Then she prayed he wouldn’t turn and walk out.
But he moved closer, the blatant desire in his eyes frightening and arousing her all at the same time. He stopped directly in front of her, mere inches separating them.
She was a fool to throw herself so shamelessly at this man, but her body ached for him, her soul ached for him. And in her heart, she knew she would never feel this way about another man. Even the man she would eventually marry and produce heirs with.
There was no guarantee of what tomorrow would bring, and she wanted to experience the closeness, cement the bond between them. Wanted to pretend for one night that nothing else mattered. Not their duties. Not the uncertainty that awaited her in Leaudor.
Slowly his head lowered, and he captured her lips in a hot, breathless kiss. She melted against him, molding the curves of her body to his hard frame.
He drew away the merest fraction of a distance, his breath still blowing hot on her face. “Isabella…are you sure?”
In response, she curled her arms around his neck and pulled him back to her. His touch elicited the most delicious sensations all over her body. He ran his hands down the curve of her back and over her buttocks then up her sides and to her breasts.
Cupping them in his hands, he rolled the tips between his thumb and forefinger. A moan tore from her lips, swallowed up just as quickly by his mouth.
He raised his hands to frame her cheeks as he rained tiny kisses over her face. Then he delved his fingers into her hair, smoothing back the tendrils behind her ears. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered.
She smiled, warmed by his words. Pulling away, she began removing his shirt from his breeches, but paused as it came free. “I have heard that there are ways to prevent pregnancy… Are you well-versed in those ways?”
Mortification tightened her face as she waited his reaction. She knew she was being unforgivably forward, but in her position, she could not afford to be naïve, nor could she afford to ascend the throne with an illegitimate child.
A chuckle sounded deep in his chest. “Indeed. It’s been a while, I’m afraid, but it’s not something a man forgets.”
A ridiculous smile lessened the tension in her cheeks. The idea that it had been so long since he’d been with another woman gave her immense satisfaction.
Tentatively her fingers worked at the laces to his breeches then she hooked her thumbs in the waist and slid them around to either side. She stared into his eyes as she began working his breeches down his legs.
Unable to contain her curiosity, her gaze dropped as his manhood sprang free from his pants. It was hardly similar to all the nude statues that adorned the palace.Itwas a lot larger.
Her breath caught in her chest, and she struggled to take in air. Imagining the mechanics of taking it into her body had her face scorching.
He stepped back to kick his legs free from his pants then returned to stand close to her. He gathered the material of his shirt in his hands and quickly pulled it over his head, tossing it aside.
Never before had she seen anything as glorious as Merrick’s nude form. This was a man artists would fight over to sculpt, paint, view.
His long legs stood slightly apart, his hands at his sides as she drank him in. Her gaze darted over his hips and tightly drawn abdomen. Not an ounce of spare flesh gathered around the midsection that led to a muscular, broad chest.
A fine smattering of hair curled in the hollow of his chest and tapered to a fine line leading down to his groin. Unable to resist, she ran her hands over the dips and ridges of his chest and abdomen, loving the feel of his skin beneath her fingertips. It felt smooth, only slightly rough under her palms, rugged and completely male.
And finally as her courage mounted, she dipped her hand to curl around his rigid shaft.
His quick intake of breath as she began a slow up and down motion told her she wasn’t making a complete muck of things and gave her courage to continue on.
He placed his hands on her shoulders and walked her back toward the bed. “You’re a minx,” he growled in a voice that sent chill bumps over every inch of body.
Placing one hand behind her neck and the other on her hip, he lowered her to the bed and followed her down. His hand left her hip and ran over the smooth skin of her belly then up to her breasts.
As he kissed her, his tongue teased the corners of her mouth until she retaliated with her own tongue, meeting his and dueling in sensuous harmony.
She gasped against his mouth when his hand dipped between her legs and lightly brushed over her curls. Her legs parted in unconscious invitation. Taking advantage, he pressed a thumb between the folds of her skin and found her sensitive nub.
She nearly shot off the bed, gripping his shoulders as sensations resembling lightning bolts shot up her body. Squeezing her legs tightly against his seeking fingers, she moaned and twisted in agony.
“Relax,” he murmured, removing his hand from behind her head.
He placed his knees on either side of her legs, trapping her underneath him. He sat up and stared down at her, his eyes smoldering with desire.
Both his hands came out to cover her breasts, molding them to the contours of his palms. He rolled the tips between his fingers, and she closed her eyes, arching into his caress.
