“And then I’m going to ensure you experience a good deal of pleasure,” Matthew continued, “And then I will…” He pushed his breeches down his thighs, leaving only his smalls on his body. “I will not be mounting you like some racehorse, but rather we shall be facing one another as I make love to you,” he explained. “So that I might kiss you as we experience what I hope will be mutual pleasure.”
Catherine blinked. “Oh. All right,” she said, nearly breathless.
He knelt and said, “Hang onto my shoulders.”
“Why?”
“So that I might remove your stockings.”
She hesitated. “Promise you won’t snag them?” she asked. “This is the first time I’ve worn this pair.”
He chuckled as he lifted one of her feet to his thigh and undid the ribbon securing the knit stocking in place. The patterned fabric, featuring tiny bows in emerald, was easy to roll down her calf. When the circlet popped off her foot, he held it up. “No snags,” he said proudly. He tossed it onto the chair.
“Thank you,” she said, offering her other foot. “Has anyone ever told you would make an excellent lady’s maid?”
“No, seeing as how I’ve never done this before,” he replied. When he heard her sound of disbelief, he added, “I admit to having watched my mother do it when I was a young boy.”
Catherine watched as he took his time with the second stocking, as if he were delaying the inevitable, and she inhaled sharply when he drew one of his fingers along the inside of her thigh. Her entire leg trembled at his simple touch.
“Your skin is so soft,” he said in a whisper, right before he leaned forward and kissed a spot just above the inside of her knee.
She inhaled sharply. “That tickles,” she murmured.
“Do you want me to stop?”
Shaking her head, Catherine said, “It’s terribly erotic, what you’re doing.”
He chuckled softly, turning his attention to her other thigh. He trailed a series of kisses up the pale flesh before he groaned. “I fear my knees will not allow this much longer,” he complained, before getting to his feet.
Catherine’s attention went to his crotch, her eyes wide at seeing how the silhouette of his manhood strained against the thin fabric of his smalls. “You’re already… aroused,” she whispered.
“My lady, I have been hard for you almost this entire night,” he countered. Without warning, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed, where the counterpane had been turned down to reveal layers of blankets and white linens. “May I remove this?” he asked, fingering the cotton chemise she still wore.
“I’ll be naked,” she said softly.
“That is the idea, but if you prefer, you can leave it on. I can do what must be done for your beautiful breasts through your chemise if I must.”
“What are you going to do to my breasts?” she asked, her voice sounding as if from far away.
“I am going to kiss them, of course,” he replied, dropping his head until he could reach one of the silhouettes of a nipple poking out of her chemise. He covered it with his mouth and gently suckled.
Catherine inhaled sharply. She crossed her arms under his head and gripped the edges of the chemise to pull it from herbody, forcing Matthew to give up his hold on her as the chemise passed between them.
“Now you,” she ordered.
“Me?” repeated.
“Your… your smalls,” she said, nodding to the garment.
“Oh.” He stripped the garment from his legs and tossed it toward the end of the bed.
Catherine once again gasped. “Not one for modesty, are you?” she teased, in an effort to hide her own nervousness.
“Do I need to be with you?” he countered.
Trying hard not to stare at his engorged manhood, she shook her head. “Of course not.” A combination of excitement and dread had her remembering his offer that she could stop at any time. She was about to tell him she wanted to take a moment to think, but his lips were already back on her breast, and then his body covered hers on the bed, and she was forced to lie back.
She placed her hands on either side of his head, spearing her fingers through the silk strands of his hair. She struggled to catch her breath as his ministrations sent strange darts of pleasure beneath her skin. Heat flooded her core. That spot that had been throbbing earlier now made itself more apparent.
