Beth rose to sit. “You know not everyone wants Cheltie, right?”
“Ha. You did. Do you not recall the party when Michael requested Penelope’s hand?”
She blushed. “Honestly? ’Twas habit.” She plucked at the bedcover by her hip. “You have likely heard—how do they say it?—I am not the most discriminating. I would argue that I am simply more open-minded than much of the Ton but still discerning.”
“What do you mean?”
“I do not only enjoy blonds or tall men or large-breasted women.” She winked, and he grinned, feeling his shoulders drop away from his ears.
She continued. “I like many shapes and sizes. In part, because I look beyond the physical, even for a casual encounter. I prefer to spend time with kind, generous, thoughtful people. After all, as you demonstrate here”—she swept her hand from the restraints on the bed to the open trunk—“smarter people offer more interesting ways to be intimate.”
His cheeks warmed. “Oh.” He was at a loss for words, unsure if anyone had called him smart before her. His parents had focused on his older brother, the heir. And Bags’s intelligence had eclipsed anyone else’s prowess.
“But let me be clear. I want you for your physique as well. Your broad shoulders and muscular arms make me feel petite in ways I don’t normally.” She gestured to where her belly mounded in her lap, her bottom and thighs spreading beneath her on the bed.
Sheispetite; she’s perfect. He appreciated her verbalization of her attraction, though. His cock had re-engaged, thinking of manhandling her and showing her how dainty he found her.
“Your bulk comes from strength, from wielding tools and a fabric most can’t work with, and calls to mind your creativity. Then your rough hands scrape just so against my skin, and I am wet within minutes of you walking into a room.”
“Really?” His voice went high at the end, his head leaning forward. He wanted to believe her but hardly dared.
“Really. Now, please, at least remove your coat and shirt? Then show me how you want to test these before I attack you and put them on you?”
He laughed but shook his head “no” at her. Making quick work of his coat, waistcoat and cravat, he slowed when he got to his shirt.
“Shall I redress then? It seems only fair.” She pouted.
After extinguishing a few candles, he tugged off his shirt.
“Wait there, please. Let me look at you.”
“No.” He came toward her.
Sticking her lower lip out again, she scanned his broad chest and thick arms. “Delicious. I told you I would form my own opinion. I’ve decided. You are simply delicious.”
“Thank you.” Robert blushed, ducking his head and hurrying the last few steps to the bed. Taking the X from her, he distracted her by testing the cuffs in several ways before draping her face down over a pillow so her hips were raised. He knelt behind her and took in her arse. More than two handfuls, it was a dimpled ripe peach, soft to squeeze and pale with a seam down it. His mouth watered for a bite.
First, though, the restraints. Laying the X on her back, he pulled one hand behind her, then the other.
Her shoulders pulled tight.
He knew he could not keep her here long, but neither of them could handle much more foreplay. He spread her knees on the bed and drew each ankle up to restrain all four limbs behind and above her.
Again, he sat back on his heels to peruse. That seam of her peach widened to show the red center at the heart of her. Glistening in the candlelight, it too begged for a bite.
Taking a moment to indulge his appetite, he put his mouth to one raised cheek.
She gasped.
He bit.
She squealed.
Lowering farther, he licked a path to her weeping center and blew a breath.
She twitched, trying to squeeze her legs together. Mayhap to clutch him to her, mayhap to find her own friction, but his design and their positions restricted her movements.
He smiled, then put his teeth to one of her nether lips and closed them to tug.
