Turning her head so her chin rested on her shoulder, she said, “You can start by undoing the buttons down my back,” she instructed.
His fingers fumbling for a moment, David did her bidding until the bodice of the yellow gown separated and fell forward.
“Uh...”
“Now untie the stays,” she said quietly.
“Uh... there are a number of ties back here,” he mumbled.
“Undo them all.”
“All?”
She tittered as she once again rested her chin on her shoulder. “Just pull the tie of each bow and use your fingers to loosen the strings.” She felt his fingers touch the bare skin above her chemise, and she shivered. “That tickles,” she whispered.
Emboldened, David leaned down and placed a kiss on the same spot. Marian inhaled softly and closed her eyes when he turned and placed his lips on her cheek. “I’ll have to redo all these ties later, won’t I?” he asked.
She shrugged, which had the bodice falling completely from her torso and the sleeves from her arms. Wiggling her hips, the gown dropped to the floor. “Not until the morning,” she replied.
His fingers once again pressed into her underclothes. “We’re not going back to the Soho Club tonight, are we?”
Marian turned around. “I certainly hope not,” she replied. “Unless you prefer being surrounded by pink.” When she saw his look of confusion, she said, “My room there? Yours is located next to the viscount’s, and I shouldn’t wish for him to hear us whilst we’re in the... in the throes of passion.”
David blinked and swallowed. “Oh, I should hope not. He’s already sore with me over our betrothal. I would hate to make him jealous, too.”
Grinning, Marian turned so her back was once again facing the baron.
He swallowed. “Won’t your uncle be expecting us, though?”
“Possibly, but... we did leave to acquire a license,” she reminded him. “He’ll think we’ve married and are spending the night here. You did mention you were going to show me the townhouse.”
“I did,” David remembered, relaxing somewhat. For a moment, he had imagined Bow Street Runners combing the city for them, believing he had kidnapped the young lady. “I did,” he said more forcefully as he plucked all the ties before him.
Two petticoats and a set of stays fell to the floor.
“Oh, my,” he whispered when he realized she was left wearing only her short chemise and stockings.
“My turn,” she said as she faced him and began unwrapping the ends of the silk cravat from around his neck. She carefully folded it in half and draped it over the back of a chair. Grasping handfuls of his shirt, she pulled it up and over his head.
For a moment, time seemed to stop. As if she couldn’t decide whether or not to stare at the expanse of his bare chest or his arms or concentrate on his face.
Once again emboldened, David lifted a hand to her jaw and held her head as he bestowed a kiss on her lips. “I’m going to remove my boots now,” he said.
She swallowed. “I’ll see to turning down the bed linens,” she said before she turned and headed for the bed.
Leaning against one of the chairs so he could remove his boots, David watched as she leaned over the edge of the bed and saw to folding back the counterpane and linens to the end of the mattress. The entire time, her bare bottom was on display, her upturned quim peeking out from between the tops of her thighs as if in invitation.
Gulping, David pulled first one boot and then the other from his feet, his attention on Marian’s bottom the entire time. As he watched, his cock lengthened and hardened, straining against his breeches until he was forced to push them down along with his smalls. He had his stockings off only the moment before she completed her task and turned to face him.
This time she didn’t avoid staring, a small smile finally appearing before she moved closer to him. She reached out with a hand and touched the dark hairs that dusted his chest near a nipple.
He flinched at her touch, but didn’t pull away. Instead, he placed his hands at her hips, more to steady himself as he pushed away from the chair to stand straighter.
“Will you help me with my stockings?” she asked as she trailed her fingertips down the front of his body until her forefinger slid through the dark curls above his manhood.
“Of course,” he said as he watched two of her fingers trace a vein along his erection. He struggled to breathe. “But if you keep that up, I shan’t have anything left for you.”
“Oh,” she said as she jerked her hand away.
