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It didn’t take as long as he’d feared it s for hiht someday love hi at this s attached
“It’s okay, Cate,” he whispered when he finally brought her to the brink When little tremors shook her body and she bit her lip in a last-ditch effort to control the sensations he kneere sweeping through her “It’s okay, sweetheart Let go Just let go I’ll catch you I won’t let you fall”
Then she did let go, a tiny cry of co her throat as her whole body shuddered, as her legs clahtly around his hand Liaainst her teht to go She didn’t have to tell hiht away, just continued to hold her, stroke her, extending her pleasure for as long as he could
Cate was crying Tears leaked froladdened his heart and also broke it Because it killed hi the worst of herself Killed him to think that all these years she’d never known her body could respond the way nature intended
“I didn’t know” she whispered, al breath, then turned ever so slightly toward hiainst his heart “Oh, Liam”
A wave of relief swept through him Relief that he’d done it—he’d soh for her to experience the beauty, the wonder He felt like a man who’d climbed Mount Everest and stood triumphant on the summit—because he’d been the man Cate had needed him to be And at the same time he felt humbled It hadn’t been a conscious effort on his part He hadn’t thought about what he was going to do each step of the way He’d gone with his instincts, and soht He’d always denied it when his brothers had teased hiht in shining arood
It hadn’t been easy restraining his own desiresand it still wasn’t His body ached and throbbed, needing the coiven her and had denied himself But this wasn’t the time His needs weren’t important, not at this point
But he couldn’t continue to hold her like this without doing so So he waited until Cate’s eyes fluttered closed and her breathing told hi himself out of the bed
He stripped in the bathroo the hot water pummel him He was so primed it took hi need He toweled off quickly afterward, pulled his boxer shorts and T-shirt back on, then padded silently into the other room
She ake again alreadyand watching hi screen He cli she wouldn’t deny it Then gently drew her into his ar her prisoner, just holding her safe Secure Knowing she needed to get used to having hioing to accept anything more from him
After awhich he counted her shallow breaths one after the other, she said, “Why did you do that?”
He didn’t pretend to misunderstand her “Because you’re not ready” His voice was a deep ruhtened imperceptibly around her shoulders “I can wait until you are”
She didn’t say anything for a long tiood way Liam knew that as surely as he’d known she wasn’t ready in the first place “But” she said finally “What if it’snever?”
“Then it’s never,” he said simply She raised her head froht from the bedside lamp Liam had left on, disbelief written plainly on her delicately beautiful face One corner of hissmile that invited her to believe him Implicitly “It won’t affect how I feel about you, Cate”
“How can you know that?” she asked quickly Almost sharply “You’re a man, and I kno men—”
“Yes, I’ht but didn’t say He didn’t want to bring memories of Vishenko into bed with them any more than they already were “I can controlwith it at times—you already know that But only when you wantabout it”