Last Virgin In California (Mills & Boon Desire) (11 page)

He had the door unlocked and open in a matter of seconds and still it wasn’t fast enough. He drew her inside and just as the front door swung closed again, Kevin pulled her close and claimed her in a back-bending, mind-boggling kiss.

His hands were everywhere. She felt surrounded by him, enveloped in his strength, his warmth. Desire swamped her, dragging her down even as he took her higher, higher.

“I have to be inside you, Lilah,” he whispered
and his words dusted across her skin, spilling goose bumps along her spine.

“Oh, yes,” she said, tearing her mouth from his and tipping her head to one side, inviting his kisses along her neck. His lips trailed across her flesh, tasting, exploring, driving her closer to the brink of madness and she didn’t want him to stop. She never wanted him to stop.

“Come with me,” he murmured, close to her ear.

She nodded and stumbled after him as he drew her down the hall and into his bedroom. She didn’t see the room. Couldn’t see anything beyond his eyes, looking at her, devouring her.

Hands moved in a blur of motion and in a breath of time, they were naked, flesh to flesh, strength to slim, hard to soft. Her breasts ached for his touch and when he lifted her, scraping her nipples gently against his chest, she moaned softly before meeting his kiss again.

He laid her down on the mattress and covered her with his body. Her body hummed for him. Her legs parted and he came down between them, positioning himself to take her and Lilah held her breath. At last, she thought. At last, she would leave the virgin crown behind her and know what it was to be with a man completely.

And all she could think was thank heaven she’d waited. Thank heaven that this moment, with this
man, was as special as she’d always dreamed it would be.

“I need you, Lilah,” he said, through clenched teeth.

“Now, Kevin,” she whispered brokenly, staring up into his eyes, willing him to see her need. “For pity’s sake, now.”

“Yes,” he assured her and pushed himself home.

Instantly, Kevin felt as though he was drowning in her heat. She filled him up, easing away the dark shadows inside him, lighting up every corner of his heart and soul. He felt invincible and yet humbled. Here, in her arms, was the world. A world he’d never thought to find again and now that he had, he never wanted to lose it.

He rocked his hips against hers, relishing the sweet torture of her body cradling his. He looked down into her eyes and saw the past, present and future and wondered if it had always been there. If he simply hadn’t seen it before because he’d been too afraid to look.

Then she reached up, entwining her arms around his neck, pulling him down, offering her mouth for his kiss and he took all she offered. Giving her all he had.

Lilah felt the first tremor rock her soul and it was more, so much more than what she’d felt that day in his arms. It built slowly, wonderfully, teasing her with its nearness and then backing away again,
continually urging her on. She labored for it. Worked for it, moving her body with his, finding a rhythm and keeping it. She luxuriated in the feel of his body actually
inside
hers and silently told herself to remember it all. Every touch. Every kiss. But she knew she would remember. This night would be etched in her memory for all time. Even when she was old and gray, she would be able to reach back and remember exactly what it had been like to feel Kevin’s body pushing into hers.

And then it was upon her and all thought ended. Tiny splinters of light and heat rocketed throughout her body as she clung to him, riding the wave of sensation that carried her beyond anything she’d ever known.

Kevin sent her over the edge, and when the tremors eased and her eyes glazed, he surrendered to his own need and found a completion he’d never felt before in the arms of the one woman he couldn’t have.

W
hen her brain unfogged, Lilah said the first thing that popped into her head. “Wow. That was
way
better than I expected.”

Kevin rolled to one side, bringing her with him until she lay stretched out atop him. “Just what I was thinking,” he said and pulled her head down for a kiss. After a long, satisfying moment, he said, “But that was just for starters.”

Lilah’s heart skipped. “There’s more?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Instantly, heat flooded her and she was more than ready to go on that wild ride again. Boy, once the whole virgin thing was behind you, a person could really catch on quick. “Well don’t just lay there,
Marine,” she said, “if there’s a job to be done, get on with it.”

