He pressed his lips to her mouth, more thankissing it. She quivered at the sweet tenderness of his kiss. Thenhe pulled apart for a moment and probed her eyes. She dropped herhands. Had she done something wrong?
“Do you trust me?”
“She nodded. “I’m scared. I have never”
Nicholas smiled his boyish smile, obviouslytrying to relax her, an expression of satisfaction glowing in hiseyes. “We are man and woman and made to fit.”
She lay with her arms at her sides asNicholas’s long thick fingers clutched her shoulders, finding anincredible consolation in the gentleness of his grasp andundeniable look in his eyes. The stroking of his fingers sentpleasant jolts through hers. His hands slipped to the hem of hershift, pressing down on the soft material, from her thighs, searinga path over hips, up her abdomen and over her head.Naked.
“Alexandra.” He caressed and teased herflesh until her breasts budded full and heavy against his warmhand.
Like quicksilver his palm moved, the gentlemassage sending currents, spreading like embers on a newly turnedfire, spiraling down her stomach and lower, eliciting a tremblingbetween her thighs. Her body craved his hand, his mouth upon herlips, and distinct warmth flooded the area between her legs.
“Nicholas.”
His tongue traced the soft fullness of herlips, his hands glided over her shoulders then down, exploring thehollows of her back, pressing her length into the solid contours ofhis muscled body and hard thighs. Dragging her mouth from his, shefollowed his lead, imitating what he had done to her and withshaking hands, ran her fingers over his chest, tracing his nipples.His jaw clenched involuntarily as she moved her hands up and overhis shoulders. They stared in mute silence, sharing an intensephysical awareness of each other while latticed sunlight pouredhotly on them through the palm fronds above.
Alexandra licked her lips as Nicholasshrugged out of his breeches, fully exposed, her eyes widened,riveted on his manhood, impressive and frightening.
“I will be tender with you,” he promised,taking her into his arms, pillowing his head in the veil of herhair.
His gentleness was her undoing. “What we aredoing is a promise, a time for loving and once given will neverdisappear.”
His mouth grazed her neck, her earlobe, andthen swooped to capture her lips. Coaxing them open, his tongueexplored the recesses of her mouth, firm, demanding. Shegroaned.
He smelled wonderful, strong, healthy male,of sea and sweat. His arms encircled her, his hand splayed at thebottom of her spine holding her in intimate contact. She gasped asher bare breasts crushed against the firmness of his chest and thehard, intimate contact of his arousal against her stomach. Suddenlyhis hands were everywhere, her body aching for more.
Outlining the tips of her breasts with hisfingers, Nicholas brought their tips to crested peaks. Slowly,languorously, his hands moved downward, skimming either side of herbody to her thighs. He explored her thighs then plunged down againsearching the warmth that lay hidden intimately between.
“Let me ready you, Alexandra.” His deepvoice slid along her veins like warm honey.
His mouth came down on hers, sapping all herstrength, making her boneless while he plied her intimately withhis finger, withdrawing and sinking, pushing her over some unnamededge. She writhed beneath, her body arching toward the power of hisever-present fingers. She could not get enough of him; herimpatience grew to explosive proportions, his expert touch drivingher to higher levels of ecstasy. She cried out in release,exploding in a downpour of fiery sensations.
Dazed, she opened her eyes to meet his bluegaze, dark as lapis…and poised above her…the Duke of Rutland. A manwho had the lethal power to kill a man with his hands, who hadfought off Damiano. Yet all he had yielded to her was an achingtenderness and fierce desire.
“Oh, Nicholas.” She lay there in a gaspingheap, her arm still trapped beneath his weight.
He laughed. “That is just a measure toprepare you.” The vow he’d made not to touch her had disintegratedlike a sandcastle in the wind. She lay there soft…yielding, all forthe taking, a fulfillment of every waking dream that had tormentedhim since the first time he clapped eyes on her on the beach. Tothink that aboard theSantanas,he had thought her an oldcrone who robbed people. She’d been so dirty he hadn’t realized herbeauty until she had cleaned up on the island.
Her full ripe breasts thrust impudently likedark rose buds. Her trim waist melded down over rounded hips,revealing the dark triangle of her womanhood where his handexplored. He swallowed, imagining a hundred wicked things from her.He wanted to kiss her there, to taste the sweet saltiness of herskin, to tease his tongue down the soft curvature of her spine.
Her fingers touched his bare chest, circlinghis breast. Nicholas closed his eyes, torturous thoughts of long,slow love making aroused him to a fevered pitch.
He nudged her legs apart and with incredibleconstraint, entered her. He paused when he felt the barrier of hervirginity. She was tight and so damp. Barely hanging on to hiscontrol, Nicholas bowed his head, his breathing ragged next to herear.
“It will only hurt a little bit.”
She clenched his shoulders, expectant.
He shifted his hold on her, continued hisprobing, perspiration beading his brow. To bury himself in her hot,moist warmth. The last remnants of his control failed.
Grabbing her hips, he plunged hard with onesolid, powerful thrust.
She pushed at him, scrambling in the sand toget away. He had hurt her. He stopped, his mouth came down on hers,and he whispered into her mouth, reassuring her.
“No more.” She pounded his shoulders, but heheld her in place.
Nicholas stayed rock still inside her,waiting for her to adjust before he started moving again. “My love,the worst is over.” He hated hurting her. But she felt so damnedgood.
