Winter's Thaw by Stacey Lynn Rhodes Page A

watched him hold and roll the condom down his length, and her admiring gaze made him even harder. When was the last time he’d ever been regarded with such blatant yet innocent interest? Nick shook his head. Nothing about Maggie was like anything he’d ever experienced before, from her wide-eyed reactions to her sultry siren song. His protectiveness toward her was yet another new sensation.
    He laid her back and stroked her warmth with his fingers, testing her readiness, then removed his touch and sank his sheathed cock into her welcoming folds. Her gasp echoed his as they came together and he paused to allow her to adjust. Damn, she was tight. She was a petite little thing, and he also wagered it had been a while. Rocking side to side instead of the further penetration he was aching for, he tried to give her time to become accustomed to his presence.
    Then she took matters into her own hands, so to speak, by trailing her fingertips down his pecs to his nipples and giving them a caress. Always a hot spot for him, he couldn’t keep from thrusting in reflex, finally sinking all the way into her.
    That thrust felt so good, and Maggie had nothing but desire and want in her eyes, so he began to move. The slow, rhythmic pace he set effectively edged his impending climax—all the time spent in such close proximity to her, sleeping with her, the foreplay—it all had kept him at the breaking point for longer than he’d thought possible.
    Nick finally let his body take over, his penetration going deeper and harder until sweat trickled down his back and temples. Maggie was a quiet, wordless lover, but the gasps and moans deep in her throat gave him all the feedback he needed.
    He got a hand between them and thrummed her hard clit along with his thrusts and she went wild beneath him, finally arching against him as he rode her to his own finish. The squeeze of her passage on his shaft at the peak of its sensitivity prolonged his pleasure. “Ah, babe. Maggie,” he called then, his strength fading, he rolled to his side, taking her with him.
    Holding her close, their damp skin pressed together and breaths comingling, he rested his forehead against hers. Her dark lashes rested against her pale skin, and he closed his own eyes as well. After a few minutes, he was forced to disentangle himself and grasp the condom as he slipped from her body.
    After a trip to the bathroom to take care of necessities, he returned to find Maggie curled on her side away from him. A twinge of foreboding hit him at the tell-tale body language.
    She stiffened as he slipped back in behind her. Ignoring her silent protest, he pulled her back against his chest and decided to take the bull by the horns.
    “What’s going through your mind, Maggie?”
    After a moment, a shrug was her only response and his sense of dread grew.
    “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
    “What’s wrong?” she asked incredulously, and the strain in her voice made him wince. She turned over to face him, tears streaking down her face. “What could possibly be wrong? My daughter’s father is dead, and I have a funeral to plan, and here I am, rolling around in my bed with some…kid.” She sat up, grabbed the sheet and tucked it firmly in place under her arms.
    Defensiveness boiled up in Nick, even as he recognized Maggie was just striking out in her guilt and grief. “Can I remind you that I told you this wasn’t the best time for this? That I asked you, repeatedly, if you were sure this was what you wanted? I gave you every opportunity to stop.”
    “Of course you did, but you knew I wouldn’t. You had me so turned on—” She cut off abruptly.
    “You asked me to continue. I gave you control of the situation at every possible stopping point. I did not take advantage of you,” he gritted, even as he owned up to himself that it was possible he had . What had he been thinking? He should have known this would be the outcome. He should have been the clear-headed one.
    Remorse filled