“Samuel.” Emma ran her fingers through the thick strands of his hair, hungry for more of his kiss.
More ofhim.Allof him.
His hands moved restlessly over her sides, stroking her ribs, his long fingers so warm against the thin cotton of her night rail she wanted him to touch her everywhere, until all the frozen parts of her thawed in a rush of heat. “Take me to bed, Samuel.”
A low laugh fell from his lips, rich and deep and dark, and full of wicked promises. Emma had never heard such a sound from him before, and it sent a delicious tingle through her.
“Oh, I intend to, but first…” He dragged his thumbs over her collarbones, a wondering smile rising to his lips when his touch left goosebumps on her skin. “I want to see you inthe moonlight.”
He slid a finger under the capped sleeve of her night rail, easing the flimsy material down until he’d revealed one pale shoulder. He sucked in a breath, his hot gaze drinking in her bared skin like a man dying of thirst. “So beautiful, Emma. I knewyou would be.”
Emma didn’t have a chance to draw a breath before his lips brushed across the skin he’d bared, tasting and teasing until he’d dragged a husky moanfrom her lips.
“Every inch of you, Emma.” Samuel’s mouth moved higher to press kisses to her neck. “I want to see and kiss every inch of you.”
His cheeks were flushed, his hair tousled from her fingers, his gray eyes wild with desire. This man, so stern and solemn, was falling apart right before her eyes, and Emma couldn’t get enough of it. She traced his lips with her fingertip. “Do what youwill, my lord.”
Samuel nipped at the tip of her finger before pressing his lips to the arch of her neck, then he drifted lower and opened his mouth over the pulse point of her throat. “That little hollow has driven me mad for weeks,” he murmured against her skin. “I dream about tasting you there, and here.” He dragged his fingers down her throat to the sensitive skin between her breasts.
Emma’s sigh became a gasp when his lips followed his stroking finger.“Oh, that’s…”
She trailed off, unsure how to put into words what she felt. She’d been touched by a man before, but never by a man shewantedto touch her, and never like this, as if she were precious. It was unexpected and breathtaking at once. Her body tingled, clamoring for more of him.
“Such perfect skin, like new cream, and such a rosy red right here.” He cupped the curve of her breast, stroking his thumb over her nipple through the thin linen ofher night rail.
Emma gasped and dropped her hands to his broad shoulders to steady herself. “Samuel.”
“Yes, sweetheart?” Samuel’s voice was soothing, but he continued his teasing caresses, stroking her nipple into exquisite stiffness before lowering his head and taking the reddened peak into his mouth.
They both groaned at the sensation, Emma tugging desperately at his hair with each draw of his lips. His mouth was impossibly hot, his tongue a delicious torment, his hands cradling her hips to drag her closer, the hard length of his erection settling against her stomach. “Tell me you want me, Emma. Let me hear you say it.”
“I do want you, Samuel, more than anything.” His kiss, his touch, his soft whispers in her ear—this was how Emma had always hoped love would feel.
Samuel caught up a fold of her night rail, but he waited, his powerful body shaking with desire, for her to give him permission to remove it. “I want to see all of you, Emma. May I take this off?”
His gentleness, his sweetness, melted Emma’s heart. She couldn’t speak, but she wrapped her fingers around his wrist and helped him to raise her night rail.
Samuel groaned as he slowly revealed her, the cool air of the room kissing Emma’s bare ankles, her calves. She shivered when the hem reached her thighs, not from the chill, but from the heat in his eyes, the curl of desire in her stomach, the insistent pulse between her legs.
“Look at you, with the moonlight gilding your skin,” Samuel whispered when she stood bare before him. His warm palm skimmed the curve of her hip and drifted over the gentle swell of her belly. “I’ve never seen anything as lovelyas you, Emma.”
He dropped a sweet kiss on her forehead, and then…
Then his hands, his lips were everywhere, gentle but insistent, his palms cupping her hips, one hard thigh pressed between hers. His mouth followed the path of his hands, leaving a trail of damp kisses across skin that reveled in the touch of his lips, shivers risingin their wake.
Emma could only cling to him, her arms around his neck as he dropped kisses behind her ears, nibbled her ear lobe, and sucked the stiff peaks of her nipples until she was crying out for him, a husky plea. He murmured to her as he touched her, his voice dark and rough, his big hands stroking her thighs as he demanded she tell him she needed him, and only him.
Emma gave him everything he asked, her entire body trembling with need and desire and nervousness, because she’d been touched before, but never like this—oh, never like this, and her body was tightening as it readied, straining toward something, but she wasn’t sure what she needed, or what she was meant to do—
“Open for me, sweetheart.” Samuel’s breath was hot on her neck, his fingertips stroking her inner thighs.
Emma did as he bid her, gasping when his fingers slipped between her legs. “God, yes, so warm and wet for me, Emma, so soft, like silk.”
“Oh, oh…” Emma’s knees went weak as he stroked and teased at her swollen bud, his fingers circling and pinching until she sagged againsthim. “Please.”
Samuel wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. He never ceased those tormenting strokes, but continued to work her, his breath hot and fast in her ear and she writhed against him, her hips instinctively taking up the rhythm of his fingers.
He drove her higher with each touch, setting her body ablaze, crooning to her as he wound her tighter, his whispers dark and wicked, urging her on, commanding her to take her pleasure, to come for him—
