I can do to help?” Domesticity wasn’t exactly his style, but he felt a sudden desire to do something with her, some tiny act that might break the thickness of the air between them.
“There’s a salad in the fridge. If you want to get that on the table, I’ll get the roast and gravy,” she said.
Within minutes they were seated across from each other, eating the best meal Chance could ever remember enjoying. Still, the air was thick, the tension palpable as the shadows outside the kitchen window deepened, portending the coming of night.
He should have taken her right to the bedroom the moment the ceremony was over earlier in the day. Then, the act would be over, the ice would be broken and they wouldn’t be suffering the taut tension that was like a third guest at the table.
Dinner consisted of strained small talk, and Chance was almost grateful when the meal was over and the dishes had been washed and put away.
Chance went outside to make sure everything was locked up and secure for the night, then returned to the house, where Lana sat on the edge of the sofa looking as if she wanted nothing more than to bolt.
Enough was enough, he thought. “I’m going to bed,” he said, and watched as her dark eyes flared slightly. “You can join me whenever you’re ready.” He hesitated a moment, then added, “Unless you want to call this whole thing off.”
Her eyes snapped brightly and she jumped to her feet. “Not on your life, Chance Reilly,” she said with a burst of unexpected spirit. “I did my part. I’m not about to run before you do yours.” With these words, she stalked past him and disappeared into the bathroom.
Chance stared after her. For a moment, just a brief moment, he thought he saw not dread or anxiety in her eyes, but rather excitement and anticipation.
A stir of excitement sang through him in response, the excitement of taking a new lover, the anticipatory thrill of discovery.
He turned out all the lights in the living room and went into the bedroom where the faint bedside lamp spilled a whisper of golden light through the room. Undressing, he tried not to think about the young, sweet girl Lana had been and instead focused on the fact that she was an attractive thirty-one-year-old woman.
Naked, he slid in beneath the crisp cotton sheets and waited. Staring up at the ceiling, he concentrated on what he would do with the money from the sale of the ranch. First and foremost, he wanted to start his own business. He wasn’t sure exactly what kind of business it would be, but the important thing would be he’d enjoy being his own boss.
He’d get a condo, something low-maintenance but nice. And then there was a Harley he’d been contemplating. It was a sleek, chrome machine he could easily imagine riding on his days off.
A noise at the doorway diverted his attention from the ceiling, and when he saw Lana standing there, all thoughts of condos and motorcycles fled his mind.
Clad in a white nightgown that clung to her breasts, then fell in a soft cascade to her bare feet, she looked like a vision from a dream. A very good dream.
Her glorious hair was loose and fell below her shoulders like a cloak of black silk, and Chance’s fingers itched with the need to tangle themselves in it.
She said nothing as she moved to the side of the bed and slid in beneath the covers. She lay flat on her back, barely taking up any space on the large mattress.
Chance raised himself up on one elbow and smiled. “This is very awkward, isn’t it?”
His words seemed to chisel away some of the tension. She smiled. “Horribly awkward,” she agreed.
“We can take this very slow,” he said. He reached out and lightly touched her cheek. Her skin was softer than he’d imagined and a spark of desire began to glow deep inside him.
“Slow. I’d like that.” Her voice was a bare whisper as his fingers moved from her cheek and instead trailed down the curve of her jaw.
He’d worried that he wouldn’t feel the necessary desire to fulfill his end of the bargain, but as his fingers touched the silk of her hair, and her breathing quickened slightly, he knew there would be no problem where desire was concerned.
He bent and touched his lips to hers and her instantaneous response delighted him. He’d been afraid that Lana would be overly shy and self-conscious as a lover, but her kiss was filled with sweet heat that further fed the spark inside him.
He deepened the kiss with his tongue and she responded, opening her mouth to him as her arms reached up to clasp him around the neck.
Moving his body closer to hers, he was enveloped by the evocative scent of her perfume and could feel her body heat radiating outward as if to warm him.
His mouth left hers and traveled the path his fingers had trailed earlier…down her jawline, then lingering in the vulnerable flesh just beneath her ear where a pulse beat rapidly. Her arms tightened in response to his nipping, teasing kisses.
His fingers toyed with the ribbon between her breasts, but he carefully kept away from a more intimate touch, knowing it was too soon. Instead he claimed her mouth once again, enjoying the way she tasted and the way her tongue thrust and parried with his own.
All too quickly, mere kissing wasn’t enough. Chance wanted, needed to touch her, feel her warm skin against his, cup her bare breasts in his hands.
He stroked his hands down the length of her sides. He could tell she was ready for him to take them into the next dimension. Her breathing had grown more rapid and occasionally a tiny moan issued from her lips.
“Lana,” he whispered softly. “I want to take your gown off.”
In the pale illumination of the room, she gazed at him, and he saw her desire in the dark depths of her eyes. “Shut off the light,” she replied breathlessly.
He hesitated. He didn’t want the light off. He wanted to see the beautiful skin he was eager to caress. He wanted to see her breasts, the flat of her stomach, the curve of her hips and the length of her legs.
“Please, Chance,” she said as if recognizing his hesitation. “We can keep the light on next time.”
He acquiesced to her wishes with the promise of another time ringing in his ears. Turning out the light, he heard the whisper of silk leaving flesh and when he reached for her again, she was warm and naked in his arms.
Any further conscious thought was impossible as his hands stroked her heated flesh and she returned his touch, caress for caress. Their mouths found each other’s as they explored one another’s bodies, finding the magical, secret places that evoked sighs or sweet shudders of pleasure.
All too quickly, Chance was ready to possess her completely. She arched beneath him and a deep, throaty moan escaped her as he moved between her thighs.
He moved partially into her and encountered resistance. He pressed deeper, harder, and instantly her fingernails bit into the flesh of his back. He froze, recognizing suddenly what the resistance had been.
“Lana.” Her name was both a protest and a plea. He started to pull away, shock riveting through him as he realized what he’d done, realized she’d been a virgin.
“No,
