Jane said nothing, though her heart picked up speed. She wasn’t quite bold enough to ask what he meant. Instead, she lay silently in Eli’s arms, her heart equal parts contentment and wonder.
Eighteen
They lay there for a time, and Eli savored every second. This was true freedom. The house was perfectly still, save the occasional creak that all old buildings made, and the distant sound of revelers at another ball tonight, somewhere down the street. Jane was in his arms, mostly naked, and every inch of her skin on his was a balm. He wanted to make this last all night. To stay here instead of sneaking back down the hall to his own bed, alone.
It was a comfortable silence, but after a few minutes Jane spoke again. “Was it…what you hoped it would be?”
He should say yes. It was everything, just being this close to her. But somehow, the real answer was no.
He was greedy enough to want more. He was getting hard again just lying here beside her.
“If I’m being honest, I must admit I’m not satisfied with my performance.”
“What? Why?” She laughed, a question in her eyes. “It felt quite nice.”
Nice wasn’t enough. Nice was a shadow of what he wanted her to feel.
“I told you I was going to devote the evening to your pleasure,” Eli explained, “and then I got so excited I couldn’t even wait until after you’d finished. It doesn’t feel like I kept my word.”
He’d been too aroused to hold back. Another few seconds, and he would’ve spent himself in his trousers. Hardly the seduction he’d planned for her.
Jane’s laugh came more easily this time. “The order doesn’t matter as long as we’re both content, does it?”
“I’m certain you could bemorecontent than you presently are, if I were given another chance.” Eli watched as she sucked in a breath. It did quite enticing things to her breasts. “What do you say? We still have hours before the others get back.”
Please say yes.
Who knew when they might be alone again. He wanted it to be memorable.
Jane nodded, and Eli bent to kiss her again. While his mouth worked on hers, his hands skirted up her thighs. Her skin was so soft, particularly here. So different from his own. Eli’s hands were worn from years of rough work. But she was silk everywhere.
Lust welled up in him again, his cock aching for attention as he slid a hand back inside her drawers, quickly finding that little nub inside her that was softer than silk. She was so wet. He wanted to make her clench around his fingers again. Better, around his cock this time. The thought had him hard as an oak.
No. That wasn’t what you agreed.
He stamped the urge down firmly. He had to focus on Jane. What would she like?
She liked this very much, it seemed, for she made a lovely whimpering sound when he caressed her. But he wanted more than very much. He wanted to show her ecstasy.
Eli released Jane’s lips and let his mouth explore the rest of her.Her jaw first, then the hollow of her throat, then finally her breasts. He took one dark nipple into his mouth and teased it with his tongue. At Jane’s answering moan, his cock pulsed.
God, she was beautiful. He couldn’t get enough. Though his eyes lapped up the sight of her, he was frantic to look everywhere at once, touch everywhere at once, lest some precious inch of her be neglected. Jane twisted the sheets beneath her grasp and arched her hips to bring his fingers deeper. She was getting close again. He could tell this time.
Eli slowed his touch, toying with her. She squirmed impatiently. “Don’t stop.”
“I won’t stop,” he assured her. He would do this for eternity if he could. But he slowed his pace even further, bringing Jane back from the edge. She was unbearably beautiful this way, her face flushed and her breath coming in halting gasps. Just the sight of it drove him wild.
“You’re like a puzzle box,” he breathed, humming the words against her belly as his mouth moved lower. “You start off all closed up. Tense. But once I find the trick to you, you open for me.”
He would have given anything, anything at all, to be able to slide his cock inside her. Even just for a minute. Instead, he did the next best thing.
Eli tugged Jane’s drawers off her hips and slid them down her legs. Then he parted her thighs and looked at her, as he’d wanted to from the beginning. He’d seen his fair share of filthy drawings. Probably more than his fair share, while he was at sea. But it was nothing at all like having a real woman in bed before him.
Not any woman. Jane.
“What are you doing?” Her voice was thick and heavy, as if she was speaking from a deep dream.
“Tasting you,” he said. “May I?”
