“I’m not entirely unworldly.” How the words inflamed her cheeks. “I know there are…sheaths…for that very purpose. But I certainly do not possess any. And I doubt you’d thought to…prepare…”
“I’d other considerations in mind when we left Dunnhaven. Such as keeping ye alive.” He cradled her cheek against his large palm, against skin roughened by hours of holding reins, his touch infused with great tenderness. “There are other ways, my sweet…if ye trust me.”
The blend of heat and affection in his eyes drew her in. She raised up on her toes to press a kiss to his tempting mouth. “Yes. I trust you.”
His smile broadened with a look of very male satisfaction. “Now, I want to see ye.”
His hands went to her bodice. She went very still. Desire warmed every inch of her. This glorious man was baring her to his eyes, and she savored every decadent moment.
The blouse drifted to her feet. His nimble fingers unfastened her skirt, and the sensible wool slid in a puddle around her. She stepped over the garments. All that stood between them now was her combination, gauze-thin cotton adorned with the barest snippets of blue lace.
He studied her, his eyes seeking an answer to the unspoken question between them. She nodded softly, suddenly shy, and he peeled the undergarment from her body.
“Beautiful.” The single word seemed a sonnet on his lips.
Suddenly, her feet no longer touched the floor. She was in his arms, cradled against his chest. Kissing her gently, he placed her on the bed. His hands skimmed the length of her, his touch featherlight over her hips and thighs. With a heat that might have flashed in the devil’s own eyes, he peeled away each stocking, casting away the last thin barriers between his gaze and her flesh.
And then, his mouth claimed hers. Sweet and hot and so very delicious. How had she lived without his kiss and his touch? How had she lived without him for so very long?
That decadent mouth of his moved from her lips, exploring her body with a deliberate languor. Tiny nips of his teeth and teasing little kisses marked his sultry path. Her nipples pebbled, craving his attention. His lips teased one hardened bud, each swirl of his tongue driving her yearning to a fever pitch. She heard her own voice, a sigh, laced with longing. His unbridled need shredded the last of her inhibitions. She’d surrendered to him and felt no shame. Only a hunger she knew in her heart that one night with him would never entirely sate.
Even as he caressed her breasts, one hand moved lower. Her thighs parted beneath the heat of his fingertips. A deep moan reverberated through him, and she canted her hips. Bolder still, he slipped a finger between her cleft, his touch infinitely tender, limitlessly gentle. Seeking and finding the exquisitely sensitive nub of flesh, he unleashed currents of pleasure, decadent waves of sensation that drove her wild with need. For his warmth. For his touch.
For him.
“So beautiful,” he murmured, anointing her breasts as his fingers teased her to the brink of a crevasse. The merest touch urged her nearer the edge. Wanting took control. And such a sweet, delicious wanting it was. The world seemed to spin. Each knowing sweep of his fingers drew her closer and closer.
She toppled forward, or so it seemed. He muffled her soft cry with a kiss as the pleasure swept her away. Utterly vulnerable. Whirling into a state of mindless bliss. Suspended in time.
Her breath came in desperate little pants, and she clung to him, clutching those broad, strong shoulders.
When her breathing slowed, she lay content, harbored in his arms. Need and tenderness melded in his gaze.
His arousal pressed against her belly. And yet, he slipped the slimmest of distances between their bodies. “We can stay together tonight in this bed. Holding ye in my arms…”
With a slow shake of her head, she pressed a kiss to that delicious mouth of his. “I want you.” The words washed over her, their implication penetrating bone deep. “All of you.”
“Ye’re certain, then?” His fingertips danced over the curve of her face. “No doubts?”
“No doubts.” She swallowed hard against the powerful emotion. “I trust you.” The words stalled on her tongue, but she freed them. “With all my heart.”
“Aye, sweeter words have yet t’reach my ears.”
With a smile that promised all manner of wicked delight, he stripped to his natural state.