But then Kenneth surprised her by moving quickly down her body, past her ribs, past her belly, all the way to her left foot.
No—
Instinctively Barbara tried to pull back, tried to hide it from him, but Kenneth’s large hands cradled her foot gently, holding it steady. He looked up at her, his eyes gleaming gold in the candlelight, before he lowered his head and pressed a kiss to the twisted bones.
Barbara’s breath caught in her throat.
He kissed the ancient scars, the places where the bones had broken and healed incorrectly, the foot which had caused her pain and limited her freedom ever since. His lips were soft against the rough skin, reverent.
“So strong,” he murmured between kisses. “So beautiful. Every part of ye, Barbara. I want to kiss every part of ye.”
She was still aroused—her body throbbing with need—but now something else bloomed in her chest, something warm and overwhelming. Tears pricked at her eyes as she realized Kenneth saw all of her, accepted all of her, wanted all of her.
“Kenneth,” she whispered, her voice breaking slightly.
He looked up at her and smiled, then began to kiss his way up her leg.
Oh yes…
His lips traced her ankle, her calf, the sensitive skin behind her knee. Higher still, to her inner thigh, and Barbara sucked in a sharp breath as she suddenly realized what he intended to do.
Kenneth settled himself between her spread legs, his broad shoulders forcing them even wider. He looked up at her, eyes gleaming with wicked intent and something deeper, something that made her feel cherished.
“I cannae wait any longer to taste ye, Barbara,” he said, his voice a low growl.
She’d read about this act in some of the more scandalous books she’d managed to acquire, but had never truly imagined it could happen to her. The idea Kenneth wanted to put his mouthon her, that he found her desirable enough to?—
Her thoughts scrambled as Kenneth lowered his head, his hot breath fanning against her most intimate place. She felt his fingers gently part her folds as his tongue—wet and warm and wonderful—slid along her cleft.
Barbara’s hips jerked at the sensation, a gasp escaping her lips.
Oh dear God, this was—it was—more than she could?—
Kenneth’s hands moved to her hips, holding her steady as his tongue began to explore her in earnest. He licked and sucked, learning her with his mouth, tracing her folds, finding the spots that made her gasp and writhe.
When his tongue circled her clitoris, Barbara thought she might come undone right then. The sensation was intense, almost too much yet also not enough. She needed more, needed something to fill the aching emptiness inside her.
As if reading her mind, the experienced rake between her thighs slid one long finger inside her. She clenched around him, her hips lifting to meet his touch. He began to move his finger in and out, mimicking the act she so desperately wanted, while his tongue continued to work magic on the pearl hidden in her curls.
Barbara’s breath came in short gasps, her body coiling tighter and tighter with every lick, every suck, every thrust of his finger. When he added a second finger, twisting, stretching her, filling her more completely, she thought she might fly apart.
Then he did something with his tongue—a flick, a suck, perhaps both, she wasn’t sure—and the world exploded into white-hot pleasure. Barbara slapped a palm over her mouth, stifling her cries as her orgasm crashed over her. Her body clenched around Kenneth’s fingers, her hips bucking wildly as waves of ecstasy pulsed through her.
Through it all, her lover kept his mouth on her, his fingers inside her, drawing out her pleasure and keeping her flying until she was limp and gasping, her body slick with sweat.
Only then did he lift his head, a proud smirk on his face as he looked up at her from between her thighs. “Next time, I want to hear yer pleasure, love,” he said, his voice a low rumble against her hip. “I got to taste it already.”
Next time.
Barbara felt a blush heat her cheeks, and she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. She felt sated, boneless, utterly wrung out—yet at the same time, there was a warmth burning in her chest, a hunger for more.
More?
Kenneth seemed to sense this, his wicked grin softening into a tender smile as he moved up her body to settle on the pillows beside her. He gathered her into his arms, pulling her against his chest, and she went willingly, resting her head on his shoulder.
They lay like that for a moment, Barbara tracing idle patterns on Kenneth’s chest as she listened to his heartbeat slow. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, his fingers tangling lazily in the curls at the back of her neck, and Barbara realized with a start that she wanted all he could give her.
She wanted everything.
