The Campbell Trilogy Read online

  Something warm and tingly was building inside her. She writhed, arching against his mouth, her thighs closing around his hand, craving the friction.

  Her hands clutched his shoulders, his back, craving his weight and his heat. Her body possessed by a power that she could not control.

  “Oh, God,” she cried out.

  He lifted his mouth from her breast and met her half-lidded gaze. “Don’t fight it, love. Let it come.”

  She shook her head. She knew this wasn’t all of it. She wanted him to share her pleasure. She needed him. All of him. The thick column of his erection burned against her thigh. “I want you,” she moaned. “Please.”

  Jeannie felt the change, sensing the moment he lost control. Sensed when the passion took on a force of its own. He radiated sexual energy, his body hard and determined.

  Duncan knew what she wanted.

  Her soft plea was too much. Every muscle in his body stretched taut, pulled to the very limit of restraint. Blood surged through his veins. His head pounded, his erection throbbed. He felt like he was about to explode.

  There was a time he could have stopped, but that time had passed.

  Somehow his cock replaced his finger and he was pushing inside her. His jaw was drawn into a hard line, the vein in his neck pulsing with the effort to find a thread of restraint to hold on to.

  She was too tight and he was too big, but she was achingly wet and eager for him. He scooped his hand under one leg, bringing it to his hip, opening her wider for him.

  He held her gaze as he pushed inch by paralyzing inch inside her. It was the single most powerful moment of his life. He didn’t know himself capable of this kind of emotion. This wasn’t just about lust, but about the joining of two people into one. God, he loved her. So much that it almost scared him.

  Her body gripped him like a hot fist. Sweat poured off his brow as he fought the urge to sink inside her in one powerful thrust. It would hurt, but he wanted to make it as pleasurable for her as possible.

  Slow …

  He should never have looked down. The sight of her soft pink flesh stretched around him made every muscle in his body clench. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, as white hot lust surged through him. The last thread of control snapped.

  His eyes met hers. “I’m sorry,” he said through clenched teeth. “God, I love you so much,” he bit off before plunging through her maidenhead in one deep stroke.

  Jeannie thought her heart would explode. “I love you—” Too, she started, but her words were lost when he thrust inside her and the sharp piercing pain made her cry out.

  Her eyes met his—more in surprise than accusation. The sudden interjection of pain brought a swift curtailment of pleasure and with it a sudden flicker of panic. Dread washed over her. What am I doing?

  He was inside her; she was no longer a maid. That much was obvious. There was no mistaking the fullness of him inside her. He was a big man—a very big man—and she could feel every thick inch of him.

  What they’d just done could not be undone.

  His gaze burned into hers. His jaw was clenched tight and all the muscles in his neck and shoulders flexed. He was pulled as taut as a bowstring, holding himself completely still. He didn’t seem to be breathing. From the look of him, she wasn’t the only one in pain.

  “I’m sorry,” he said tightly. “There is some pain the first time. I didn’t want to hurt you, but I couldn’t …” his voice dropped off.

  He’s embarrassed, she realized. He was so confident and controlled, sometimes she forgot that he wasn’t much older than she. Though undoubtedly he’d had more experience, it warmed her to know that in some ways he was just as carried away as she was.

  “I’m fine,” she said automatically, realizing that she was. The pain had lessened considerably, replaced by the sudden awareness of the wicked intimacy of their position. Her leg was wrapped around his waist and she could feel the weight of him between her legs. A shiver of desire rekindled inside her. He was inside her, filling her.

  He bent down to kiss her gently on the lips. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded, lacing her hands behind his neck. Looking into his incredible blue eyes, she had to fight the wave of emotion thickening her throat. “I love you.”

  A wide grin spread across his mouth. “And I love you.”

  How fortunate they were to have found one another so young. Her heart squeezed, thinking of the lifetime they had to look forward to.

  He kissed her again, this time more demanding, his tongue sliding in and out with long carnal strokes.

  All of a sudden, she understood. She felt herself warm and then soften around him as her body awakened to the pleasure he could bring. Her fingers dug into his shoulders insistently as the kiss spiraled out of control. It wasn’t enough.

  He felt so hot and big inside her, and anticipating the pleasure he would bring, her hips nudged against him.

  He growled in her mouth, murmuring an oath before he started to move. It was as if her small movement had set him free.

  It was incredible. The sensation of him pumping in and out of her in long rhythmic strokes flooded her with heat. The jarring force of each thrust shuddered through her in wave after wave of tingling sensation. His big, muscular body posed hard above her.

  She felt the heavy feeling building inside her again. Felt the tight coiling in her womb.

  Her pulse raced and her breath quickened.

  He sank deeper and deeper. Harder and harder. Faster and faster.

  Her mind went black. All she could think about was him. He was giving her something, something that hovered just out of her reach.

  God, right there.

  She arched her back and cried out as the pressure crystallized, then broke apart. Her womb tightened as wave after wave of contractions spasmed through her.

  He joined her, leaning his head back and let out a sound of pure masculine satisfaction. His big body stiffened and then shook as the power of his release tore through him—and into her, flooding her with warmth.

  When the wave of pleasure had ebbed, he held himself still over her for a moment, looking into her eyes. “I’ve never felt anything like that before.”

  The warmth in her heart spread to her cheeks. “Really?”

  He shook his head, his dark hair slumping across his brow in a way that made him appear roguish and heartstoppingly young. He rolled to the side, but still kept her tucked under his shoulder and snuggled against the hard curve of his body. The warmth between her legs suddenly felt chill and empty in his absence.

  They were silent for a moment, staring up at the canopy of stars. Jeannie was finding it difficult to figure out exactly what had just happened. One moment they were kissing and the next they were making love. The feelings he aroused in her had been too powerful to ignore. Nor could she feign regret for what had happened. Duncan Campbell had made her a woman. He’d awakened a new side of her that she hadn’t known existed and given her a glimpse of heaven in the process.

  Who would have imagined that the joining of a man and woman could be like that? With her rudimentary knowledge of the marital act she’d thought the concept somewhat … strange. Never could she imagine how her body would crave his like that.

  She might not have planned to give him her virginity tonight, and admitted it might have been more prudent to wait at least until they were formally betrothed, but she was not sorry that it had happened. He loved her and she loved him. They were meant to be together, she knew that more now than ever.

  Her elation, however, was somewhat tempered by his continued silence. He was quiet. Too quiet.

  Jeannie ventured a glance at him from under her lashes, the implacable expression once more affixed to his face. He seemed lost in thought. Like her, he was probably contemplating the significance of what had just occurred. But unlike her he did not seem as happy about it. His next words confirmed her suspicions. “I’m sorry, Jeannie. When I asked you to meet me tonight, I never meant for this t