She didn’t hesitate. Her warm mouth opened over his taut flesh, her lips and tongue kissing and teasing and nipping until Ciaran was writhing with mindless pleasure. He caught her hips in his hands, grasping handfuls of her shift, desperate for the feel of her bare curves against his palms. “Want to feel you.”
She let out a low laugh. “Then take it off me.”
God, where to begin? He was dying to touch her. He wanted all of her at once, yet there was one thing he’d thought about over and over again—one thing he had to have before they went any further.
“Keep still,” he whispered as he raised his hands to her hair. His fingers found the first pin and he slid it loose. One by one he pulled the rest of the pins out, his breath catching as her wild red curls began to tumble free. Her hair was longer than he’d thought, nearly to her waist, a waterfall of burnished copper in the firelight. His breath came quicker as the thick tendrils fell like heavy silk into his hands. Once the pins were scattered across the floor and her hair lay loose over her shoulders he gathered handfuls of it and, groaning, brought it to his lips.
“Beautiful,” he choked, burying his face in the fragrant waves. “Nothing could be more beautiful, Lucy.”
“Nothing?” She gazed up at him shyly, her dark eyes shining.
He leaned down to drop a kiss onto the corner of her mouth. “Well, one thing, maybe.”
“What?” She dragged her nails lightly down his chest, making him shiver.
Ciaran’s heated gaze lingered on the smooth, creamy expanse of her neck, the curves of her breasts, the hint of the dark shadows of her nipples under the thin, white muslin shift. “Your hair against your bare skin.”
A faint flush rose in her cheeks. Ciaran followed it with his fingers, laughing softly. “Is that a blush, Lucy?”
He reached down, his fingers curling into the hem of her shift. Lucy trembled as he dragged it up the long line of her body, inch by torturous inch. He sucked in a harsh breath when at last she stood bare before him.
“Lucy.” He went still, staring down at her, all tormenting curves and flushed, creamy skin. “Look at you, sweetheart. So perfect.”
Her breasts were full and lush, her hard nipples a tempting, rosy red. His gaze roamed over her, lingering on every curve, swell, and hollow. Her waist was slender, her hips rounded, her legs long, her skin like ivory silk.
Lucy’s own gaze wandered over his bare chest and lower, taking in the flat plane of his stomach. “I’ve seen you bare once before, you know. Or nearly so.”
A sly little smile crossed her lips, and Ciaran couldn’t resist tilting her head back to take her mouth again, his tongue tracing the plump curves. “I don’t recall ever stripping for you before,” he teased, dragging his thumb over her lower lip.
“You didn’t have to. The first day we met, on the beach in Brighton, you dove into the water in just a shirt and breeches, and…” Her cheeks went even pinker. “Well, white shirts are transparent when they’re wet, you know.”
“I do know. Did you look at me that day, Lucy?” Heat flared low in his belly at the thought of that dark gaze moving over him, secretly taking in the sight of his bare skin.
“Yes.” It was a husky whisper, barely audible. “I’d never seen a man’s body in such detail before. I remember thinking…”
“What did you think, sweetheart?”
“That I’d never known a man who looked like you. I never even realized a mancouldlook like you. Your shoulders and chest, the ridges in your stomach.” She reached for him, trailing her fingers over his lower belly. “I didn’t see this, though.” She was staring at his breeches, seemingly fascinated.
Ciaran bit back a groan. “See what, lass?”
“This.” She traced a finger over the faint line of hair just visible at the top edge of his waistband.
Ciaran’s lips parted, a small, hungry sound escaping.
Lucy raised her gaze to his face, and then, very slowly slid her fingertip under the edge of his breeches. “I think…I think the hair grows thicker lower down, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.”And it wasn’t the only thing growing thicker.…
Ciaran’s cock was hardening, straining for the teasing touch of her finger. She’d never seen a man before, never mind an aroused man. He wondered if it would shock her, and for one fleeting moment he thought of drawing away from her.
But that’s not what he did. Instead he brought her hand to one of the buttons of his falls, closing her fingers around it. He kept his hand over hers as she slid the button free, then dragged her hand across to the other button. “See for yourself.”
His breath caught hard in his chest as she loosened the second button and his falls dropped open. He was painfully aroused, his cock hard and arching against his belly.
Lucy sucked in a quick breath, flushing as she stared down at him. She didn’t look shocked. She looked amazed, and…
Eager.
