Then, with an irresistible force, he pulled at the neckline of her dress. Gemma gasped again, fearing that it was about to tear and, at the same time, willing it. She wanted him to rip her dress apart down its front, and then tear away the undergarments and expose her virginal expanse of breasts.
Her breathing quickened, pulse racing in her throat as she felt the touch of air against one of her breasts. Then it was enveloped in a warm wetness. Looking down, she saw that Nathan had begun to kiss her breast and suck at its nipple. She could feel that small bud growing stiff and upright under his ministrations.
Panting, she pulled at the neckline herself, exposing her other breast. She pulled at the delicate mound herself, pulling the nipple taut as Nathan played with its pair. Of course, he could not see what she was doing, or what she had done. But he could hear the sudden increase in her desire. He lifted his head, his hand moving to her other breast and replacing her hand there.
The touch was possessive, as though he were caressing an item of his own property.
“Touch me anywhere,” she whispered, her voice made frantic by her desire. “I want to belong to you.”
His lips stole the breath from her. When she could breathe again, when her senses had righted themselves, she realized that he was speaking.
“I will know every inch of you. I will know you better than you know yourself. Through the means available to me. Touch…”
His hands squeezed and kneaded her exposed breasts. Gemma let her hand loll back on her shoulders, closing her eyes and concentrating her senses on that area.
“…and taste.”
Nathan ran his tongue from the top of her right breast, down over the nipple and under. Then he moved to the left, tracing a path between the breasts and up the side of her left bosom. This time his teeth closed around the nipple and Gemma clapped a hand to her mouth to stop herself from squealing.
“And if I wish to come to know you equally well?” Gemma gasped.
She almost moaned in disappointment as his head lifted. Her bosoms almost cried out for a return to the firm touching and warm, soft kisses.
“I am an open book to you,” Nathan said.
He deftly unlaced his shirt and then, taking her hands, he placed her palms against his contoured, steely chest. She let her head fall against the exposed skin, impatiently pushing at the shirt to widen the area that she could touch. Digging in with her fingers, she dragged her nails downward, leaving red trails behind.
Nathan’s breath caught in his throat at the sudden pain, then he sighed as Gemma began to kiss and lick away along the marks she had made.
“Do you mark me? To show your ownership?” Nathan asked.
“I do,” Gemma whispered seductively.
She lavished attention on his sculpted muscles with her lips and tongue before selecting an area and biting. At the same time, she sucked at the spot, producing a circular red mark. Nathan’s arms went around her, hands tangling into her hair and he clutched her close to him, breathing in delighted gasps.
“Mark me!” he said hoarsely.
“Will you?” Gemma asked, lifting her head.
“I will. And as you have chosen a spot that no one else will see except another lover, so shall I.”
Gemma closed her eyes, letting him choose the part of her that would bear his mark. She expected that he would choose the bosoms to which he had been applying such tender care and attention. But he did not.
After a moment, she felt him haul her skirts and under-skirts up high, leaving her naked thighs exposed. He roughly pushed them apart and placed his mouth on the inner thigh of her right leg.
Gemma froze, hardly breathing as his mouth worked. When he had finished, a bright red bruise had risen against the milk-pale skin. A sound penetrated the fog of desire that dulled Gemma’s senses. Nathan, with his attenuated hearing, must have heard it first but he did not seem to react. It was the clack of shears. And a man whistling.
“Someone is coming!” Gemma whispered.
“What? Oh, blast! It will be one of the gardeners,” Nathan hissed. “My mind was elsewhere.”
Gemma nuzzled his neck, “I am aware of where your mind was.”
Nathan snorted and without any apparent effort, deposited her onto her side of the seat. Gemma suppressed a sigh, not wanting to appear too wanton. She hastily straightened her dress and patted her hair, running hasty fingers through it.
“Do I look…out of sorts?” Nathan asked, turning to her.
She looked at him and reached out to straighten his cravat and his coat, which was slightly askew.
