On instinct, Arabella arched into him, chasing more of the pleasure that went through her body. His one hand went behind her back to pull her closer, as if he didn’t have enough.
She couldn’t sit idle. Her hands found his coat quickly and helped him to take it off. Such was his surprise at her daring gesture that he leaned back on his elbows and waited for her to make the next move.
A mixture of bashfulness, along with desire and need, came over her. She was half-naked, exposed in the open, and yet all she could think was that Gerald was overdressed. His hungry look made her cheeks blush, but she was too far gone to stop now.
With deft fingers, she undid his cravat and threw it on the blanket. His waistcoat was next. He didn’t move at all, just watched her with half-lidded eyes, his breath coming in low groans. She could tell that he was barely holding on to his restraint. It was in the way he fisted the blanket under him.
“You can do to me, Bella,” he purred seductively, “as you wish.”
If it were another peace offering, it was working splendidly. Arabella allowed coyness to advise against it only for a moment before she completely discarded the feeling.
“I think I just might, Your Grace,” she teased and moved closer.
With her own fingers, she undid his buttons and pulled the shirt out of his breeches. With both hands, she opened his shirt as if opening a much-desired gift. Gerald stood absolutely still as Arabella explored his body, and she felt powerful. In this moment, this man was completely given to her.
She moved her fingers like a possessed woman as she moved them over his well-built body. She revealed his shoulders as he pulled the shirt off his body. He quickly fell back onto the pillows, his eyes looking at her, and his hands remaining in fists by his side.
She had known that the Duke was the most impressive man she had ever seen, but this sight before her, his bare chest peppered with black hair down to his abdomen, to the half-open breeches, was nothing that she had ever seen before.
His muscles rippled as he was trying to control himself, illuminated golden by the candlelight. His neck moved as he swallowed, tempted under her hard look.
“You’re very certain of yourself tonight, Bella.”
“I am discovering new inclinations.”
“Dangerous ones, for sure.”
She didn’t break eye contact as she moved closer. With one finger, she traced the angles of his jaw, then touched his lips.
“Bella,” he moaned loudly.
She moved decisively. She would take what she truly wanted, her body was throbbing with need. She was ready for him. With one swift motion, she straddled his waist.
For the moment, both were stunned by her bold move. She didn’t know exactly what she was doing, but she was driven by instinct, and so was he. The moment she was over him, his hands flew to her waist.
Slowly, almost experimentally, she shifted where she sat over him, her hands bracing against his shoulders. The movement drew a deeper breath from him, his head tipping back against the cushions, eyes falling shut for a fraction of a second.
“Bella,” he growled, “I will not be able to stop.”
“You will not be able to stop me,” she said with the boldness that surprised both of them.
He sat up, his lips finding that spot behind her ear that made her thoughts shut down completely. He bit and licked, his hands shifted her closer, pulling up the skirt around her thighs.
“Oh, Gerald!”
She leaned in to claim a kiss, deep and wet and messy, and she couldn’t hold back anymore. She steadied herself on his shoulders, her eyes deep inside his, and she moved. She shifted up and felt him hard beneath her. His hands on her thighs punished her skin, yet he let her take control of this.
She felt him at her entrance, and her breath was caught, her whole body trembling. Then slowly, gently, she lowered herself around him.
The sensation was overwhelming, as she took one sharp inhale and then stilled as she adjusted, her hands tightening at his shoulders.
“Oh God!” he moaned when he felt her sheathed.
And then she moved like a wave over him. She listened to her body and followed that deep-seated need. She threw her head back, unable to control all of her body given to this sensation. His lips found the peaks of her breasts. He licked and sucked, making her almost lose her mind.
She was grinding over him, chasing that feeling that came over her every time they were near, that peak of pleasure. She had no restraint, no finesse, only hot desire.
“Oh, yes. Yes,” she murmured.