“Ma’am, yes, ma’am,” he said with a grin and flipped her over onto her back.

A whoosh of air escaped her at the unexpected movement, and a moment later, she was breathless for an entirely different reason. He bent his head to her breasts and as she watched, he took first one, then the other nipple into his mouth.

Her stomach twisted and her lungs collapsed. Over and over again, his mouth worked her erect nipples. His lips and tongue tormented her, sending her on a roller coaster ride of sensation. His left hand swept down the length of her body, his calloused palm scraping gently against her skin. She gulped for air and when he suckled her, she groaned and arched into him.

“Oh, my,” she said on a sigh. Holding his head to her breast, she writhed beneath him, giving herself up to the amazing feelings he evoked within her. Bright colors flashed behind her eyes and she felt as though the world was exploding around her. Too many sensations. Too much pleasure. She fought for breath and when it didn’t come, she didn’t even mind. All she needed—all she wanted—was Kevin’s mouth on her breasts.

Moonlight dusted the room with a silvery light that seemed to shimmer around them. Except for the ragged sounds of their breathing, the world was
silent. As if it belonged only to the two of them. And in the dim light, Lilah almost believed it did. There was only Kevin, looming over her, taking her places she’d never dreamed existed. There was only this night. This place. This wonder.

His hand swept lower, across her abdomen, beyond the triangle of soft, blond hair to the secrets beyond. And with his first touch, she felt herself dissolve. She puddled on the bed and wouldn’t have been surprised if she had simply oozed off the mattress.

Love rose up inside her, strangling her with its sweet, unexpected beauty and she held him even tighter, hoping to keep him with her always. She wasn’t sure when it had happened. Didn’t care to figure it out. All she was sure of, was the fact that she loved him.

Kevin took his time with her. He reveled in the taste of her, the feel of her beneath him. He felt as though he’d been waiting for this moment a lifetime and now that it was here, he didn’t want to waste any of it. Their first joining had been fire and frenzy. This time, there would be tenderness.

He felt her tremble and knew her body was as ready as his. He lifted his head to look down at her and saw the glazed sheen of passion clouding her blue eyes. Something inside him shifted, twisted, creating an ache that tore at his heart and raged at his soul.

She was so much more than he’d thought. So wild and open and beautiful. His heart trip-hammered in
his chest and he knew for the first time that despite his reservations—despite the defenses he’d erected and defended so zealously—he loved her.

“Please, Kevin,” she said, lifting her hips into his touch. “Please.” She licked dry lips, caught his face in her hands and whispered, “Be inside me. Complete me again.”

A hard, tight fist clenched at his heart and Kevin couldn’t speak. Didn’t trust himself to be able to form words. Instead, he only nodded and moved over her, positioning himself between her legs, covering her body with his and laying siege to her one more time.

He entered her on a soft sigh of fulfillment. This is where he belonged. With her. In her. A part of her. Always. He felt the
rightness
of it and sent a silent thank you to whatever Fate had brought them to this point.

There was no past, no future. There was only now. And Lilah.

Her legs and arms came around him, enveloping him in her warmth. He held her tightly, watching her eyes, staring down into her soul and as the first tremors began to course through her, he surrendered to the inevitable himself. Cradling her, he went with her as she took that long plunge into oblivion.

She cried out his name and Kevin clung to the sound of her voice as the world around him fell away.

When the room stopped spinning, Lilah stared up at the darkened ceiling and smiled to herself. Running her hands up and down his back, she realized that he was as unmovable as a dead man.

“Strange,” she said quietly, “you’re exhausted and I feel like I have enough energy to run a marathon. If I enjoyed running, that is. Which I don’t, because really, what’s the point? Why would anyone run unless someone was chasing them with a knife or something?”

He laughed shortly, the sound muffled against her throat. Then slowly, he lifted his head, looked down at her and asked, “Absolutely nothing shuts you up, does it?”

She grinned. Hard to be insulted when you were just feeling so darn good. “Nope.”

