She wore a lace-and-silk night rail, much like the one he’d admired before, but this one was somehow even more provocative. The lace bodice fit tightly over her breasts, then flared into a silky skirt that was nearly transparent. Neil felt his mouth go dry.
Juliana patted her shiny, copper-colored hair, which fell about her shoulders in a straight shower. “Do you like it?” she asked.
“Come here” was all he could manage.
She walked toward him, her hips swaying slightly in a movement that made him dizzy with desire. At the wedding today, Draven’s men had congratulated him on his beautiful bride. Jasper had said he had the luck of the devil. Rafe had said the two of them were too pretty to look at. But Neil could look at Juliana all night.
And he would. They were married now. The papers were signed, the ceremony completed. She was his, and when he took her to bed tonight, he would not have to force himself to stop just when his body wanted more and more. She was his wife. Any offspring would be legitimate. He would always be born on the wrong side of the blanket, but the shame he felt had lessened over the past weeks. Juliana loved him. The boys looked to him for guidance. He was not a mistake. He deserved a home and a family.
She stopped before him, the scent of roses on her skin light and teasing. “Here I am,” she said with a coy smile.
“Are you nervous?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Should I be?”
Of course she wasn’t nervous. She was the bravest woman he’d ever known.
“They say it hurts for a woman the first time.”
She lifted one pale shoulder. “You’ll make it right.”
He gave a brief laugh. “I’ve never done this before either.”
“Is that what’s troubling you?”
He straightened. “I’m not troubled.”
“You look as though your tumbrel just arrived at the guillotine.”
“I hope the night doesn’t end that badly,” he said.
“It won’t.” And then she leaned forward and brushed her lips over his. The barest touch of her mouth was like a white-hot brand. He forgot his nervousness and gave in to desire, pulling her into his arms. The feel of her body beneath the flimsy silk intrigued him. He knew how soft her skin was, how generous her curves, but the silk sliding over it made it that much more tantalizing.
Her mouth opened slightly, and his tongue slipped into it, stroking her tongue and showing her what he wanted to do to her body. She trembled in his arms—not from fear but pleasure—and his lungs seized. He had to pull away to catch a breath. But his hands did not cease moving—up and over her bottom, around her slender waist, cupping her generous breasts.
“The bow,” she said, her voice thick.
Neil frowned. Juliana took his hand and placed it on the small white bow centered in the valley of her breasts. “I want your hands on me. I’ve been wanting this for weeks.”
They’d had only a few stolen minutes together since the fire, when she and the orphans had come to stay at her father’s town house in Mayfair. Neil had missed the days at the orphanage when she hadn’t been so well chaperoned. The handful of moments they’d had alone since were not nearly enough to satisfy either of them and had left them frustrated and unsatisfied. But that was all at an end now. In a few months, they’d be in their new home—their own home—one they’d share with the twelve boys and, Neil was sure, however many more Juliana took in.
To his surprise, he didn’t mind. He’d spent most of his adult life molding young men into soldiers. Now he would mold boys into honorable young men. Funny how he’d spent his entire life hiding from his status as a bastard, and now he embraced it and others like him. He would offer safety and love to the boys and to Juliana, and together they could make a new family to replace the ones they’d lost.
Neil tugged the bow, and the lace over her breasts parted. He loosed the next bow and the next until the lace fell away, revealing her lovely curves to him. He pushed the silky skirts over her hips and took a shuddering breath when she was naked before him. “I’m afraid this night might be over all too quickly.”
“Perhaps the first time,” she said, parting the robe he wore to reveal his bare chest.
“The first time?” His mouth felt dry.
“We have a long night ahead of us, Major.”
He put his hands on the curve of her hips and drew her close. “Yes, we do.”
“And you’re wearing too many clothes,” she chided.
“That can be easily rectified.” He pulled the tie on the robe and let it drop. Then as naked as she, he scooped her up and carried her to the bed. “I’ve had my fill of couches, parlors, and broom closets,” he said, laying her down and then coming down beside her. “I’ve wanted you in a bed, and now I plan to take full advantage of it.”
“Please do.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, her mouth lifting to meet his. As soon as their lips touched, it felt as though lightning had struck between them. The urge to take her then was overwhelming, but Neil battled back his impulses and drew their kisses out until they were slow, languid caresses. When he’d explored her mouth to his satisfaction, he pressed his lips to the column of her neck, her rounded shoulder, the curve of her breast, the hard tip of her nipple, and the gentle swell of her belly. He wanted to take his time learning the shape of her silky legs, but he would have to save that for later. His fingers had dipped between her legs, and once he’d felt how wet she was, how ready, his desires could no longer be ignored.
Neil hadn’t asked for conjugal advice from his friends at the Draven Club, but they’d given it anyway. The consensus seemed to be that a woman’s first time was less painful if she was fully aroused. It had been some time since Neil had done much more than kiss Juliana, and now when his fingers slid between the slippery folds of her sex, raw hunger and longing suffused him. He glanced at her face and saw her watching him with those beautiful eyes. Her lips were red and her cheeks pink.
“I want you,” she whispered. “I love you, Neil.”
“I love you,” he said as he bent to taste her. Her climax seemed to ripple through her without warning. He’d barely touched his tongue to her before she writhed on the bed and cried out, shuddering. Neil liked the sound of that cry and immediately decided they needed thicker walls and doors on their bedchamber at the orphanage. He intended to see that she made many more of those lusty cries.
Now he rose and positioned himself between her legs. His cock seemed to know what to do, even if he didn’t, and he was an inch inside her heat before he could stop himself. Juliana didn’t help. She bucked against him, urging him, trying to pull him deeper. Gritting his teeth, Neil moved inside her slowly. She was tight and hot, and he wanted to thrust hard and deep. Instead, he recited the names and numbers of every cavalry unit he could think of. He stroked her with his fingers, pausing when he heard her gasp or when her eyes widened in surprise.
“Am I hurting you?” he managed. Seventh Queen’s Own Hussars. Eighth Light Dragoons. Ninth Light Dragoons.
“A little, but it also feels wonderful,” she admitted. “Very strange.”
“Yes, that was the effect I wanted,” he said through clenched teeth. “Strange and painful.” Tenth Prince of Wales’s Hussars. Eleventh Light Dragoons.
“That’s not what I meant. Neil, I—”
She gasped on a moan as his fingers teased her again, sliding up and down over her sensitive flesh and circling that small, sensitive nub. He felt her contract around him, felt his own control slipping, and then she arched her hips, and he couldn’t hold back any longer. He thrust inside her. She cried out, even as her body continued to climax. Her muscles gripped him several more times, and he was almost undone.
Fifteenth King’s Hussars.
He closed his eyes and remained as still as possible. Finally, what seemed like months later, he felt her fingers stroke his cheek. “Are you hurt?” she asked.
He laughed and opened his eyes. “No. I’m attempting not to hurt you.”
“I feel quite wonderful,” she said, her gaze hazy and unfocused. “A little strange with you…well, there.”
“Could we possibly cease using the word ‘strange’ for the time being?” he said.