Nervousness wasn't a feeling Maddox was very familiar with. Still there was a tightness in his chest now, and an unknown tension in his stomach. A few weeks ago he had stood here as well, in this bedroom with the candles on the windowsills, on the few shelves on the walls and on the nightstands. Back then he hadn't felt as insecure as he did now. He had been drawn by euphoria and he had wanted to claim what he thought was his.

Dana had stopped him. She had told him that she didn't want to be touched by him before she was ready. The past days he had became more and more skeptical, slowly being convinced that she might never be ready.

But his patience had paid him off. Dana had gotten used to her new surroundings and she had given him another chance. Of course he had taken that with a pinch of salt, but a while ago she had taken his hand anyway and she had led him to the bedroom.

That was where they were standing now side by side, a little awkwardly. They were both silent, the only thing that Maddox could hear was her breathing and his own. Somewhere in the back of his mind a question haunted him: did she really want this? But he didn't ask her, he didn't want to know the answer.

Maddox's gaze wandered across her face. She didn't look at him, but stared at the ground. There was no fierce longing smoldering in his eyes, like there had been in the past. But her insecure stance also moved him. It turned him on, as if she was a virgin who was going to offer him her virginity.

Carefully he stretched out his hand and cupped her cheek. Still she refused to look up. It reminded him of the role plays they had done when they were younger, when she had pretended to be his sex slave. But this time it was no game. He felt her insecurity, her nervousness. He felt his own insecurity, his own nervousness.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked with a husky voice.

He heard her swallow. "As-as long as you don't hurt me..."

Her words made a dull pain shot through his body. "I won't hurt you," he promised. "I will never hurt you again."

His fingertips glided from her cheek to her neck and disappeared into her volumineus blonde hair. He brought his face closer to hers until their lips were brushing. His heartbeat sped up as his tongue probed hers. Soon the longing to undress her churned inside him. His hands moved to the hem of her shirt and he pulled it over her head, breaking their kiss for a moment. Instead of putting his lips back on hers, he took the time to look at the part of her body that was exposed now. His mouth became dry as he saw her upper body. Her stomach wasn't as flat as he remembered and her breasts were larger as well. His pants tightened around his crotch as his hands glided across her shoulders and further down along her sides.

"You're so beautiful."

Although her breasts fitted perfectly into her bra, it was too much of a torture to wait any longer. He wanted to lay his hands around them. He untied the clasp of her bra and pulled the straps down her arms. An impatient grunt slipped his lips as he grabbed her breasts and started to knead them.

For a moment he thought to hear her whimper, but when he looked hesitating at her, her hands glided underneath his shirt. He closed his eyes as her fingers glided across his skin. Goosebumps rushed away from her touch.

She pulled his shirt over his head and he wrapped an arm around her waist so he could feel her skin against his. A shaky sigh slipped his lips. Man, he had never known that he had missed her so much. It felt so good to have her close again. This was how it was supposed to be. She belonged to him and he belonged to her. This was how it always should have been.

He kept one arm around her waist, his other had cupped her breast again. He pressed his lips against the skin below her ear. As he heard her gasp, he smiled. That hadn't changed. He knew exactly what she liked, how he could satisfy her. From her neck he trailed kisses across her right shoulder, down to her breasts. It felt like he could feel her heart pound against his lips and his grasp on her body tightened. Her muscles tensed as his tongue swirled around her nipple and he sucked on it until he heard her moan.

He moved his mouth to the other nipple, and he felt how her hands ran across her back, pressing her nails into his skin. Spreading kisses across her bosom, he reached her cleavage and let his tongue slide through it. Then he lowered himself, further and further down, until he was sitting on his knees.

He had arrived at her pants, which he ripped down in a fit of lost self-control. He breathed heavily as his hand hugged her ass; it felt just as firm as he remembered. As he held her, his fingertips reached out to the front, expecting to feel her excitement. However, her thong was dry as a bone and a little dazed he looked up to her.

Although her fingers were toying with his hair, she wasn't looking at him. With a empty look in her eyes she stared at the wall, the expression on her face rather depressed than swooned, and the sight of it was so disappointing that it felt like something inside his chest was exploding.

For a moment he was on the verge of pushing her away and snarling at her, but he changed his mind and started to kiss the edge above her thong.

He knew her. He would get her wet. He would make her enjoy this, for that was how it was meant to be.