He growled low in his throat, and then his hands were on her. Everywhere, it seemed, but as the bodice of her gown loosened while they kissed, she realized he had been plucking the buttons from their moorings. Her gown fell to the floor with a swift rush of air. Her petticoats were next. Followed by her stays.
They were still kissing, moving toward the bed.
Rakes were incredibly skilled at divesting ladies of their attire, it would seem. But she was too busy kissing him to care. Her lips were swollen. His tongue was in her mouth. He consumed her, overtaking all her senses. His scent, his touch, his taste, the sound of his heavy breathing, their kisses, the sight of his eyes burning into hers.
He was kissing her with his eyes open, and she was doing the same. She did not dare close them for fear of missing out on one moment of this delicious embrace. Because surely this night could never be repeated. She would never again have Rand in her chamber like this, would never again be so thoroughly at his mercy.
The realization cut through her, filling her with regret.
He was kissing down her throat now, all the way to her collarbone, his knowing fingers plucking at her chemise. He pulled it over her shoulder, then bit her there. Nothing more than a gentle nip of his teeth, it sent longing arcing through her.
It occurred to her that he was disrobing her and yet he was still fully clothed. And then she thought of how beautiful he had looked that night in his chamber, his chest bare. She wanted to see him again. But this time, she wanted to touch him too.
She wanted the forbidden she had denied herself.
She reached between them for the closures of his waistcoat, then plucked them free, one by one. He shrugged it away, and then grasped her chemise in his fists. In one swift pull, he drew it over her head. Cool air kissed her bare skin. She was wearing nothing but her stockings and his stare heated as it traveled over her.
A sudden burst of panic hit her. He had seen other ladies naked before, surely. Many of them, if his reputation was to be believed. How would hers compare? Her limbs were too short and curvy, her breasts not as large as some ladies’. She attempted to cover herself.
He caught her hands in his and pulled them away. “Do not hide yourself, Grace. You are so bloody beautiful. More beautiful than I imagined.”
He had imagined her nude?
The revelation gave her pause, enough that he took advantage of the situation and guided her back toward her bed. Her rump connected with the mattress.
“Get on the bed, love.”
She was sure she should not. But she did as he asked, shimmying with as much elegance as could be mustered when one was clad in nothing more than her stockings with a gorgeous rake eating her up with his penetrating gaze.
He opened the handful of buttons on his shirt before hauling it over his head. And then he was on the bed with her. And on her.
“You are delectable,” he said, awe in his voice.
His mouth was upon her before she could even form a coherent thought. But not on her lips. No, it seemed he was intent upon kissing every inch of her. His dark head lowered over her breasts first.
One thing was certain when his lips closed over the peak of her breast and sucked.
This night was going to end her.
For a brief,wild moment as Rand sucked Grace’s nipple, he was convinced he was dreaming. That was how good it felt to have her lush, warm curves beneath him. To have her naked and flushed, her eyes glazed with passion, her body answering his every caress. To swirl his tongue over the pretty pink peak of her.
But there was no denying the reality of the soft, taut bud tightening. Or the moan he wrung from her in the process. Nor the way her back arched, presenting both her breasts to him like offerings. Perfect handfuls, her breasts. Silken and round and oh-so-tempting. Creamy temptations topped with carnation-pink blossoms.
Another realization hit him as he devoted himself to the delicious act of torturing the other breast in the same fashion and earning another throaty growl from her in the process.
Her lips matched her nipples.
And they were every bit as delicious.
She was sensitive there as well. He rubbed his whiskers over them, testing her response. A breathy sound emerged from her. Learning everything about her was going to be a thrill unlike any he had ever known. With other lovers, he had never been so attuned to them. Nor had they been as exquisitely uninhibited as Grace was in her response.
It was because everything was new to her.
He was the first man to ever touch her thus. To take her nipples in his mouth. To own her body with his hands. To bring her to release. The last, he had not done yet, but he had every intention to this night before he left her bed.
Something about that knowledge heightened his desire. Lust coursed through him, so potent and aggressive his ballocks ached. His cock had been stiff from the moment she had woken him, and no respite was in sight. Because he could not breach her barrier. He could not take her as everything in him roared to do.
He could take this far enough. Just far enough to make her spend.
