His cock had long since roused, but as he felt the sharp edge of her teeth, it flexed eagerly.
"And sometimes I've wondered if her mouth is as soft as it looks," he whispered, fingers stroking her cheeks as he leaned down and replaced his thumb with his mouth.
Adele's lashes fluttered shut as she tilted up to him. Their lips met, the barest of touches, a replay of the kiss he'd granted her on the day of their wedding.
But this time he pressed deeper.
Took more.
He stole the breath from her lungs with a gentle, devastating caress. The taste of her morning's lemon tarts was still on her tongue, and he sought to drink it from her mouth, as if he could steal that too.
Palms slid up his chest as Adele opened beneath him. It was intoxicating, how swiftly passion burned to life between them. He felt like he'd been waiting months for this, hard and aching in his bed, while the door provided sturdy barrier between them. The soft slick of her tongue darted out, touching his. He'd meant this to be a seduction of the senses, but for the first time, he realized it wasn't just Adele who was being seduced.
The words had gotten to him too.
Because they'd been the truth.
She exhaled, and he tasted her breath in his mouth as he slowly licked her tongue. Adele wilted against him, soft arms sliding around his neck as her breasts were crushed against his chest.
And there was the craving, rising in his veins, wanting, demanding.
The darkness of his very soul seeking release.
A growl escaped him as Malloryn slid one hand down the smooth flex of her spine, finding the curve of her bottom. She, too, hadn't been lying. She was wearing not a stitch beneath the silk. Fingers sinking into such luscious flesh, he ground her hips to his, relishing in the feel of her soft body against the fierce ache of his cock.
Adele's eyes went wide as she drew back from the kiss with a gasp, her lips passion-swollen and as pink as raspberries. He had only to track her swift downwards gaze to realize he'd surprised her.
She might kiss and flirt like the devil, but she'd been honest: She was an innocent through and through.
And he needed to get a hold of himself.
Eyes glazed, he rested his forehead against hers. "I believe it is time for my kiss."
"Do you think you earned it?"
"I know I did." He pushed closer, brushing his lips against her cheek, and trailing them across her ear. One hand slipped the cap sleeve of her gown from her shoulder. "But you can try and deny it."
Adele shivered. "Do your worst then."
She had no idea what he intended.
Brushing his mouth across her bare shoulder, he slid his hands down to her hips. And then he hauled her up into his arms, and strode toward the bed.
"What are you doing?" she squeaked.
He tossed her down on the bed and knelt between her thighs, his knees trapping her skirts as he leaned over her. "You just threw down your gauntlet. I am merely returning the favor." A smile escaped him. "Did you think it would be that easy? An exchange of kisses?"
"No." Her eyes seemed a little wild.
Oh, this was going to be fun.
"What are you planning?"
"Use your imagination, Adele." He bent lower, breath whispering across the lace of her décolletage. "Maybe I wanted to see whether you were telling the truth, my dear."
"About?"
"Whether you were wearing a stitch...."
Capturing her knee, he dragged it up against his hip. Her skirts fell to her knee, leaving nothing but her stockings beneath his palm.
"It's the middle of the day!"
"Yes."He slid her skirts up slowly, so slowly. Thumb catching on her garter, he stroked back and forth, enjoying both the feel of the material and the sudden look on her face. "Won't the maids be scandalized?"
"You said—"
"Anywhere."
"Yes, but...." Her eyes widened. "But...."
He pressed a finger to her pretty rosebud mouth. "My choice, Adele."
A heated shiver ran through her as he dragged that finger down over her stubborn chin and throat. Hooked it in her bodice and tugged the garment lower, until her nipple threatened to escape.
"Here?" he whispered.
She lay utterly still, barely breathing, as if to see where that finger would end up.
"Or here?" He kept going, their eyes locking, as the fabric covering her abdomen shirred beneath his stroke, lower, lower— There.
Adele froze.
And then her thighs clamped on either side of his hips, and that breath finally escaped her, as if she realized there was no escape.
"You wouldn't," she gasped.
"All pretty and pink, just like your mouth. I wonder if it will taste as sweet?"
Malloryn tugged at his cravat, drawing it loose from his throat.
She watched every movement he made as shock gave way to sudden curiosity.
Capturing her hands, he knotted the cravat around them, and then glanced at the scrolled iron headboard. Perfect. Malloryn bound her wrists over her head and then eased back onto his knees as he surveyed her.
"What are you doing?" She arched her spine to look over her head at where she was tied.
"You're the one who wanted the barbarian. So now he is throwing you down on your bed and tying you to it."
"I never said—"
"Oh, I know." Malloryn lowered himself over her, hovering on his knuckles. "But you've mentioned it once or twice now. I think the idea isn't as appalling as you pretend it is. You were right, my sweet." He nipped at her lip as he confessed, "There is something inside me that enjoys the idea of ravishing you. But there's something inside you that wants to be ravished. I could see it in your eyes. I can hear it in the rush of your breath. And if I stroked between your thighs right now, I'm sure I would feel it." His voice grew a little rough. "You're wet, aren't you, Adele? So. Damned. Wet. I want to taste it on my tongue."
Another half-strangled squeak wheezed from her.
Malloryn smiled as he brushed the back of his fingers down her cheek. So pretty. "You wanted a kiss. Will you let me kiss you there?"