Page 20

Though his eyes were heavy-lidded with drowsiness, Harry forced them open and found a dark-haired angel in a linen nightdress standing beside his bed.

“Mina?” he rasped, voice gravelly with fatigue. He blinked several times to reassure himself that he was not dreaming; it would not be the first time he’d been fooled into believing one of his dreams of Mina was reality. The white of her cotton gown nearly glowed in the silver moonlight cascading through the open draperies. Her chestnut hair was plaited and draped over her shoulder, reaching nearly to her waist. Her heavy breasts swayed as she stepped closer, the dusky shadows of her pebbled nipples making her otherwise demure garment incredibly tantalizing. “Mina…” This time, her name was a weighty sigh—a prayer of gratitude for the benediction that she was.

Harry pushed himself to sit, the coverlet falling to expose his bare chest. He did not miss the way her eyes traveled through the slashing shadows and caressed each hard line of his torso. He hardened instantly but couldn’t find it in himself to be embarrassed at the obviousness of his thickening arousal.

“You said you wanted no regrets when we shared a bed,” Mina said, her voice a steady, intimate whisper like the shush of silk on bare skin. “In time, I learned to care for my husband,” she added, making Harry’s heart plummet.

“I might be mistaken, but I do not believe seduction typically includes mentioning one’s late husband.” He attempted levity, but it fell flat.

She humored him with a soft smile and held up a hand to reassure him that she had more to say. “He was good to me. He saw to my needs. He made sure I never lacked for any necessities. But I never loved him.”

Harry felt his heart restart.

“What he and I had was pleasant, but there was never enough room for him in my heart…because you claimed too much of it. If that was the case, how could I ever regret giving myself to you?”

Speechless, Harry held out his hand to Mina, hoping she would not notice the way his fingers trembled. He’d waited decades for this moment and, now that he was confronted with it, Harry feared his nerves might overwhelm the moment.

Would she think less of him if that happened?

Would she disappoint her?

The mattress dipped beneath Mina’s weight as she joined him beneath the coverlet, her knees knocking into his and the soft curves of her body achingly sweet. Her hair was still damp as she lay her head on the pillow beside his. She must have bathed just before making her way to his chamber. She was warm and soft, and he wondered if the delectable pink flush on her cheeks covered the rest of her body. He settled in beside her and draped an arm over the dip of her waist, tugging her close. Their legs tangled together, their breaths mingled in the narrow space between them.

“Will you kiss me now?” Mina asked. “I have been waiting far too long for this and, if you make me wait any longer, I might have to find a creative way to exact my revenge.”

Harry chuckled, some of his anxiety dissipating at the reminder of their relationship. Pulling her body flush to his, Harry bent his head and slanted his mouth over hers. Mina met every nip and lick with one of her own. She suckled his tongue and teased his lip until he sighed in surrender. Her fingers traced the shape of his arms, the curve of his shoulders, and learned the angles of his back. His entire body trembled when her nails raked along his spine. Unconsciously, Harry lifted his pelvis into hers, and it was Mina’s turn to gasp. She rocked against him, lifting her leg over his hip until his throbbing member was cradled between her thighs. Again and again, he ground himself against her, spurred on by every one of Mina’s delighted gasps and sighs. Every sound she made, every touch inflamed his desire to dizzying heights.

He nearly choked when Mina took his hand in hers and brought it to her breast. She held it there, cupping her palm over his, showing him how tightly she wished to be touched. She moaned when his fingers found the perfect bud of her nipple, pinching and rolling it, making her squirm.

Rolling her beneath him, Harry’s pelvis found the cradle of her thighs, and he dipped his head to snag her nipple between his lips. Mina’s hands flew to his head, her fingers tangling in his hair and tugging at his scalp, keeping him in place as he lapped at the sensitive bud and suckled it through the thin cotton of her nightshift. He’d never been more grateful that he slept in the nude than when Mina had arrived with only this flimsy bit of clothing on her body. So little separated them, and the friction created by their overheated bodies was overwhelming his senses. This was all he had dreamt of, and so much more.

“More,” Mina purred. Her tresses were already coming loose from tossing her head side to side. “Touch me more, Harry.”

He shuddered from pleasure at the sound of his name being said in her husky whisper. She spread her legs wider and lifted up into him; her nightshift had ridden high enough that the underside of his turgid cock was now resting against the crisp curls guarding her sex.

And Harry froze.

Heart pounding in his ears to a deafening degree, he suddenly could not move.

Immediately, Mina noticed his distress. Her large eyes opened and found his stricken expression, and she reached up to hold his face. “Harry? What is the matter?”

Harry could only shake his head. He was mortified that he couldn’t control his reaction; he felt like he’d failed her.

“Look at me,” she commanded gently. With some difficulty, Harry did as she said. “What has happened?”

Harry closed his eyes to brace himself before responding. “I—I do not want to disappoint you.”

“Disappoint me?” she asked with a tiny incredulous laugh. “You could never.”

“But I could,” Harry insisted, his eyes dancing across her delectably flushed features. “I do not…I do not know what I am doing.”

“On the contrary, I can say you are already pleasing me quite well⁠—”

“You are a widow. You are vastly more experienced than I am.”

Mina’s brows twitched in confusion.

“I am a virgin, Mina. I tried to move on after you were wed, but no other woman enticed me. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I wanted only you.”