An Excerpt From: ROMEO
(c) Copyright GAIL FAULKNER, 2005.
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave, Inc.
By reading any further, you are stating that you are at least 18 years of age. If you are under the age of 18, it is necessary to exit this site.
"It's okay," she whispered to him, trying to ease his burden. "I'm not really hurt."
Striding away from the confusion in the corral, he whispered back to her. "Well, I'm not okay. You scared the goddamn life out of me, baby. Don't do it again!" The sight of her being trampled was burned into his brain with ghastly clarity. He'd almost lost her before she even knew him. Losing another person was unacceptable. Losing her would be an event he couldn't survive. Never mind they'd shared less than an hour's acquaintance. She might not know it yet but she was his woman.
The simple fact that her shirt was torn and he could see blood on her body was intolerable on a cellular level. The unexpected shock of watching her fall shook him to his core.
"It wasn't my fault, Romeo-" she murmured defensively, mistaking the stark terror in his tone for reprimand "-it's those beasts. They went crazy."
"It's Steven's fault," he informed her. "He had no business taking that animal out! Of course, all of them were behaving like irresponsible imbeciles again. You've never been on horse before, have you?"
"Well, no. It seemed like a good idea until I got right next to one. They are much bigger than they look on TV," Lauren commented seriously.
Romeo barked out a laugh at that. They entered his private apartment. He carried her through his bedroom to the bathroom. Sitting her down carefully on the vanity, he started unbuttoning her shirt.
"What are you doing?" Lauren demanded.
"Undressing you. We have to treat the scratches on your shoulder and you need a shower before we do. It'll help wash out the wound and you smell like poop anyway." He teased softly, trying to appear harmless and altruistic.
Romeo's need to posses would not allow him to let her out of his sight to take care of the injuries. He knew this level of intimacy was neither normal nor called for, but it was unthinkable to do anything other than see to every one of her needs himself.
"No." Her hands came up to cover his and stop the action.
"Look, baby. You've got to take care of those scratches right away. I know you want a shower so why not take it now?" he argued gently.
"I'm not undressing in front of you, Romeo. Let me go to my room and I'll take care of it myself," she stated calmly.
"Aw, don't worry, Lauren. I've seen a woman before. There is no need to be embarrassed, honey. Now let's get this done. You'll feel better afterwards," he insisted.
"I said no, Romeo. Are you going to force me?" she asked quietly.
"No! Good God! Why would you even think that? I just want to be sure you're all right." His concerned eyes searched her face. Something else was going on here. The way she looked at him was old. Way too old for the twenty-three, he knew her to be. It wasn't embarrassment on her face, it was-armor. Her face was a mask he couldn't see behind.
"What's going on, Lauren?" he asked quietly. "Why is undressing a hot spot for you? Did someone hurt you? Did something bad happen?" His serious face turned hard and a deep flush swept over it. "You can tell me, sweetheart. It's okay. We'll just deal with that, too."
"No, nothing like you're thinking happened," Lauren quickly responded to his tight look and shuttered eyes. It didn't consciously occur to her that they were reading each other on an intimate level. She simply knew exactly what his dark mind had come up with. "But I've spent a lot of time in hospitals. People treat you like a piece of meat in there. They undress you and bend over you in groups examining you. They discuss you and forget to pull the sheet back up. Sometimes you can't do it for yourself. It's all done 'for your own good'," she explained in a tight voice. "I am not going to be the only naked person in the room ever again. If you want to undress me, you'd damn well better get naked first."
He smiled. Already knowing her history the problem became crystal clear. "Sure, I can do that."
His clothes hit the floor in an amazingly short time. Suddenly straightening before her was a gloriously naked man. Her eyes traveled over his wide-muscled chest, the torso below undulated with ridges leading her to narrow hips and the fascinating equipment between them. She'd never actually seen a naked man before. Pictures and movies did not prepare her for the reality.
Her gaze centered on the heavy erection and she couldn't look away. He stepped up to her again and returned to unbuttoning her shirt. She sat there dumbly and just stared at him. Her shirt and bra disappeared and he took a moment to look at the line down the center of her chest. It hurt him just to see it. He didn't worry she'd notice his examining it. She still hadn't lifted her eyes from his hips.
"Never seen one of those before?" he asked quietly as he lifted her slightly to slide jeans and panties down over her butt.
"Not in person," she admitted. "Does it hurt?"
He frowned as he squatted to remove her boots and slide the pants off. "No, why would you think that?"
"It's sort of red and swollen. It looks like it hurts," Lauren stated as he stood up. She looked into his face. "It also looks much too big to fit where it's supposed to. Are you bigger than most guys are? Because if that's normal, I'm not sorry I've said no anymore."
In the back of her mind Lauren knew getting naked with a virtual stranger should have been utterly shocking. Something about this man and his need to take complete control of her care made it feel natural. His gentle tone of voice and competent, matter-of-fact handling hushed the panicking virgin. After his clothes hit the tile floor it had been impossible to think about anything else. Apparently, in the right circumstances, she was a brazen hussy, the virgin within sniffed in distain.
"Lean over, baby, I need to see the bruise on the back of your thigh," he directed as his big hands helped her sit on one hip so she leaned to the side and he could look at the back of her leg. The large red mark was already beginning to darken. A deep, ugly bruise would quickly appear.
"It fits, sweetheart," he answered her question as seriously as she'd asked it. "I don't know what most guys have. Don't make a habit of looking," he stated casually as he lifted her off the vanity and moved them over to the big shower. He adjusted the temperature and stepped in with her.
Gently placing her under the water, he carefully rinsed the dirt and grime out of her hair and off her body, paying special attention to the abrasions on her shoulder. Shifting her out of the water again he grabbed the shampoo and started massaging her hair, carefully keeping the soap from the cuts.
"I'm glad you've said no, too. A little thing like you requires special care, honey. A man has to prepare you really well before it'd be a pleasurable experience for you. If you let the wrong guy touch you, you'd be scared for life." He rinsed her hair and soaped up a washcloth. She let him bathe her with an absent-minded acceptance. Her eyes were still glued below his navel. He gingerly patted the scrapes on her shoulder and she barely winced. That small pain made almost no impression on her. He supposed it wouldn't after what she'd been through.
The conversation, her wide-eyed innocence and his overwhelming sense of possession drove him hard. She'd given him nothing but acceptance once his clothes came off and the gift of her trust sang through his soul. Touching her intimately became a necessity. He hadn't meant to do it now, but the need to show her how precious she was to him wouldn't let him stop.
Romeo put down the washcloth and soaped his hands. "Now I'm going to wash between your legs, honey. This is how a guy should touch you."
Wide eyes shot up to his. "You are? Ah...I...um..."
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