Cool air touched her back and jerked her from her misery. Darius’s fingers grazed over her shift as he undid her dress buttons. Immediately, tingles of fire skipped down her back and into areas only illustrated in her secret book. The realization that, far from rejecting her, he was accepting her—and morethan that, wanted her in truth—had pure happiness bursting through her.
Her dress started to slip down, and from instinct, she caught it to her. His lips found a spot at the back of her neck that made her heart race. He ran his hands over her shoulders, down past her shift to the bunched sleeves of her yellow day dress.
His mouth moved up the side of her neck to her ear before he whispered, “Let it fall.”
A shiver ran through her at his words, and, gathering her courage, she let go of her dress and straightened her arms, allowing the soft material to fall in a puddle out her feet. She held her breath, not sure what he would do next.
His hands continued down her arms, and finally linked with her own. His chin came to rest on her shoulder. “Beautiful.”
No one had ever said that to her. Clumsy? Yes. Loud? Yes. Opinionated? Yes. But never had anyone used the wordbeautiful. She could feel her eyes tearing up, and squeezed his hands in response.
He brought her hands together in front of her and encouraged her to clasp them. Then he let go and went to work on her stays.
It was no easy task, since her breasts were quite large. They matched her hips, which were too wide to be fashionable, but they were very good for childbearing, or so her mother had said.
He didn’t let the tightness of the lacing deter him, working diligently to loosen it. When it was fairly hanging from her shoulders, he lifted it, forcing her to raise her arms.
She had no idea what he did with her stays, nor did she care as his arms came about her waist and he hugged her to him. His lips found her neck again, and she tilted her head to one side, lifting her hand to hold the back of his head, the feel of his silky black hair far too tantalizing.
His hands moved upward then and cupped her breasts over her shift. She sucked in her breath, the touch so new and different. Then his thumbs started to rub back and forth across her nipples. Spikes of need seemed to flow down to her very core, and her body grew hot, her shift almost stifling.
His mouth traveled across her jaw, and she turned her head toward him. “Darius.” The word was one of wonder and need. His lips descended on hers again, and she moaned around his tongue, wanting more of him, never wanting the feelings inside her to stop.
But then he broke the kiss and let go of her to walk in front of her.
She grabbed the back of the settee next to her to keep from falling, even as she watched him divest himself of his tailcoat and throw it over a table. Then, pulling his shirt from his pantaloons, he lifted it over his head and dropped it on the table as well.
His torso was well muscled, his broad shoulders tapering to a narrower waist, but what caught her attention was the thin line of short black hair that traveled down the center of his chest to his hard stomach. She wanted more than anything to trace her fingers over the soft hairs. Unable to resist, she removed her hand from the settee and stepped forward, but forgot about her dress, and her foot got caught in the material. She stumbled, trying to catch her balance as she fell forward.
Darius caught her. “Here, let me help.” He stood her up then knelt to untangle her skirts from her foot. “Hold my shoulders.”
She felt the heat rising in her cheeks. He must think her a fool. Still, she did as he asked. Not only did he clear her dress from her feet, but he took off her kid slippers.
He rose to stand completely still as his gaze ran from her face to her breasts, past her shift, then down her stockinged legs to her feet and back up again. His eyes seemed to haveturned almost black, and his stare was so intense, she could feel her nipples getting hard as if he stroked them again. The pure want in his gaze erased her embarrassment and gave her the confidence to reach out and touch his chest.
She traced the trail of hair as she’d wanted to do, awed by how soft it was against such a hardened body. Then she spread her hand across the mounds of his smooth chest. He was well made, not like the illustrations in her secret book and more like the great statues of Greece, which were far more to her liking. Touching him, though, made her feel even more confident, especially as she moved her hand down to his abdomen and he drew in breath.
He caught her hand and brought it to his lips before letting go and cupping her face. He gave her a gentle kiss before his hands ran down her sides to the bottom of her shift. Without a word, he slowly lifted it.
No one except her maid had ever seen her naked before. A small part of her wished to resist, but a larger part wanted more than anything to belong and be treasured, and this man offered her that. Slowly, she lifted her arms, and in a trice, her shift was gone.
As she stood naked before her husband in only her stockings, she blushed, not from embarrassment but from the heat in his gaze. He made her feel desired, a feeling so new to her that she found herself reveling in it.
But then he was there, holding her against his bare chest, kissing her, making her feel as if he couldn’t live without her, and she grasped him to her, needing to let him know she wanted him just as much.
His hands roamed over her back and down to cup her behind and pull her even closer. She felt the hard ridge in his pantaloons pressing against her mons, and her muscles tensed deep inside her. He walked her backward until the settee hit the back of herknees and they buckled. But she didn’t fall, and he gently sat her down then leaned her to the side so that she lay half on the furniture.
She thought to suggest that she move up as he knelt on the floor, but his mouth left hers to lick at her nipple, and her thoughts completely disappeared in the exquisite sensations flowing through her. As he laved one nipple and then the other, the feelings intensified, and she grabbed at his head to keep him focused on one.
It must have been the right thing to do, because he started to suck, causing her toes to curl as she felt moisture at the juncture of her thighs. She pressed her chest closer to his mouth, not wanting him to stop. That was when he scraped his teeth over her nipple, and she let out a low moan. He then sucked hard before releasing her.
She forced herself to loosen her hold on his head, anxious for him to do the same to her other breast.
Instead, he moved one of her legs over to the other side of the settee, spreading them.
Before she could demand that he get back to her breast, he kissed her. It was a long, luxurious, probing kiss that had her grasping his shoulders. Then she felt his fingers slipping through the red curls of her mons. She didn’t have a chance to react before his hand continued its descent to the folds between her legs and his fingers began to explore her.
It was then that he ended the kiss and began his ministrations on her other breast.
