Bronwyn Jameson - Fortune's Mergers

She felt his fingers at the back of her neck, heard the soft scrape of her shell’s zipper, as he pulled the tab down.

“Case,” she said breathlessly. “Stop. Please.”

He closed his mouth over hers and peeled the shell from her body, tossed it aside. “There’s no reason to stop,” he said, nipping at her lips. “We’re engaged now. Remember?”

She gulped, remembering she’d told him that she wouldn’t sleep with a man until she was married to him, or at the very least engaged.

And, as of three hours ago, she was engaged to Case Fortune.

“Feel this?” he asked, rocking his groin against hers. “That, my darling, is passion, what you do to me.”

A knot twisted in her belly, fear of the unknown. She was grossly inexperienced when it came to sex. Yet, her body responded to his caresses, to the heat that burned between them. Her hands itched to touch him, as he was touching her, to explore his body in the same way he was exploring hers. Her breasts ached for his touch, her lips for his kiss. She wanted him, what pleasure he offered, the secrets he could show her, there was no questioning that.

Growing bold, she slid her hands to his waist and, with trembling fingers, eased his shirttail from his slacks. She felt the quickening of his body as her fingers brushed his skin, the rapid rise and fall of his chest against her breasts.

“I want you in bed,” he murmured against her lips and began backing her in that direction as he stripped off his dinner jacket. “I want you naked beneath me, your legs spread beneath mine, your arms around me.”

His whispered list of wants made her pulse kick into a faster beat, her womb throb in anticipation. By the time her legs bumped the side of her bed, his jacket and shirt were gone, his chest bare. She gulped, watching, as he unfastened his slacks, pushed them down his legs. His erection pushed at the fly of powder blue boxer shorts.

Swallowing hard, she lifted her gaze to his. “I’ve never done this before,” she said uneasily.

His lips curving in a tender smile, he cupped a hand at her cheek. “Don’t worry. I’ll teach you all you need to know.”

She gulped again, then stepped out of her heels and slacks. Down to her bra and panties, she had to fight the urge to wrap her arms around her middle to cover herself as she watched Case pull back the covers.

When he turned back to her, her heart shot to her throat. His eyes, always a gorgeous blue, seemed to have taken on a darker hue, one that smoldered and burned. He reached out and placed a hand on her cheek. “Make love with me, Gina.”

His voice was husky, his touch gentle, as he cupped her face. Helpless to do anything else, she stepped into his embrace, his kiss.

His lips were first soft, then commanding, as he used his chest to force her back on the bed. She felt as if every nerve ending in her body was cued to register each new sensation. The weight of his body sinking against hers, the heat that seeped into her skin, the sweep of his tongue around her mouth. With a hand cupped on her breast between them, he kneaded the mound, making her nipple ache to be touched as well.

Within minutes, she was writhing beneath him, her body demanding a satisfaction she had no idea how to ask for.

“Case,” she begged breathlessly. “Please.”

“Give me a minute.” He rolled off her and stretched to retrieve something from the pocket of his slacks. A condom, she realized nervously, and gulped, as she watched him open the package and slip it into place.

Protected now, he slid a hand down her back and rolled her to her side to face him. With his gaze on hers, he stripped off her panties, then settled his hand between her legs.

She tensed, gasping, as his fingers brushed her center.

“Ssh,” he soothed, kissing her. “I won’t hurt you. I just want to make sure you’re ready.”

She nodded, then closed her eyes on a groan, as he began to stroke her, slow, feather-light brushes of his fingers along her femininity. She felt the heat rising deep inside her, the softening of her walls. Fire burned behind her eyes, in her lungs, beneath her skin.

This is torture, was all she could think. The most unbelievable pleasure-evoking, mind-numbing torture she’d ever experienced in her life and she wanted more. She felt the tip of his finger slide inside and tensed against the pressure.

“Relax,” he soothed.

His voice became both balm and sorcerer, calming her fears, even as it fanned the flames higher. Her breath grew labored, her womb throbbed for release.

As if sensing her increasing need, he cupped a hand behind her knee and drew her leg over his. “I won’t hurt you,” he said again, shifting his hips against hers.

Closing her eyes against the heat that threatened to consume her, she nodded.

She felt the nudge of his sex at her opening, and her breath snagged in her lungs.

“Breathe,” he urged against her lips. “Just breathe. Let yourself go.”

The pressure of his hips against hers increased as he pushed slowly inside. Gasping, desperate to escape this ache that thrummed so deeply inside her, she arched, and he slid a little deeper. One of his hands fanned her buttocks, holding her against him, the other cupped her face. She could feel his breath against her lips, hear the huskiness in his voice, as he murmured words of encouragement.

He inched deeper and met resistance.

“Trust me, baby,” he whispered as he clasped her buttocks between his hands. Holding her in place, he pushed his hips forward. She gasped, as pain, red hot and searing, shot through her. A split second later it was gone, giving way to the most incredible flood of sensations.

This is what it means to become one, she thought in wonder, as she struggled to absorb what was happening to her. The most intimate of joinings. Awed by the experience, she opened her eyes, needing to create a visual connection with Case, as well as the physical one they shared, and found him watching her. His face was taut with restraint, his eyes dark with passion. A fine sheen of perspiration beaded his upper lip and his chest. She knew without asking what his self-control was costing him.

Her heart melted at the sacrifice he was willing to make for her, the gentleness with which he had handled her. Looping her arms around his neck, she drew his mouth to hers. “Don’t hold back,” she whispered against his lips. “Give me everything.”

With a groan, he rolled her to her back and surged deeper, his hips pumping against hers in a rhythmic dance Gina found easy to follow. Pressure slowly built inside her, squeezing the breath from her lungs, closing her throat. She felt Case tense, his body going as rigid as steel, the tremble in the legs clamped against hers, the quiver of arms he’d braced at either side of her face.

Eyes now open wide in wonder, she watched the passion build on his face, felt the shudder of release that shook him from head to toe, heard the low growl he emitted and absorbed the sound as he lowered his mouth to hers.

Like a sail that had lost its wind, he sank slowly down over her, with a sigh, and buried his face in the curve of her neck.

“You okay?” he asked softly.

Touched by his concern, it took her a moment to find her voice.

“Yes,” she whispered, then wrapped her arms around him and held him close, knowing how inadequate the word was, how incredibly short it fell of describing her true feelings.

With their hearts beating in rhythm, she closed her eyes and slept.

Gina decided she much preferred being awakened by a man than an alarm clock. Butterfly kisses on her eyelids, light strokes of his hands over her belly, whispered words that both seduced and intrigued. Snuggled close against Case’s side, she was more than willing to spend the entire day like this.