Page 46 of One Bridegroom Required!

enced to fall for that one, don’t you? Though it’s a pretty good line to take, I give you that.’

She stared up at him in confusion, as if he were speaking to her in a foreign language. ‘Line? What line?’

‘Do you imply that to all your lovers?’ he whispered ‘That you’ve never had an orgasm before? Does it flatter them? Swell their egos—and maybe something else, besides?’ He gave a throaty laugh. ‘Well, there’s no need to invent things on my account, Holly, and I certainly don’t need any encouragement to incite me. Feel for yourself.’ And he took her hand, guided it to him, folded her fingers around the great throbbing width of him.

‘Luke,’ she said again, only this time it was halfway between a gasp and a sob.

‘I want to savour this,’ he murmured, as he began to position himself above her. ‘Every sweet moment. Every stroke I make and every cry you utter. I’m going to imprint myself on your soul, my angel, give you so much pleasure that you will recoil in disgust if any other man ever tries to touch you.’

But for all his brutal words, he experienced a sense of wonder as he thrust deeply into her, and Holly felt a swift, piercing spasm before her muscles clenched and then exquisitely unclenched to accommodate him.

‘God, you’re so tight,’ he whispered, and kissed her. Tighter than he’d ever known. Or was it simply that he was more excited than he had ever been in his life? He found that he was trembling, that he could hardly bear to stop kissing her. He began to move slowly inside her. ‘I’m going to make you come again,’ he promised. ‘Would you like that?’

Mutely, she nodded, and hooked her hand around his neck, bringing his head down to hers and opening her mouth to his. This time the kiss was sweet, but perhaps it was made all the sweeter by the communion of flesh, those great strokes which filled her, heated her, sent her hurtling towards that place again.

His resolve was steely until he felt her nearing the brink, and only then did he allow himself to relax into it. He had never been harder or fuller or closer, but he kept drawing back and drawing back, until he felt her suck in a great breath, waited until she had started to shudder beneath him, and only then did he let go, his last fleeting thought being that it had never been as good as this before. Never. His grip on her tightened. ‘Love me, Holly,’ he breathed shakily. ‘Oh, love me!’ And his universe dissolved.

As consciousness returned, so did sensation. Holly became aware of the silky fabric which lay rucked up beneath her naked flesh, and of the wetness between her legs.

Luke felt it, too, and raised his head. ‘I think the condom may have burst,’ he told her ruefully, realising that, stupidly, he didn’t care. He kissed her bare shoulder and slid his hand down between her legs, but his fingers came away oddly sticky...

He rolled off her and snapped on the cubicle light, then stared down in disbelief at the tell-tale scarlet stain which had flowered over the creamy silk, his eyes widening with horror as he realised the full implications.

‘Blood,’ he breathed. ‘Blood.’ He turned to her with disbelief written in his eyes, and, before he could hide it, pride. A primitive, unimaginable pride. ‘Holly. Holly, sweetheart—you’re a...’

But the tender words had come too late. ‘Yes, I’m a virgin!’ she spat back at him. ‘Surprised?’

‘Surprised? I’m absolutely bloody flabbergasted,’ he admitted in a dazed voice, until he realised from the look on her face that it was entirely the wrong thing to say. ‘Holly, sweetheart—come here—’

‘Get away from me!’ she told him furiously, and she pushed him away and jumped to her feet. He snaked his hand out and tried to capture her ankle, but she shook him off, hurriedly pulled her shirt back on and then wiped the thin scarlet film of blood from her thighs with her discarded panties.

‘Holly—’

‘Don’t you “Holly” me!’ she declared furiously, and pointed at the stained fabric. ‘Why don’t you take the evidence of my virginity and wave it triumphantly out of the window?’ she raged. ‘That’s what they used to do in the barbaric old days, isn’t it? Well—that should suit you right down to the ground!’

‘Listen to me—’

‘I won’t listen to another word you say, Luke Goodwin! And you can take your smug, outdated hypocrisy somewhere else! How dare you think you can suddenly elevate me from tramp to Madonna—just because I happened to have an intact hymen!’ She drew in a deep, shuddering breath, but not before she had seen his shocked expression. Good! Then she’d shock him some more! ‘We’ve both had what we want, so now you can go! I’m sorry I lied to your fiancée about sleeping with you—but, if you want to know the truth, at the time I thought she wasn’t good enough for you. Now I think you’re probably a match made in heaven’ It may not be too late, Luke—so why don’t you go crawling back to Africa and find her?’

‘I’m not going anywhere until we’ve talked this over sensibly I’ve told you—it’s over with Caroline. She’s gone back.’

But his words brought her no joy. ‘And I told you that I don’t care—and nothing will ever change that fact!’

He should have looked ridiculous, sitting naked among the sheening undulations of the ruffled silk, but, oddly enough, he looked divine. ‘Holly.’ His voice was soft. ‘Not to talk about this is crazy.’

Holly closed her heart and glowered. ‘It’s too late! There’s nothing left to say. I’ve paid my dues,’ she told him deliberately, and saw him flinch. ‘So get out. Out of my shop and out of my life! And don’t come back! I mean it, Luke!’

He could see she did. He could also see that nothing he said right now would help. If he tried to gentle her, then he would be accused of patronising her. If he tried to love her he would be the sex-crazed taker of her innocence. This might be the hardest thing he had ever had to do, but..

Rising to his feet, Luke began to reach down for his clothes while Holly, with folded arms and trembling lips, stood and watched him.

She meant every word she’d said, but that didn’t stop her from having to bite back bitter tears as he silently began to pull on his trousers, ready to leave her.

CHAPTER TWELVE

THE mammoth Christmas tree twinkled merrily in the sumptuous dining room of the Grantchester hotel, and Holly pushed her barely touched plate of lobster away.

‘Have another glass of champagne, darling!’

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