He reached up to caress her cheek. “I don’t think you realize how much you have already done for me. You were more accurate than I care to admit, in what you saw in me. I had become a dead shell. You’ve brought me back to life.”

Her smile became brilliant. “We will be good for each other.” She braced her hands on the bed at his shoulders to lean over him and whisper against his lips, “Very good.”

He groaned, his arms going around her, pulling her down to feel all of her against him. And her lips, he captured those, too, his mouth closing with a voracious demand on hers. He felt her tense. It was too much passion all at once, yet he couldn’t seem to slow down. It was as if he’d waited years and years for this one moment, this one woman, and there was no stopping him now that both were his.

But she stopped him. She forced herself out of his hold, and in his momentary surprise, she cupped his cheeks and ordered sharply, “Listen to me, Christoph. I will not let you hurt me because you are so intoxicated with passion that you are not thinking about what you are doing. Do you forget this is my first time with a man? Some other time we can do this swiftly, if that is your wish, but not this time. This time you will have a care for what you must break. I am prepared for the pain, but only you can lessen its impact. Or does it not matter to you if I suffer more?”

“Of course it matters,” he said automatically.

Yet he was still reeling over her words. Good God, how could she be a virgin and be as bold as she’d been? Yet the truth would be discovered within moments, so this couldn’t be a pretense on her part.

“You are awful brazen for a virgin,” he pointed out, rather tactlessly, he realized too late.

But she laughed, rather than taking offense. “We are going to spend the rest of our lives together. For what reason would I conceal anything from you? I am yours, Christoph. It would be silly for me to hide myself from you, would it not?”

I am yours. Strangely enough, hearing her say that filled him with tenderness. He rolled them over, so that he was the one leaning over her. He kissed her, gently this time. There was much to be said for savoring the moment.

She tasted heavenly. Her lips parted easily for him, pulled on his tongue as he sent it exploring. His hand moved over her firm breast. She arched upward, filling his hand completely. He nearly laughed in delight. A wanton virgin, what more could a man ask for?

“You will tell me, then, when you are ready?” he asked huskily.

“I think . . . you will know,” she gasped out.

So he would. He smiled, continuing his exploration. Her skin was silken smooth, warm. He found himself caressing her reverently, marveling at her perfect shape, her softness, her reactions to his touch. He was hard, aching to be inside her, yet he was so fascinated by her that it was the sweetest bliss, watching her experience lovemaking for the first time. She shivered, she groaned, she thrust against his touch. She made him feel as if he were experiencing lovemaking for the first time as well.