Still that hand on her breast was five kinds of magic. He explored her slowly, as if learning her curves. She no longer thought of being naked before him. Actually, she couldn't think of anything at all. There were only the feelings he created in her and the wonder of their being together.

He slipped a finger back and forth against the underside of her breasts,then moved up a little until he could caress her nipple. The exquisite sensation literally dragged her up from the bed. She found herself clinging to him, uttering sounds that weren't even words but were meant to insist that he must never stop.

Jamal moved his head slightly, breaking their kiss. He left a damp trail down her jaw and neck. Before

she knew what was happening, he'd drawn her nipple between his lips and was licking the tight point. Licking it!

Fire shot through her. She dug her heels into the bed as she arched up again. She found herself cupping his head, holding on to him, writhing, needing. It was terrifying. It was wonderful.

He continued to pleasure her breasts, moving from one to the other. At the same time, his free hand slipped down her belly. Without her being aware of giving a command, her legs parted. Shivers rippled through her. She was afraid and yet oddly ready for whatever he was going to do. Then he moved into the waiting dampness.

No one had ever touched her there. No man had explored her most secret places. She'd rarely thought about that part of intimacy, but when she had, she'd assumed it would be horrible. After all, she'd been the one wishing for a mental and spiritual marriage, rather than one with physical intimacy. Now she found she might have misjudged the situation.

She loved the feel of him against her. She loved the way he moved slowly, yet with a sureness that eased her fears. He teased, circling around,then found the deep passage that would take him later.

When a single finger entered her, she felt a slight jolt deep inside. He withdrew,then went in again. The jolt was stronger, the promise of something she needed. He cupped her with his whole hand,then pressed down slightly. Something inside quivered and made her jump.

"What is this?" Jamal asked,his voice muffled against her breasts. "What have I found?"

"I-I don't know."

Heidi didn't know. She had a clue about a small place that was supposed to be very nice when touched but it was, like the rest of her, virgin territory.

He drew his hand up until his fingertips rested against the protective folds of her damp flesh. Then he went exploring. He slipped back and forth, discovering the places that made her sigh and hold on tighter. Then he touched one very special spot. Without wanting to, Heidi dug her heels into the mattress and thrust her hips upward.

"Yes," she moaned as he returned his mouth to hers.

He continued to touch her most private place. He pressed lightly, moving quickly in a rhythm designed to make her die from the glory of it all. His deep kisses drank in her moans. She clutched at him, needing to feel all of him close to her. She rubbed her hands up and down his back then pressed her palm flat against him, then found a tiny tight nipple so similar to her own that she couldn't help touching him the way he'd touched her. She brushed her fingers against the spot.

Against her thigh, something hard jumped. She felt it again and was pleased that he wanted her so much. Then she couldn't think at all because the fingers between her thighs continued to move. Air disappeared from her lungs, but it didn't matter because she was dying anyway. She had to be dying. It was impossible to feel this much and still live.

Her knees drew back of their own accord. Her hips moved. He touched her again and again,then stopped to dip inside her. Pressure built. She wanted...no, needed so much more. Nothing about the moment made sense.

And still he touched her and kissed her and held her close. Her hands fell away from him. She could only grasp uselessly at the bedspread and wait for the great something that approached.

Her body tensed. He rubbed against her, taking her higher, tighter until she was going to break or snap or maybe just blow away.

And then it happened.A kind of explosion, but from the inside. A twisting and turning of all of her body ina way that made her float and gasp and surrender herself to the glory of light and feeling. Thousands of shudders rippled through her, first strong, then fading until she trembled only slightly.

Jamal held her in his arms. "Thank you," he breathed against her hair.

"Thank you for doing that. Thank you for responding."

She tried to smile but all her muscles were still quivering. "I think I'm the one who's supposed to be saying thank you."

"Then, you're welcome."

She stared at him. "Was it supposed to be like that? I mean, that wonderful?"

He met her gaze. There was something intense about his expression, and she didn't understand anything he might be thinking. Jamal looked at her as if he'd never seen her before.

She bit her lip. "Did I do something wrong? Wasn't I supposed to-"

"Don't," he said quickly, interrupting her. "You were perfect. Everything I could have wanted. It's supposed to be exactly like that. You're supposed to feel those things. In fact I can make it better."

She smiled. "You're lying."

"No. With practice we'll learn each other's likes and dislikes and develop a rhythm that works for us."

"I can't imagine you doing anything I wouldn't like."

"Good." He paused. "I want to be inside of you, Heidi. I want to finish making love with you."

Her shyness returned, but she forced herself to nod. "I want that too."Because she did. She was suddenly very interested in learning more about this mysterious process.

Jamal rose to his feet and kicked off his shoes, then pulled off his socks and reached for the belt of his slacks. He paused.

"Have you seen a man before?" he asked.

