He studied her. She was looking everywhere but at him while still clutching her chest.
“What is it then?”
She looked down, and just then noticed how loose her bodice was. Her gasp was loud while she tried to reach the back of her gown with one arm while still clutching her breasts with the other.
“What happened to my gown?”
“I loosened it so you could breathe better while you slept.” He walked up to her, put a finger under her chin and lifted her face to his. “Hannah, what’s the matter? I can’t help you if I don’t know.”
She looked away mulishly, while high color flared on her cheeks. “Oh, blast it. This is so embarrassing.”
“What is it? Tell me.”
OH, THE MADDENING MAN. He would insist until he knew all her secrets. No matter how mortifying. And the worst part was, she might need his help. If what Maggie told her was true...
She closed her eyes as she searched for the words to explain. “The baby’s feeding times and my body seem to be synchronized. My body produces milk in time to feed him at the appropriate times.”
She peered at him, and he nodded his understanding. This was a feminine issue, and men were often uncomfortable discussing them, but he seemed genuinely interested. It encouraged her to keep talking.
“However, when I miss a feeding, the milk doesn’t just disappear. It collects in my breasts, and it becomes...uncomfortable. Today, I’ve missed two consecutive feedings.”
His focused gaze dropped to her chest, and she saw him make the connections. Thank goodness. She couldn’t bring herself to explain her predicament.
“I see.”
Gently, he reached out a hand and grabbed hold of the arm still clutching her leaking breasts. He looked at her, asking permission. This was Gabriel, she reminded herself. She could trust him. Her arm lowered, revealing her soaked bodice. She looked away. He didn’t.
“Oh, my poor darling,” he crooned. “Your breasts are so full they are overflowing. You must be very uncomfortable.” And then in the same breath, “Come, I’ll help you.”
Still holding her hand, he walked first to the door, locked it, then went to the sofa, where he sat and tugged her to sit on his lap. He was lowering the sleeve of her gown before she could ask what he intended.
“Exactly what do you have in mind?” she hissed, tugging her sleeve back up.
He looked at her with an amused smile. “Sometimes we men can be very dense when it comes to womanly matters. But the problem here seems straightforward enough for even my male brain to comprehend. Your breasts need emptying; the baby is full.” He shrugged. “I know how to suckle.”
The matter-of-fact manner in which he explained it surprised a scandalized laugh out of her. This was the solution the nurse had recommended a few months ago when her baby was not pulling properly and her breasts had needed emptying. With a saucy wink, Maggie had explained that her husband sometimes helped to finish the job when she produced more milk than her little one could drink.
Of course, she could not have gone to the duke with such a request. So her breasts had become so full and painful she couldn’t tolerate the brush of even her shift’s fabric. But now here was Gabriel. Willing and able to perform the service. And she hadn’t even had to ask. He had surmised the situation and offered with alacrity.
Did she dare? The idea still scandalized her a little. It seemed so...intimate. No more so than what she had already done with him! Besides, what was the other option? Let her breasts get painfully swollen? It had taken two days of warm compresses, gentle massages, and nursing her son to relieve her the last time.
While she hesitated, Gabriel had resumed lowering the sleeves of her gown, until her bodice lay pooled at her waist. Her breasts were now covered only by her chemise and the edge of the loosened corset. She should not feel embarrassed. Gabriel had seen, caressed, and loved every inch of her body already. Oh, but it had been so long ago. And her body had changed...
“May I?” he asked, toying with the string that held the neckline of her chemise.
At her brusque nod, he pulled the string and loosened her chemise. Her corset presented no difficulty, for it was soft andquilted, not rigid. Loosened as it was, he had no trouble lowering it to expose her swollen breasts.
With the utmost reverence that bordered on adoration, he cradled the mounds and, lowering his head, closed his lips over one engorged nipple. The first pull surprised a gasp out of her, while her hand tightened on his hair. She felt the rush of liquid, his swallow, then the easing of her discomfort.
“Mmm, you taste even sweeter than I could have imagined,” he murmured.
Her other breast overflowed in sympathy. Gabriel noticed and repositioned her so he could reach and give the other breast the same attention. He licked the droplets that had spilled before closing his lips over the nipple and pulling.
This time she was ready for the sensation, but still could not help a small mewl of pleasure. It mingled with his deeper moan. His mouth worked so differently than the baby’s. He suckled deeper and yet was gentler. And in between suctions, his tongue twirled and teased her nipples.
Now that he had somewhat relieved both breasts, he came back to the first and settled in for another pull. His hand cupped and massaged her breast with exquisite tenderness, while his tongue tormented and soothed at the same time. Good God, she felt aroused. He was so tender, so gentle. And yet his mouth was suckling with such wicked shamelessness.
He now moved from one breast to the other, alternating his attentions, kissing a path between her mounds as he moved.
