It crossed his mind that pregnancy would bind Maura to him, but he knew she had to come to him by her own choice, of her own free will. He intended to influence her decision, however, by making her crave him as much as he craved her.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Ash removed his slippers and stockings and trousers, and when he finished undressing, he beckoned to Maura. “Come here, sweeting.”
When she obeyed, he drew her between his spread thighs, bringing his naked loins fully against hers. The hot shock of contact made her draw in a sharp breath … a sound that was repeated when he reached out and fondled one nipple lightly. It stiffened and seemed to thrust out against his fingers.
Her nervousness had dissipated somewhat at his first caress, but not enough, Ash knew. Wanting to distract her further, he lowered his mouth to her tantalizing breasts, suckling her as his hand swept downward to the blond curls between her thighs. When he fingered the damp folds at her apex, her breathless moan told him he had succeeded in making Maura forget any trepidation she’d felt at offering her body to him. And when he found the nub of her sex, her body jolted.
She clutched at his shoulders, uttering his name in a pleading rasp.
“Easy, love,” he murmured in soft reassurance, then went on stroking the exquisitely sensitive flesh. In only moments she tilted her head back.
Feeling her helpless trembling, Ash gently thrust a finger into her silken warmth. Maura whimpered in pleasure. He slid a second finger into her, pushing deeper, and she gasped, clamping her thighs around his caressing hand.
Sucking again on her stiffened nipple, he kept up the arousing rhythm with his fingers, probing and withdrawing, until her hips strained restlessly against his hand, instinctively seeking relief from the feverish passion he was building within her. He could feel the heat rising from her flushed skin, hear her rasping pants as she reached the brink of climax. A heartbeat later, he felt her jerk and twist with sweet convulsions until she fell limply against him.
Satisfied for the moment, Ash slid his arms around her and held her until her tremors subsided.
When finally she regained a measure of strength and stirred against him, he drew back to gaze into her gold-flecked eyes. “Do you still want to continue?”
“Yes,” Maura whispered. “The sponges …”
“Allow me.”
Gathering her in his arms, he lifted her onto the bed to lie beside him, then proceeded to wet a sponge with liquid from the vial. Then he made her open for him, parting her moist flesh to slide the sponge within her woman’s passage.
She was wet silk between her legs, her body already prepared for his taking. In response, Ash felt his shaft clench with savage need, yet he knew he had to take intense care in satisfying Maura and bringing her to pleasure.
“We need to go slowly,” he murmured. “I want to be gentle for your first time.”
In answer, she gazed up at him trustingly.
Calling on all his willpower, he began the exquisite task of claiming her. His caresses were slow and erotic, designed to tempt and promise and arouse. First he cupped her breasts, defining their shape, molding her softness. Then he found her molten heat below, enticing her hips into an undulating movement.
Hunger danced in the air between them, while firelight glowed in her eyes.
When Ash slid his thigh between hers, however, he hesitated. He was burning with lust, desire, need, yet having Maura beneath him like this filled him with an immense tenderness. As he gazed down at her beautiful features, the feelings rioting through him were more powerful than any he had ever experienced, his mind and body burning with a fire of enchantment.
Similar feelings were flooding Maura. She wanted Ash, ached for him, yet he was controlling the pace, deliberately wielding his seductive powers again, weaving a spell to make her helpless with desire. A shiver stole through her, while a sweet fever rose and spread through her veins.
His eyes seared her like naked flame, making heat invade every part of her. With deliberate care, he eased over her, spreading her thighs with his own.
The tenderness in his eyes was as devastating as the wildness. When he entered her partway, she drew a sharp breath. For a long moment, Ash remained still, feathering soft kisses over her flushed face, her eyelids, allowing her to grow accustomed to his alien hardness stretching her, filling her. As her tension eased, he pressed in a bit further, progressing in slow increments, until finally he was sheathed in her virginal tightness.
“Am I hurting you?” he asked.
“No,” she lied breathlessly, and yet her body was softening, warming around him. Every part of her throbbed at the feel of Ash’s hard flesh joined with hers.
After another long moment, he began moving gently inside her, using his consummate skill to coax a sensual response from her. When he thrust even deeper, Maura’s thighs parted to accept more of him, and she tentatively lifted her hips to follow his rhythm.
Soon she felt a hot, coiling tension rising and spiraling through her. Soul-scorching heat seared her from the bright center of sensation at her core.
She felt the answering fire in Ash’s body, heard the wanting in his husky voice as he grated out her name. He seemed to be having difficultly controlling his own need, just as she was.
When he withdrew and sank into her again, she whimpered, wordlessly pleading, helplessly needing.… He thrust harder, and Maura suddenly erupted.
Her senses exploded. She moaned and clung to Ash, her entire body shaking. Claiming her mouth once more, he kissed her, capturing her rasping cries of bliss and wonder as he surrendered to his own climax deep within her. Maura felt his violent shudders, yet she welcomed his urgency.
When at last Ash went still, she lay there beneath him, dazed and trembling. It might have been an eternity before she regained enough awareness to realize that he was still buried within her while she pulsed with incredible pleasure.