In response she hummed against him, half-purr, half-moan. It sounded so wonderful he interpreted it as a good thing. Clearly she had not regained her ability to speak yet, and he took great pleasure in that. Instead, she flexed her sheath around him, a gentle but firm squeeze. A surge of pure male satisfaction ran through him.
When he felt strong enough, he bundled her up in the comforter. As he lifted her from the bed his heart clenched, for there, upon the sheets, was evidence of the innocence he had just unknowingly shattered.
“Maggie, why didn’t you tell me?” Christ, he should have known. He was a doctor, for God’s sake. And he’d ravaged her like a beast.
Chapter Twelve
She looked deep into his eyes. “I needed you, Michael. All of you.”
“But, Christ, Maggie –“
She put a finger to his lips. “I’ve been waiting a long time, Michael, dreaming of what it would be like. You made it real for me. You made it better than anything I ever could have imagined.”
If he hadn’t already lost his heart and soul to her, he would have in that moment. Unable to reply with words, he kissed her deeply, passionately, with the certain knowledge that he would never be the same again. He carried her back downstairs to the warmth of the fire. For a long while they just laid there, neither saying a word. Maggie’s warm, sated body pressed against his, her arm over his chest, one leg crossed over his thigh. His hand moved lazily up and down her back. He couldn’t remember ever feeling this content, this satisfied, this awed.
Now that he was coming back down from those incredible heights, regaining some semblance of rational thought, he tried to make sense of it. His analytical mind set to work, and the first question that came to mind was, what the hell just happened? The second was – why?
What happened? That one was relatively easy. He’d just had the most amazing sex of his entire life with a woman who had given him the gift of her innocence. Why? Well, that one was a bit harder.
Yes, Maggie was beautiful. She was soft and feminine, generally shy (the last two hours notwithstanding). He found her to be smart and witty, funny, resourceful, and passionate. Slightly clumsy, perhaps, but in his eyes, that only added to her charm. All very attractive things, to be sure. And Michael was a fit, healthy man. It was only natural he’d want to be with her, right?
Except that Michael had been with smart, funny, beautiful women before. He’d even had virgins. None of them had ever made him feel like she had. None had ever made him lose control like that, or brought him even close to the point of neglecting protection. None had brought him to his mental and emotional knees by screaming his name in the throes of passion. And, he thought, as he curled his body protectively around hers – not one had ever filled him with such a strong need to protect and possess.
Unlike much of his family, Michael tended to be on the quiet side, more apt to think a situation through thoroughly before acting on impulse. He was probably the least likely to jump in bed with a woman he just met, or to exhibit what he often half-jokingly called their innate caveman tendencies. Except here he was. He had barely known Maggie less than forty-eight hours. And God help any man who even thought about looking at her.
He believed he already knew the answer. Like two of his brothers before him, he had found his croie. His heart. His perfect woman. His soul mate.
Maggie let out a little protest in her sleep, rousing him from his thoughts and making him realize he was clutching her too tightly. He forced himself to relax his hold, and was rewarded with a soft little sigh as she burrowed into him further. For some reason, that simple action-reaction seemed incredibly profound.
Michael closed his eyes and let himself soak in the feel of her naked skin against his. As he finally drifted off, he couldn’t help but think that there was no place in the world he would rather be.
*
It was insane, that’s what it was. Maggie drank in the sight of the beautiful man beside her, his large hand clasped possessively over her hip. His other arm sat beneath her cheek, serving as the most wonderful, warm pillow. In sleep, his face had an angelic quality, as if it had been carved by skilled, inhuman hands. A hint of dark shadow dusted his jawline, lending him a slightly dangerous air.
As gorgeous as he was, if anyone had told her she would jump in bed with a man she just met she would have dismissed them as a few bricks shy of a load. That wasn’t her. Maggie was solid, cautious, almost prudish. A good Irish girl, clever and self-sufficient, unwilling to lower her standards for the sake of a little male company.