“Didn’t think so,” he said, still smiling.

Lilah studied his face and lifted one hand to trace the line of his jaw with her fingertips. He turned into her touch, brushing his lips against her hand and she shivered just a bit. “I have to say this,” she said, meeting his gaze and holding it. “Even if your ego blows up to the size of Cleveland.”

He propped himself up on one elbow, but made no move to disentangle their bodies. And she was glad of that. She wasn’t quite ready yet to lose the feel of his weight atop her.

Staring down at her he said, “Well now, I’m intrigued.”

“Thought you might be.” She shifted just far enough so that she could rub one foot up and down his leg, enjoying the closeness. “It’s just that, I waited a long time for this night and I want you to know that you made losing my virginity a real event.”

“What?”

She sensed the change in him more than felt it. He hadn’t moved. Hadn’t even shifted position, and yet, it suddenly seemed that he was far out of her reach.

“Well heck,” she said, “I didn’t mean that as an insult.”

“You were a virgin?”

She blinked up at him. “Yep. You and me. The Drill Instructor and the Doomed Virgin. Well, until tonight, that is. You mean you couldn’t tell?”

“No, I couldn’t tell.”

“Well that’s disappointing.” In every book she’d ever read, the hero
always
noticed a thing like that.

“Disappointing?” His voice was a low rumble of sound and as he rolled off of her, she felt the coldness begin to seep into her bones. “It’s crazy. What the hell’s the matter with that fiancé of yours?” As soon as he said that word, he groaned. “Fiancé. Dammit, you’re engaged. Engaged
and
a virgin. This never should have happened.”

Guilt pooled inside her and Lilah cringed. She’d known this moment would have to come, but now
didn’t seem like the right time for it. On the other hand, what better time?

“Actually,” she said, sitting up and reaching for the blanket he’d tossed to the end of the bed. Clutching it to her, she swung her hair out of the way and said, “There’s something else I should tell you.”

He shot her a look from the corner of his eye. “What else could there possibly be?”

“I’m not really engaged,” she blurted and watched his face to judge his reaction. Funny, but she’d expected anger—followed by the pleasure of knowing that she was free and able to love him. She hadn’t expected the cold fury that slowly crept over his features, obliterating any lingering tenderness.

“You’re not—”

“Engaged, no.” Then she started talking, instinctively knowing that she had to get it all said. Quick. Before he stopped listening altogether. “See, I was just trying to get my father off my back. Get him to quit trying to set me up with Marines.” He didn’t speak, so she went on in a rush. “So I told him I was engaged to Ray. But Ray isn’t my fiancé. He’s my friend. And actually he’s gay, too.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “You have a gay fiancé?”

She nodded. “And Ray’s partner, Victor, wasn’t any happier about the idea than you seem to be.”

“So you lied.”

“Lied seems harsh.”

“But true.”

“All right, yes.” She flinched at his harsh tone. A bitter pill to swallow. Ordinarily, she didn’t believe in telling lies. She lifted one hand to push her hair back again and the faint, tinkle of bells broke the silence before she said, “I want you to know, I never lie. Usually. It’s bad for the karma and besides, it just gets too tiring, trying to remember which lie you told to which person. Much easier to just tell the truth.” She blew out a breath and sucked in a new one. “I feel so much better now that you know.”

“Great,” Kevin muttered, and rolled off the bed, energized by the rush of anger pulsing inside him. Emptiness opened up inside him and the warm glow of completion he’d felt so brief a time ago was gone. Crushed under the knowledge that he’d done it again. Picked another woman who was ready to lie and cheat to get what she wanted. Damn he was an idiot. Even monkeys learned from their mistakes.

“Kevin?”

Her voice sounded small, distant. Only moments ago, he’d been ready to admit his love for her. Now all he could think to do was get her dressed and the hell away from him.

