You guys are way too flattering --- I'm no expert, definitely not a sex therapist (although... hmmm... that's a career I could really enjoy, should my current plans ever fall through!), and I'm certainly not a genius. I just pay attention to things that are... umm... important to me!

A few more thoughts for Joeblair, no particular order:

1) Lilith was right about the condom --- not only is it the best safety measure in terms of preventing both STDs and pregnancy, it also helps the hypersensitivity factor.

2) Talk to her!!!!! Make sure your girlfriend is aware that you're concerned about this. If she knows you're really interested in bringing her pleasure, she'll be more willing to slow down and teach you as you go, and she'll be more patient with your initial excitability.

3) If you two can accept the hair-trigger effect as a given, and if she's willing, then another option is for her to perform oral sex on you first. You'll cum quickly, guaranteed, and it will release that pressure so that you can spend some more time on the foreplay and on learning about her body and responses before you're ready to explode again.

4) I want to reiterate a point I made before, because I don't know how clearly it came out. The site of most pleasure in the female is generally the clitoris, not the vagina. (I heard somewhere that the clit has twice as many nerve endings as the entire penis. It's pretty darned sensitive, let me tell you!) In most positions for intercourse, the clitoris receives little if any stimulation. Therefore, intercourse shouldn't be the be-all and end-all of your sexual repertoire, if you want to be equitable about bringing her pleasure. This is important, because it means that you don't need to focus on penetration as the ultimate goal of the activity --- the oral sex, the various forms of foreplay, even the kissing or the holding hands, they're all as much a part of sex as actual intercourse, so don't skip over them in any hurry. When you get to penetration, it will bring her pleasure too, but don't pressure yourself into thinking it's the only way to satisfy her.

5) Like OldFart says, it's normal to be like this. Don't worry about it too much, and don't make it into a huge problem that's going to stress you out or put a strain on your sex life. It's not that big a deal, so don't freak out over it.

I hope some of this helps...

--- sweetstuff