As much as Richard had hoped for something to grow between himself and Violet, he had been wary, holding himself back. He had been waiting for something, but he hadn’t known what, until now.
He had wanted to know that she would see him in the same light as the duke, hold them equally in her heart.
Richard swallowed hard, looking down at Violet’s sweet oval face. Her eyes were more luminous and entreating than he had ever seen them before.
“You may touch me,” he managed to say, past the lump that was lodged in his throat. As much as his body desired her, his soul craved her more.
A small smile lifted the corners of her mouth, her hands carefully coming up to rest on his knees, fingers spreading to feel his form beneath the wool of his breeches. She wiggled closer, and Richard widened his stance, his top boots grazing the sides of her waist as she leaned closer.
Violet’s hands explored the long length of his thighs, testing lean muscles with her fingertips as his cock hardened immediately under her touch. Violet looked up at him through her lashes, that smile still lingering on her lips.
How much her confidence had grown. It was glorious to see each new part of her as she slowly revealed herself to him.
“You have always been there, to guide me through each new moment. Will you guide me now? Tell me what to do, how to please you?” she whispered, catching her lower lip between her teeth shyly.
Hell’s Teeth.
Finally, Richard allowed himself to place his hands on her, cupping her jaw with one hand as he considered her request.
“You are so very young, Violet. So innocent, even now. Are you not scared we will devour you, consume you whole, especially now that you understand the devilish bargain you have made?”
She slowly shook her head. “I trust you.”
Admitting defeat, Richard sighed, brushing his thumb over her plump lower lip as he considered what he should do.
His cock knew what it wanted, though. It wanted to feel her heat wrapped around it, he wanted to defile the purity that he saw in her at every turn.
“Very well, Violet.” He kept his eyes on her face as he slowly unbuttoned his fall, snapping each clasp free. “I want you to touch my cock, take it in your hand.”
He watched her eyes widen, her lips falling open and he pressed his thumb into the heat of her mouth, sliding in until he felt the tip of her tongue. “I want you to take me here, between these lips, and draw me deep into your mouth.”
He took one of her hands, wrapping her fingers around the base of his arousal. “But for now, just your touch will be enough. There will be time for that later.”
She tested the girth of him, sliding her palm hesitantly up the thick column, exploring every ridge, every pulsing vein as the blood rushed from his head to pool in his groin, a groan ghosting from his lips as his cock jumped under her touch.
“Like this?” she asked, glancing up at him, then back down to where she held him.
“Yes, just like that, Violet.”
Richard wrapped his hand around her own, showing her how to work him with her palm, up and down, twisting and squeezing. She ran her thumb up over the bulge of his crown, finding the drop of essence gathered there and smoothing it decadently over the sensitive head.
Richard bit back a curse, stiffening as heady desire warred inside of him.
“Does it feel good?”
Christ, she was a curious little thing.But he found the words would not come easy now. He was too tense, too full of need. So much need, that he had stuffed down and held at bay. It demanded to be let loose.
Take her. Take her. Take her.
Yes, he would take something, the one thing he had wanted from the very beginning.
“Yes, it feels good,” he managed to grit out, clenching his teeth against the urge to buck into her touch, and let the lust burn bright and fierce.
Instead, he hauled Violet up onto his lap, urging her knees apart to straddle his thighs, her thin linen chemise riding up to reveal silken, lithe thighs and the dark blushing points of her nipples.
He urged her hand back to his cock, where it jutted between her thighs. Then, he palmed the nape of her neck, bringing her face close to his.
“I want you to kiss me,” he rasped, gratified when she moaned and swayed closer, bringing her lips a mere breath from his.
