She stood in front of the mirror and methodically removed all of her hair pins, laying them in a neat row on the dressing table. Next, she pushed down her stockings. She unhooked her dress and slid out of it, then removed her undergarments until she stood in the middle of the small bedchamber completely nude. The chill in the air scattered gooseflesh over her unprotected skin. She hoped that didn’t make her look unappealing.
What would she do if he sent her away? Refused to touch her and walked her back to her room?
No, she wouldn’t think like that. She could do this. She was an intelligent woman, and according to her mother, men were simple creatures who paid attention to their own pleasures in life.
Without another thought, she pulled on her night rail, tugged it tight against her, and then went in search of her husband. She knocked on his bedchamber door, and he grunted what sounded somewhat like “enter,” so she pushed the door open, then closed it behind her.
He sat in the corner of the room in a wingback chair, poring over a small leatherbound book. He looked up and his eyebrows rose with surprise. His eyes roamed the length of her, obviously noticing she wore only a night rail. “Vanessa, what’s the matter?”
She cleared her throat. “Nothing. I merely wanted to discuss something with you.”
He set the notes aside and rose to his feet. He’d changed into trousers, and his white linen shirt was open at the neck, revealing a swath of dark chest hair. His long hair was pulled back and tied at the nape of his neck, and his shirtsleeves were rolled up to reveal well-muscled forearms.
He was muscular and strong, a fine male specimen. He had lovely eyes; she’d noticed that about him from the first, and so she deduced that the rest of him would be equally attractive. She might not be interested in matters of the heart or loin, but she knew a handsome man when she saw one.
If she stood here much longer, she’d start talking, and then she might just ruin her plan. So she took a deep breath, and in one swift movement, she untied the night rail and let it fall to her feet.
His eyes widened, then he swallowed visibly.
“What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?” he asked. A frown settled on his forehead, suggesting that he was displeased with her seduction efforts. But then his gaze took in her body, his eyes moving over her as intense as a touch.
She tried to think of the appropriate response, but remembered that Violet and Jeremy had not been talking. They’d only been touching and kissing and moaning. And she tended to get into trouble, especially when she spoke to men. She closed the distance between them and pressed her body to his.
“Vanessa,” he told her, “You are dancing too close to the devil.”
Again she said nothing. She continued to stay precisely where she was, her breasts pressed against his chest, her legs against his. He sucked in a breath as she rubbed her nipples against his chest. Nothing about this was as she’d imagined. She knew that he’d be firm, but she’d never thought he’d be this warm. She took one hand and ran it up his arm. He was strong, stronger than she’d realized, and his arm was as hard as the marble statue in her mother’s garden. Her heart beat wildly, her nerves prickling her skin. If this seduction didn’t work, she was in trouble. She remembered what she’d seen her sister do, and so she closed her eyes and tossed her head back, releasing a low moan.
“God’s teeth, woman,” Graeme said. He grabbed both of her arms and held her to him, then he slammed his mouth down on hers. The sudden kiss alarmed her. This was not the kind of kiss that she’d shared with Jeremy. He had simply put his lips to hers; Graeme devoured her. His lips were hot and hard against her own, and when his tongue invaded her mouth, she gasped. It wasn’t unpleasant, quite the contrary.
He took with this kiss, demanded, and her body seemed to react by itself. Something was definitely happening inside of her, as if her skin had taken breath.
Perhaps she was capable of lust.
And that was the last coherent thought Vanessa had as Graeme took over the seduction. She vaguely noticed when he removed her spectacles and placed them on a side table. But then he continued to kiss her, his hard body melding against hers, and she forgot everything else. She was no longer cold; the gooseflesh had long since disappeared and, in its place, heat and fire skimmed across her skin.
When Graeme’s hands left her arms to stroke down her back and across her abdomen, flames followed in the wake of his touch. And when one hand moved up to cup her breast, she involuntarily cried out.
Lust. She was experiencing lust. Her whole body felt alive and full of energy and sensations. She wished she could simultaneously experience this and watch it so she could examine her own facial expressions, record her every sensation. This was science in the making.
Graeme pulled her to him and kissed her again, this time more slowly and with more tenderness. He picked her up, cradling her to him as he carried her to the bed and gently laid her down. In no more than a minute, he’d removed his clothes and climbed atop her, the weight of his heavy frame unfamiliar, but not altogether unpleasant. The hairs along his legs and torso tickled her own flesh every time he moved over her.
His kisses continued. And desire continued to soar through her body. So new were the experiences, that Vanessa reveled in each one, every touch, every breath, every kiss.
He moved his hand between them, ran his fingers up her thigh and then into the curls nestled between her legs. As if he’d shot electricity through her body, jolts of pleasure tingled over her. She jerked beneath this touch, but he continued his exploration until he’d plunged a finger inside her. She cried out again. Her body was ready for him, she knew that. Knew what would happen next. Her mother had explained coupling to her, had said it could be uncomfortable, perhaps even painful if the man did not properly prepare the woman. But Graeme had done everything right, had known precisely where to touch her and how.
She opened her legs knowing that he would want to enter her, and she relaxed, closed her eyes, and waited for the next sensation. Thrills shimmied through her stomach when she felt him, hard and warm, settle between her thighs. Instinctively she moved her legs, pulling them up and then wrapping them around his body.
He groaned, then thrust into her body. There was a pinch of pain as her body took him in, but as he began to move, the delicious sensations started to build. He nibbled at her neck and her collarbone as he moved within her, and she kept her legs where they were, tightened around his waist. Over and over, he pushed in and out, and the pleasure crescendoed until she thought she would go mad from it. Again he slipped his finger in between them, but this time he found the nub hidden between her folds.
She sucked in a breath as he ran his finger against her, all the while thrusting. Oh. Oh. Yes. Her breathing was labored, and perspiration slid down her neck and between her breasts.
This was it, something was happening—and then it did. His finger flicked one more time, and pleasure exploded within her, creating wave after wave of sensations she’d never felt before.
Oh yes!
Then she felt Graeme’s release as he fell onto her. Their labored breathing was the only sound.
She smiled. There would be no annulment now.
