She leaned down and touched her lips to his when her hair was unfurled, the waves of it tumbling over her shoulders to enclose them in its lustrous web. She moved boldly but with a little hesitation that revealed this pursuit of pleasure was new for her.
Ramsay’s heart swelled with the honor of being her first and last lover. He would ensure that her introduction to lovemaking was all that it could be. He let her kiss him, loving how she became more confident moment by moment, how she used her tongue with caution then wild abandon, how he felt the graze of her teeth against him. He growled and rolled her to her back, his hand rising to cup her breast.
“So much cloth,” he said with a sad shake of his head. She might have laughed but instead gasped in surprise when he bent to kiss her nipple. He felt it become taut even through the wool and ran his teeth across the lump, teasing it to a tight bead, chuckling when she caught her breath.
“Far too much cloth,” she agreed, her voice deliciously breathless, and began to unfasten her laces with purpose. When she had loosed one side of the kirtle, Ramsay brushed the wool aside, revealing her breast through the sheer linen of her chemise. He could see that nipple, rosy of hue and pert, as if it welcomed his attentions. He kissed it slowly, feeling Evangeline catch her breath, feeling her fingers slide into his hair as she moaned softly in pleasure. Never had he heard a more enticing sound and he suckled her, welcoming her gasp, then her shiver of delight. He used his teeth and tongue to conjure her pleasure. In moments, she was writhing beneath the weight of his hand on her waist. He abandoned her breast to capture her mouth again, letting his fingers continue the sweet torment of her nipple.
This time, there was a hunger in her kiss, an impatience that he welcomed. He smiled into their kiss as he felt her hastily unfasten the ties on the other side of her kirtle, then when her hands landed on his shoulders again, he lifted his head. She was flushed and her eyes sparkled, her anticipation more than clear.
“I told you that you would be warm,” he murmured and she laughed again. He winked at her, then slid his hands beneath the hem of her kirtle and pushed the wool over her head.
Then he caught his breath. He stared at the splendor of Evangeline, her hair spread across the fur pelts upon his bed, her sheer chemise hiding none of her creamy perfection. She still wore her stockings and boots, but he removed the boots first, letting his hand slide down the length of her legs. Her instep was ticklish, as he had anticipated it might be, her ankles were irresistible, her garters easily untied with his teeth. She was nude before him in moments, and he could have looked upon her all the night long.
Then she wrinkled her nose. “I smell like a river,” she said.
“I will aid you to bathe.”
Her eyes danced. “In so much garb as this?”
Ramsay rose from the pallet, shedding his jerkin, belt and boots with all speed. His chausses were cast aside, and he glanced over his shoulder in his chemise, well aware that the lady watched him avidly.
“You are a curious maiden,” he accused and she laughed again.
“Of course!” She rolled over then, bracing herself on her hands and knees. “But you would hide the most interesting detail from me.” She rose to her knees then stretched out one hand, those eyes glimmering, to reach beneath the hem of the front of his chemise.
“And what do you know of such details?” he teased, welcoming her smile.
“Men are a mystery, to be sure, but I have watched the horses when they mate. I know what must be there.” Her eyes danced as she moved her hand further beneath the cloth. Her fingertips brushed his thigh, making Ramsay inhale sharply. He had to proceed slowly and he knew it well, for this was unfamiliar to her regardless of her boldness. But she eyed him thus, with that mischievous glint in her eyes, it was all he could do to keep from pouncing upon her.
“You will lose your way,” he growled, and tugged his chemise over his head.
“Oh!” Evangeline froze, her hand not quite touching him, her lips parting as she stared at the sign of his enthusiasm. “So big as that?”
“Your influence cannot be denied, my lady.”
She flushed crimson then, but did not retreat. Nay, not his bold Evangeline. Her gaze flicked to his eyes, then back, as if she was fascinated. “May I touch you?”
“Not so soon as this,” he said, catching her fingertips and pressing a kiss in her palm. “I would be slow on this night, deliberate even. But if you caress me, we will be shortly done.”
This clearly pleased her. “I like to have some influence on events.”
“And I assure you that none have ever had such power as you.”
She rose to her feet and stepped closer, her fingers trailing up his arm. Her eyes were impossibly dark, her allure undeniable. He thought to ask her one last time if she desired this union, but before he could speak, Evangeline rose to her toes and wrapped herself around him, drawing him closer and claiming his mouth in a kiss so ardent that his heart nigh burst.
The press of her skin against his own, its softness and smoothness, was nigh enough to drive him mad with desire. His hands were in her hair, his arms were full of her, and her kiss was sufficient to devour his every thought. He lifted her in his arms to carry her to the pallet, but Evangeline placed a hand on his chest and a step between them.
“But first,” she said firmly, her eyes glimmering. “I must bathe.”
Anything. Ramsay would grant her anything in his power to possess. He suspected she knew as much, but he did not care. He reached for his chausses and his chemise, donning them and his boots.
“You leave?” she asked, incredulous.
“I fetch you water that is hot.”
She smiled, so well pleased with this that he almost changed his mind. “Do not leave,” he instructed her and Evangeline laughed.
“Where would I go?” She pulled on her own chemise and perched on the pallet, her hair spilling over her shoulders, and Ramsay took one last long look.
