Kissing Elise was far more pleasurable. It was also a way to show her how valued she was. He’d let harm come to her, but he would never let it happen again—because she meant that much to him. She knew him in a way no one else did. She’d accepted the wanderer Kit for exactly who he was. How could any man resist such a woman?
He understood her. He could empathize with her feelings and follow her emotions. Her disappointment was his; her pain hit him sharper than his own.
And now he felt more alive than he could ever have imagined—because she was in his arms.
Whether he wished to or not, whether it was even wise, his fingers caught the laces at the back of her dress and pulled. Elise didn’t protest because her hands clasped the material of his shirt. The hem escaped his breeches, giving her access to his abdomen and chest.
Kit adored her boldness. He would have expected nothing less of her, and he wasn’t about to hold back.
He carefully rolled so that she was on her back in the dry, sweet green grass, and he kissed her neck and that place right below her ear that had pleased her so much. A sharp inhale of breath and a soft sigh told him she liked it, and that was all the permission Kit needed.
Her father was of no importance. He didn’t matter.Thismattered—what was happening between them: the spark, the flame, the trust.
Running his lips up and down her neck, he drank her scent. She was fresh air, clear skies, and sun. She was the wildflowers she admired so much. She was potent, heady, and when their lips met again, it was Elise who rolled him onto his back.
She followed him, her breasts on his chest, her hips against his. Did she notice how hard he was? He was raging with need.
If she wished to stop, if she told him no?
Hewouldhalt. He would bring his careeninglust in line because he wouldn’t doanythingthat could cause her harm. This woman meant more to him than his own life.
She’d braced herself on her hands. Her glorious hair had come loose from its braid and created a curtain around them.
She smiled down at him.
He smiled up, wanting to capture this moment to treasure in his mind.
Elise bent down. Her kiss held no reservations.
And when her tongue tentatively experimented the way it had the other day, Kit didn’t hesitate to answer in kind, breathing her in, celebrating her with his desire.
He pulled her legs to straddle him. Her skirts were up to her thighs. Her heat was right over his. The only thing separating the two of them was the material of his breeches.
She placed her hands on his chest.
He placedhishands on herthighs. Herbarethighs. Kit wanted to kiss the insides of them. His hands moved up her legs. She didn’t stop them.
Kit reached to fling an arm around her to bring her closer, the thumb of his other hand tracing small circles on her tender skin. His kisses were becoming greedier. She met him, her hunger seeming to match his own. His hands slid behind her and he cupped her buttocks. He wanted to wrap his body around her.
She shifted. “Kit, I don’t know what to do next. How does this go?”
He thought she was doing everything exactly right. However, the question in her voice caught him. He sat up, bending his knees to hold her because he liked her heat.
Their faces were on the same plane. “We need to stop, Elise.”
Those words were hard to say.
Her hands cupped his face. “I don’t want to stop, Kit.” She eased her dress down over her breasts—
Rose-hued, that was the color of her nipples. They were rosy and hard and boldly begging for his attention.
Almost reverently, he placed his palm over one. It tightened against him. Her hips shifted to sit on the length of him.
He took one nipple in his mouth and gently sucked. She whispered his name, bucking slightly and wrapping her arms around him as if to hold him there. He lifted her off of him, his mouth never leaving her breast.
Reverently, he laid her on the ground beside him. He sought out her other breast. She arched, offering herself to him. Her knees bent and her legs parted and Kit had to touch her. He needed it.
He stroked the length of her thigh to that very sweet place. She startled at the contact. He whispered, “It will be fine. I promise.” He cupped his hand over her.
