He drew her hand across his belly. She felt his skin and the crisp hairs. Then her hand b.u.mped into something else. Something so soft it made her think of velvet and satin blended together.

She relaxed her fingers and let him guide her. She found herself holding him. He was long and hard, a steel sheath encased in whisper-smooth skin. From top to bottom she let her fingers discover him.

At last she opened her eyes and stared at him. Her pale fingers gripped him confidently, as if she'd done this a hundred times before. Okay, maybe not a hundred, but at least ten. She touched the thick hair protecting his maleness, then slipped lower to the soft, tender sacs between his legs.

The contrast of shapes and textures amazed her. He was so different from herself. Male to her female. She studied his long, lean legs, then brushed the tops of his thighs.

"This is nice," she said, amazed that it was.

"I'm glad you approve."

She continued touching him, then moved her hand up and down in the motion he'd shown her. "Do you like this?"

A muscle tightened in his jaw. "Oh, yeah."

She glanced from him to the deflated condom resting on the rug by the leg of the coffee table. "It's good that those things stretch. Otherwise, it would never fit."

He gave a strangled laugh, then grabbed her shoulders and lowered her to the floor. "Enough," he said. "You're driving me crazy."

"What did I do wrong?" she asked, suddenly panicked. "Did I hurt you?"

"Nothing's wrong," he said, looming over her. The fire burned bright in his eyes. "Everything is right, Holly. That's part of the problem. When you're touching me, I start to lose control."

"And that's bad?"

He smiled slowly. "That's very good."

"Then why-"

He cut off her words with a kiss. His tongue plunged inside and circled her own. He tasted her thoroughly.

She reveled in the feel of him on top of her. When he reached for the hem of her sweater, she helped him pull it over her head. The last time he'd done that, she had been shy, afraid to show herself to him. Now she wanted him to touch her bare skin and take her to that place she'd been before.

Her bra followed her sweater onto the growing pile of clothing. Jordan cupped her full b.r.e.a.s.t.s, stroking them gently, teasing her nipples into tautness, then drawing the tight points into his mouth. His fingers traced patterns on her ribs before reaching for the snap on her jeans. She didn't want him to stop kissing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, but she did want his hands between her legs, so she raised her hips enough to push off the rest of her clothing.

And then she was naked before him. For a moment she worried about those extra pounds and the fact that no man had ever seen her completely bare. Then he ran his hands from her ankles to her thighs, and she didn't care about anything but being with him.

His mouth settled on her breast. She held his head in her hands and urged him to suckle deeper. His bare legs brushed against hers. His hair tickled. She felt his hardness pressing into her hip, and wondered what it would feel like when he entered her. Would it hurt? Would it feel wonderful?

Then his fingers slipped between her thighs, and she forgot to worry about anything. The tension she remembered from the last time they'd done this returned, only faster. Her muscles tightened as her whole body prepared itself for release.

Then his fingers were gone, and his mouth moved away from her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She wanted to sob in protest. Why was he stopping? But he didn't stop completely. He trailed kisses down her ribs to the slight mound of her belly. He paused long enough to dip into her belly b.u.t.ton and make her squirm.

Had she known what he was going to do, she would have tried to stop him. Had she known how good it was going to feel, she would have begged him to do it sooner.

He kissed her lower and lower on her belly, then moved down to kiss her thighs. When she would have closed her legs against him, he nudged to keep her knees apart. Fighting embarra.s.sment and embracing the hopeful belief that anything this wonderful couldn't possibly be bad, she did as he requested.

Then he kissed her there. A slow kiss, tasting her, teasing her, making her want to scream and faint and beg him to never, ever stop.

Tension returned and with it the promise of a release beyond anything she'd ever imagined. In just a few minutes she was panting and ready, poised yet caught in pleasure too wonderful to end.

The intimacy of the act delighted her. That he would want to touch her that way, there. She felt her body begin to collect itself. Pleasure spiraled, circling higher and higher as the pitch increased.

He flicked his tongue faster, and she was his. Drawn up and out, ripped apart, then put back together. Disa.s.sembled with every beat of her heart, a.s.sembled by the touch of his tongue.

When her body stopped shaking, she found herself in his arms. He held her close and brushed the hair from her face.

"Jordan?" Her voice shook.

He smiled gently. "How was it?"

She laughed. "I know you don't have to ask. I vaguely recall mumbling something, and I'm sure you heard."

"You weren't mumbling, you were screaming." The twinkle in his eyes told her he was teasing.

"I'm not the screaming type."

"I could change that."

She sighed. "I think you could." Something flexed against her hip. She wiggled closer. "Now, please."

He looked into her face as if trying to judge her true feelings on the subject, then he pushed up and reached for one of the condoms. She'd been afraid that watching him put it on would be awkward, but instead she found herself fighting tears. His willingness to protect her, his genuine concern, touched her down to her heart. Emotions filled her chest. She didn't want to identify them now. Later, when she was alone, she would figure out what they meant.

He knelt between her legs. Their gazes locked. This was a moment of no return. Once the act had been completed, she would no longer be a virgin.

"Yes," she said.

He pressed into her. At first she felt a slight pressure. He was large and she was untried, so her body had to stretch to accommodate him.

He leaned forward and kissed her right breast. The slow tug as he drew her nipple into his mouth sparked an answering response deep inside. He suckled again, then pushed in.

The brief pain surprised her. She stiffened and he stopped.

"It's okay," she said. "I guess now you know I wasn't kidding about being a virgin."

"Holly, I-"

"No." She flexed her hips, urging him in deeper. "I want this. I want you."

With one steady thrust he buried himself in her. When she had adjusted to his width and length, he withdrew and plunged inside again. She closed her eyes and found herself caught up in the rhythm of their erotic dance. The low stirring became tension, followed quickly by the urge to press on to a release.

She arched toward him. He moved in and out of her more quickly, then reached a hand between them and touched her most sensitive place.

His fingers brought her to the edge, then she found herself calling his name. Once again she was caught up in the spiraling magic. This time he followed her, straining against her, his muscles hard, his face a mask of intense pleasure. Together they completed the ancient dance of male and female, afterward settling into the safety and warmth of each other's arms.

When Jordan rolled over and opened his eyes, the room was dark. His internal clock told him dawn was still a couple of hours away. At first he didn't recognize the shadowy shapes in the room, then Holly shifted, cuddling against him, and he remembered everything.