Page 64 of A Winter Scandal

“And I dreamed of those deliciously long legs. I kept imagining what they looked like beneath your prim gowns. I could not see you walk without wanting to measure them with my hands.” His voice deepened huskily as his hands slid down to her thighs. “Each step you took, I thought of the way your legs would feel wrapped around me.”

His hand slipped into the crevice between her legs, gliding down her inner thigh and back up, teasing along the crease of her leg. She felt swollen and aching, yearning for his touch. His fingers were featherlight upon her, teasingly opening and exploring the intimate folds of her flesh. As his fingers stroked her, arousing her almost past bearing, he kissed her neck, using his teeth and tongue to draw shivers of arousal from her.

Thea’s breath was ragged, and she braced her feet against the edge of the tub, widening her legs, inviting him wordlessly. He found the hard, bright center of her desire, the pulsing, vulnerable ache, and he pressed in, the rhythmic movement of his hand thrusting her pleasure higher and higher. Thea could feel the passion taking her, sweeping over her and cresting like a wave. It broke over her, and she could not hold back a thin, sharp cry. She shuddered as pleasure rippled through her, then relaxed with a deep, satisfied sigh.

She lay against him, replete, numb, her mind adrift. Thea felt the push of his member against her, and she knew that he, of course, was still unsatisfied, but she could not move. Her bones seemed to have all turned to molten wax inside her.

Gabriel kissed her neck and along her collarbone, his breath harsh and rasping. “I have to taste you,” he muttered.

Surprising her, he stood up, hauling her up with him. She turned to him, but he was already stepping out of the tub and spreading her bedcover out on the floor before the fire. She could not tear her eyes away from his strong, lithe body or the hard, elongated maleness that thrust out from his body. Thea would have liked to touch him, but she was not bold enough, even in the warm, sated state she dwelled in now.

Gabriel lifted her from the old wooden tub and laid her down on the bedspread, then covered her with his body, propped himself up on his elbows. She opened her legs, luxuriating in the feel of his maleness pressing at the gate of her femininity. He gazed down at her for a long moment, his eyes hard and bright, the firelight glowing in them. Then he bent his head to take her mouth, kissing her as though he would consume her. He kissed her again and again, and when he pulled his mouth from hers, he moved down her body, kissing seemingly every inch of her.

He took her breast in his mouth, devoting his complete attention to it. Thea was shocked to feel her body respond to him, the heat and tension building in her once more. She would have thought that all the passion had been drained from her in that explosion of pleasure. But somehow it lurked inside her, curling and leaping and swelling with each touch of his lips.

Gabriel moved to her other breast, lavishing the same exquisite care on it. He made his way down her body, mumbling low, soft words she could not understand but the hunger and need of which was abundantly clear. His tongue dipped into the well of her navel, moving out to trace patterns over her skin. He moved ever lower, and Thea felt his hands slip beneath her hips, lifting her. Then, unbelievably, his mouth was on her in that most intimate of places, teasing and stroking, arousing her in a way she would never have imagined.

“Gabriel!” Passion roared through her even more fiercely, igniting her to a white-hot pitch. Thea curled her fingers into the spread beneath her, a groan escaping her clenched lips as Gabriel toyed with her, his tongue driving her higher and harder than anything else he had done before. She arched up, digging in her heels, her body taut, desperately seeking the release that dangled just beyond her grasp.

Then it crashed through her, and she trembled all over. For a moment she was beyond thought, beyond speech, her world narrowed down to the supreme release that carried her away. Gently he lowered her hips and lay down beside her. Thea could do little more than gasp for breath, her heart slamming inside her chest.

After what could have been hours or mere moments, for she felt utterly beyond time, Thea turned her head to look at Gabriel. He was watching her, his eyes still glinting between his narrowed lids.

“Gabriel …” She reached out and put her hand on his chest, not sure what she wanted to say. A hundred emotions were tumbling about inside her, and she could not even begin to straighten them out enough to give voice to them. “But you are still unsatisfied” was what she found herself saying.

“I enjoyed it, believe me. And it was your first time last night. I did not want to hurt you.”

“Are you sure it would hurt?”

“No.” His smile was wry. “I have little experience with virgins.”

“I think I should like to try. You seem to want something more …” She looked down at the clear evidence of his unspent desire, and her hand drifted lower.

“Indeed.” He sucked in his breath as her hand glided lower, but when she shot him a tentative glance, he said, “No, don’t stop.”

“Do you like it?” Thea smiled a little, sliding her hand farther downward.

“You know I do. I can see you grin like a fox.”

She giggled. She had never before felt like this, so happy, so free and unfettered. “But, indeed, my lord, I thought you might find me too bold.”

“I like a bold wench.” Her fingers reached him and stopped, barely touching the base of his manhood. He let out a low groan, his teeth clamping down on his lower lip.

“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted, the teasing leaving her voice.

“I think … whatever you try … I shall find pleasing,” he told her, his lungs laboring.

Thea skimmed her fingertips along the length of him, amazed and delighted by the satin smoothness of his flesh over the hard line beneath. Slowly she trailed her fingers up and down him, and the low moan her actions pulled from him stirred an answering heat in her belly.

She was not so surprised this time to find that desire could pulse in her again, and she let herself savor each moment along the way. She played with him, teasing and arousing him, her hand sliding farther down to cup the sac between his legs. Gabriel shuddered. His eyes were closed, his skin stretched taut across his facial bones, his breath harsh on his lips. Thea gently curled her fingers around him, and he jerked, but he shook his head when she paused.

“Don’t stop.”

She stroked him with slow, almost languid motions, feeling the slick glide of his skin against her palm. His pulse pounded in his throat, his chest rising and falling in pants, and the signs of his passion aroused her.

“I want you inside me,” she whispered to him. “I want to take you inside me.”

His eyes flew open, fierce and bright. He reached out, taking her hips in his hands, and tugged her toward his legs. “Ride me.”