“You did intrude on me as I was about to go to sleep, and I did not have time to put on other clothes and make myself more presentable, not that it matters if the aim is to be naked together.”
She gasped when Fletcher nipped the exposed skin of her shoulder now that her gown was slipping.
“Take this off,” he murmured, tugging at her gown.
She stepped back, and Fletcher saw the war on her face. She wanted him, but she didn’t know what to do. He enjoyed that contrast. And he’d succeeded in undoing all of the buttons at her back, so she was able to let her gown fall to her feet with minimal effort, despite the stiff fabric. Beneath the gown, she wore only a shift tucked into a petticoat, and the latter was loosely tied and already falling down her hips. But the key thing was that her shift was nearly transparent, and Fletcher could see her hard nipples poking at the fabric.
Fletcher pulled her close again. He kissed her again and knew his arousal would be plain now, but he cared not. This wasLouisa, a woman he’d been wanting for weeks if not longer, and their relationship was about to take a significant turn.
Louisa’s petticoat slid to the floor. Fletcher picked her up and carried her over to the bed.
“This will change how things are between us,” Fletcher said. “Are you certain this is what you want?”
“I’ve never been so certain of anything.”
* * *
Fletcher’s dressing gown was coming undone at the waist, and the knowledge that he wore nothing under it was the most tantalizing thing Louisa had ever experienced. It was all she could do not to tug at the belt on his dressing gown, but she wasn’t sure if that would be the right thing to do. Instead, she wrapped her fingers around the lapels.
“The thing about nudity,” Fletcher said in a low, quiet tone, “is that it does help with excitement.”
“Oh. Is this a scientific observation on your part?”
“It is.”
“You of course having experience with women of a more…daring disposition.”
Fletcher paused, his hand raised as though he were about to touch her. “Are you jealous?”
“On the contrary, I’m glad one of us knows what to do.”
“I want to see your body in the good light,” he said, gesturing toward the lamp on the side table.
“All right,” she said, unable to breathe.
Fletcher started at her calf, where her shift ended. He slid his hand up her leg, her shift catching on his wrist as he moved. She’d opted not to wear drawers, either, and this whole situation felt rather scandalous, but her plan had been hasty and driven by instinct more than anything else.
She helped him peel off her shift, and she thought she’d be embarrassed to be so…nude…under his gaze, but instead, as his eyes darkened, and he seemed to like what he saw, and she suddenly felt beautiful and powerful.
Fletcher kissed her. He used one hand to prop himself up and the other to cup her breast. He tweaked her nipple, and it felt like rocky waves went through her body. She let out a gasp.
“Yes,” Fletcher murmured. “We’re alone. You can be as loud as you need to be. I want this to feel good for you and I want you toreact.”
“I want you to feel good, too.”
“I already do.”
She didn’t believe him. She pushed his dressing gown off his shoulders and looked down at where the tie at his waist came undone. “Let me see you,” she said.
He helped her take off his dressing gown and was completely naked underneath, which was a big of a shock. She only ever saw Fletcher with many layers of clothing on. She had no idea that his arms were muscled that way, that his chest was carved like the statues she’d seen except that it was dusted with dark hair. And unlike every nude statue she’d ever seen, the appendage between his legs was…quite large.
“Oh!” she said.
“I know you’ve seen art, but flesh-and-blood men are a bit different.”
“They look so small and manageable in art,” she said, gesturing at his member.
He laughed. “And often they are. But when men are aroused, they grow larger.”
