She lifted her hands and put them on his chest, but when his tongue began to slide sensually along hers, she found herself clutching the edges of his shirt instead.
Meliah felt his hand at the small of her back as he pressed her closer to him. Her breasts brushed against his hard chest, and it wasn’t an unwelcome sensation. In fact, it was particularly… nice.
As he deepened the kiss, his hand slid around to the side of her waist and slowly moved upward, along her ribcage. The breath that she had been holding abruptly released and her grip on his shirt increased. When his hand continued upward, his thumb brushing the side of her breast, heat immediately enveloped her body and her heart started to pound furiously.
Again, she considered pushing him away, but when his hand moved to cover her breast entirely, his wicked thumb daring totoy with her taut nipple, her head started to spin. She knew if she disengaged herself from the earl now, she probably wouldn’t be able to stand on her own two feet.
When he moved away from her mouth, she gasped for some much-needed air, feeling that was the cause for her sudden dizziness, but when he bent his head and started to suckle her neck, Meliah shuddered. Waves of awareness pulsed through her body, and she had to wonder if this was the usual behavior of a society rake. If so, she had to think that the ladies who had captured the attention of the gentlemen mentioned by ‘The Belle’ before Lord Belmont were very lucky indeed.
“Do you like it when I kiss you, Meliah?”
She thrilled at the sound of her name crossing his lips with that deep, seductive purr. “Yes.” There was no point in denying her reaction when it must have been obvious that she was enjoying his attentions.
“What about when I touch you?”
He squeezed her breast lightly and her head tilted back. “Yes.”
“Do you want me to stop?”
She should have given her previous answer. It wouldn’t have been so difficult, but instead, she shook her head and dared herself to look at him. “Not yet.”
His blue gaze was riveting, fixed on her face. “It seems you are eager to learn more about me then.” A slight breeze struck her legs, and she froze when she realized he was lifting up her skirts. She was about to still his actions, but he added, “Do you want to know what I can do?”
At that, she refrained. Curiosity propelled her to know more.
At the soft touch of his hand on her inner thigh, Meliah bit her lower lip. His eyes darkened to chips of sapphire as he captured her mouth once more. She moaned as he immediately deepened the embrace. Passion shot through every fiber of herbeing, but it wasn’t until he dared to slide a finger along her core that she ripped her mouth away from his.
“What are you?—?”
“Trust me,” he cajoled, and kissed her again.
Drawn back into this carnal world, Meliah tried to relax as he touched her intimately again. This time it wasn’t so much a danger as an… interest. It was a strange sensation to have someone else’s hands on her body, to touch her as she’d never touched herself.
She tried to tell herself not to be abhorrent of this moment. She would likely never have another chance to experience lovemaking, so it would be best to learn what occurred between a man and a woman to be better warned in the future.
She had just convinced herself that this was simply for learning purposes that she was allowing this to continue. That was, until he touched a certain spot that caused her to lift up on her toes and her entire midsection to quiver. She moved her hands to his shoulders and clung to him.
Dear heavens…
It was meantto be another harmless flirtation. Just a slight, chaste kiss that would continue to tempt her. However, Elwood hadn’t been prepared for her instantaneous reactions to his touch. It was like lighting a match to tinder and he was finding it difficult not to take things too far.
He certainly didn’t want to scare her, nor did he want her first time to be against a pool table like some sort of dockside doxy, but when the moment struck, he was finding it difficult to ignore the sweet temptation that she provided.
He kept telling himself that she would tell him no, that she would put a stop to this madness since he didn’t seem capable of doing so. For all of his sexual prowess, he was being done in by this slip of a woman, a commoner—and avirgin,the sort of women he’d always eschewed. That should have been enough for him to remove his hands as if she carried the plague. Unfortunately, the problem was her blazing response to him. It was enough to fuel the flames of his own desire. It hadn’t been that long since he’d been with another woman, and yet, the fire pouring through his veins was unlike anything else he’d experienced before.
As each one of her breaths became faster and more shallow, Elwood knew that she was getting close to her peak. He vowed that he would halt things after she had found her pleasure, while he took his release in solitude, regardless if his cock was throbbing in opposition to that idea. He wanted nothing more than to lose himself between those sweet thighs, but although he was a rake, he wasn’t a man completely without a moral compass.
Then again…
She groaned, and the sound caused Elwood to grit his teeth. Her nails were digging into his upper arms and he intended to absorb every delightful half-moon that would be imprinted upon his skin.
He increased his movements until suddenly, she coiled and tightened. She gave a sharp gasp and then her eyes closed as she gave herself over to the ecstasy. Her hips rolled, as if she understood what was happening if her mind hadn’t yet fully captured the concept.
He watched her lovely face flush, and he desperately wanted to see if that alluring shade of pink went all over her body. In the end, it was enough to know that he had given her that first taste of satisfaction. If she decided that they didn’t go any furtherthan this, he could live with the knowledge that she would never forget this moment with him.
He would surely never forget it.
As she was still recovering from the haze of passion, Elwood slipped his hand from beneath her skirts, but he wasn’t sure she really noticed. Her gorgeous green eyes were heavy and it looked as though the late-night escapades which had abruptly turned into a morning tryst were starting to take their toll.
