“Have I?” Her arms were around him, holding tight to what she told herself she would release without regret when the time came. A shudder had her gripping harder when he caught her earlobe between his teeth. “I don’t know what to do next.”

Cal plucked her up into his arms. “Enjoy,” he told her before he carried her up the stairs.

He wanted her in the bed where he’d dreamed of her. In the pale light of the rising moon he laid her down. Whatever he had he would give her. What she had he would take. He understood pleasure, the degrees, the depths, the layers. Soon, very soon, so would she.

Slowly he undressed her, drawing out the process for his own enjoyment and for the simple wonder of it. Every inch he uncovered delighted him, the slender ankles, the smooth calves, the curving shoulders. He watched her eyes widen and cloud with confused passions when he touched her, palms skimming, fingers trailing.

Taking her hand, he brought it to his mouth to taste and savor. “I’ve seen you like this,” he murmured. “Even when I tried not to.”

She’d thought she would feel awkward, even foolish. She lay naked in the splash of moonlight and felt only beautiful as he looked his fill. “I’ve wanted to be here with you, even when I tried not to.” She was smiling when she lifted her hands to undress him.

He was determined to be patient, to be thorough, to be very, very gentle. He knew, as he understood she did not, that there were hundreds of varied paths to fulfillment. This time, her first time, it would be sweet. Then her inexperienced hands made his blood leap under his skin. Seduction, unplanned, was potent. Once he covered her hands with his and bit back a moan.

Her fingers tightened under his, and her body tensed. “Am I doing something wrong?”

“No.” He let out his breath on a quick laugh and forced himself to relax. “A little too right. This time.” Shifting away, he slipped out of the rest of his clothes. “Remind me to ask you to undress me like that again later.” He brushed her hair back from her face and began to kiss her. “This first time I have things to show you, places to take you.” He nipped lightly at her chin. “Trust me.”

“I do.” But she was already trembling. The brush of his body against hers, warmth to warmth, was like some strange, exciting dream. His hands roamed over her, whisper-soft, limber as a violinist’s, and a knot of heat built from her center out to her fingertips before she could do more than wrap her arms around him. She melted into the kiss, into the long, luxurious depth of it. Then those clever fingers found a point, some pulse that beat under the skin near the base of her spine, and sent her reeling.