Tempting the Tycoon

Chapter 16

It couldn't be.

How could it be?

Alexios's thoughts careened in his head like bumper cars while he stared down into Sydney's face. She was so hot-looking, so sassy and sexy, how could she be a virgin? He blinked and swallowed. Had been a virgin, Ace. You took care of that discrepancy with one powerful thrust.

Shit, she must be aching, was his next thought. He'd been so eager to get inside her he hadn't held back one bit. After all, he'd figured she was as experienced as he was. But then he felt her tear as he blazed his trail, not realizing until too late that he was her first. How could that be? His mind refused to wrap itself around the fact that Sydney had been a virgin. And then another thought got past his astonishment: could a woman hemorrhage from a rough partner?

He didn't know. He hadn't been with a virgin since high school, when he'd been one as well. Shit, he thought again, forcing himself to look down into her eyes.

And that's when he saw the teardrop, a tiny bead of moisture leaking from the corner of Sydney's eye, and he felt fifty times the monster. Damn it, he'd hurt her so badly he'd made her cry! Without another thought he reached out, tenderly wiped at the tear with his thumb. Held her watery gaze and brought his thumb up to his mouth to lick the dampness from its pad.

"Why didn't you tell me, sweetheart? I could've made it good for you if I had known. I could've gone slower, more gently. You wouldn't have felt but the slightest tug."

She blinked rapidly up at him and shook her head, looked toward the window with its garish display flashing at them in taunting gaiety. "I...I was afraid you would turn me down. That you wouldn't want an inexperienced partner; that you would find me boring. And...and I wanted to be with you so much. I still do."

He hardened inside her at those innocent words, and saw her eyes widen as she registered his response. At least she didn't seem to be in pain anymore. And by her own admission she still wanted this: him inside her, filling her to capacity because she was so tight.

If she'd thought he'd leave her after finding out she was a virgin, she didn't know men. Or at least, this man. He hadn't lied when he'd told her earlier this evening that he was hot for her. That feeling didn't even come close to what he felt now when he knew he was her first. There were no shadow lovers, no past romantic ghosts that he needed to compete with or banish from her memory. From this moment on he could make sure she enjoyed every second.

He looked down into her anxious expression and felt that odd tenderness steal over him again. And chalked it up to his remorse for nearly splitting her in two, as well as the fact that he was about to initiate her into his style of lovemaking. His heart began to pound faster in anticipation. He reached out and tucked some golden strands of hair behind her ear with a gentle finger.

"You know I want you." He emphasized his point by thrusting inside her just a little. She blinked up at him and he couldn't resist smiling. "Your secret only makes you more desirable to me, kardia mou. I don't know how you remained a virgin until now, but it's a gift I'll always mourn for treating roughly--"

"You didn't know," she raced to his defense, and he couldn't hold back his smile. Nor could he remember feeling this lighthearted during lovemaking. He always went after a mutual climax with intensity. There hadn't been room in his relationships for sweetness. Inventive bedroom prowess had always been the goal. Yet here he was, grinning like a fool while she, the injured party, stood up for him against himself. He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose.

"You're too forgiving, sweet Sydney. I acted like a raging bull and plowed into you with the sensitivity of one, all because I couldn't take my eyes off you the entire night. But here we are, and somehow, I haven't turned you off. Since we're both where we want to be, why don't I attempt to erase my current poor standing?"