It seemed it was all he needed to hear. He dropped down and gathered her tight in his arms and then he plunged forward, his hips meeting hers in a forceful thrust.

She closed her eyes as he rocked over her, their bodies undulating in perfect rhythm. The unbearable tension was back, only this time it didn’t lessen as it had when he’d stopped using his mouth on her.

There was no space between them. Only his hips and buttocks moved as he worked in and out of her body. Deeper and harder. She went slick around him and he moved with greater ease. The friction was so sweet, but it made her desperate for something she wasn’t sure of. Release. She needed release. But how?

“Don’t fight it, lass. Hold on to me and let go. Trust me.”

His words soothed the growing anxiety. She relaxed and did as he asked. She gave him herself. Her trust.

Faster and faster, they raced up a seemingly endless peak. Just when she was sure she could take no more and would beg him to cease, it was like stepping off into empty space.

The world around her blurred. Her body spasmed and wave upon wave of wondrous, mind-numbing pleasure splintered and fell over her.

His hold tightened around her. He drove into her and then held himself deep just before tearing himself away. She reached for him, afraid he was leaving her, but he collapsed back onto her and she felt hot spurts on her bare belly.

He lay atop her, heaving for breath. She dragged air into her lungs, but they burned with the effort. She simply couldn’t process what had just happened. Was this normal? Was this what happened every time a man and woman indulged in loving? Surely it couldn’t be, otherwise no one would ever get out of bed.

Alaric rolled them both to the side so that his weight was off her but she was still clasped tightly to his body. She felt his shaft pulsing against her belly and could feel sticky warmth on her skin.

It finally dawned on her what had occurred, and she was both grateful and sad all at the same time. He’d taken care not to leave her with child. She wouldn’t have to bear the shame of an illegitimate child while he married another and bore legitimate issue.

Yet the idea of having a part of him, his precious child, was bittersweet. She’d never take another man to her bed after Alaric. She’d never bear children.

She sighed and snuggled into his embrace. Perhaps ’Twas too dramatic to be thinking such thoughts, and perhaps once Alaric was long gone, she’d think differently about another man. A lifetime of loneliness was hardly a balm for a broken heart. But those matters were for another time. For now, she couldn’t even think of ever being so intimate with another.