He blinked at her before his brows raised. “By Jove’s beard, why would you think that? No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. Making noises while making love lets your lover know that they are succeeding in making you feel good.” His soft smile turned purely seductive. “If I don’t know if it feels good, I’ll have to keep trying.”
At his look, something tightened between her legs. He promised sinful pleasure with his eyes. She couldn’t quite get her voice to work. “I like it.” The whispered words sounded enticing, though she hadn’t meant them to.
His eyes darkened as he sat up. “Then let’s see what else you like. Uncross your legs and lift your hips for me.”
In an instant her blood cooled, but she did as instructed. They must have reached the end of pleasure and now it was time to procreate. She stared up at the ceiling above the bed, wondering if it would take Marcus longer than her husband took.
As she felt the shift slide down over her hips instead of up, she frowned, but her instinct told her Marcus knew what he was about. When the bed dipped and his hands rested on her knees, she gritted her teeth. The book said that being moist made penetration pleasurable. Though she doubted that, after all the author was a man and how would he know, she did believe it would make it easier for Marcus.
“Mariel, what are you doing?”
She didn’t look at him. “I’m not doing anything.”
“You’re looking at the ceiling. Look at me.”
“As you wish.” She tilted her head down to find him kneeling between her legs in his pantaloons. “I believe you will have to remove your clothes to finish this.”
He stared at her for a moment before he shook his head. “I know you do not want me to speak ill of the dead, but your late husband was a bloody bastard.”
Because he said the words in such a factual manner, she found her lips quirking up. “No, I do believe his ancestry was quite well established.”
His brows raised. “What I mean to say is that he did not treat you as you deserved to be treated.”
She wanted to argue the point because George had been a very solicitous husband, though if she were to be honest with herself, it was most likely that he wanted to be sure she was in good health to have his heir. But at that moment, Marcus’ hands moved up her legs and to the top of her thighs, causing her breath to hitch. Her gaze flew to his face, where he was focused on her most private place. The urge to cross her legs was strong, but he knelt between them.
His hands moved to the inside of her thighs and nudged her to spread her legs wider.
“Marcus?” She wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted to ask him. The feelings inside her were so jumbled, she didn’t even know what she wanted.
“Open for me. You are so lovely.”
Heat filled her cheeks at the realization he was looking at her very womanhood. But despite how improper it was, a strange feeling of excitement filled her.
And then his fingers were there, at her opening. They started to stroke her before moving up to what the book called her pleasure point. She hadn’t understood the name until Marcus’ fingers found the spot. A jolt of pleasure whipped through her. “Oh!” She slapped her hand over her mouth.
“No need to be quiet. We are alone.” His voice held laughter.
If he thought it humorous that she tried to stay quiet, she definitely would not. Just as her pique began, it disappeared as another spike of feeling flew through her. It was strange to feel so alive and yet so weak at the same time. Letting her head fall back on the pillow, she watched Marcus as she could.
But soon the streaks of excitement had her panting, her breathing too loud to ignore and yet he continued his sweet torture. She wasn’t sure how much more she could enjoy without fainting when something slipped inside her.
She opened her eyes wide, thinking it was him, but he still knelt between her legs. It was his finger. She’d seen that in the book, but hadn’t realized, hadn’t known it was—
He pulled his finger out and pushed it back in, but now there was more pressure inside her. The pleasurable waves flooded her and she whimpered with amazement. Closing her eyes, she felt them build one upon the other, spiraling higher, floating her up to some unreachable height.
Then her nipple was sucked, and she screamed as her body ignited into a thousand fireworks, exploding into a bright light before raining down, back to the bed to become one once more.
Marcus’ lips feathered her mouth before his tongue darted inside. The urgency of his kiss nudged her from her dazed state and she grasped his head in her hands and kissed him back, thanking him for showing her what she hadn’t known.
When he broke the kiss, his breath was ragged and he must have slipped his hands from her body because he leaned over her on his elbows. But as she viewed his closed eyes, it was clear something was wrong.
“Marcus, are you in pain?”
Chapter Sixteen
He heard herquestion, but the blood pounding in his ears made it hard to respond. Making love to Mariel with his hands and mouth was like experiencing a flower awakening to the sun. Beautiful, poignant, and far more stimulating than he’d ever imagined.
Yes, he was in pain in many forms. His erection was painful because he needed to be inside her. The pain of knowing that if he tried to, it would never work. And worse, the pain of knowing that now he must let another man have her.
