Page 152 of The Wallflower Takes All

He rested beside her, his hand moving slowly along her hip. “You have never been with a man?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Of course.” Tenderness moved through his expression, followed by a care that made her throat tighten. “Then we will go slowly.”

She touched his jaw. “I trust you.”

The words affected him visibly. His eyes closed, and for one quiet beat he seemed to take them in somewhere deeper than thought.

When he opened them, he kissed her gently. Then he positioned himself above her.

Poppy felt the broad pressure at the entrance to her body and drew in a breath.

He moved slowly.

Even prepared as she was, the first stretch startled her. Her fingers tightened on his shoulders.

Gabriel stopped at once. “Poppy?”

“Wait.”

He held himself still, every line of him trembling with restraint.

Poppy breathed through the brief sting and the strange fullness of him. The discomfort eased by degrees. She lifted her hips experimentally.

Gabriel’s eyes closed. “Do not do that unless you want me to move.”

“I want you to move.”

His gaze returned to hers. “Are you certain?”

“Yes.”

He pressed deeper.

The last resistance gave way in a sharp little ache that made Poppy gasp. Gabriel went still again, kissing her forehead, her cheek, her mouth.

“I have you,” he whispered. “I will never take more than you give me.”

The words steadied her. Poppy relaxed beneath him, and after a few breaths, the discomfort softened into a new awareness. His body filled hers completely, joining them with an intimacy so profound she could hardly comprehend it.

She moved her hips slightly.

Gabriel’s breath broke.

“Again,” she whispered.

He began slowly.

Each measured thrust carried tenderness beneath the desire. Poppy felt him everywhere: the weight of him above her, the movement of his body within hers, the brush of his chest against her breasts, the roughened sound of her name against her throat.

The unfamiliar ache faded, and pleasure took its place.

It gathered gradually, then with increasing urgency. Her body learned the rhythm and rose to meet him. Her hands slid down his back. Her legs drew him nearer.

Gabriel groaned and buried his face against her neck. “Poppy.”

She loved the sound of her name in his voice. Loved that she could undo him. Loved that, for once, she was managing nothing at all.