‘Rawden, I should not.’
‘Yes, you should. We were married today. It is allowed. Everything is allowed.’
When Rawden rolled Grace onto her back, she covered her breasts with her hands, but he gently pulled them aside. Her corset had been laced too tightly, leaving little pink indents in her skin. Rawden bent his head and kissed them, then on to her pert, luscious breasts, pulling them into his mouth where his tongue teased her nipples to hard nubs of desire. Her body had betrayed her. Grace was as aroused as he was.
Rawden kissed her all over - to the side of her plump little breasts, on her belly, and down to where a bright fuzz of hair gave off her delicious musky scent. He would have gone further, bringing her to a release with his tongue, but she sank her fingers into his hair to stop him and sat up.
‘Too much?’ he gasped.
Grace nodded, and Rawden smiled up at her, giving her a gentle nudge back onto the bed where she still tried to cover her nakedness.
He lay over her. ‘Warmer?’ he asked
‘Yes. That is better.’
‘Touch me,’ he said as he guided her delicate fingers down his chest. ‘Lower.’ Grace found his manhood and then jerked away.
‘Oh, forgive me,’ she cried, and he laughed.
‘Nothing to forgive,’ said Rawden, taking her hand and putting it back. ‘I like being touched like this. Would you like the same?’
‘I don’t know.’
He slid his hand into the downy hair between her legs, and Grace gasped as he found her soft folds and drew his fingers slowing up, circling and sliding until she gripped him hard and called his name. She was ready and open. All he had to do was take what belonged to him.
Grace dug her nails into Rawden’s back through his shirt, and he reached back and tore the damn thing off over his head with one hand. They now lay skin to skin. Rawden took hold of Grace around the back of her head and spread her legs with his knee. Then he slowly kissed his way down her body, nestling his head in her neck, circling her nipples with his tongue, feeling them peak like little acorns. The skin on her belly was velvet-soft and warmed by lust. When he reached the dark red hair between her legs once more, he stopped and drank in her musky, womanly scent. It was intoxicating as he gently spread her open.
‘I really want to kiss you here,’ he said, looking up and darting his tongue against her.
‘Oh, Rawden,’ she squeaked. He did it again, deeper and more leisurely, and she gasped and bucked her hips towards his mouth.
Rawden gripped her long, smooth thighs, hot against his face, and set to work arousing his bride.
‘Rawden, no, please,’ she gasped, but her fingers in his hair and the way she arched her back towards his eager mouth meant she wanted him to continue. He did so gladly, worshipping the moist, hot centre of her, wanting so much to open her eyes to all the pleasure he could give.
It did not take long for Grace to stiffen and give a little gasping cry, gripping his head with her thighs, bottom rising off the bed. Such fire, she had inside her, begging for a release. How it must have built up as she was sheltered, corseted and forced to conform to the demands of modest, demure behaviour dictated by the ton.
He could have her now, take everything that should have been his brother’s, and be done with it. But as Grace stared up at him, so trusting, with a wide-eyed look full of hope, Rawden could not do it. An wave of guilt rolled right over him, and he hesitated, poised above her supine body, which was utterly helpless and vulnerable.
‘Damn it to hell,’ he said through gritted teeth as his good side wrestled with his bad. He would have rolled off her and taken himself in hand to gain a release but for one thing. Grace reached up, coiled a hand about his neck, and pulled his mouth to hers, giving him a tentative and sweet kiss. Then, he was all but lost, and instead of doing the right thing, he took hold of her hips and entered her in one reckless surge of passion.
Grace flinched under him and gave a little yelp as he ripped into her chastity, and Rawden cursed himself for a blackguard, but he was a slave to the overwhelming urge to be inside her, to possess her completely. All he could do was slow down and try to be kind, holding himself back as best he could.
‘Forgive me. I am not gentle enough, but it will all be over soon,’ he gasped into Grace’s neck as his loins flooded with heat, and he spilt his seed inside her. She gave a little moan as Rawden jerked and stiffened against her. His breathing was thick in the silence that followed, and Grace lay like a statue underneath him. He must be suffocating her.
‘Forgive me. I did not mean to do that.’ Rawden rolled aside and sat up. He could not face his bride. He was ashamed of his passion, his need for human contact. He grabbed his shirt and pulled it on, unsure what to do. Grace was his wife, so he could not just leave as he would with one of his casual paramours. She was his to protect, and he already seemed to be doing a woeful job of that.
A warm hand on his back made him start. ‘What is wrong, Rawden,’ said Grace in a small voice. ‘Did I not please you?’
Why was she thinking of his feelings when he had just taken advantage, broken a vow, and ripped away her innocence? Shame and frustrated desire clawed at Rawden and made him harsh.
‘You did please me, woman,’ he snapped, turning to her.
Grace was sitting up with the coverlet pulled up around her, her voice fearful and tremulous. ‘Then why are you turning away from me?’
He sighed and gave a bitter laugh. ‘It seems you are an innocent after all, and I misjudged you. You know nothing of how to please a man and be pleasured in return, do you?’
‘No,’ she said, and her face was sad.
