Page 88 of Aurelia

How had Aurelia ever thought that a kiss from Guustin—or any other man—could compare with the inferno of desire raging inside her right now?

Aurelia licked at the seam of his lips, as he had done to her the last time they had kissed, and invaded him with her tongue the second he opened to her. She could not seem to stop shaking and he stroked her back, as if to soothe her.

Her kiss was a great deal less smooth and controlled than his had been, but she didn’t care. For weeks and weeks and weeks she had told herself that she would never get the chance to touch him again.

Now that she had him, she would not—could not—let him go.

She explored every part of him she could reach, the hard, ridged palate of his mouth, the slick heat of his tongue, and the unspeakable softness of the inside of his lips.

He had no right to taste so delicious or smell so intoxicating. There were hints of port or whiskey and those little black cigars he smoked. But it was more than that, there was something aromatic and masculine and ineffably Roland.

Roland. A name she had never once spoken out loud.

Aurelia gave a whimper of frustration when he pulled away.

“Shhh, he murmured, tugging off the sash that held her robe closed and then pushing it off her shoulders.

The earl groaned as his hot gaze swept over her thin night rail. And then he suddenly slid an arm beneath her thighs and lifted her up just as easily as he’d done that day on the beach. He strode across the room and set her down on the table, roughly shoving aside his work. More than parchment hit the floor, and the sound of glass shattering was distantly audible, but it was all muted compared to the sensations his hands were unleashing inside her.

“Aurelia, you are like a fever in my blood,” he whispered as warm, strong palms slid up her calves to her thighs, dragging her night rail higher, the naked pads of his fingers scorching her bare skin. He nudged her legs wider with his hips and took her face in both hands, positioning her the way he wanted before taking control of their kisses with deep, slow explorations that left her head spinning.

He pulled away, his breathing harsh. “Soon I will not be able to stop myself. If you want to end this—do so now.”

“Do not stop,” Aurelia whispered. Parts of her body she had never noticed before were suddenly throbbing. The underside of her jaw. The inside of her thighs…

One big hand slid down her body, grazing the side of her breast, skimming the curve of her waist, and then settling on her bare leg.

Aurelia shivered when he brushed the tender crease where her thigh met her sex.

“I want to see all of you, and touch all of you,” he murmured, his hands working to undo the buttons of her nightgown. He began to lift the garment over her head, but once again he paused, his questioning gaze meeting hers.

Her mind reeled at what he wanted.

I will be naked, while he is fully clothed.

The thought of being so exposed to him caused her sex to clench and send intense ripples of arousal through her body, the sort of private thrill that usually only came from touching herself.

To bare herself to him would be crossing an invisible line, and there would be no retreating afterward.

I don’t care if it is wicked or immoral. I want him to see me. All of me.

She swallowed, forced herself to meet his gaze, and nodded shakily.

He smiled and there was admiration in his eyes, as well as heat—as if he had seen the struggle inside her. “Good girl,” he praised. “Never be ashamed of your own desires, Aurelia. Never be afraid to take what you want.”

The words were so simple, but their effect on her was anything but.

It was as if a key had unlocked something deep inside of her and Aurelia saw the truth with blinding clarity. It was not infatuation that she felt for the earl; she loved him.

The fact that her epiphany did not surprise her told Aurelia that she had known, deep down, what her feelings were all along, but she had been too afraid to acknowledge them.

She was not so lost to passion at that moment that she didn’t recognize the dangers facing her heart, but that was for the future.

Right now, Aurelia wanted him with all her being, and she would gladly pay the price for her desire.

“Lift your arms, sweetheart.”

Aurelia complied and a second later her last layer of protection had been stripped away.