“What if I want to?” Every muscle in Evan’s body seized at once.
“If you want to what?” he asked very carefully.
“What if I want to take care of this now?” She caressed his girth in her hands awkwardly, but her flushed, beautiful face was a study in determination. “Provided we can have a conversation about contraceptives, I think this is the perfect time to get copulation out of the way.” She said the words casually as she drove him mad with a tight, steady stroke.
“I take precautions,” he admitted, and she nodded approvingly.
Evan breathed through his nose, attempting to stop himself from rutting into her hand like an animal. Their foreheads were pressed together now, and their tongues tangling again.
He couldn’t stop kissing her. Which was so odd, because kissing had never been something he thought about very much. But with her, it was a delight, an indulgence.
“Have you done this before?” He pulled back, so they could look at each other.
“No.” She shook her head, eyes squeezed shut. That moment of shyness, combined with the way she was touching him, had quite an effect on Evan. His heart could explode at any moment.
“Are you sure you want do it now? With me?” It had to be asked. He tried very hard not to subscribe to the hypocritical morals of his kind. He didn’t bed virgins as a matter of principle, but the thought of being the first man to ever be inside this woman rocked him to his core.
She finally opened her eyes, and they had that spark in them he’d begun to recognize as the Luz Alanacome what maylook.
“I want to.” She looked upward as if searching for guidance, her hand now lying limply on his throbbing cock. The eager bastard would have to wait until he’d made sure this woman was prepared for what he was about to unleash on her. “I do want you, and I’d like it to be somewhat in my control.”
“Once we do this, we’ll have to marry,” he warned.
“I thought we’d settled that.” Her brows furrowed adorably, and he had to bring her down for a kiss.
“We did,” he said, light-headed. He was in a truly sorry state. She was supposed to be the inexperienced virgin, and yet he was the one gasping for breath.
“I don’t see a reason to wait until the wedding,” she argued, and he’d clearly taken a wrong turn in this conversation if she thought he needed to be convinced. “This isn’t a conventional marriage, it’s a temporary arrangement, and I...” straight white teeth caught her plump bottom lip for a moment “...I want to.”
If she only knew he was already past being able to deny her anything.
“All right,” he said tightly, feeling every ounce of blood in his body rushing down to his groin.
“What kind of precautions do you take?” she asked, like a true businesswoman, getting all her terms settled before she forged ahead.
“I take papaya-seed lozenges.”
She seemed surprised by that.
“That’s a common contraceptive in the Caribbean,” she mused. “I didn’t know it was used here.”
“It isn’t,” he admitted. “My aunt Odessa, Murdoch’s mother, handed us each a bottle of them before we went to university with strict instructions to take two a day and still use French letters so we didn’t come home poxed. She’s been providing us with them ever since.” She made a sound of approval at his explanation.
“I look forward to meeting your aunt.”
“You’d like her.” And she will love you, he thought, but didn’t dare say it. “I think she gets the lozenges from an apothecary in London that’s owned by the Duchess of Linley.”
Luz Alana’s eyes lit at that. “I know who she is. She’s from Hispaniola!” She wiggled her rump when she was pleased, and nearly caused him to disgrace himself.
He pushed their foreheads together and breathed for a moment.
“I promise to make this good for you,” he told her as his heart raced.
“I know,” she whispered, lips brushing his. So close to him. No one had ever gotten closer. He bit his tongue to hold back the rest of what wanted to come out of his mouth. Reckless promises, unreasonable vows that he could never keep. But oh, how he wanted to be the man this woman deserved.
He couldn’t be, but hewouldmake this good for her. Without a word he pushed up to standing with her still wrapped around him, eliciting a surprised squeal. He responded by sucking lightly on one of those bare nipples that were driving him mad and started moving.
“Evan, put me down,” she demanded, even as she wrapped those strong thighs around his waist.
