He shook his head. “On the contrary. I find it oddly provocative. But let me be clear, my goal is to ensure that your past experiences pale in comparison to the present.”
“That is an excellent goal. I shall endeavor to do the same.”
“You’ve already done it. Your frank conversation and boldness are absolutely intoxicating. Honestly, I don’t know how I haven’t already torn your dressing gown away.” He moved his hands to the front of her gown and loosened the fastenings. “The other night—did you stay in the bathing chamber and listen until I finished?”
She nodded. “I heard you climax. Then I went back to my room and pleasured myself.”
Fuck. Roman didn’t think he’d ever been in this state of pure lust before. He wondered if he could actually come listening to her talk.
Her gown now gapped open, and Roman could make out the curve of her breast as well as the flat plane of her stomach. And he glimpsed the golden curls at the apex of her thighs.
Before he could push the garment apart, she opened it and shrugged it from her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. Her plait still teased her breast, the curls at the end brushing against her right nipple.
Roman reached up and grasped the plait. He leaned forward and smelled her hair, closing his eyes at the deliciously floral and very feminine scent. “I’ve never smelled this on you before.”
“I washed with my regular soap. That’s why you saw Patience leaving my chamber. I wanted to smell like a woman.”
He pulled her toward him so he could put his mouth on her. Pushing his hand beneath her breast, he cupped her as he drew her nipple into his mouth. She gasped and clutched the back so his head, her fingers digging into his hair. He wanted her hair free too.
Roman released her breast. “You taste like a woman, that’s for certain.” He plucked the ribbon free from her hair and pulled the plait apart impatiently.
She took over from him and loosened her blonde locks. When the plait was gone, she combed her fingers through her hair and shook it over her shoulders. It caressed her upper arms in gentle, golden waves.
“How in the hell do you get all that under a wig?” He shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t care right now. I want to toss you onto my bed and bury myself inside you.” He stood and removed his dressing gown, casting it away carelessly. “Do you have any objection to that?”
“Will you be wearing one of your French letters?” she asked.
Shit. “I don’t have any. I told you; I haven’t done this in ages.”
“I don’t mind. But you must leave me before you spend.” The edge of her mouth ticked up in an alluring half-smile. “And don’t worry, I’ll help you finish.”
“If you don’t stop speaking in such an erotic manner, I’m going to finish before we even start.”
Ellis closed the small space between them and curled her arms around his neck. “Then we’d best begin.”
Chapter 11
Ellis wasn’t entirely sure where the boldness Keele liked had come from. It wasn’t that she was restrained, at least not with those who knew her well. But as companion to the daughter of a duke, she knew her place was to be seen and not heard—because the duchess had driven that into her since the day she’d joined the Henlow household.
Those days were behind her. She could be who she wanted to be, including a seductress taking what she desired most. Right now, that was Keele, this amazing man who’d made her feel something she hadn’t in a very long time: wanted.
He looked at her with a primal yearning that made her tremble. There were many reasons she should not surrender to this connection between them, but she didn’t care about any of them. Not tonight.
“You are an astonishing woman,” Keele whispered just before she lowered her mouth to his.
His lips sealed to hers as he gathered her tightly against the warmth of his body. He pressed one hand to her spine, and the other caressed the curve of her backside. His mouth opened, and she met his tongue with her own as rapture spread through her body.
Though it had been some time since she’d experienced this kind of encounter, this could not compare to anything in her past. Keele aroused her in ways she’d never known and simply couldn’t deny.
He cupped her backside as their kisses deepened. She clutched his nape and splayed her hand over his shoulder blade, feeling the ripple of muscle as he moved.
Leaving her mouth, he kissed along her jaw and down her neck as his hand came between them to clasp her breast. He dragged his thumb over her nipple—over and over. She moaned softly just before he sucked her into his mouth. He suckled her flesh as he kneaded her backside. Heat and longing flowed to her sex.
Moving his mouth to her other breast, he kept his hand on the first one and squeezed her nipple—not too hard, but he pinched enough to make her gasp and for another jolt of white-hot passion to tear through her.
He gripped her thigh and lifted her leg. “Straddle me, like in the coach.” His demand provoked another surge of lust as she eagerly complied.
Ellis climbed over his thighs, her legs dangling against his. This position opened her sex, which was entirely the point. She quivered with want and, thankfully, he did not make her beg.
