Juliet and I were alone. A thick quiet settled between us. The anticipation was tangible, neither of us fully confident in the next steps. Always braver than I, she slid her delicate hand into mine, pulling me out of the kitchens. The press of her palm was enough to encourage bravery. I slipped a hand to her lower back to guide her through the house. We were almost to the stairs when she paused, turning to me with affectionate mischief in her eyes. Wearing a soft smile, she pulled me to the right, opening the double doors there, and guiding me into the library. The room where everything had changed.
She set about lighting several candles. I stared at her in all her loveliness, unhelpful in my awe. She was on the last one when I managed to force my legs to obey commands, to carry me to her. Her breath caught when I crowded behind her, pinning her against the table, her former hiding place. I grasped the shoulders of my coat, large on her form, and pulled it down her arms to land on the carpet between us. The back of her gown hit low on her shoulder blades, and I was presented with all sorts of delicious skin to sample. I settled for brushing aside the silky curls that escaped her coiffure, pushing them to one shoulder.
The freckle just behind her ear on her hairline was my first mark. I pressed a damp kiss to it. She rewarded my efforts with a shiver, and I made my way down her neck, only pausing to breathe her name against damp skin when I reached the place where her neck and shoulder met. The one that made her groan my name once before. The effect was instantaneous. She softened against me whimpering my name. The sound sent heat pooling to the hardness I had been striving to ignore.
“Juliet, darling, I’d very much like to pleasure you. Would that be alright?”
As much as I appreciated her enthusiastic nod, I was selfish. I wanted to hear her beg for me before the night was over. I trailed my fingertips along her collarbone, dipping them lower with each pass, finally tracing the neckline of her gown, mapping the curve of her breasts.
“Jules, I need the words. Tell me what you want, Duchess.”
I heard the whisper of her tongue against her lips before she answered. “My gown. Take it off.” Her voice was steadier than I’d anticipated. She was not nearly as desperate as I wanted her.
I allowed one finger to map the column of her spine that was visible before it hit the top of her gown. I took the opportunity to explore her form with my other hand before joining them at the dress hooks along her back. One by one, they gave way to my efforts. Finally, I slid the garment off her shoulders to pool on the floor alongside my coat. As erotic as the sight of our clothes crumpled together was, her gown was too lovely, her efforts too exquisite, to treat so callously.
“Step for me, Duchess.”
Her answer was nothing but a distraught murmur, before following my instructions. Reluctantly I stepped away to lay her gown on the nearby settee before kicking my own coat out of my path back to her side. Her voice was thick, heavy with want, when she whispered my name.
“Yes?”
She started, shaking her head before continuing. “My petticoat.”
“What about it, love?”
“Take it off, please.”
She received a gentle nip at the joining of her neck and shoulder. I had become so fond of that spot. I freed her from the fastenings of her petticoat. Her long stays were revealed beneath. She tensed once more, nearly imperceptibly. Concerned that nerves were rising, I paused in my undressing to free her hair from its jeweled pins and flowers. I brushed the wayward curls that were revealed over her shoulder before aligning her back to my front. I offered a gentle kiss to the top of her crown, rubbing her arms and shoulders in silent comfort.
“Jules, Duchess, should I stop?” Her negative shake was decisive, but I wouldn’t proceed until she told me to continue. “Juliet?”
“I want this, Michael. I do. I’m just nervous. I’ve never… No one has ever… Well, of course, you know that. And, of course, you’ve… Well, you’ve done this before. Which is good; one of us should know what we’re doing. It’s just that… You’re so good at this, and I’m… I don’t know what to do. And before, by the bridge, I didn’t… I didn’t do anything, and I wanted to, but I didn’t know what to do and I just—”
I turned her to face me, tipping her delicate cleft chin up with a finger and silenced her panic with a kiss. She met my lips enthusiastically. I made to pull away, and she continued, “I just want to…”
“Clearly, I’m not doing this properly if you can still think all that, Duchess.”
“But—”
“Juliet, I need you to listen carefully. If you want to stop right now, send me on my way, and head to bed, this will still be the best night of my entire life.”
I couldn’t help but press a kiss to her shy smile.
“If you want me to take you upstairs and hold you all night, this will still be the best night of my entire life. If you want me to love you right here on this table until neither one of us can walk, it will still be the best night of my entire life. There is nothing you can do to make this evening anything but perfect.”
I had to pause when she buried her face in my chest and wrapped her arms tight around me in a warm embrace.
“Stop trying to distract me. I don’t need you to do anything. Believe me when I say being in your presence is more than arousing. In fact, if you tried to do anything, this would all be over embarrassingly quickly.” A soft pile of curls brushed my chin with her huffed laugh.
“But I want to please you.”
“You do please me, Duchess. If, while we’re together, there’s something you want to try, talk to me, and we will discuss how to go about it.”
She peeked her head out from my chest with that. “So… If, say, I wanted to undress you, all I would have to do is say so?”
“Yes.” I could feel my grin shift to one side. I was pleased she seemed to have overcome some of her shyness.
“I want to take off your cravat.”
