Warning! Mature content.

Eloise took quick, shallow breaths as she grew accustomed to the strange, unfamiliar feeling of Damien’s finger inside her. Her body tensed, not yet used to the intrusion.

"Relax," Damien murmured. "It will get better soon."

Eloise tried to relax and managed it only when Damien withdrew his finger. His hand remained cupped against her warmth. His touch was gentle.

Eloise’s cheeks were flushed and warm. Her breathing steadied as she calmed herself.

Damien gently stroked her with his finger whilst keeping his gaze on her face. He took notice of each time she flinched, stopping to bring her comfort.

"I’m going to do it again," Damien said, his voice low, giving Eloise a moment to prepare. "Are you ready?"

Eloise nodded, her words momentarily caught in her throat. "Yes," she answered, finding her voice.

Damien stroked her a little longer, easing the way before his finger pressed inside her again. This time, the tension in her expression wasn’t present, and the discomfort softened.

Eloise thought of when Damien had used his tongue. The feeling was similar, but his finger was firmer, filling her in a way that was different and strange, but not unpleasant.

She relaxed just as Damien had asked, though her body still squirmed beneath his.

Eloise reached for Damien’s arms, her hands clinging to his muscles.

The intensity of his gaze sent a flutter straight through the pit of her stomach.

"Damien!" His name left her in a broken cry.

Eloise’s toes curled as the rhythm of Damien’s finger found a place inside her that sent pleasure throughout her entire body. Everything changed so quickly as she was clinging to him now, wanting far more than he was giving her.

Eloise’s back arched. Her fingers dug into Damien’s arm, and before the marks could form, she loosened her hold.

Damien’s eyes never left her face, not for a single moment. It was almost difficult to believe that he was sharing this with the only woman he had ever loved.

Her flushed expression, the way it changed each time he curled his finger inside her, and the soft calls of his name. All of it undid him with ease.

Damien gritted his teeth, holding himself in check. He wanted to be slow with her, to make the night everything it deserved to be, even though part of him ached to replace his finger with his length, to sink deep inside her and stay there until she had taken all of him.

He wanted Eloise in his arms, her voice filling the bedchamber as he held her close and gave her everything.

Damien clenched his jaw and held on. The sounds she made as he pleasured her aroused him.

Eloise gripped his arm again, her fingers pressing in without realising it. Damien didn’t stop. He knew she was close, and he had no intention of missing the look on her face when she came undone.

Eloise could no longer hold herself back, and when her body finally released, a warmth spread slowly between her thighs, her whole body going soft and trembling.

She looked up and met Damien’s quiet, satisfied smile. He withdrew his finger, the absence of it leaving her feeling strangely hollow. He brought his hand to his lips, his finger slipping between them as he held her gaze and tasted her without any hesitation.

He had done it twice now, and he looked entirely at ease with it.

Eloise felt a moment of embarrassment, though she wasn’t the one who should be embarrassed.

Damien slid his hands beneath Eloise’s thighs and drew her body closer to his, his length positioned between her parted legs.

Eloise was still catching her breath and trembling softly from her first release.

"It’s going to hurt a little and feel more uncomfortable than my finger at first, but I will go slowly. You must tell me if you want me to stop. No silence and no keeping things to yourself," Damien said, his voice low and firm.

"I won’t be silent," Eloise promised.

A nervousness stirred in her chest, though not about the pain. It was about him. The weight of him against her and the idea of what was about to happen.

Would making love feel as good as she had imagined it would?

Eloise’s attention was taken back to Damien as she felt him pressing gently against the warmth between her legs, moving slowly, as though giving her time to feel him before anything else. She didn’t understand why he hadn’t simply entered her, but she trusted him entirely.

After all, Damien was the only one among them with experience.

The moment she had been waiting for soon came. The steady press of him against her before he began to ease inside.

A sharp ache spread through Eloise’s lower body. She understood why and didn’t question it. He was broader than his finger, and the stretch was something her body had to learn. The pain was real, but it was bearable.

Damien pressed forward a little further and then stilled, letting her adjust to the feel of him. "It’ll get better soon," he said quietly.

"I know," Eloise replied, her voice soft. "You can move. It’s not so bad," she said, adapting to the feeling.

Damien cradled her face in his hand, his thumb coming to rest just beneath her eye, brushing away the single tear she didn’t know had fallen.

"Don’t lie to me, Eloise," Damien said, hating to be the cause of even one tear.

"Damien, it doesn’t hurt very much. It is just new," Eloise said, moving his hand from her cheek. "Why don’t you trade places with me and see how it feels?" She laughed, trying to lighten the mood so it wouldn’t be spoiled.

"If I were in awful pain that needed stopping, I would say so. Honesty, right?" Eloise asked, echoing what Damien had told her earlier.

"Yes," Damien replied, relaxing now that he knew he had not harmed her.

Eloise readied herself and gave him a small nod.

Damien moved with a slow, careful rhythm, pressing himself further into Eloise whilst watching her face for every honest reaction. He could tell she wanted it over with, but he refused to let her first time be swallowed up by discomfort when there was so much more he wanted her to feel.

Mindful of every small sound she made, every shift in her expression, Damien took his time until he had settled himself fully inside her and went still, giving her body the time it needed to grow used to the feel of him inside her.