just maybe, she was ready to face all that he needed from her. Not only from her body but from her soul.
The question was, would she be willing to give it to him? He knew he wasn’t an easy man to live with, to love. He was too demanding, too protective and, on occasion, downright autocratic.
The woman he’d married five years ago had captured his heart with her shy intensity, but she hadn’t had the grit to stand up to him. Instead of fighting when he’d become too domineering, she’d withdrawn. But now, his Vicki was coming out of hiding. They could explore what that might mean for their marriage.
“Why didn’t you touch me in bed?” he asked. “I can understand how uncertain Ada must have made you but I never stopped you from doing that. I asked you to.”
She took in a quick breath but didn’t retreat. “I was afraid of doing something wrong. You can’t imagine how terrified I was that I’d make a mistake and disgust you. You were so important to me and all I had for guidance was what Grandmother had taught me and what I’d seen between Claire and my father—separate bedrooms and separate lives.”
He could hear the deep emotion in her voice and it took everything he had not to take her back into his arms, to soothe her pain. The wounds between them couldn’t be so easily solved—they had to confront the mess they’d created in this bed and it seemed fitting that the truth was coming out in the darkness, in the same heavy silence that had hidden their past mistakes.
“I was too shy to bring up the topic with my friends—it’s such a private thing. Of course I watched TV and read magazines but Grandmother had beaten it into me that I was…flawed goods. I couldn’t be anything less than perfect because any mistake might lead to a total loss of control. And then I’d be rejected and end up like my mother—mistress to a man married to another woman. It was the perfect threat. I wanted a husband, a family.”
Caleb could hear echoes of the lost girl she’d been, the teenager with no one but a bitter, angry woman to teach her. He wished he could go back in time and kiss away Vicki’s pain but all he could do was listen.
She put one hand on his shoulder, hesitant, searching. “So I tried to do as she said. But she didn’t tell me how far I could go with my husband, didn’t tell me what it was that I couldn’t do. I didn’t know the rules so I froze. And after a while, you stopped trying to teach me.”
He knew she was right. He’d arrogantly expected her to follow his lead, never asking if that was what she wanted, never stopping to listen to her unspoken needs. But some mistakes could be rectified. “Tell me what would make it easier for you.”
Her fingers stilled. Turning over at last, he propped himself over her. “Don’t stop speaking to me now,” he said, not sure he could cope if he had to do this over again. His male ego was already bruised and battered.
“It’s so hard to say.” Her voice was a whisper. “The only thing I need is your patience.”
“Slow, honey? Is that what you want?”
Her hands moved between them to press softly against his chest. “Yes.”
He traced patterns across the delicate skin of her neck, aching for her. “Do you really want me, Vicki?”
He needed the answer to that blunt question, even if the wrong answer could wound him beyond repair. As he finished speaking, he shifted subtly, letting her feel his arousal against her thigh. He wanted her, had always wanted her. No other woman could do this to him.
She gasped. “Caleb.” Her skin flushed hot against his fingertips and she put both hands on his shoulders. He thought for a second that she was going to push him away and his heart plummeted. Then her fingers curved and she tugged him closer. “How can you always do this to me? We’ve been together for five years.”
“Do what to you?” Fascinated by the way her body was melting to accommodate his, he could hardly speak.
Another
The question was, would she be willing to give it to him? He knew he wasn’t an easy man to live with, to love. He was too demanding, too protective and, on occasion, downright autocratic.
The woman he’d married five years ago had captured his heart with her shy intensity, but she hadn’t had the grit to stand up to him. Instead of fighting when he’d become too domineering, she’d withdrawn. But now, his Vicki was coming out of hiding. They could explore what that might mean for their marriage.
“Why didn’t you touch me in bed?” he asked. “I can understand how uncertain Ada must have made you but I never stopped you from doing that. I asked you to.”
She took in a quick breath but didn’t retreat. “I was afraid of doing something wrong. You can’t imagine how terrified I was that I’d make a mistake and disgust you. You were so important to me and all I had for guidance was what Grandmother had taught me and what I’d seen between Claire and my father—separate bedrooms and separate lives.”
He could hear the deep emotion in her voice and it took everything he had not to take her back into his arms, to soothe her pain. The wounds between them couldn’t be so easily solved—they had to confront the mess they’d created in this bed and it seemed fitting that the truth was coming out in the darkness, in the same heavy silence that had hidden their past mistakes.
“I was too shy to bring up the topic with my friends—it’s such a private thing. Of course I watched TV and read magazines but Grandmother had beaten it into me that I was…flawed goods. I couldn’t be anything less than perfect because any mistake might lead to a total loss of control. And then I’d be rejected and end up like my mother—mistress to a man married to another woman. It was the perfect threat. I wanted a husband, a family.”
Caleb could hear echoes of the lost girl she’d been, the teenager with no one but a bitter, angry woman to teach her. He wished he could go back in time and kiss away Vicki’s pain but all he could do was listen.
She put one hand on his shoulder, hesitant, searching. “So I tried to do as she said. But she didn’t tell me how far I could go with my husband, didn’t tell me what it was that I couldn’t do. I didn’t know the rules so I froze. And after a while, you stopped trying to teach me.”
He knew she was right. He’d arrogantly expected her to follow his lead, never asking if that was what she wanted, never stopping to listen to her unspoken needs. But some mistakes could be rectified. “Tell me what would make it easier for you.”
Her fingers stilled. Turning over at last, he propped himself over her. “Don’t stop speaking to me now,” he said, not sure he could cope if he had to do this over again. His male ego was already bruised and battered.
“It’s so hard to say.” Her voice was a whisper. “The only thing I need is your patience.”
“Slow, honey? Is that what you want?”
Her hands moved between them to press softly against his chest. “Yes.”
He traced patterns across the delicate skin of her neck, aching for her. “Do you really want me, Vicki?”
He needed the answer to that blunt question, even if the wrong answer could wound him beyond repair. As he finished speaking, he shifted subtly, letting her feel his arousal against her thigh. He wanted her, had always wanted her. No other woman could do this to him.
She gasped. “Caleb.” Her skin flushed hot against his fingertips and she put both hands on his shoulders. He thought for a second that she was going to push him away and his heart plummeted. Then her fingers curved and she tugged him closer. “How can you always do this to me? We’ve been together for five years.”
“Do what to you?” Fascinated by the way her body was melting to accommodate his, he could hardly speak.
Another
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