“Do you want to stop acting?” he asked, searching her face.
“If I can run my own theater, I would like nothing better.” She paused, working through her thoughts as the notion settled in. “I could direct, perhaps teach others. But Felix, you have already given up so much for me. I cannot ask you to make any more sacrifices.”
“For you, there is no sacrifice too great to make,” he told her intently. “All I want is to make you happy. I promise you, here and now, that I do not care what society thinks. I do not give a damn about what is proper and what is not. I lived my life for duty alone these past few years, and I will be damned if I continue.”
“You make me happy.” She caressed the proud line of his jaw. “Happier than I ever imagined it was possible to be.”
“Christ.” He cupped her face in his hands, his expression tender. “I love you so much. When I thought I would lose you…”
She pressed a finger to his lips, stilling the words. “You will never lose me, Felix. I am yours now. Forever.”
“Forever,” he echoed against her fingertip, and then he kissed it.
They stared at each other, gazes holding, exchanging so much heavy sentiment with that lone look. And then, they were kissing. Their lips moving, tongues chasing each other. It was a kiss of life, of promise, of hope. A kiss of the future.
Of beginnings.
Of light after darkness.
Of happiness after so much bitter sadness.
He tasted sweet and sinful, like wine and Felix. She never wanted to stop kissing him. She wanted his lips on hers forever, branding her, giving her strength. They were moving, the tray of food forgotten. She was only starved for his touch, his claiming. That was all she needed, all she craved.
Their hands were on each other, traveling. Knots came undone. Robes slid to the floor. Naked skin met her questing touch. Strong, smooth shoulders. The broad plane of his back. Sinews of his muscled arms.
They were still kissing when they fell into the bed together. Felix cushioned their fall by catching his weight on his forearms. She was on her back with him atop her, her thighs spread naturally to accept him. His cock was a rigid temptation prodding her belly. His desire for her inspired an answering throb in her core.
She was wet and aching for him.
Desperate for him.
He broke the kiss first, dragging his mouth down her neck to a place that drove her mad. Then to her ear. He tongued the hollow, his breath hot and decadent, sending a new frisson of desire through her.
“I want you inside me,” she said, half plea, half command.
“Patience,” he murmured against her skin.
And then he kissed his way lower still.
Felix found hisway to the beauty mark on her right breast. Her skin was so soft, scented delicately of the floral soap from her bath. Tonight, she smelled like a summer’s garden in full bloom, rich and exotic. He took a nipple in his mouth and sucked.
She made the breathy sound he loved and arched her back, offering her breast to him. He flicked his tongue over the distended bud, then blew on it. She made another sweet sigh of surrender. What a sight she was, all creamy curves, her golden hair damp from her bath and fanned out around her. He lowered his head to her other nipple, sucking it slowly, using his fingers to pluck at the other one, tugging and rolling it between thumb and forefinger.
He wished he had all night to worship her, but the truth was, his hold on his control was slipping. He had gone from fearing he would watch her die before his eyes to hearing her tell him she loved him and would be his duchess in the span of one night. His body was raging with the need to claim her, to possess her.
He kissed down her belly, all the way to her hip bone, where he teased her by delivering an open-mouthed kiss. She shimmied against him, as eager as he was. He parted her thighs wider. There she was, the very center of her, pink and glistening and all his.
He could do nothing but lower his head. He swiped his tongue up her seam before lingering on her clitoris. He laved the swollen bud with slow, savoring licks. The taste of her on his tongue was nothing short of delicious, a blend of sweet floral notes and Johanna. Her hips shifted restlessly, telling him she wanted more as her fingers slid into his hair.
So he gave her more. He drew her into his mouth and sucked until she cried out and her body trembled beneath him with the force of a great, rushing release. But he was not finished with her yet. He had only just begun.
He licked into her, using his tongue on her as he would his cock. Penetrating thrusts, as deep as he could go. She made another mewl, writhing beneath him, her fingers tightening on his hair. He went back to her pearl, flicking his tongue over it, then sucking once more as he thrust a finger into her channel.
She gripped him, body bowing from the bed. He added a second finger, beginning a rhythm. The tight grasp of her slick cunny on his fingers was delicious. His cock hardened, his ballocks drawing tight. And then he caught her bud in his teeth, biting gently.
She came on a moan, contracting on him as her entire body stiffened. He remained where he was, fucking her with his fingers, biting and sucking, until the last of her spend. He could not wait any longer to be inside her. He had tortured them both enough.
Felix rose over her, guiding his cock to her entrance. One surge of his hips, and he was inside her. He kissed her, his lips still wet with her essence, and ran his tongue against hers so she could taste herself. She moaned into his mouth. He pumped into her again and again, his pace turning frenzied, almost savage. All the care was gone from him. There was only raw, all-consuming need.
