A fire singed beneath her skin, sweeping through her with an intensity so strong she found herself clutching and pulling him closer. He subdued her excitement with gentle touches, tamed the burn into something slow and decadent.
The delicate silk at her hips pulled away as his fingers stroked between her thighs. Soft, wet heat waited within her folds. The first caress of his fingers over her sex had her gasping, nervous and excited for what might come.
"So soft…" He parted her tender folds and gently probed her slick flesh. Deeper and deeper he pressed until she wasn't sure if she should cry in pleasure or beg for more.
His mouth left her breasts and traveled lower. He slowly kissed down her belly. Her hands fumbled over their discarded clothing until her fingers sifted through his silken hair. She arched sharply as his tongue licked a straight line to the sensitive peak of her sex.
"Ah…" The pleasure was so acute she feared she might break from the inside out.
Her hands tightened, as did his lips. Fingers probing deeply, he licked and kissed as her body throbbed with awareness.
Her blood pumped, thick and hot through her veins, as if traveling toward something magnificent. Tighter, sharper, the pleasure built until control slipped away and she cried out in a rush of frenzied ecstasy.
Her body quaked under a cool dew of perspiration and desire. The whisper of his clothing hardly registered as her thoughts floated outside themselves, drifting softly back into her bones like a feather falling to a pond, sending slight ripples of sensation to all her edges in a gentle tickle.
Strong hands adjusted her limbs as Sawyer rose above her. The press of coarse hair along her thighs caused her eyes to open.
"You're ready, bella," he whispered, tenderness banked in his stark blue eyes.
Drawing in a steadying breath, she nodded, her body opening to him. His shoulders lifted as his strong arms supported his weight. In a moment of panic, her mind seized, her sex tightening before he could enter.
"What is it? Do you want to stop?"
Her heart raced. "No." She shook her head. "I'm just … nervous." "We can stop—"
"No, I want this." This was her moment, her opportunity to do something indulgent for herself and she couldn't imagine sharing it with anyone other than him. "I want this with you."
"Okay, bella." He leaned down, his lips chasing up her neck, his fingers softly combing through her hair. "Relax a little."
Her body calmed, her palms resting on his broad shoulders, and her knees opening to make room for his hips. Gradually entering her with slow advances, her spine stretched to accommodate his girth.
He peppered her throat with kisses as his breathing quickened. "That's it, bella."
She blinked up at him, assured by his steady gaze borne of tenderness. Those eyes were the most adoring pair to ever set on her. They promised secrets would be kept and—perhaps only in her fanciful heart—that she might never be alone again.
He thrust deep and pulled her body against his, his mouth finding hers as he held her with loving hands. The initial sharpness of pain was curbed by the tender way he took her mouth. Perfect. And seconds later she was lost in a whirlwind of pleasure.
"You feel incredible, bella."
She loved that he already had a special name for her, one only she would know. "So do you."
It was the most intimate moment of her life. He was claiming parts of her—personal, secret parts—and nothing had ever felt as good as his possession.
His rhythm built, but he paced himself. Steady, deep motions rocked her. Their bodies clung to each other, flesh slick, her pulse fluttering until there came another moment of rapture. Her muscles tightened around him and he groaned, pressing his chest to hers, losing himself right in her arms.
She'd never seen a man so unveiled or imagined anything remotely close. Such fleeting vulnerability mixed with a flash of innocence as he finished, some unnamable glimpse of fragility that matched her own. Elusive, but there, letting her know he needed this as much as she did.
Panting, he lowered his head to her shoulder. Her hand ghosted over the back of his silky hair, cradling him.
"I've got you," she whispered, unsure where the words came from, but feeling like his equal, now more than ever.
He shivered and pressed a kiss to her neck, as he lingered inside of her. "My God, Isadora. It should be illegal for anything to feel so good."
She laughed, glad to know she'd done okay for her first time.
Slowly, he eased off of her. Her body protested his withdrawal as an unfamiliar soreness awakened inside of her.
Sawyer stilled and silently cursed. "It seems I need to take my own advice. Please tell me you're on birth control."
Of course she wasn't. She'd lectured Lucian plenty of times about being responsible, which made it all the more mortifying that she'd been so careless. Not wanting to lie, she simply said, "Don't worry."
He sighed with notable relief then looked around the room. Rising, he walked—stark naked—to the bar and poured water over a linen napkin. The moment he turned and caught her staring, her blush spread across her entire body.
Grinning with male arrogance, he shamelessly sauntered back to her, completely undaunted by his nudity or hers. She frowned as he nudged her knees apart.
"Let me," he said softly, pressing the cloth between her thighs. His brow pinched. "There's a little—" His frown deepened and she pressed her thighs together, but he held her knee still. His expression blanked as he met her gaze. "Jesus. Was this your first time?"
Her cheeks burned. Enough. Brushing his hand away, she closed her legs, but held his stare, unsure if he was more shocked by her age or her virtue. Either way she refused to justify something as silly as virginity. It was what it was.
"Does that bother you?"
He looked away, brow still tight. "Why didn't you say something?" She laughed. "What would I have said?"
"That you were a virgin."
There was no censure in his tone, but she sensed his immediate regret. No way would she let him take something so lovely and paint it in some shameful light.
"And then what, Sawyer? Would you have taken the authoritative position and decided for me? It makes no difference."
"It makes a big difference, Isadora."
"Why?" She was an adult for God's sake. At this point, her virginity was more of an embarrassment than anything else. She was glad to have it gone.
"Your first time should be special." He appeared frustrated, but his voice remained low, his tone not exactly gentle.
She sat up, refusing to let him ruin this for her. "It was special." Pulling her shirt to her chest, she confessed the truth. "I have no regrets."
He shook his head. "Would you tell me if you did?" "Have I given you a reason to doubt my honesty?"
Lines of tension bracketed his mouth. "No."
They awkwardly sat in the shadows as her body cooled and shivered. "What now?"
"You're cold. Let's get dressed then we'll decide what happens next." Though he helped her up, his eyes remained cast toward the floor, somehow filling her with uncertainty and additional disdain for her sheltered life. No matter how much she didn't w
ant the loss of her virginity to ruin this moment, it seemed like it was going to anyway.