She felt the moist tip of his sex, then his hands were holding her hips, lifting them. His mouth covered hers and his tongue thrust inside just as he drove inside her. The stabbing pain broke through her sexual haze. She cried out and tried to move away. Caine felt the resistance pushing against his arousal. He hesitated for the briefest of seconds. The look in his eyes when he tilted his head back to look at her showed his determination. And then he drove into her again, until he'd broken through the maidenhead and filled her completely. Jade cried out again and squeezed her eyes shut against his invasion.
He went completely still, trying to give her time to adjust to him, trying, too, to give himself time to gain control.
"You have to stop now," she cried out. "I don't want to do this any longer."
Tears streamed down her cheeks. She opened her eyes to look at him. "Stop now," she pleaded.
His expression showed his concern. A fine sheen of perspiration covered his brow. His jaw was clenched tight. She thought he must be in as much pain as she was.
And then he shook his head at her. "I can't stop now," he grated out. "Just hold me, Jade. Don't move like that… it makes me want to…"
Caine's forehead dropped to rest on top of hers. He closed his eyes against the sweet torment. "Are you
in pain, too?" she asked on a near sob.
"No, love," he whispered. "I'm not in pain."
"I'm not a virgin any longer, am I? We're done now, aren't we?"
She was overwhelmed by the confusing emotions warring inside her. The pain was insistent. She wanted Caine to leave her alone… and yet, she wanted him to hold her, too.
"No, baby, you aren't a virgin any longer," he finally answered. "You're mine now. And we sure as hell aren't finished."
He sounded like he'd just run a great distance. The grim expression on his face when he looked at her again actually frightened her.
It was apparent he hated this as much as she did.
She felt devastated by her failure. "I knew I wouldn't be any good at this," she cried out. "Please get
off me. You're hurting me."
Caine shuddered for control. "Baby, I can't stop," he said again. He tried to kiss her, but she turned
her face away and began to struggle again.
"If you don't stop, I'm going to start crying," she pleaded. "I hate to cry," she added with a sob against
his ear.
He didn't mention the fact that she was already crying. Hell, she made him feel as low as a snake. He wanted to comfort her, yet the fact that he was fully imbedded inside her tight, hot sheath made his discipline all but desert him. "Love, the pain won't last long," he promised. He hoped to God he was right.
His hands roughly cupped the sides of her face, and his mouth ended their conversation.
His tongue swept inside to mate with hers, and when he felt her resistance begin to fade, he moved his hand down, between their joined bodies, to stroke the sensitive bud into arousal again.
Jade didn't forget about the pain, but it didn't seem to matter now. The restlessness came back with building insistence. Caine forced himself to stay completely still until she'd adjusted to him. When she slowly arched up against him, he partially withdrew, then drove back into her again.
Her ragged moan forced him to stop again. "Am I still hurting you?" he asked, all the while praying he wasn't causing her more pain. His body was screaming for release, and he knew, even if she begged
him, he wouldn't be able to stop now. "Is it better now?"
"A little," she answered against his neck. Her voice sounded shy, uncertain. "It's a little better."
He continued to hesitate until she bit his earlobe and pushed against him again. It was all the encouragement he needed. His body took over. Though he vowed to be gentle with her, his thrusts became more powerful, more out of control.
Her thighs clenched him tight. Her toes arched against the backs of his legs. Her nails dug into his shoulder blades.
Caine was relentless now in his quest to push her beyond control. He drove into her and then slowly withdrew, again and again. He knew he should withdraw before he reached his own climax, for neither
of them had taken any precautions against pregnancy, but she was so hot, so tight, that noble thought became untenable. And somewhere, in the dark recesses of his mind was the honest admission that he wanted to give her his child.
The mating rhythm took over. The bed squeaked with each hard thrust. Thunder blended with their low moans of pleasure, his whispered words of love. Caine wouldn't let her give half measure. Wave after wave of intense pleasure began to spiral through her body until she was shaking with her need for fulfillment. He made her burn for completion. Jade was suddenly terrified of what was happening to her. It was as though he was trying to steal her soul. "Caine, I can't…"
He hushed her fear with another long, drugging kiss. "Let it happen, Jade. Hold on to me. I'll keep you safe."
Safe. He would keep her safe. Jade's instinctive trust in him pushed her fear and her vulnerability away. She let the storm capture her until she became one with the wind. And then she felt as though she was splintering through the air toward the sun. Her body squeezed him tight. She cried out his name, with joy, with release, and with love.
Caine buried his seed inside her at the very same moment. His head fell to her shoulder and he let out a low grunt of satisfaction.
His own climax made him shudder in wonder. Never had he felt such blissful surrender. He felt drained… and renewed.
He was never going to let her go. That sudden thought hammered through his mind with the same force of his wild heartbeat. He neither fought the truth nor tried to move.
He was content.
Jade was exhausted.
Only when her arms began to ache did she realize she was still clinging to him. She slowly released her hold, then let her arms fall to her sides. She was too astonished by what had just happened to her to speak yet. No one had ever told her it would be like this. Dear heaven, she'd completely lost control. She'd given herself to him completely, body and soul, trusting him absolutely to keep her safe.
No one had ever had such power over her. No one.
Jade closed her eyes to keep her tears hidden. Caine, she decided, was a far more cunning thief than she was. The man had dared to steal her heart. Worse, she had allowed it.
Even when he felt her tense beneath him, he couldn't find the strength or the will to move away from her.
"I think you should leave now," she whispered. Her voice trembled.
Caine sighed against her neck. He wrapped his arms around her and rolled to his side. Jade couldn't resist the urge to cuddle up against his chest for just a minute. Though she didn't understand why, she actually wanted to hear a few words of praise from him before she sent him away… just a few little lies about iove and honor, that she could pull out and savor in the future on those cold nights when she was all alone. Yes, they would be lies, but she wanted to hear them anyway.
That, of course, didn't make any sense to her. She could feel herself becoming angry with him. This was all his fault because he'd turned her into a blithering simpleton who couldn't make up her mind if she wanted to weep or shout.