She shook her head. He pulled down his slacks and briefs in one quick movement,then slid onto the bed. He stretched out on his back.

"Go ahead and look," he offered. "Get comfortable with me. You can touch me if you'd like."

"Oh." Touching?Her?

She raised herself up on her elbow and gazed at his body. He was fit and tanned with long, lean muscles. His shoulders were powerful. His chest tapered into a narrow waist and hips. Her gaze followed the dark line of hair that bisected his belly and led directly to his arousal.

Heidi stared. It was bigger than she'd imagined, and thrusting up toward the ceiling. The shape was not unappealing. It was darker than the rest of him.

Slowly, carefully, prepared to pull back at any minute, she stretched out her fingers and tentatively touched him. He was soft and hot, yet underneath was pulsing steel. She'd thought he might be damp or feel weird, but the skin was dry, and she liked the way her fingers around him made him tense and groan low in his throat. She experimented with moving slowly, then speeding up. He seemed to really like the-

"Enough," he said, grabbing her wrist and holding her still. "That lesson is for another time."

What lesson?she wanted to ask. Instead, she found herself on her back in the center of the mattress. Jamal knelt between her thighs. He was touching her again, the way he had before. The steady caressing left her breathless and damp. Her hips pulsed in time with the movement of his fingers, and she felt herself beginning the journey again.

But before she could reach her completion, he stopped what he was doing and started kissing her. She liked the kissing as well, so she didn't complain. His tongue was in her mouth, teasing her and- She felt a probing against her woman's place. The blunt pressure wasn't from his fingers. No, something larger sought entrance. He reached down and guided himself into her. She could feel herself stretching. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't pleasant either.

"Don't tense," he told her, his voice hoarse. "I know it's uncomfortable, but it will get better, I promise. Just relax. Once I'm inside, I'll stop until you get used to me."

She wanted to push him away, but instead she did as he'd requested. She breathed in and out, focusing only on his kiss, while between her legs he slowly filled her body.

He stopped sooner than she thought he would. She was about to say it wasn't so bad when there was a sharp pain. Heidi cried out. Jamal gave one more thrust and was still.

"That's all," he said, raining kisses on her face. "That's the worst of it."

Tears stung in her eyes, but she blinked them away. "It's not so bad," she murmured.

He smiled ruefully. "As I mentioned before, you're a lousy liar. But that's a good thing in a wife." He braced his weight on his knees and forearms and stared into her eyes. "Remember what it was like before? When I was touching you there?"

She nodded slowly, not willing to give anything away if it meant he was going to hurt her again.

"Remember how it felt?" he asked."My fingers moving against you.The pressure building and building. You were so wet and hot, and I didn't want it to ever end."

She felt herself growing warm right now. "I remember," she said quietly.

"It's going to feel that way again," he promised."When I'm inside of you.Probably not this time, but soon. That's the point, Heidi. It's good for both of us."

His words had reminded her of those incredible minutes in his arms.

Magically, the tension flowed out of her so that he didn't seem quite so huge inside. At least it wasn't as uncomfortable. When he began to move, she found herself enjoying the sensation. In and out, slowly, so slowly that she wanted him to go faster.Paradisewas a long way off, but she could see the potential.As Jamal had told her, if not this time, then soon.

He began to move faster. His expression tightened. "I can't-" he gasped.

"I can't hold back."

She didn't know what he was talking about, but she found herself needing to reassure him. "I'm fine. Don't hold back."

He dropped his head and kissed her neck. Then his entire body tensed as he buried himself deeply inside of her. He gasped her name and went still.

She held him close, feeling the last, lingering tremors of his muscles.

They had done it. They'd made love. She was no longer a virgin, and Jamal was at last her true husband. She was a little sore and sex wasn't what she thought it would be. Fortunately, it had been better than she'd imagined.

Jamal rose from the bed and collected a washcloth from the bathroom. He gently wiped away the faint traces of blood on both of them,then helped her under the covers.

"Now you are mine," he told her in the darkness as he pulled her against him.

A smile touched her lips. For the first time in her life, she felt as if she belonged.

Chapter 12.

Jamal stared into the darkness. Heidi slept at his side, but he hadn't been able to close his eyes. He wanted to believe what had just happened-he desperately needed it to be true. Had it been a onetime occurrence, or was Heidi truly different from Yasmin?

She'd responded, he reminded himself. On this very bed with his fingers touching her intimately, she'd climaxed. He'd seen the surprise and the passion in her expression. He'd felt the contraction of her muscles against his fingers.

He told himself it wasn't important, yet he couldn't stop the pleasure and pride that filled him. In all the years he'd been married to Yasmin, she'd never once reacted in the same way. Most of the time she never got damp or the least bit swollen. For her, sex had been a chore.

At the time he'd told himself it wasn't hisfault, that it didn't matter.