Race shut his eyes and inhaled deeply, as if her touch were exquisite torture.
He exhaled a shaky breath. “You obviously don’t know my boundaries, Susannah. I am not that strong.”
He lifted the hem of her chemise and in one fluid motion had it off her body and tossed aside. When she stood before him naked in the dim candlelight, she suddenly felt shy and insecure. He could have any young lady in London; what had made her think he would want her? Her breasts weren’t as firm as they used to be. She was thin, her shoulders, ribs, and torso not as voluptuous as in her younger years. The changes in her body had never bothered her until now, when more than anything she wanted to please the man standing before her.
As if sensing her apprehension, he smiled sweetly and whispered, “You are beautiful.”
Susannah lowered her lashes. “I am old,” she refuted.
“Then I am, too, for we are the same age, are we not?” For a brief moment, Susannah felt tears well in her eyes. Even though her body was not as young as it once was, she saw desire for her in his eyes, and at that moment she knew that she had fallen deeply and madly in love with Race.
With tenderness, he reached up and covered her breasts with his hands, lifting their weight.
Susannah gasped with pleasure at his warm touch.
Race rubbed the nipple gently with his thumb and forefinger. Lowering his head, he kissed the rosy tip of first one breast and then the other.
He looked back into her eyes as he licked his lips and then said, “Hmm, you don’t taste old.” He gently kneaded her breasts as his twinkling gaze stayed on hers. “You don’t feel old.” He bent his head again and nuzzled the soft, warm spot behind her ear and breathed in deeply as he whispered, “You don’t smell old. You taste, feel, and smell heavenly to me, Susannah.”
Susannah’s spirits soared, and she laughed lightly. “You are much too charming, Race.”
“Good. You feel womanly to me, Susannah, very soft, very firmly womanly.”
His warm breath floated across her skin with each word he spoke. Filled with emotion, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, hoping he would know, that he would sense the love she was feeling for him at that moment.
“Get beneath the covers while I take off my shoes and trousers. I don’t want you to catch a chill.”
Susannah climbed onto the bed her maid had turned down and slipped under the cool, crisp sheet and watched as Race stepped out of his slippers, stockings, and trousers. He was a magnificent man, with wide shoulders, slim hips, and powerful-looking legs.
Without hesitating, Race crawled onto the bed and lay down beside her. He enveloped her in his arms, entwining her legs with his, pulling her smaller, slender body against his. He held her close while his lips roved over hers, his hands explored her breasts, her waist, and the smooth plane of her hip and inside her thigh. He touched her as if she were a fine piece of silk, too delicate to be treated harshly.
His warmth was comforting, and Susannah felt as if her body was unfurling and opening to him, to a man, for the first time. She overflowed with love for him and wished she could tell him, but knew it was best to remain silent and keep her feelings to herself.
Susannah feathered her hands over his shoulders, down his ribs to his flat stomach, and then lower to his manhood. Her hand closed around him. She smiled beneath his generous kiss as he gasped in pleasure.
Lowering his head, he found her nipple and gently sucked it into his mouth, letting his tongue stroke her over and over again. The muscles in her thighs clenched tightly, and she moaned softly as pleasure built inside her.
“I never knew I could feel so good,” she whispered.
“This is only the beginning, Susannah,” he murmured.
Race moved his lips back up to hers with a hungry kiss. His tongue filled her mouth, exploring its depths. His hand skipped down to the downy thatch between her legs, and he caressed her center, filling her deeply, forcing her to silently moan for more. As passion continued to build inside Susannah, her body moved with his fingers. She felt ready to fall off the edge of something but she didn’t know what.
As if sensing her demand for more of him, Race rolled on top of her, settling his weight on her. She felt his hardness between her legs, and she opened for him.
Race lifted himself on his arms and looked deeply into her eyes as he coupled himself fully to her. Susannah lifted her hips to meet him.
For a moment he remained motionless, as if savoring something so special that if he moved, he’d lose it. Susannah glanced down to where their bodies joined, and she was filled, overwhelmed with the luscious sensation of being part of Race. Warmth scattered through her. The words of love she wanted to say remained silent and throbbed in her throat.
Race softly placed his lips on hers as he sank deeper into her.
His body moved smoothly with each long thrust. She caught his rhythm and joined him without reserve.
“Susannah, oh, God, you feel so good,” he mumbled against her lips.
Gulping in her breath, she managed to say, “I—I’ve never felt this way. I think I might scream from the wonder of it.”
“Don’t do that,” he said and completely covered her lips with his as her hips arched to meet him in a final thrust that toppled her over the edge of desire and into that sweet heaven called ecstasy.
