Page 79 of A Momentary Marriage

“Here. Now.”

She laughed and went to work on his waistcoat. They undressed each other, pausing to kiss or caress the flesh that they revealed bit by bit. It seemed wanton and daring to do this in the light of day—and thoroughly exciting. James kissed her until she trembled, his hands busy on her skin, seeking out all the most pleasurable spots. Laura had never before realized how many places on her body were so erotic.

She could not hold back a moan when his fingers slipped between her legs, exploring that most intimate spot. She leaned her head against his chest, her legs suddenly weak. “Oh, James . . . I . . .”

“Mm?” He was kissing his way across her collarbone. “You what?”

“I don’t know. You make me feel . . .” She shook her head, blushing. “I can’t describe it. Shivery.” She lifted her head, looking into his eyes. “I hardly feel like myself.”

His grin was slow and wicked. “You feel very much like yourself to me.” To emphasize his words, he curved his hand over the fleshy mounds of her buttocks. “And that, by the way, feels very, very nice.” He dropped a kiss on her shoulder as his hand returned to tease between her legs again.

As his fingers opened and stroked her, flooding her with desire, he trailed his mouth down to the curve of her breast. His tongue circled her nipple, making it harden even more. Everything in her ached for more. She wanted his mouth to take her nipple, to feel the warm, damp suction tugging at her. She wanted him inside her, filling her. But the long, slow building was a wonderful torment, enhanced by the fulfillment she now knew awaited at the end.

And when at last he closed his mouth over her nipple, the wave of intense pleasure that washed through her made it worth the wait. She stroked his arms and shoulders, running a hand up the back of his neck and sinking her fingers in his thick hair. She delighted in the heat that flared in him at her touch, the sharp inhale of his breath, the faint tremor in his skin.

James slipped a finger inside her, his thumb settling on the little nub of flesh, and Laura gasped at the new sensation. The heat and urgency inside her flared even higher. Her knees felt like melting wax; Laura thought she would have simply oozed down to the floor if it had not been for his arm around her waist. James raised his head, gazing down at her intently, as his fingers continued to work their magic.

Laura suspected she ought to feel embarrassed under his gaze, but she was too deeply caught up in her passion, too near that shattering explosion of bliss, to care. Her eyes fluttered closed as she felt it begin to take her, and then it rampaged through her. She shuddered, letting out a moan.

When she opened her eyes, she found James still watching her, his eyes glowing, an almost smug satisfaction mingling with raw hunger on his face. She looked at him a little wonderingly. “But, James . . . you haven’t—” Her eyes went down involuntarily to his still heavily engorged state. “Don’t you—”

“Oh, yes, I do.” His voice was husky. “Don’t worry. I’ll have mine. But I wanted to see your face as it took you.” He pressed his lips to her forehead. “It was a beautiful sight.”

Laura felt herself blush and she turned her head, pressing her lips to his chest. His skin twitched beneath her lips and she felt his hand tighten on her waist. Emboldened, she traced his flat masculine nipple with her tongue, then took it in her mouth, pulling gently. He let out a low, choked noise, his skin flaring with heat beneath her lips.

She kissed her way across his chest, her hands roaming over him. She was eager to know him, to taste and touch him, to learn each hidden spot that gave him pleasure. There was something intensely gratifying about wresting each small noise or shiver or sigh from this normally implacable man.

A shudder rippled through James and he grasped her arms, pulling her down to the floor with him. His kiss plundered her mouth. Laura could feel the need in him, the almost palpable hunger, and she opened to him gladly.

He sank deep within her, filling her in the most satisfying way. He began to move in a timeless rhythm, each thrust fulfillment and enticement, the pleasure building with the longing until they mingled in an aching, wordless anticipation. At last he reached his peak, shuddering against her, and buried his face against her neck to muffle his hoarse cry.

Laura clung to him, feeling her own blissful answer to his ecstasy. And holding him like this, her arms locked around him and his as tightly clamped around her, was its own deep joy.

chapter 32

Laura lay curled against James’s side, her head on his shoulder. Everything was perfect, she thought, then hastily retreated from that thought with a shiver. Such a notion was probably tempting fate.

“Cold?” James murmured, and draped his jacket over Laura. He kissed the top of her head. “Though it seems a shame to cover up such beauty.”

“Flatterer.” Still, she smiled.

“Ah, but you know I am distressingly blunt, so you may take what I say for the truth.”

“Or at least the truth as you see it.” She rose on her elbow to gaze down at him.

“Which naturally makes it correct.” James grinned, his face the easiest and most relaxed she had ever seen it.

“Naturally.” Laura made a little face at him. “If true, then we would be a matching pair.”

“In bluntness or superior discernment?”

“Both, of course, though I was referring to beauty. You are a handsome man, you know.”

“I am?”

“Of course. Don’t pretend you haven’t noticed the looks women give you. You just want to hear me compliment you.”

“Feel free to do so.” James linked his hands behind his head, as if settling in for a story.