was going to have to face reality...
CHAPTER NINE
HOLLY lay perfectly still, eyes tightly shut against the early morning sunshine.
She’d seduced Mark.
Dear God, she’d seduced the man.
She’d felt his indecision, his hesitation when she’d touched him, but she’d made it impossible for him to say no.
How could she have behaved like that? What had come over her?
And how was she going to be able to face him?
It was time to get up, and she knew from the way that his breathing had changed in the last few minutes that he was well and truly awake. And he was watching her. She sensed him watching her.
‘Unless you’re planning to spend the rest of your life with your eyes shut,’ he murmured softly, ‘you’re going to have to look at me eventually.’
Holly covered her face with her hands. Overwhelmingly shy and embarrassed, she didn’t know what to say. How could she even begin to pretend that their relationship hadn’t changed after last night? It was beyond even her acting skills.
‘Holly!’ His deep voice rang with a mixture of exasperation and laughter. ‘Look at me! If you don’t open your eyes in the next ten seconds, I’ll use force.’
Taking a deep breath, she lowered her hands and reluctantly opened her eyes.
‘That’s better.’ Mark caught her chin in his strong fingers and kept her face towards him. ‘I want to look at you while we have this conversation.’
Holly gave a small moan and squeezed her eyes closed again. ‘What conversation?’
‘For goodness’ sake, Holly!’ He took a deep breath, hovering between bewilderment and impatience. ‘After everything we did last night I wouldn’t have thought you could possibly be shy with me.’
Was he joking? It was precisely because of everything they’d done that she was shy.
But, then, he was a great deal more experienced than she was and what they’d shared obviously didn’t embarrass him in the least.