“I’m glad you feel better,” he said, turning for a look at her even as he grabbed his pants up from the floor. Even now, even knowing that she’d lied, he still felt a hard, solid jolt just looking at her. Her hair tumbled around her shoulders and in the drift
of moonlight spilling through the window, it looked nearly silver. Her eyes were wide and even in the half light, he read the hurt glimmering there. It jabbed at him, but did nothing to ease the ache that seemed to sink right into his bones.

His hands clenched on the waistband of his jeans and as he stepped into them, he kept his gaze fixed on her. “Get dressed. I’m taking you home.”

“Home? But I thought we—”

“Look,” he snapped, reaching for a sweatshirt lying on a nearby chair. “Let’s just forget all about tonight, all right?”

“Forget about it?” she repeated, clambering off the bed, still holding the stupid blanket to her chest like some sort of shield. “I don’t want to forget about it. I lo—”

“Don’t.” He cut her off, holding one hand up to keep her from finishing that sentence. Man, if she said she loved him, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. He’d been close. So close to something he hadn’t thought he’d find. Now that it was gone, the ache of it tore at him. And he wanted to hurt her in return. Wanted her to know the pain that was rising and falling inside him with every breath he took. “I don’t want to hear it.” Wouldn’t hear it. He towered over her, leaning in until she had to tilt her head back to keep from slamming her forehead into his. “You lied to me.”

“Yes, but—”

“You used me. Just like Alanna.” A short, harsh
laugh shot from his throat and the sound of it stabbed at Lilah’s heart. Pain rippled through her as she watched him look at her as though she was a stranger.

“I’m nothing like her,” she argued.

“No?” He pulled the sweatshirt over his head and jammed his arms through the sleeves. “She lied to me to get into this country.” He paused for the greatest effect, then said the one thing he knew would cut at her. “You lied to me to get laid.”

Lilah sucked in a gulp of air that fed the outrage and guilt erupting inside her. Before she could say anything though, he went on.

“I’ve been suckered again,” he said and reaching out, chucked her chin with one finger. This pain went so deep, cut so wide, he didn’t think he’d be able to draw breath much longer. Strange, he told himself. This kind of thing should get easier with practice. But it didn’t. His only defense now was to act as though it didn’t matter. To not let her know just how badly this hurt. He steeled himself, forced a smile that felt as cold as it looked and said, “Thanks, honey, for reminding me what a lousy judge of character I really am.”

He should have known she wouldn’t take this lightly.

Lilah smacked his hand away, stepped up to him and jabbed her index finger into his chest as if it were a bayonet and she could simply skewer him. “I resent
that. Don’t you dare compare me to that treacherous bitch you married. All I did was tell a simple lie to placate my father. Somehow, you got drawn into it and for that, I’m sorry. But I am
not
Alanna.”

“And lying to your father makes you a great person?”

“No, but—” she swallowed hard. “It doesn’t put me in the same class as your ex-wife.”

“Close enough.”

“If you think that, then you are an idiot.”

“Lady,” he said, bending down to scoop up her clothes from the floor, “we finally agree on something.” He tossed her stuff at her and headed for the bedroom door, snatching up his shoes as he went. “I’m taking you home. Now. And by the way, maybe it’s time you talked to your father like the adult you claim to be. Tell him the truth for a change. Then you won’t end up suckering the next poor Marine who gets stuck with escort duty.”

Tears stung the backs of her eyes, but she blinked them back, refusing to let them fall. Instead, she lifted her chin and watched him as he stepped through the doorway. So she saw the look of disgust on his face when he glanced back at her and added, “If you need any more escorting the rest of the time you’re on base, find someone else. I’m through being used by the Forrest family.”

She stepped into her father’s house and slammed the door, but it didn’t help. And she was pretty sure nothing would.

“Lilah?”

The Colonel came around the corner of the living room and stopped just in the foyer, looking at her. His gaze narrowed and he frowned. “Are you all right?”

“No.” Shaking her head, she wondered if she’d ever be all right again. Pain splintered through her, like broken glass, sending millions of tiny shards of misery to every corner of her body and soul.