Aboring little spinster schoolteacher, my foot.
Will knew he should stop, or at the very least, slow down, but every time he tried, Phoebe merely urged him onward with an inviting tilt of her hips or the urgent press of her fingers.
I know you’ll make it good.
Good lord, how on earth was he supposed to resist that? He should have insisted she put her chemise back on. Perhaps then he would have been able to muster a shred of self-control. But now it was far too late. Phoebe slid his braces down one at a time and together they relieved him of his shirt. Will then stood up.
His hands stilled at the front of his trousers and he waited until Phoebe met his eyes. “You’re sure?”
She gave an enthusiastic nod. “Completely.”
Well, then.
Will let out a puff of breath and began to release the buttons. He felt Phoebe’s heavy gaze tracking every movement and he fumbled more than once, as if he was the virgin here. His trousers puddled around his ankles and he stepped out of them, then returned to the bed in only his smallclothes. He took her in his arms and brushed a strand of hair back from her face, letting his fingers linger at her temple. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks flushed anddewy. She was the very picture of an eager bride on her wedding night. A sharp, sudden desire tore through him so hard his mouth went dry.
He cleared his throat and pushed aside those inconvenient feelings to ponder later. “We’ll go slow.” She began to protest but he held a finger to her lips. “It will be better for you this way.”
She gave him a playful frown. “Your thoughtfulness is most irritating.”
Will laughed and kissed her mouth, savoring her full bottom lip between his teeth. She arched into him as her curious fingers trailed down his back. Will moved to cup one of her breasts in his hand. She fit his palm perfectly, so soft and full. He gently squeezed and circled her nipple with his thumb, having already learned what she liked. She let out a gasping sigh and her fingers dug into his hip. God what he wouldn’t give to explore every inch of her. To show her all the ways he could bring her pleasure. It would take years.
A lifetime.
But even if Will was tempted to do the impossible and throw his future over for her, Phoebe had made it perfectly clear she had no interest in being his duchess. He could understand that. It was a life of demands and duty, with limitations so very different from the one she had crafted for herself—and clearly loved. He didn’t want to take that from her. So if this was all he could have, Will planned to make the most of it.
He moved away from her enticing mouth and kissed down the column of her neck, stopping to worry that sensitive spot at her collarbone he had discovered back at Fleur with his tongue. She let out a rewarding moan and he continued southward, taking the time to lavish each nipple with deep pulling kisses. Phoebe hadbegun writhing beneath him once again and her mewling cries grew more urgent under his touch. He pulled her drawers off in one smooth motion and then moved on to her stockings. A smile played on his lips as he rolled the economical material down one leg.
“What is it?” she demanded as she pulled the rest of the stocking off and Will set to work on the other.
“Nothing,” Will said with an amused smile. He wasn’t quite sure how to explain that he found her plain drawers and cotton stockings far more alluring than anything made of silk or lace, so he kissed her instead. Then he dragged a hand to her bare hip and was about to push her thighs apart when she skirted past him and caressed his erection. Will came to a shuddering stop as she continued to rub his aroused flesh.
“Phoebe,” he gasped as she reached through the opening of his smallclothes and took him in hand. Her eyes had gone wide with wonder and her lips grew pinker.
“Stop stalling,” she said in a breathy voice that made his balls tighten.
He pulled off his smallclothes and fit the head of his cock against her entrance. But the feel of her wet heat nearly overwhelmed him and he had to shut his eyes.
After a moment her hands flexed against his back.
“What are you doing?”
“Thinking about cricket,” he mumbled by her ear.
She let out a startled laugh. “Now?”
“Yes,” he said tightly. “Unless you want this to be over in less than a minute.”
He felt her kiss his neck and smile against his skin. “I don’t mind.”
The tenderness in her words wrapped around his heart with such dangerous ease that Will gave up on recalling cricket statistics. No, better to get this over with. And safer.
He resumed his movements, making slow but steady strokes into her. At one point he felt Phoebe’s entire body tighten and he cast her a wary look.
“Are you all right?”
Her eyes were squeezed shut but she nodded. “Yes. Don’t stop now.”
He began kissing her neck as he rubbed her nipple with his fingertips and felt her slowly melt. Only when her body began to loosen beneath him did he continue. Then he thrust fully into her and lost his breath. She instinctively raised her hips, angling him even deeper inside her and Will moaned her name, clenching the bedsheets so tightly he worried they would rip.
