She didn't have any idea how they'd gotten over to the bed, but Nathan was suddenly pulling the covers back. His mouth left hers when he lifted her up and gently placed her on her back in the center of the sheets. He didn't give her time to try to shield her nudity from him but followed her down on the bed, covering her from head to foot with his warm body.
It was too much, too soon. Sara began to feel trapped and totally at his mercy. She didn't want to be afraid, and she didn't want to disappoint him.
The haze of passion cleared in an instant. She didn't want to do this anymore.
But she didn't want him to quit kissing her either. And God, she was frightened.
He'd probably take exception if she started screaming. For that reason she kept her mouth closed in an effort to contain the shout locked in her throat.
His knee tried to nudge her legs apart. She wouldn't allow that intimacy and began to struggle against him. She slapped his shoulders, too. He immediately stopped trying. He propped himself up on his elbows to ease his weight away from her, then began to nibble on the side of her neck. She liked that. His breath was warm, sweet, teasing against her ear. She shivered in reaction. In a dark whisper he told her how much she pleased him, how much she made him want her, and even told her how beautiful he thought she was. When he was finished with his words of praise he was certain he'd coaxed her into accepting him completely.
He was mistaken. As soon as he tried to nudge her thighs apart again she went completely rigid on him. He gritted his teeth in frustration.
The feel of her soft skin made him wild with his own need to be inside her. But she wasn't ready for his invasion yet. His forehead was beaded with perspiration from the effort of holding back. Each time his hands moved to touch her breasts she tensed up on him. His frustration soon made his hunger acutely painful.
It would only be a matter of minutes before he completely lost his control. God, he didn't want to hurt her. He was feeling desperate to thrust inside her heat, but she was going to be hot for him, wet, ready, when he finally made her his.
She sure as hell wasn't ready now. She was pinching his shoulder and trying to get him to move away from her.
He decided to let her have her way for just a minute or two. Nathan rolled to his side, thinking to put a little distance between them before he completely lost his sanity, forced her thighs apart, and drove into her.
He thought he only needed a couple of minutes to regain his discipline. When his heart quit slamming inside his chest, when it didn't hurt so much to breathe, when the god-awful ache in his loins abated a little, he would try again.
Wooing a virgin was damned hard work, he thought, and since he had absolutely no expertise with either wooing or with bedding virgins, he felt completely inadequate.
Perhaps one day in the future, when he was an old, old man, he might be able to look back on this night of sweet torture and have himself a good laugh. At the moment he wasn't in the mood to laugh, though. He wanted to grab hold of his bride and shake some sense into her while he demanded at the same time that she not be afraid of him.
The contradiction in those conflicting thoughts made him shake his head.
Sara was trembling from head to foot. As soon as he moved away from her the helpless feeling of being trapped vanished. She wanted him to kiss her again.
The look on Nathan's face worried her, though. He looked like he wanted to shout at her. She took a deep breath, then rolled to her side to face him. "Nathan?"
He didn't answer her. His eyes were closed, his jaw clenched tight.
"You told me you were a patient man."
"Sometimes."
"You're upset with me, aren't you?"
"No."
She didn't believe him. "Don't frown," she whispered. She reached out to touch his chest.
He reacted as though she'd just burned him. He visibly flinched. "Don't you want to do this any longer?" she asked. "Have you quit wanting me?"
Not want her? He wanted to grab hold of her hand and force her to feel how very much he wanted her. He didn't, of course, for he was certain she'd become terrified again.
"Sara, just give me a minute," he said in a clipped voice. "I'm afraid…" He didn't finish that explanation, didn't tell her he was afraid he would hurt her if he touched her. That admission would only increase her fear, so he kept silent.
"You don't have to be afraid," she whispered.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He opened his eyes to look at her. She couldn't really think… and yet the tenderness in her eyes indicated she did believe he was afraid.
"For God's sake, Sara, I'm not afraid."
Her fingers slowly trailed down his chest. He caught hold of her hand when she reached the flat of his stomach. "Stop that," he ordered.
"You've only taken experienced women to your bed, haven't you, Nathan?"
His answer was a low grunt.
She smiled. "Nathan, you like kissing me, don't you?"
He'd asked her that very question not fifteen minutes earlier, when he'd been trying to rid her of her fear. God's truth, he would have laughed if he hadn't been in so much pain. The woman was treating him as though he were the virgin.
He was about to straighten out her thinking when she edged closer to him. He suddenly realized that his bride was no longer afraid of him. "Do you?" she persisted.
"Yes, Sara, I like kissing you."
"Then kiss me again, please."
"Sara, kissing isn't the only thing I had in mind. I want to touch you. Everywhere."
He waited for her to go rigid on him again. God, he wished he had the patience for this. His nerves felt as though they were about to snap, and all he could think about was spilling his seed inside her.
He closed his eyes and growled.
And then he felt her take hold of his hand. He opened his eyes just as she placed his hand on the side of her full breast.
He didn't move for a long minute. She didn't either. They stared into each other's eyes. He waited to see what she would do next. She waited for him to get on with his duty.
Sara soon became impatient with him. He was gently stroking her breasts. The feeling made her tingle inside. It made her reckless, too. She rubbed her toes against his legs and slowly leaned up to kiss him.
"I hate the feeling of being trapped," she whispered between feathery-light kisses. "But I don't feel trapped now, Nathan. Don't give up on me yet, husband. This is a new experience for me. Truly."
He gently caressed the side of her face. "I'm not going to give up," he whispered. There was a bit of laughter in his voice when he added, "Truly."
She sighed against his mouth and kissed him just the way she wanted to. When her tongue moved inside to mate with his, Nathan's control snapped. He became the aggressor again, deepening the kiss even more with wild abandon.
He kept up the gentle assault until she rolled onto her back and tried to bring him with her. Nathan didn't give in to her demand but leaned down to kiss the fragrant valley between her breasts. His mouth teased first one and then the other nipple until they were both hard nubs. His tongue drove her wild. When she couldn't stand the sweet torment any longer she grabbed hold of his hair and began to tug on him.
She felt as if she'd been hit with hot lightning when he finally took her nipple into his mouth. She arched up, demanding more. He began to suckle.
A warm knot formed in the pit of her stomach. "Nathan, please," she moaned. She didn't have any idea what she was begging him for, only knew the incredible heat was driving her beyond reason.
He turned to her other breast even as his hand slid down between her thighs. She didn't clench against him but let out another ragged groan.
He leaned up on one elbow so he could watch her expression. She tried to hide her face in the crook of his shoulder. He reached out and caught hold of her hair.