She came over and wrapped her arms around his neck. “What are you thinking about?” she asked.
“How I am the luckiest devil in the world, what else?”
“A lucky devil, hmm?” She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his jaw. “Then perhaps I should tell you that I have to wait for my husband to claim me.” She slid her hands down to his cravat and began to pull it loose until she could slide the neckcloth free. She let it drop to the floor.
“Oops!”
Derrick chuckled and began to unbind her hair until it tumbled free down her shoulders. “Now we’re even.”
“Are we?” She had begun unbuttoning his waistcoat, but now she simply tore it apart.
“My valet will be in tears collecting buttons, madam,” Derrick said with mock solemnity.
“He shall forgive me when he sees your wedding clothes.”
“So the two of you shall dress me, then? Yes, Boyle would approve of that.” Derrick spun Arianna around to face away from him and began to unfasten her dress, then tugged it down off her shoulders. It dropped to the floor, and then she turned to face him. Her heart beat a staccato against her ribs. The chemise and stockings and slippers and stays that usually felt so confining now seemed a thin barrier to him.
He tipped her chin up, and their gazes locked. “Are you all right, my heart?”
My heart...The words sent wild flutters through her body.
“Yes. Just do not give me time to think. I want this, but I am a little afraid.” She hoped he would understand. This was new and a little frightening, but if he kept her from thinking and she could only feel.
He leaned in to kiss her. “I can do that.” His mouth moved over hers with expertise, and she barely noticed his hands at her back, plucking the stays free of her body. The garment fell, and he grasped her by her waist and carried her to her bed.
He set her down on the edge, still kissing her as his hands removed her slippers and rolled down her stockings. He pulled away just long enough to lift her chemise off her body, and when she was bare he captured her hands, holding them away from her as he smiled, heat lighting his eyes.
“Arianna... you’re...”
She held her breath, afraid of what he might say.
“You are the loveliest woman I have ever seen.” He moved back to her, kissing her until she was dizzy. Then he pulled away and retrieved his coat from the floor.
“I confess... I purchased a second present for you. I fear you may not like it, but I wish to give it to you anyway. I believe it may be more appropriate now, given our engagement.” He pulled a slender box out of the interior pocket of his coat. He held it out to her, and her breath hitched as she opened it up to see the most lovely string of diamonds.
“Tell me you like them. I wanted to get you something that would sparkle as much as your eyes. You do not need jewels to be any lovelier, but I want to shower you with them all the same. Everything that is beautiful in this world I wish to give you.”
“They are beautiful,” she said and removed them from the box. “Will you help me put them on?”
She lifted her hair, and he placed the necklace about her throat. The jewels rested on her collarbone as if they had been made just for her. He pulled his shirt over his head and kicked off his boots before joining her on the bed. She lay back as he settled between her thighs. She loved the feel of his weight pinning her down. Her skin hummed with excitement as he began to kiss her. She ran her palms all over him, exploring the hard muscles that moved as he shifted above her.
One of Derrick’s hands drifted down between their bodies to caress her, and she arched her back. He took one of her nipples into his mouth, and the sharp tug of pleasure he created made her shriek with arousal.
“Beautiful,” he groaned as he kissed a path to the other tender peak. She dug her hands into his hair, tugging on the gold strands. As much as she liked the feel of his mouth there, she needed something better, something harder and deeper and far lower.
“Derrick, please,” she begged.
“Tell me what you need,” he said. “Give me the words.”
She flushed with the heat that rolled through her entire body.
“I need you inside me.” She knew enough of the act to know what was to happen next, but it still frightened her. But her need had fast eclipsed her fear.
“Good girl,” he praised and adjusted his body as he pushed his trousers down. He kissed her again, and the feel of his nakedness against her was wonderful and surprisingly intimate in ways she had never imagined.
His tongue slipped between her lips as his shaft nudged at her entrance. She tried to relax as he sank in, and then he suddenly thrust deep and she cried out. He swallowed that cry with his kiss and held still, deeply seated within her.
As the pain ebbed, she felt something else rise, the intense connection to him that was like nothing she had ever imagined in her life.
