Well, that was an offer she could not refuse. She hurried to tuck her legs under her and knelt on the bed.
“Come closer.” Her voice came as a raw whisper, and she had to clear her throat.
But he heard her and complied with her request. His thighs hit the side of the bed as he came to stand in front of her.
Her hands trembled with anticipation when she placed them on his chest, the heat of him burning through the fabric of his shirt. She slowly slid her hands up the hard planes of his chest to mold his shoulders and dislodge his dress coat. He let it fall to the ground, his gaze darkening as he focused on her.
Next, his neckcloth. The silk, warm from his body, slithered between her fingers. The shirt gaped when she removed the neckcloth, exposing the strong column of his neck. Of all the parts of his body that she yearned to see, she could not have predicted that the sight of his neck would inspire such longing that she had to lean forward and put her lips to it, inhaling his scent of soap, clean linen, and some faint, spicy shaving cream. It curled through her, demanding more.
Without thinking about it, her tongue darted out and licked him. His sharp inhale was followed by a hard swallow. His throat moved under her lips, but he otherwise remained immobile. She knew how much it cost him when his muscles tensed under her fingers as he forced himself to remain stoic under her ministrations. This effect she had on him was a heady aphrodisiac, and she loved him for allowing her to explore and take the lead.
But she didn’t want to test his endurance. She could tell he was near his breaking point. If the bulge in his trousers was any indication, he was more than ready to have her. And she was just as desperate. Her womanly place clenched with anticipation at the thought of clamping over his hard, male flesh.
Her fingers danced over the buttons of his waistcoat and shirt. He reached back and pulled the shirt over his head, exposing the beauty of his wide, straight shoulders, muscular arms, and sculpted chest before her eyes. All the hard contours she had sensed under his clothes, but had never, until this moment, contemplated.
Her hands roved over his warm, smooth skin, feeling the ripples of his muscles as they reacted to her touch. They both held their breath as her hands fell on the waistband of his trousers, then hesitated. If his upper half affected her so, she was almost afraid to discover what having his full naked body in front of her might do to her senses.
His warm hands came to rest over hers as she hesitated at the fly of his trousers.
“Allow me.” His voice was raspy. Strangled. A far cry from his smooth, modulated tones.
She suspected her own ability to talk was affected, so she simply nodded, removing her hands. He wasted no time. With efficient movements, he removed the rest of his garments, kicking off his shoes, peeling off his socks and then lowering his trousers and smalls in one fluid motion.
He stood bare and still in front of her, wearing only a small smile. Confident but not cocky, inviting her to look her fill. To feast her eyes on the beauty of his naked body. And feast she did. Her eyes roamed his body, climbing up strong thighs, horseman thighs, to focus on an equally impressive column that jutted up vertically to lay flush against his stomach.
His member stood proud, engorged and tumescent. Almost angry in its eagerness. The head glistened with the juices leaking from the slit on the top. She licked her lips, and a pained groan erupted from his chest.
“You are magnificent,” she croaked through a throat strangled with desire.
“I’m glad to please you.” There was no hint of a smile on his face now. It seemed carved from granite, all hard angles and intensity. “Touch me... yes.” His last word dissolved in a groan as she reached out and her hand closed over that tantalizing column of flesh.
She squeezed, feeling the steely hardness beneath skin as soft as silk.
“Oh god,” he choked, as he rocked into her fist once, twice, his eyes closed.
She marveled at the column of his neck as he threw his head back and groaned. He was mesmerizing to watch. Gorgeous in his ecstasy. She moved her hand to stroke him in rhythm with his thrusts, and suddenly he pulled back.
His fist closed over her wrist, and he extricated her hand from his rod. “Wait, Hannah. I’m at my limit.” He was breathing hard. His eyes were dark, aroused, tormented. “If you continue to do that, I will come in your hand. And wouldn’t that be a pointless waste?”
No, no, it wouldn’t. How could bringing him a release as shattering as the one he had given her before be pointless? The reason she was doing this became less important.
Right here. Right now, it was all about pleasure: his, hers. All about this man.
Gabriel.
CHAPTER 25
GABRIEL REACHED OUTand lifted Hannah, maneuvering her to lie on her back, on the edge of the bed.
“I’m sorry, Hannah. I wanted to go slower for our first time. But I underestimated the effect you have on me.”
“It’s fine. I don’t need more time. I want you,” she panted, and the note of need in her voice soothed his guilt.
He flipped her skirts back, diving through petticoats and crinolines to find her center. He found it already slick with moisture, her sex swollen with arousal, hot and ready. Thank God.
Her skirts crushed between them as he positioned his aching cock at her entrance. The impulse to thrust, to sink to the hilt in her welcoming flesh, was overpowering. But he wrestled for control. Pushed back the beast long enough to stroke her button.
Her moan was almost feral. It mingled with his growl as she arched her back and the head of his member breached her. Trapping her gaze, he pushed, giving her a bit more. She was so tight. So unbearably delicious. Her flesh stretched and molded around him, sucking him in, enveloping his turgid member in liquid heat. Her moans spurred him on as he savored every inch of his possession of her, monitoring her responses to make sure she was right there with him.
