Without turning away from him, she grasped his hand and opened her door. She backed into her chamber and pulled him along with her.Standing in the middle of the floor, she slowly untied her dressing robe and allowed it to fall to the floor in a whisper of material.
Travell kicked the door shut.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ever since Alyssa was old enough to know what appealed to her with the opposite sex, she had known Travell was the only one for her. It hadn’t taken her long to appreciate his charming grin and the twinkle in those ocean blue eyes that changed as frequently as the tide when his mood varied. For so long she had prayed that he might feel the same wayshe did, but in the short time they’d been togetherat Rosewood, with different burdens of their own to bear, something had shifteddramatically.It was as if the stars had finally aligned and fate was starting to smile down on her.She wasn’t sure why she’d held back this long, unless he’d been right, and she’d just been scared of being alone, for Travell was all she’d ever wanted.
While she knew she ought to feel shame or embarrassment as she started to untie the ribbon holding her nightdress together, the only thing rushing through her veins was the feeling that nothing else had ever felt more…right.
Travell’s nostrils flared as the material slackened, revealing the valley between her breasts, but when she would have shrugged out of it, he put his hands on her shoulders and shook his head. “Not yet.”
She shivered, for his voice was so perfectly raspy with desire, his eyes swirling with the anticipation of what was to come. She might be innocent, but she wasn’t completely naïve about what to expectfor she’d already had a delightful taste in the conservatory.Not only that, but she’d heard the whispers long before she’d officially entered polite society. Lady Alwan’s sewing circle had been a place for gossip of a scandalous nature and many of the older women had often twittered about a man’s phallus, as well as discussing its many uses. Of course, if Aunt Pearl had any idea that Alyssa had eavesdropped on their conversations, crouched down in the hallway when she should have been napping in her room, the lady would have been horrified.
Alyssa hadalwaysheard that a man’s member had a mind of its own. She had alwaysimagined Travell’sphalluswould be rather impressive, and the few times he’d ground his erection against her, sheno longer had any doubt.
As she glanced down between them, she wondered what would happen if she slowly lowered her hand and rubbed the length of the bulge in his trousers…
She bit her lip and did just that, only to have him capture her wrist and draw her away.
Shestilledat theabruptness of his move.“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you—”
“Hurt me?” He laughed, although there was a definite strain to the sound. “Far from it, but if I allow you to touch me before I’ve had a chance to pleasure you, I’m afraid this will all be over way too quickly.”
She frowned slightly. “Whatdo you mean?”
This time he groaned outright. “I’ll spill my seed,and then it will…”Here, he paused.
“Deflate?” she prompted.
He winced. “Of a sort, although I wouldn’t have chosen to put it quitethatway,” he muttered. He pulled her against him—his bodystillhard and firm. “I don’t even want to know how you learned so much about male anatomy. In truth, I’d prefer that we talk about something else. Or rather,” his voice deepened,“nothing at all.”
He kissed her passionately, the kind of kiss that caused herthighs to quiver and her entire body to erupt in flames. Any further thought of his phallus and her aunt’s sewing circle evaporated like dust in the wind, her only focus on each nerve ending that had suddenly come alive with sensation.
His thumb brushed the tip of her hardened nipple through the thin cotton of her nightdress and she moaned against his mouth. When he offered the same attention to her other breast, she drew in a sharp breath and clutched his shoulders. When he cupped their fullness in his hands and began to knead gently, she had to pull away to draw more air into her lungs. He took advantage of this to kiss his way along her neck, nipping and sucking gently as he moved down along her collarbone.
When he sank to his knees before her, she stared at his dark head as he slowly began to lift her gown, his fingers brushing the back of her legs as he lifted it higher and higher, until she was fully exposed to him from the waist down.
He cupped her bottom in his handsand said, “Open your legs.”
She did as he asked, although she couldn’t imagine whathe could be doing on his knees—
“Oh…my….Travell….” She gasped, threading her fingers through his hair as he kissed herthere.She had never heard of this sort of thing discussed before, but surely, as wonderful as it felt to have his mouth on her most intimate place, she couldn’t imagine why every woman wasn’t singing the praises of this sort of bliss.
Her knees grew weak as he continued to caress her, but when he made the first swipe of his tongue, she raised up on her toes. After that, his ministrations became more fervent until she threw her head back and closed her eyes in complete abandon,and thenshe soared among the stars.
Alyssa was still floating on a cloud when hegottohis feet and lifted her into his arms. She was as limp as a rag doll as he carried her over to the bed and gently laid her down. “You’re magnificent,” he breathed, and then removed her gown with one deft movement.
He instantly bent down and captured her breasts in his palms, kissing and caressing each of them until she was writing with need onceagain.
“Travell, please…”She didn’t even know what she was begging for, but he seemed to understand, for hekissed her lightly and thenmoved away. But when she started to panic, believing that he was leaving her, he merely started to divest himself of his clothes.
His waistcoat was tossed aside first, and then his shirt, which he grasped from the back and drew over his head, exposing a rippling array of muscles that ran up his arms and across his broad, hairy chest. She started to pant when he unbuttoned his trousers and kicked off his shoes. When his manhood was revealed, her gaze widened, for she had to admit that hisphalluswas, indeed, quite impressive.
She yearned to touch him, to see if it felt as hard as it looked.She sat up and licked her lips, noticing that his eyes darkened when she did so. “Can I…touch you?”
His throat worked, his Adam’s apple bobbing as if he was having trouble speaking. So instead of replying, he took her hand and guided it to his shaft. She wrapped her fingers around him and began a gentle exploration. He throbbed under her palm, the thickness like nothing she’d felt before. His skin was as soft as silk, but as she started to rub her hand up and down his length, he stilled her movements. She looked at him and his jaw was clenched so tightly, she imagined he might be in pain.
She withdrew immediately. “I’m sorry.I don’t seem to be very good at this.”
