She shook her head faintly, her eyes raking over his magnificent chest, his narrow waist, his groin. Already fully aroused, he was absolutely enormous and her gaze lingered on him for a lengthy moment.
“You are curious,” he said softly.
She nodded vaguely. “I have…. I have never seen…. well, of course I saw you briefly yesterday, but I have never….”
“You have never seen a naked man in your life and you are understandably curious,” he could see her blush in the firelight and laughed softly. “There is nothing to be ashamed of, Riss. ’Tis very normal to be inquisitive.”
“Regine is inquisitive.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Then I make an exception. Regine is not normal in the least.”
She smiled, a grin to alleviate her natural embarrassment. She hadn’t been prone to a maiden’s modesty yesterday because the heat of passion had taken the edge off her concerns. But now, with a slower, gentler pace, she was provided with theopportunity to realize that, indeed, she had never before seen a naked man.
In faith, her chagrin was short lived. Richmond had the most magnificent body she had ever seen, perfect and sculpted. He was not as bulky as Gavan, but his muscles were thick and well-developed and she found herself touching his chest, marveling at the power beneath the flesh.
Her fingers moved to his stomach, dancing over the rock-hard muscles. He rolled onto his back, his abdominals rippling with the motion and she watched with fascination as his body moved with fluid ease. She’d never seen any man function with such grace and it excited her terribly. To think of his magnificent body against hers, flesh upon flesh and heat upon heat, brought warmth to her cheeks.
In her wonder, she had stopped her exploration and he watched her expression as she studied him.
“What’s wrong, kitten?”
She smiled, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. “Nothing.”
He propped himself up on an elbow. “Then why are you…?”
His words were cut off mid-sentence as she unfastened her golden belt and let it slide to the floor. All previous signs of humiliation and shame had fled, replaced by a sensual confidence that made his blood boil. As the light from the hearth illuminated her beautiful figure, he bit his lip with great anticipation.
Innocent or not, Arissa knew instinctively how to make a man want her. God’s Teeth, she’d been causing him to want her for the past two years and not even aware of her charms. But now, in the privacy of the chamber, she knew well how to tempt him mindless. She was about to treat him to an extraordinary event.
Arissa smiled, moving her hands behind her back to undo the stays of her surcoat. As he watched with surging anticipation, the shoulders of her surcoat fell away, followed by the bodice. He licked his lips unconsciously as the entire surcoat slithered to the floor, leaving her clad in only her shift, stockings, and slippers.
His heart was thumping madly against his ribs as she moved to dislodge her shift. He thought he would be content to watch the unfurling, but he quickly realized that he had been mistaken. He could no more remain idle than he could control his emotions.
His hands ached to touch her, his body cried to have her. Mayhap next time, he would allow her to set a slow, erotic pace. But not tonight.
One moment, he was on the bed gazing at her. In the next second, he was upon her, towering over her as his lips descended hungrily on her luscious mouth. Arissa was aware of one hand wrapped in her hair, yanking her head back as his lips consumed her ravenously, while the other hand clutched her breast possessively. She could hear her own gasps as if they belonged to someone else.
Richmond could barely comprehend anything beyond the feel of Arissa in his hands, the smell of her in his nostrils. He was gripping her hair savagely as if afraid she would attempt to escape him, while his free hand roved her breasts and torso selfishly, silently claiming her body as his personal possession. Under his fingers, he could feel the neckline of her shift; grasping it tightly, he tore it straight down the middle.
Arissa gasped with surprise, giggles filling her throat at his eager action. He smiled in response, kissing and suckling every inch of her throat, lips, and shoulders. As the shift fell away and her large, firm breasts were revealed, he knew he was close to losing his control. He had to have her.
A burst of lightning illuminated the room, casting their undulating bodies in a flash of white light. Another bolt cut across the sky, and still another. Richmond tore his mouth away from her lips long enough to gaze at her desire-hazed expression in the brief glimmers of light; it was by far the most erotic vision he had ever beheld. Her lips were parted with lust, her eyes half-closed, wordlessly commanding his attention within their pale green depths. ’Twas a command he would readily obey.
Another burst of light filled the room as he slipped into the world of mindless abandonment, lifting Arissa into his arms and swinging her onto the bed. His weight descended upon her and he heard her cry out softly, her fingers in his hair as his hot, wet mouth clamped down on a tender nipple. Hands as large as her head gripped her buttocks, kneaded her flat belly. Beneath him, she whimpered like a child.
His fingers moved down her thighs, coming into contact with her thick woolen hose. With a low growl that shook the very walls of the chamber, he suddenly pushed himself off her and wedged himself between her legs, stripping off her stockings with his teeth. Arissa watched him, her breathing coming in heavy gasps and moaning softly when his lips blazed a scorching path from her ankles to her groin.
In spite of his furious pace, he slowed somewhat when his lips began to nibble about her soft inner thigh. Arissa could feel his hot breath upon her most private core as his mouth gently suckled on the thick lips, coaxing forth the blooming flower to open and accept his worship.
She watched him as he tenderly introduced her to the world of oral manipulation, thinking it to be a most wonderful form of pleasure. She was not aware, however, that he had barely scratched the surface; spreading her lips with gentle fingers, his wicked tongue immediately found her taut womanly bud andshe nearly bolted from the bed when he began to work her furiously.
Richmond grinned in spite of his own consuming lust, listening to her wild pants of excitement. As she thrashed and cried, he inserted a finger into her private passage and was not surprised to discover that she was as wet as the ground outside. Slick moisture, laced with musk, cloaked his finger as he thrust in and out of her in rhythm with his wicked tongue. When he felt her climactic tremors approach, he rapidly ceased his orchestrations and raised himself up onto her delicious body once more.
She was nearly incoherent with need. He kissed her fully, delving into the sweet depths, acquainting her with the taste of her own body. Arissa responded recklessly, wrapping her arms about his neck and meeting his mouth with fevered desire. Unable to wait any longer, Richmond grasped her buttocks and thrust hard, driving himself to the hilt in one clean stroke.
Arissa gasped with utter pleasure, wrapping her legs about him, clinging to him with every ounce of strength she possessed. He rocked her with his thrusts, driving to the hilt every time and then slowly, completely withdrawing. The effect was rapturous; with every surge it was as if he were entering her anew, bringing them more pleasure than they ever thought possible. Arissa felt herself stretching to accommodate him, clasping him tightly as if to never let him go. She would have been content to feel him, his power and sensuality, forever.
Her release was close and she felt herself build to tremendous proportions as his pace quickened. In an explosion of triumph, her loins convulsed with erotic rhythm, demanding that Richmond spill forth his seed. He obeyed her, as always; grunting through clenched teeth, he filled her full of his searing eruption. Love, desire, life and death; they all combined intoone powerful surge as they descended together on a cloud of contentment.
