“I wish I could wait,” he said. “I wish I could do anything but claim like a barbarian, but it’s been too long. And I feared I’d never get the chance to do this again.”
She reached out and slipped a hand into thevof his waistcoat, then tugged him forward. “I want the claiming.”
His mouth smashed to hers and the heat of desire lifted once more. There was nothing gentle to this, but she didn’t want it to be gentle. She wanted to feel it, to know it was real, to be swept away by him and know that it wasn’t the only time or the last time. She wanted to feel him and know he didn’t belong to anyone else.
He lifted her to the edge of the bed and then stepped back. As she watched his every move, he untied his cravat, removed his waistcoat and tugged his shirt over his head.
“You really do look like a god,” she said as she reached out to touch his chest. “Lucky Aphrodite.”
He chuckled as he briefly stepped away to remove his boots and then returned, unfastening the fall front of his trousers as he did so. When they fell away she caught her breath.
This gorgeous, hard as steel, naked man was all hers to enjoy. She was shaking with anticipation as he moved to her, their faces even because of the high bed as he kissed her.
She opened her legs wider, giving him a place to step, and he took it, wedging his hips there as their naked bodies molded to each other.
“I want to look at you while I do this,” he whispered, and reached between them to align their bodies. “Are you ready?”
She nodded. “I’ve been wanting this every moment of every day since the last time you touched me. I couldn’t be more ready.”
He pressed to her and she gasped as his cock slid inside the first inch. He watched her face as he took more and more, until he was fully seated in her already flexing body.
“You feel better than every fantasy,” he moaned, kissing along the line of her jaw.
She arched against him and that broke the spell between them. He began to move, thrusting slowly at first, letting their bodies become accustomed to each other again. She met every stroke, grinding when their bodies fully merged. Already she felt the rising sensation of pleasure filling her, like she’d been on the edge all this time and now it was so, so easy to fall.
It seemed it was just as easy for him, for his face already twisted with the same pleasure that was rising in her. They ground together, their eyes locked, their bodies sliding against each other as if they’d been made to do so. The pleasure spiked, she reached for it, and then she was flying, her head falling back, her thighs gripping his hips, her sex clenching out of control.
“Fuck,” he groaned as he dropped his head down against her shoulder and his mouth sucked along the line of her throat. God, the sensations that rippled through her, along every inch of her body. It was everything. He withdrew and the heat of him splashed between them.
She fell back against the bed and felt him move, his mouth gliding down her skin, over her breasts, down to her stomach. When he reached her thighs she sat up slightly, watching as he rubbed his stubbled cheek against the sensitive skin there.
His gaze flicked up to her, dark and wicked.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice catching.
“Tasting all that gorgeous pleasure,” he said back as he brought his mouth to her.
She was already so sensitive from her orgasm that she jolted when he traced her clitoris with his tongue. He groaned like it meant as much to him and she fell back, lifting beneath him all over again as he sucked her, licked her, slid his fingers inside and pressed them to some magical place where the world turned rainbow colors.
When she came a second time, she pressed her hand to her lips, not wanting her moans and cries to bring the house down. He smiled as he licked her a few more times and then he came back up her body, tasting every inch of her before he slid her fully onto her bed and dragged her into his arms like she belonged there.
And for a little while, she let herself believe that she did.
* * *
George never wanted to leave this bed or this woman again. It was so odd to feel that way, after years of sex being pleasurable, but never something that made him want to stay. Then again, he’d never loved anyone he’d fucked. And oh, but he loved Lily. When her legs were tangled with his, her arms locked around him, her dark hair fanned out across his chest and arms, it felt more like home than any manor house he’d ever lived in.
He kissed her forehead and smoothed his hand through her hair with a satisfied sigh. When she sighed, as well, it didn’t sound quite as content.
“Where are those thoughts going, Lily?” he asked.
She cuddled a little closer, like she needed his warmth to answer the question. “I just don’t know what’s next. How can I protect my sister?”
He cupped her chin and tilted it up slightly. “Together.”
“What are you saying?” she whispered.
“Youknowwhat I’m saying.”
