Sweet Revenge Ch. 02

He was truly magnificent without his clothes, and she stared at his masculine beauty. He kissed her long and deeply, and she was surprised to feel the hunger begin again in the pit of her belly. She answered his strokes with eager abandon. Her hands gripped his flanks, and she wrapped her legs around his back in encouragement, as he groaned and pressed even deeper inside of her, hearing her gasp.

They finally came together with one final, deep thrust and then burst together over the rocks of their passion. Karina could feel a hot, sticky wetness pulsing inside her, and she knew he was depositing his seed deep within her womb. The realization had the effect of throwing icy water on her, as Karina remembered his motivation for holding her hostage.

When his spasms finally ended, Richard withdrew from her, and would have kissed her softly, but Karina turned away from him and rolled into a tiny ball. She felt she would die of shame! She had sworn she would fight him, and she had ended up giving herself to him like a brazen whore. She squeezed her eyes shut against the tears she felt welling up, but they still trickled out between her long lashes and rolled down her cheeks.

Richard rose on one elbow and watched her in bemusement. Surely he hadn't hurt her? He was sure she had enjoyed their lovemaking as much as he had. He gripped her shoulder and rolled her onto her back to face him, but she refused to open her eyes. He traced a tear with his thumb and frowned down at her.

"Open your eyes and look at me." His voice was low but firm.

Her lids fluttered open and she stared into his frowning eyes.

"Why are you crying? Did I hurt you?"

Karina shook her head, but refused to answer him. She looked away. "You've had your pleasure. Please, let me go." He stared at her for a long moment before he finally released her, and she rolled away from him again as he frowned at her in bemusement.

Finally, he reached down to draw a light, linen sheet over them both, unable to resist the urge to stroke her creamy hip. She jumped as if he had burned her, but made no further protest. He sat up against the pillows for a long time, and a frown creased his brow. She had surprised him with the heat of her response, and now, she lay as cold as a dead fish. There was no doubt she was passionate. In fact, he had never found such total satisfaction with a woman before, not even with his wife.

He felt a stab of guilt at that realization, and he told himself that it was only because Karina was a means to his revenge against her father. He rolled over on his side away from her and settled down to sleep. A nagging voice in his mind teased him with the knowledge that even on his wedding night, he had not experienced the pleasure he had found tonight with this girl. He growled and punched his pillow before blowing out the candles beside the bed. It was a long time before he could finally sleep.