She would have him. Tonight.
Chapter Fifteen
The fire warmed her left side as she took a step back and summoned all her courage. Keeping her eyes on his, she slid the swathe of fabric from her left shoulder, then her right, and the draped material was so loose it simply fell to her elbows, then her waist.
She wasn’t wearing a shift or stays; and her nipples tightened to hard buds as Dev gazed at her. His look of surprise quickly gave way to rapt admiration, but before she could feel embarrassed at her own forwardness, he pulled her against his chest and kissed her again.
Livvy kissed him back, savoring the unfamiliar sensation of her bare breasts pressing against the fabric of his shirt as longing twisted deep in her belly.
I want you kissing me because you feel like you’ll die if you don’t. Because you can’t sleep for thinking about my hands on your body, my lips on your skin.
His words echoed in her head. She wanted him with an intensity that was almost a fever, and she went up on tiptoes, trying to get even closer. She kissed the faint stubble on his jaw, the side of his throat, anywhere she could reach.
“Touch you everywhere, yes?” His rough question was panted against her throat, and it took a few seconds for his meaning to penetrate her dazed brain, but when it did, she nodded in breathless assent.
“Yes. Anywhere. Wherever you want.”
“Yes.”
Liv closed her eyes and threaded her fingers through his hair as he bent and kissed the top swell of her breast. His hands slid to her waist, then her hips, and she bit her lip to swallow a cry as he pressed a kiss to her nipple.
And then her legs almost gave way as he licked the tip of it with the flat of his tongue, then sucked it into his mouth while his left hand slid up to squeeze her other breast. It was almost too much to bear. His big hand, rough yet gentle, cupping her, his breath hot on her skin.
He murmured her name with the reverence of a benediction, teasing and stroking until she thought she would go up in flames.
Just as her knees threatened to buckle, she felt the press of a chair against the back of her legs and sank gratefully into it. Dev followed her down in one seamless movement, dropping to his knees in front of her, leaning in to kiss her mouth again.
“God, you’re so sweet,” he breathed.
It was some consolation that he, an experienced rake, sounded as dazed and as delighted as herself.
Liv wanted more. When his long fingers circled her ankle, then slid up her stockinged calf, she shuffled lower in the seat, urging him on. Her heart skipped a beat in mild panic as he slid her skirt up and over her knee, then higher, his hand curving over the top of her thigh, exposing her ribbon garter and the bare flesh above it.
A waft of cool air between her legs reminded her that she wasn’t wearing any drawers, and a heavy, twisting sensation made her squirm in anticipation.
She watched, almost in a dream, as Dev pushed her knees apart and leaned down, his shoulders filling the space between them as he pressed a kiss to first her knee, over her stocking, and then to the bare skin above her garter.
“Oh!” she gasped.
She felt, more than saw his wicked smile as his left hand squeezed her knee and he pressed another kiss even higher.
“You did sayanywhere, Liv,” he reminded her. “Shall I stop?”
The smoky gravel of his tone was almost her undoing, and she grasped both arms of the chair to steady herself.
“Don’t stop,” she panted. “Show me. You promised.”
He slid the fabric higher, even closer to her lap, and she was sure her cheeks were bright red with embarrassment. The flickering flight from the fire danced over them both, gilding the angles of his face with a devilish glow. Could he see the thatch of dark hair between her legs? See how much she wanted him?
“Has anyone ever touched you here?” His fingers squeezing her thigh to underscore his meaning. God, his hands were so big they almost encircled her completely. The thought made her even more lightheaded. “Kissed you here?”
Kissed? She’d never even considered such a thing. Did people really do that? She shook her head. “No.”
“Poor thing,” he crooned, his tone gently mocking. “Have you ever touched yourself?” His fingers slid higher, closer to her aching center. “Here, between your legs.”
Livvy squirmed restlessly against the seat. He was the worst tease in Christendom. “Yes,” she admitted desperately, her cheeks flaming at the admission.
He gave a low hum of approval and pressed another kiss to her inner thigh. “Good girl. Have you found your own pleasure?”
