Wedding Reunion with the Best Man by Donna Alward

Author:Donna Alward
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-03-03T19:47:06+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

BURKE WASN’T SURE he’d ever be the same again.

Bella lay on his bed, head on his pillow, dark hair every which way. She was delightfully naked, which was a treat for his eyes. His gaze slid briefly over her scars. He didn’t give a damn about them and wished she didn’t, either. And yet he understood, and he also understood that this was her body and she was the one who got to decide what she did with it.

That she’d chosen to share it with him tonight had been a gift. A gift so great he wasn’t sure he could feel his legs yet.

“Hey, Bel?” He looked at her and smiled, his body so blissed out he was sure he looked utterly goofy. “I figured out my theme song.”

“Oh?” She looked supremely satisfied.

“Yep. ‘Feels Like the First Time’ by Foreigner.”

Her face blanked and she sat up. “You could tell? Dammit!”

He slid to the side of the bed, alarmed by her quick shift of mood. “Wait, what?”

They stared at each other.

“Never mind,” she said.

But her reaction had been so sudden and severe that the seed of an idea was planted in his mind. “What did you mean, I could tell?”

Her cheeks flushed a deep red. “It’s nothing. Forget I said anything.”

Had this...was it possible that this had been her very first time? He didn’t want to be obvious and look for blood, and besides, that didn’t always happen anyway. He was more shaken by the emotional consequences of it. Had Bella hidden away all this time? Had she been a virgin...and then she’d finally chosen him?

It was a massive thing, a first time, and he tried not to panic. He kept his voice deliberately and carefully soft as he looked at her. “Bel, if I’d known, I would have been... I don’t know. Gentler.” Her eyes filled with tears and he felt awful. “I’m sorry,” he added.

“No, it’s not that. I’m just...humiliated. I didn’t want you to know. I hoped you couldn’t tell.”

Oh, hell. He got up and went to the bathroom briefly, then returned and put his briefs back on. Then he curled up beside her and gathered her into his arms. “The song...that was for me, sweetheart,” he said. “Being with you was amazing for me. I honestly didn’t know. Did I hurt you?”

She shook her head quickly. “No. And you didn’t need to be gentler, Burke. It was...” She swallowed, and her voice lowered. “It was perfect.”

“You’re sure? I wish you had told me.”

She snorted. “Yeah, right. Thirty years old. And then you would have been worried the whole time. I never wanted you to know. I’m an idiot for reacting as I did.”

“No, you’re not an idiot. Never.” But he had to admit she was right. If he’d known beforehand, it probably would have changed things. He would have worried about whether he was going too fast, about hurting her, about any number of things. “I meant it when I said I couldn’t tell. I was just caught up in being with you.

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