With every whore he’d fucked, he’d hated himself more. For his lustful weakness which had allowed Chun to lead him by the cock. For being the cause of his family’s slaughter.
“You are not selfish.” Glory touched his jaw. “You made a mistake in your youth, and you have spent every moment since trying to atone for it. You have helped and protected so many people…including me. I wish you could see yourself as I do: honorable and kind, a gentleman in every sense of the word.”
He held her hand against his jaw. Feeling her delicate strength twined with his, redemption seemed not only possible but imminent. As if happiness was close…close enough to touch.
“How can you be mine?” he said with rough wonder.
“I’ve been yours since the first time you kissed me.” Her smile lit up the room, his bloody world. “Tonight, I wish to prove it.”
“You don’t have to prove anything.”
“Prove isn’t quite the right word,” she acknowledged. “But I want you to know that I am committed to our future. That my heart is pledged to you.”
She pulled back the lacy cuff of her sleeve, and his throat cinched at the sight of the gleaming jade circling her wrist. Proof of his claim. The fact that she’d worn it swelled his chest…and his prick. Already he was hard for her, hungry for her in a way he knew he always would be.
He pulled her close. “I love you, little tigress.”
“Then be with me,” she said simply.
He needed no further encouragement. He took her mouth, possessiveness pounding in his blood. He tasted her sweetness mingled with port, an intoxicating flavor. The feminine hunger of her response made him wild. Lifting her into his arms, he carried her through the swaying curtain, the smooth bamboo beads sliding over their heated skin.
He stepped onto the dais, setting his precious girl on her feet. The “bed” was a mattress set upon a platform…designed, no doubt, to give Mrs. Swann an unobstructed view. Tensing, Wei scanned the room, looking for peepholes.
The brush of Glory’s fingertips returned his gaze to her.
“It is just you and me.” Her lashes framed her wide, earnest eyes. “Nothing else matters.”
The truth reverberated through him, and his entire being quaked with desire.
“You are everything to me,” he said in a low voice.
Then he kissed her again, on her forehead, nose, lips. When he dragged his lips to her ear, she gave a delightful sigh. He nibbled on the tender lobe, sucking it as he freed her from her layers. One by one, the garments dropped to the ground until she was left in a thin shift.
“Arms up,” he said huskily.
Her eagerness made his lips twitch. He pulled the chemise over her head, his lungs straining at the beauty he revealed. He palmed her breast, teasing the rosy tip between finger and thumb. She sank her teeth into her bottom lip as he pinched her nipple into a tight, velvety point.
“You are so beautiful,” he said raggedly.
Blushing from head to toe, she said, “I, um, want to see you too.”
He complied with her request, stripping off his own clothes even as he feasted his eyes on her. It struck him that this was the first time they were seeing each other fully naked in the light. Beyond the shadows, their desire blazed to new heights. He knew then that Glory was right: nothing about their love could ever be shameful.
In some ways, he was as much a novice as she was in this moment. While he’d been with plenty of women, he’d only fucked in the dark. Making love in the light was something different entirely.
Glory watched him undress with unabashed curiosity, and when her innocent eyes widened at the sight of his jutting erection, desire forked through his belly. Her fingers alighted on his chest, soft and tentative against his madly thumping heart.
“You are splendid.”
The awe in her voice, the reverence and care in her touch, undid him. No one had ever made him feel this wanted. This worthy of desire.
He tumbled her onto the bed, smothering her gasp with his mouth. He ran his palm down the length of her, her skin a river of silk from her throat to her pussy. Between her sleek thighs, she was warm and wet, drenching his hand as he fingered her. One of these days, he was going to teach her the pleasures of delaying satisfaction, but right now he was as impatient as she was.
He’d had a lifetime of restraint, of waiting and biding his time.
Tonight, he was going to revel in the excesses of love.
He plunged his tongue deep into Glory’s mouth, plundering her sweetness while he rubbed the bold little bud between her legs. The twin sensations made his little tigress squirm, her hips bucking as he swirled his fingers. The juicy sounds of her quim hit him straight in the cock, wetting the crest with pre-seed. He knew she was close and wanted to take her over the edge.
