He stood up and went to the side of the bed and looked down at her while she looked back at him. They both held their breaths, and then he stooped over her, took her face in his hands and kissed her.
It was only when she stiffened beneath him that he realized he was being forward. She would surely push him away, or berate him in that prim voice he secretly enjoyed, but to his surprise, she did neither.
Penelope put her hands over his larger ones and kissed him back.
Chapter Fifteen
Penelope knew thiswas against all her self-imposed rules. Her very crucial self-imposed rules. She wasn’t sure how she had reached this point—although a sly voice in her head told her that she had known all along this was going to happen. She should pull away now and tell him no. She should get up and go home. He didn’t need any more instruction on the dance floor; he was perfect as he was. The Bohemian Ball had deteriorated far quicker than she’d feared, and if not for the mouse, she would have drawn the lesson to a close. But therewasthe mouse and now here she was, alone in a bedchamber with a man she had found insanely attractive from the first instant she saw him.
Stopping felt as if it might very well kill her.
His mouth against hers was tender and yet masterful. No lessons needed there either. She allowed herself to be drawn into the heat and excitement of the kiss. There was a curl low in her belly that she hadn’t felt for years, and she craved more.
Her body ached for this man.
Placing her palm flat against his chest, she began to explore the hard muscle and bone beneath the layers of his clothing. Suddenly, more than anything, she wanted his naked flesh against hers, the intimate press of their bodies, sliding together. The ache inside her grew until the longing to have it assuaged was too loud to ignore. It had been too long since she’d felt thepleasure of physical love, and to feel it withthisman... she couldn’t wait any longer.
He nuzzled against her ear, catching the lobe between his teeth gently, before dipping his face to her neck and sucking at her skin. Shivers ran up and down her back, and she gasped, arching so that he had better access. The neckline of her gown was not overly low, not like some of the women here who were showing all they had, but it was low enough for him to lick a line across the swell of her breasts.
Her nipples hardened into painful points, rubbing against the stiff cloth of her bodice, desperate for his mouth. His tongue. Half dazed, she looked up to meet his eyes. Heat and longing shone in their dark depths—a match for her own.
“Will you allow me?” he asked in a voice grown husky with desire. His hands rested on her shoulders and slid around to the hook at her back, teasing the fastening but not opening it yet. Waiting for her consent.
No,she thought.This is an awful mistake.But her voice refused to obey her.
“Yes,” she said.
He smiled, and his fingers worked at the fastenings with swift movements. In an instant, her bodice sagged and her breasts were free. He drew in an appreciative breath.
She told herself she would only allow him to touch her once, just once, and then she would put a stop to this. Shemustput a stop to this. Even when Selina had told her to make the most of her time with him, she had thought her rules would keep her safe. They hadn’t, and it was too late, and suddenly she didn’t care. Whatever happened afterward, she would remember this night forever.
“So beautiful,” he whispered, and then he was sucking and lathing with his tongue, and she lost any strength she had to push him away.
It felt wonderful, and once again, that heat unfurled inside her belly, the ache between her thighs, a physical response of her longing for him to join with her.
For three years she had been so responsible, so strict with herself, but now she lost it all. Everything crumbled before him. She surrendered. With a soft groan, she held his head closer, arching into his mouth.
He had been kneeling on the bed, but now he leaned back and began to strip off his clothes with a complete disregard for his new finery. She didn’t scold him; instead, she helped him, her hands trembling with urgency, until she found bare flesh. His chest made her mouth water and she leaned in and ran the tip of her tongue over his warm skin, and then took his nipple in her mouth.
He gasped and reached to gently cup the back of her head, wanting to keep her there. But she wanted more of him. She licked up to his throat, tongue tracing the dip there before seeking his strong jaw. Tasting him. He swallowed, took a breath, and reached to fumble with his breeches. When she looked down, she could see the hard line of his cock, pushing against the silk.
She had meant to help him, but he distracted her with kisses, desperate and passionate, and for a time she forgot anything but the heat and taste of his mouth on hers. It might have been enough, but Penelope was no innocent. She was aware of what pleasures could be had with a man, and she craved them withthisman.
“I want you inside me,” she said.
“God, yes,” he muttered.
She pushed him back onto the bed and he raised his head to watch as she unfastened his breeches and reached in to close her hand around the hot length of him. He looked feverish, she thought, as she lowered her head and took the tip into hermouth, sucking. He groaned so loudly she thought they might hear him downstairs.
His chest was rising and falling, and he arched his hips, and she knew if she kept on, he would spill. And what a pity that would be when her body was crying out for his. Penelope knelt over him, straddling his hips and lifting her skirts out of the way.
Callum growled out something that sounded like, “So bonny.” He slid his hands over her knees and up her thighs. Up and up, until his thumbs brushed her most intimate flesh. She gasped. He gripped her bottom and had lifted her up as if she weighed nothing, and then his mouth closed on the throbbing nerves between her legs.
Quite simply, it was ecstasy. This was something that had never been done to her before, although she had heard of it from others. When his tongue lathed around her bud and sucked the responsive flesh into his mouth, she could not be quiet. She cried out as pleasure soared through her, again and again, leaving her lightheaded.
Penelope went tumbling amongst the stars, the universe topsy-turvy about her, spinning endlessly. Or so it seemed. When she came back to herself again, catching her breath, blinking, she found she was sprawled on the bed and he was now above her.
“So beautiful,” he whispered, his eyes shining. “I want you so much.”
