Virgin Bride by Tamara Leigh

between them, feeling the force of that strong, male member rise between them.
    Was that her breathing? she wondered, hearing a shallow, raspy sound. What was this incredible song singing through her that made her pulse speed? She reached up and touched his face, threading her fingers through his crisp beard as she focused on the mouth hidden there.
    Suddenly, she wanted very much to feel those lips upon hers. Daring to hope they would be unlike William's rumblings, or Michael's brotherly peck, she raised herself onto her toes. Still the man was too tall for her. Curling a hand around his neck, she urged his head lower.
    Letting go his held breath, he encircled her waist with one arm and pressed her into the hard contours of his body.
    A shiver of pleasure rippled up Graeye's spine, causing every part of her roused femininity to tremble. Without surrendering his stare, she met his lips and felt a jolt of light pierce her core as he proceeded to coax the breath from her. She gave it to him.
    They were as two who had been without sustenance for a long time—touching, caressing, each searching the other with wild abandonment.
    Not until his hand slid up from her breast and slipped through her hair did the magic fall away, cruelly pulling her back to the present.
    Gasping, she jerked her head back and lifted a hand to smooth her hair, relieved to find the mark had not come uncovered.
    The man straightened, a frown creasing his brow as he reached again to brush her hair aside.
    Again she resisted. Raising her hands before her to ward off further exploration, she locked her gaze with his and shook her head.
    Though his frown deepened, he accepted her entreaty with a shrug. He contented himself instead with running his fingers through the length of hair that swept her hips; then he molded the warm, fluid lines of her to him and lowered his mouth back to hers.
    Graeye accepted the caress that slid over her lips and then inside, responding as he had shown her only minutes earlier. Though she was inexperienced in such things, she took the new and wondrous discovery to heart and soon forgot the awkwardness driving her responses.
    A sound, animal-like, erupted from her as his hands slid over the curve of her buttocks and inward to her woman's secret, leaving trails of flame in their wake. Now she knew ... and wanted more.
    Heat rising from the forbidden regions of her body, she instinctively began to move against him, her fingers tracing the contours of his body. Quickly, she learned the hard feel of the muscles bunched beneath his skin, and unconsciously committed all to memory.
    Aye, here were the desires too long suppressed demanding a release from their bonds. Though she sinned, she could not stop herself.
    Through a haze of warring sensations, Graeye realized she was being lifted, her thighs settled about the man's waist. She clung to him, shivering when his lips trailed down her face and lingered at the sensitive place between neck and shoulder.
    A sudden, sharp sensation drove up into her, turning her pleasure to pain. Gone was the promise of heaven and the spreading of wings that longed to fly. Here was the pain of woman the nuns had warned of.
    "By my troth!" the man exclaimed.
    His words did not register in Graeye's protesting mind. Seeking escape, she arched back and thrust her hands to his chest. The tearing pain did not ease, it only burned more. Tears gathering in her eyes, she closed her lids against the dark.
    Why would he want to hurt her? she wondered as she attempted to twist out of his hold.
    With little effort he clasped her wrists in one hand and pulled her back to him, holding her firmly against his chest and affording her no chance of escape. Then he began to murmur soothing words into her ear.
    Slowly, the burning flame up Graeye's center faded and she found herself relaxing, her spine softening until she became slack in his arms. It crossed her mind that if this was what mating was like, it was a wonder women