A shaky breath escaped him. “See how bold you are,” he murmured. “Not cautious at all.”
He touched her waist, then slid his hand to the small of her back and urged her closer. His lips were soft against her forehead, awakening her skin with a rush of goose bumps from nape to toe. He inhaled, as if to savor the scent of her hair. They stood like this for a long moment while a tightness behind her ribs loosened, unspooled, until it dissolved into nothing. No more fear. Longing flowed like a warm current under her skin. She put her hand on his chest, and the ruthlessly contained energy inside jolted through her. Elias took a step back, and his eyes were sharp now with a singular hunger.
“Why me?” he asked.
She spoke without thinking: “When I’m with you, I don’t feel wrong. I feel . . . I just feel.”
His lashes lowered. “Let’s go upstairs,” he said huskily.
Chapter 22
Her clothes were dropping to the floor the moment she crossed into the bedroom. Elias had unbuttoned the front of her bodice on their way up the stairs, his arms coming round her from behind as they swayed toward the landing with their bodies pressed together. He was still behind her, unhooking her skirts from her bodice while she faced the bed. A pool of sunlight shimmered golden on the smooth counterpane. She had a strange sense of weightlessness, as though she consisted only of her breath and the rapid beat of her heart.
“What made you change your mind?” she asked.
“I haven’t changed it,” came his sarcastic voice. “I still consider this the worst decision I have made in a long time. I’m a fool to do it. Alas, I can’t keep from touching you. My hands dream of your skin.”
He was obviously aroused, but his fingers had been methodical with the buttons. Now the weight of her skirts loosened under his efficient hands. The layers of fabric and the bustle collapsed, down to her knees.
Elias moved around her and offered his hand with an air of chivalry, as though he wasn’t about to strip her naked and lie on top of her. With his assistance, she gingerly stepped out of the pile of contraptions.
His passion-bright gaze burned over her face. “If there are consequences, of any kind,” he said, “we make it right.”
It wasn’t an offer but a condition. Her mouth turned dry for a moment. She swallowed and moved her head a little; it could be a yes.
Satisfied, he eased the bodice off her shoulders, his thumbs skimming along the wings of her collarbone. The light touch sparked a tingling warmth in all her delicate pulse points, and she suppressed a moan.
“So silky,” he said in a low tone. “Are you certain about this, Catriona? Because I will put my mouth on every soft inch of you. I have wanted to do that for a long time.”
Hot color spread from her throat to the top of her breasts. He noticed, and his eyes went soft. “Hayeti,” he said. My life. “Such a bad idea.”
Her breathing was shaky. “We can regret it later.”
The bodice fell away, and her freed arms rose into the cool air on their own volition. Elias smoothed the corset cover over her head and let it sail to the floor, and her corset swiftly followed. He was down before her on one knee, his hands under her chemise, his shoulders moving while he rolled down her stockings. Every glance of his fingertips against the sensitive back of her knees sent a small shock to her core, making her clench. He tugged at her pantaloons. “I remember these,” he said, looking up at her with a wide grin. One of the pink ribbons was wrapped around his finger.
She was in her chemise, blushing and trembling. His smile faded and his eyes darkened. “Sit on the bed.”
The bedsprings creaked. Sunlight lay warm like a hand between her bare shoulders. He undressed in front of her, cravat, cuffs and collar, then the waistcoat, revealing richly embroidered braces. Who made these for you? He undid the top buttons of his shirt and a sunbeam glanced off the gold chain around his neck. Who gave you that? She lurched from one impression of male secrets to the next.
“This is happening fast,” she said.
He pulled the braces off his shoulders. “Too fast?”
“I just thought this part would be slow. I can’t seem to think.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Good. For what we will do, you only need to feel.”
His voice was like his movements, fluid and imbued with purpose. He dragged his shirt over his head and when he reappeared, his curls disheveled, she wasn’t breathing. Strong arms, tapered torso, as if chiseled by an expert. He wasn’t smooth like a statue; dark hair covered his tightly wrapped muscles. Instead of vulnerability, his naked body radiated power. She felt terribly soft in contrast. He smiled, a little crooked, and she realized she was gazing at him with her mouth slightly slack.
His gaze dropped to her breasts and now she felt them, tense and strangely full underneath her chemise.
“Will you take off your chemise for me?” he asked.
He liked telling her what to do in the bedroom. Perhaps he was testing her compliance, preparing her for other instructions. Lie back. Spread your legs. No thinking.
She stripped and sat back down.
His face went very quiet while he took her in. He looked almost shy, an echo of the reverence she had sensed in him at the banks of the loch. When his lips moved but no words came, she understood that her softness held its own power. The act would not be done to her. They would do it together.
Elias discarded his remaining clothes. He was highly aroused, his erection almost touching his flat stomach. A heavy heat pooled in her belly. Once he was inside her, not a thread would go between them then. Mine—if only for a moment.
He turned to the nightstand, opened the drawer, and took out a small vial and a sheath. It had been prepared, and he handled it smoothly.
“Where did you find those?” she asked.
He shot her a look from under his lashes. “Pharmacy next to the grocer.” A soft snort. “The pharmacist warned me to exercise moderation in all things.”
“Why, how many did you buy?”
“Plenty.” He tossed the vial onto the counterpane and put his knee between hers onto the mattress.
She reclined, awed by the proximity of a naked man.
He hovered over her, feeling large and infusing her with his body heat. His addictive scent entered her on every breath and coated her taste buds like nectar.
“You need these now?” He was holding her face and tapped a finger against the rim of her glasses.
She shook her head. “I don’t need them, no.”