Page 81 of Scorched

His expression cleared. “A conversation with Tara. Through everything that happened, and even though she was disappointed she wouldn’t get the wedding she dreamed of, she was okay with that because she had Jace. Everything important to her was safe. And it made me realize just how important you are to me. I’m still not sure I’m the best man for you, but I’m willing to give this a try.”

A try? “I don’t want a try, Declan. I didn’t wait my entire adult life to give myself to a man for a try. It’s all or nothing.”

He blinked. “Wait. You’ve never had sex?”

“Oh my God, that’s what you got from that speech?” She let her hands drop from his shoulders and sank into the mattress.

“Well, it’s important.”

“So is the other thing!”

He sighed and rolled to lie down beside her. “Maggie—”

“Don’t Maggie me.” Fired up now, she sat up and looked at him. “I don’t know any other way to get it through your thick skull that I don’t care about who your family is or where you come from. It’s you I care about. If, in the future, your background becomes an issue in my career, then I’ll know that particular path wasn’t meant for me. I don’t want a life without you in it. It’s not—”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence, and honestly, she was just ranting, anyway. He swept over her, fusing his mouth to hers once more.

“I don’t want a life without you, either,” he said, breaking away. “Can we agree to just figure things out as we go?”

She smiled up at him. “So long as we go together, yes.”

“How about we start now?” His hands ghosted down her sides.

Maggie shivered. “Okay.” Her voice came out on a sigh.

He kissed her again. His hands dove beneath her shirt to sear her bare flesh. She clawed at his t-shirt, eager to feel his firm, sleek muscles. He sat up and whipped it over his head. Her hands went to his chest to toy with his nipples through his dark chest hair.

“Like what you see?”

“God, yes.”

“Good. Your turn.” He tugged at the hem of her nightshirt with one finger.

Maggie sat up, bringing her face close to his once more. She leaned forward and nipped at his bottom lip. He growled and tried to kiss her again, but she broke away to take off her shirt. The sight of her bare breasts stopped him in his tracks.

“You’re so damn beautiful. I don’t deserve you, but I’m going to cherish every moment.”

He cupped her breasts, sending shivers of desire through Maggie’s body. She speared her fingers into his hair and held on as he leaned in to taste them. His hot breath fanned over her sensitive skin, making goosebumps erupt. She bit her lip to hold back a moan.

Declan noticed. “Don’t hold back, baby. I want to know what feels good.”

She nodded.

His bright smile quickly turned naughty. “Should we see if I can make you scream?”

Maggie blushed from the roots of her hair to her toes. What was she doing? She had next to no experience, and Declan was sex on a stick. He dated women who looked like supermodels. She was no slouch, but Lilah was on another level. Maggie was just a bookworm.

“Earth to Maggie.”

“What?” She looked at him.

“I lost you. Where did you go?”

“Sorry. I’m just a little nervous. I don’t have much experience with men.”

He brushed her hair away and wrapped a hand around the back of her neck. “We don’t have to do this if you aren’t ready.”

Oh, she was ready. So ready she felt like a champagne cork about to pop. “I don’t want to stop. Can we just go slow?”

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