He made a raspy sound, half cough, half laugh. “I’m making a muck of this,” he declared. He stooped topull off his boots and stockings, flinging them over his shoulder.
“I’m not a virgin, I assure you,” he went on. “I had every intention of seducing you properly but—”
“Oh, I’m seduced,” she told him. “Just by the sight of you.” She began a slow circle around him, looking her fill. “I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you in my alley. I wanted you when you appeared in the tearoom with your aunt. I wanted you when I was ill on the brig, and every night in between. Just look at you.”
Jason looked down at his body like a man searching for his lost spectacles, although... he knew. It was part of his charm. He knew he was tall and broad and handsome; he knew he was clever and in command.
And now all of that,she thought,is mine.
She walked to him, turning her back to offer him her corset strings. Jason, God love him, did not hesitate. The bindings flew, beginning at the top, and she felt immediate, tingling relief. The confining garment loosened, and Isobel tipped forward, pressing her bottom into his erection, allowing her breasts to spill free.
The position seemed innocent at first, accidental, like she was giving him more room, but the looser the ribbons became, the farther she tipped, eventually bent nearly in half, her bottom pressed against him.
Jason let out a wicked laugh and caught her around the waist, grinding into her. He flung the corset and leaned over her back, burying his face against her neck.
“There is so much I would do to you,” he said, spanning his hands up her rib cage and cupping her breasts.
“We have all night,” she whispered, breathing hard. “We have a lifetime. Thank God, we have a lifetime.”
“Now,” he countered, his voice a growl. He made athrusting motion, kissed her ear, and then fleeced her from her shift in one, swift movement.
Isobel closed her eyes and let out a little gasp. When she opened her eyes, he stood before her, his trousers and drawers gone.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, kissing her. “You seemed too bright and beautiful ever to be contained by me or any man. But I wanted you; I wanted you any way that you would have me.”
“Take me,” she whispered, looking up at him. “Please.”
He swept a hand beneath her knees and lifted her, carrying her in a naked bundle in his arms. He strode to the cot and she thought,Alright, this really will happen on a—
But he lingered only long enough to swipe a silky coverlet and then carried her to a deep window seat. The seat was cushioned with purple velvet, and he settled her in the center, tucking the coverlet between her and the cold glass of the window.
He fussed over her comfort, his face serious in the moonlight, while his magnificent body, hard and ready, strained against her.
She reached for him, stopping his ministrations, reclining on the cushions, and pulling him down. They fell into a kiss; her legs rose on either side of him, her hands roved his back. All the parts she touched melded into a long, glorious, muscled exploration—hot and him.Hers.
His own hands found her center, felt her readiness, and he moaned.
“I cannot wait,” he whispered, panting into her ear. “I’m sorry.”
“Do it,” she whispered back. “You promised.”
He growled, rose up, and grabbed her by the ankles,scooting her to the edge of the window seat. Isobel thrust up, raising her hips, seeking him.
His eyes flared when he saw her eagerness; he swore, and then he sank into her in a long, slow, deep thrust.
They both gave a shout, an exhalation of the long-awaited sensation of joining. They relieved sensual pressure at the same time they pitched it ever higher; it was everything at once, everything, everything...
Isobel almost forgot what came next, but Jason was seized by instinct. He began to move, driving into her with a force she should have expected but she did not, a force that thrilled her, that caused her to cry out in ever-escalating sounds of delight.
He kissed her, but it was too much; she needed to suck in breath, to shout. She turned her head to the side, and he dropped his mouth on her exposed ear and whispered, “Yes, yes, yes, S’bell, yes...”
She heard his words; she wanted to answer, but she was rising, rising, rising—
And then they launched.
His wrist was beside her lips and she whispered, “I love you,” into his pulse point. Consciousness left her, flying out the window into the sky.
Above her, Jason thrust twice more and then spilled inside her with a guttural cry. She held to his shoulders, fingers digging into muscle, clinging for dear life.
