She relinquished control to him. Control of the kisses, of the passion, of herself. She had no real choice. His caresses demanded it. He pulled her into escalating pleasure, a place of savage fever. She followed him there, obeying his quiet commands that she release herself fully.
Such pleasure. Delicious, then needful and frantic, then excruciating and torturous. He used his hands and mouth to make it worse. Better. Wonderful. She soared to her heights so soon that she thought it would end quickly. It didn’t. He brought her higher yet, to madness that blotted out all her senses except the physical ones that screamed for relief even as she prayed it would never end.
More?The question floated in her head again and again. His voice or her thought, she knew not which it was.Yes, oh yes. More. And there would be more, as if their minds spoke, more tantalizing teases to her breast, more firm caresses of her body, more devastating touches that left her close to weeping.
He showed her how to do it properly too. Into the fog of her insanity the lessons came.Touch me. Yes, like that. Restraint long gone, she watched what she did to him, and what he did to her. She gazed down her body when his hand went between her thighs and caressed her in ways that made her scream.More?
Oh, yes.Like the last time, please. I will die if you do not.
Not now. Not yet. Trust me.
She clawed at his shoulders because she really thought she would die. Her body could not contain what was happening and wanted to end the torture now. She needed a different kind of more.
He knew. He filled her arms and covered her body. He bent her legs and rose up on tense, stretched arms so he hovered over her. She looked down the gap their bodies made and watched as he began to enter her.
Her breath caught at the sensation. Yes, this. This now. Yes. Her consciousness centered on the new pleasure, so perfect and necessary. The fullness relieved her as nothing else could. He went slowly, and she savored every moment.
Madness beckoned again, but she resisted it. She wanted to remember this, not lose it in a blur of passion. She clung to what reality she could hold, which meant she mostly clung to him. She looked up at him and, even in the dark, could see his tense expression and hard mouth and jaw. She thought she saw the same awe in his eyes that she felt herself.
Perfect. Beautiful. He moved, astonishing her further. First slowly, creating delicious shivers and sensations. Then harder, just when she wanted more, as if he could tell. Then harder yet, so that she once more lost herself and he commanded her body’s response even as he answered her need. The desperate climb began again, into a sensual fog of biting kisses and building demand until, true to his word, he brought her to the bliss he had promised.
* * *
“I am very glad one of us knew how to do it properly.”
Her voice called him back to the world. He pieced together its parts, resenting a little that it meant losing the utter contentment of being isolated from reality, alone with her in his arms.
Properly hardly fit what had happened. He could not decide if he was glad she lacked the experience to know that, or wished her more worldly so she would comprehend the power of this extreme type ofproperly. The former, he concluded. He did not like to think of her accumulating the experience to know the difference.
He had never cared about that before. Ever. He rarely knew jealousy, let alone about a woman’s history.
He rolled off her and pulled her into an embrace. “Did the lying scoundrel not take his time with you?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think he had much practice, though. Except with his wife.”
“He was married?”
“As it turned out, he was.”
“You have to watch out for the charming ones.”
“He was not what you are picturing. He was a mason. Charming, yes, but also hardworking and sensible Not some dashing seducer.”
Not like you.
“He just neglected to tell me he had a family. I pinned more hopes on him than I should have. He never outright promised me marriage. He just implied it.”
“I hope you are not blaming yourself for his deception. Trust me, he knew exactly what he was doing.”
“I only blame myself for being stupid. I do not excuse him.” Her head rested on his chest. She turned and draped herself so she faced him. “I like that you have been honest with me.” She stretched to kiss him. “And fair. I am glad I decided to come here tonight.”
He did not care for what she said. It sounded as if she assumed they had both wanted nothing more than a mutually satisfying, properly executed fuck.
Truth be told, he felt a little used.
He almost laughed at his reaction.Hell, but you really are an ass sometimes, Langford.
He sought a change in topic. “Tell me how you found yourself in service to Lady Farnsworth.”
