As if her words had unleashed something visceral in him, primal, Valentin drew her into his arms to kiss her passionately, and then began to divest her of her borrowed clothing.
If she had thought she had dressed quickly back in her room, now he accomplishedthe task of undressing her so swiftly that he left her breathless, his hands caressing her all the while. Shivering at the sensations he evoked in her, she gasped when he swept her up once again and laid her naked upon the bed.
He took only a moment to kick off his boots and then he joined her, his fervent murmurings of love like heated whispers against her skin as he knelt beside her and beganto kiss her everywhere.
The hollow of her neck, where Valentin pressed his lips to the nick that was nearly healed.
The curves of her breasts, his mouth moving to her nipples to tease them into aching nubs.
The sensitive inside of her thighs, the stirring warmth of his breath leaving her flushed and trembling.
Only then did he leave the bed to strip out of his own clothing…first his shirt,his upper chest covered with fine blond hair. Then his trousers, Estelle drawing in her breath as her eyes followed a trail of hair down his muscled abdomen to the darker blond curls where already, he stood hard and erect for her.
She’d never seen such a sensual sight and she could but stare in awe at his lean, masculine beauty limned in firelight.
She hadn’t even noticed the fireplace and theflickering flames when he’d carried her into the room, or the luxurious softness of the bedding until he lay down next to her and pulled her into his arms.
Skin against skin, his rougher than hers and so warm, Valentin capturing her mouth in a kiss unlike anything she’d known.
Her quickening breath melded with his, her arms flying around his neck as his tongue delved deeply to taste her, toclaim her as a desperate urgency suddenly seized them both.
Did they really have tonight? Maybe it was only a few hours or even minutes before they were torn from each other’s arms forever—oh, God!
Crying out in wordless agony at the thought, Estelle heard Valentin’s answering moan as he shifted to blanket her with his body and pressed her deeper into the bed.
Instinctively she spread her legsbeneath him, his knee driving her thighs even wider, his kiss so impassioned now it seemed their breathing had become one. She felt his weight pressing at the very heart of her, Estelle gasping against his mouth when he thrust inside her, a burst of pain almost instantly subsiding.
“Forgive me, my love…forgive me,” came his ragged plea, but Estelle only tightened her arms around him to draw himcloser, deeper, arching her hips to meet his quickening thrusts.
As his whole body began to shake, she knew intuitively to wrap her legs around his hips, pressing her calves into his muscled buttocks when exultation overcame her.
For a sweet, blinding moment as Valentin stiffened against her, Estelle crying out in ecstasy, all sorrow fled from her mind and there was only love.
Spilling intoher body in a gush of warmth that she prayed would bring them a child.
A breathless moment more and he collapsed against her, pulling her with him as he rolled onto his side.
Valentin enfolding her in his arms to hold her so tightly that she could but bury her face against his chest, slick with sweat, the racing of his heart beneath her splayed fingers gradually slowing…slowing.
She could notsay when he loosened his hold to kiss the top of her head and tenderly stroke the curve of her shoulder, such exhaustion overwhelming her that she could not have fended off sleep if she tried.
Distantly she heard him murmuring her name, his lips grazing her brow as he pulled the covers over them…and then nothing as she surrendered to the sweetest sensation of peace that she’d ever known.
***
“My lord, you must wake her. It’s nearing dawn.”
Valentin opened his eyes with a start to find Robert, his face grave with concern, standing at the far corner of the bed.
“Oh, God.” Immediately Valentin glanced down at Estelle, still snuggled against him and sleeping peacefully, her curled hand tucked beneath her chin. Such fierce emotion gripped him, though he nodded at Robert.
“Ifyou wish, I’ll escort her back to her room. It wouldn’t be wise if you—”
“Understood. Wait by the front doors, will you?”
Robert murmured his assent and left the room while Valentin sighed heavily, gazing down at the woman he loved more than life.
The woman who would leave him that morning…perhaps carrying his child.
