“Sophia.” Her name was a prayer on his lips. He kissed her jaw, her throat, the sensitive spot behind her ear that made her gasp. “Tell me to stop. Tell me, and I will. I swear it.”
“Do not stop.” She pulled his mouth back to hers. “Do not ever stop.”
His fingers found the tie of her dressing gown. He paused, his eyes searching hers for permission. She answered by reaching up and pushing the garment from her own shoulders, letting it pool at her feet.
She stood before him in her thin nightgown, the fabric doing little to hide the shape of her body. Edward’s gaze traveled over her, hungry and reverent, and she felt beautiful in a way she never had before.
“You are…” He swallowed. “You are everything.”
He kissed her again, walking her backward toward the bed. The backs of her knees hit the mattress, and she sank down, pulling him with her. The weight of him settled over her, solid and warm, his mouth never leaving hers.
His hands explored her body through the thin fabric, tracing the curve of her waist, the swell of her hip. He moved slowly, as if memorizing her, as if he had all the time in the world and meant to spend it learning every inch. She arched into his touch, breath catching when his fingers brushed the sensitive skin of her inner thigh.
A tremor ran through her. Not fear. Anticipation.
“Let me.” His voice was rough with need, but there was restraint there too. A question beneath the command. “Let me show you.”
She nodded, beyond words, beyond thought. There was only Edward. Only the heat of him pressed close, the steady rise and fall of his chest against hers. Only his hands, his mouth, his whispered promises against her skin.
He kissed her again, slower this time. Not urgent, but deliberate. His lips moved from her mouth to her jaw, to the hollow just below her ear. She felt each touch as if her body had been waiting for this—aching, almost—for the simple rightness of his hands on her.
His fingers slid along her back, splaying wide as he pulled her closer. She felt the strength in him, the restraint, the way he paused just long enough for her to draw breath before continuing. When he lowered his mouth to her collarbone, she gasped, fingers tangling in his hair to steady herself.
“You’re trembling,” he murmured against her skin.
“So are you.”
He huffed a soft laugh. His hands drifted higher, then lower, exploring with reverence rather than haste. Each brush of his fingertips sent sparks racing along her nerves. When he tracedthe line of her thigh again, slower this time, she instinctively shifted toward him, inviting him closer.
His forehead rested briefly against hers, their breaths mingling. “You undo me.” The confession emerged raw, unguarded. “Every part of me wants every part of you.”
She answered by pulling him back to her mouth.
The world beyond the room seemed to disappear. There was only the heat of his body, the soft rasp of fabric shifting, the way her pulse thundered in her ears. His hands grew bolder, mapping her curves through silk and linen, learning the places that made her shiver, the places that drew those breathless sounds from her throat.
When he finally drew back just enough to look at her, his eyes were dark, intent. “Beautiful,” he said, as if the word had been waiting on his tongue for years.
She felt it then. Not just desire, but something deeper. Surrender not from weakness, but from trust.
“Edward,” she whispered, and reached for him again.
As his lips captured hers, his hands slipped between her thighs. No hesitation. Just desire. Desire to know every inch of her. Sophia opened her thighs, allowing him entry into her world.
When his fingers found her pearl, a tiny, smooth bead nestled in its warm, slick folds, a sudden, sharp jolt of pure pleasure, like a lightning strike, coursed through her. She arched against his firm touch, a silent gasp escaping her lips as the wave of exquisite sensation washed over her, leaving her breathless.
He slowly kissed his way down between her breasts, still slowly circling her pearl with his thumb. When his lips reached her nest of curls, she reached down to stop him.
He raised his head. “Open yourself to me, Sophia.”
Sophia relaxed, and his tongue took the place of his fingers on her pear. As he licked her, Sophia trembled. When his tongue flicked against her slick nub, it was too much. Her body filled with an exquisite sensation that started with a tingle and erupted into pure bliss that raced through her veins like fire. When her throes of ecstasy subsided, she gave one last small whimper. Edward lifted his head, then gathered her close as the last shudder rippled through her, holding her against his chest until the tremor eased.
Sophia lay trembling in the aftermath, her body still humming with sensation. Edward stretched out beside her, propped on one elbow, watching her with eyes dark with satisfaction and something deeper.
She reached for him, pulling his mouth down to hers. The kiss was languid now, unhurried, the desperate urgency replaced by something softer. He gathered her against his chest, his hand stroking down her spine in long, soothing motions.
“Are you all right?” His voice was a low rumble against her hair.
“More than all right.” She pressed a kiss to his collarbone. “I did not know it could be like that.”
