She’d mocked him with this pretty little mouth—for his lack of title—his lack of refinement. She’d foolishly run off with Culpepper to elevate her position.
But she’d realized that had been a mistake. Why?
This duchess obsession of hers, he suspected, couldn’t be motivated by her own wants, Someone had convinced her it was something she needed.
But who?
There was so much more to her--to this woman who’d moved into his heart.
Whoever she was now was also a part of who shehad been before. And the person she was nowloved him. The person she was nowwanted him.
“Tabetha.” He drew back. He needed to tell her everything first. She needed to make this decision knowing the truth. He would risk losing her, risk losing this tenuous connection that had developed between them, but it was better this way.
She wriggled beneath him. “Make love to me, Rock.” She arched her back, straining to capture his mouth again. “I want you. I want all of you.” Her hands roved down his sides and then around his middle, clutching at him.
His straining cock begged to be released, and the siren beneath him answered the call, unfastening his trousers and tugging them down.
He could tell her everything afterward.
“So much.” Her throaty entreaty broke his last vestige of restraint.
“So damn beautiful.” The memory of the soft flesh he’d tasted earlier remained vivid in his mind. One hand lowered her bodice while the other pushed up her skirts. She assisted him by raising her hips off the ground and, with a frenzied efficiency, the two of them managed to remove every barrier between them. His mouth at her breasts, his cock at her entrance.
“It’s too fast. I should go slow for you.” He made one last attempt.
He’d wanted her first time to be leisurely. He should draw it out slowly, ensure that she was wet and open and ready to take him in.
“No.” Her hips bucked. “This is us. Take me, Stone.Now. I want all of you.”
The temptation was too great. He nudged himself inside, no more than a few inches. She was so tight and soft, like velvet.
“Yes.” His virgin bride would drive him to madness. He allowed himself a few more inches, waiting to feel her relax and adjust around him. Her eyes were open now, and she was gasping, gazing up at him.
She was a gift.
“Tell me if it hurts too much.” Had he already hurt her with everything he’d done? The last thing in the world he wanted to do was cause her pain. “I’ll stop.”
Even if it killed him.
“No. Don’t stop.” She begged. “I want more of you.” Her skin glowed silver in the moonlight.
“I’ll give you everything.” He edged in deeper. “My brave girl.”
Her eyes rolled back before focusing on him again. “I’m yours,” she breathed.
“Mine.” She was sensitive. Generous. Kind. Desirable as hell.
“You’re mine,” he vowed. He couldn’t stop from claiming her with his words any more than he could stop from claiming her with his body.
Deeper. Her lashes fluttered and pinched shut as he filled her completely.
Sensual. Sexy. Passionate.
“Yours,” she gasped, not asking him to stop but imploring him to move faster, harder, deeper. Wild abandon claimed them both. Not caring about anything but this woman beneath him, Stone moved in and out in a satisfying rhythm, thanking the heavens when she shuddered in relief because there was no way he could have lasted even a second longer.
Only after spending himself and then collapsing beside her did he realized what she’d said.
Take me, Stone. Now. I want all of you.
