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There was a long pause during which Harry held his breath.

And then, Mina pulled his face down to hers, pressing their foreheads together. “Oh, Harry. You could never, ever disappoint me. I am humbled by your devotion, and I can only hope that I live up to your expectations.”

Harry released an erratic breath. “You are everything, Mina.” He kissed her again, breaking away only to ask, “You will tell me what you like? Will you show me? Teach me?”

“I will.” She nodded; her eyes were suspiciously bright. “We will learn together.”

CHAPTER 11

All of Harry’s worries seemed to melt away after that, and Mina was quickly swept back into the storm of his desire. She’d nearly been moved to tears by his nerves, the realization that he cared so deeply—and had for so long. She hadn’t lied when she’d said it was humbling. To know the depth and longevity of his desire, his devotion…Mina was unsure she deserved it, but she would surely do her best to earn it. She loved him. She felt it each time she caught him watching her; she knew it when he went out of his way to arrange care for her father—a man who had betrayed his family’s trust. She’d known it since he’d been her companion and her champion when they’d been children. He’d trusted her and followed her when he had no reason to, and he was doing it all over again with Ravenshire Manor’s fate. If that wasn’t love, then Mina did not know what was.

Harry covered her body, kissed her, claimed her, displaying a strength and conviction Mina hadn’t been expecting given his recent confession, but that did not mean she didn’t appreciate it. It radiated from him in waves, nearly overwhelming her with its intensity—more importantly, she tasted it on the confident sweeps of his tongue; she felt it in the bold caresses of his large hands. He was everywhere all at once—over her, around her, against her, beneath her—yet the world seemed to shrink around them. Every worry she’d had over the last six months faded away when set against the intensity of the flame that was Harry’s desire. She’d been smoldering for days in his presence, but now, beneath his touch, she was alight with the licking flames of a harvest bonfire. Her senses snapped and crackled; her skin glittered like sparking embers; her body was becoming molten, ripe for reshaping beneath Harry’s hands.

Bloody hell, the man was good at kissing.

Never had a kiss before so consumed her, made her breasts feel heavy and full, and liquefied her limbs with desire. She felt him trail his hand up her side gently, briefly wrap around her throat, before his fingers hooked in the neckline of her nightshift. With one swift tug, he rent the garment in half.

She was suddenly bare to the chill of the room, her nipples puckering into needy buds begging for Harry’s attention. His low chuckle at her sharp intake of breath caused an increase in the wetness between her thighs. She felt swollen and needy, sensitized to every nudge and slide of Harry’s body against hers.

He licked his way down her throat before lavishing attention upon each of her breasts, paying equal attention to her nipples, areolas, the ticklish undersides. He tasted her everywhere before moving lower, dipping his tongue into her navel before pausing between her thighs. He looked at her then, like a man witnessing a miracle, unblinking, in utter awe. Knowing he was appreciating her most intimate of places, savoring the sight of her glistening folds, was enough to make her whimper.

“May I⁠—”

“Yes!” Mina interrupted him. She didn’t much care what he wanted to do, as long as he did it. She was agonizingly empty. She wanted him to take his time and savor the moment, but she’d waited so long…

Understanding her desperation, Harry slung her knees over his shoulders and began pressing kisses to her pubic bone, moving with deliberate slowness to the crease of her hips and then down to her inner thighs.

“Please, please, please…” Mina sobbed, trying to arch up into his lips, but he held her steady with hands pressed flat on her belly.

Finally, just when she thought she might cry in earnest, Harry licked the seam of her sex. Again. Again. And again. He pressed his tongue more deeply with each pass, tasting her dewy folds with long, languid swipes. His groan of satisfaction nearly sent Mina over the edge right then. Every kiss and caress stoked Mina’s arousal, but she needed more. She rocked against Harry’s face, trying to find the pressure her body craved.

“Show me,” Harry growled, his hot breath teasing her folds. “Show me what you need.”

Mina slid her hand down her body and spread her sex, exposing the part that ached for his attention. His expression was rapt and starving as he watched her fingers slide through her wetness, press, and stroke until she began to gasp and buck and Harry took over.

“God, yes!” Mina keened when he flicked and suckled the pearl of her sex, perfectly mimicking the rhythm she’d demonstrated. She clutched at his head, holding him in place as he feasted. Every touch nudged her higher and higher. Her breathing ragged and frantic, Mina was lost in the kaleidoscope of sensations Harry was unleashing within her. “Don’t stop!” she gasped as every one of her muscles tightened uncontrollably. She felt as if her body might implode…and then it did.

Mina shattered into a million brilliant shards, shaking and trembling, gasping and screaming Harry’s name over and over as he continued to work her through her orgasm, drawing it out until she thought she might die when it crested again. Her skin tingled, and she saw stars in the corners of her vision by the time Harry slowed his ministrations, placed one last kiss on the twitching muscle of her inner thigh, and then prowled up her body. Harry’s chin and smiling mouth were glistening with her arousal, and wasn’t that a beautiful sight? Still breathing heavily, she pulled Harry’s face down to hers so she could kiss him and taste herself on his tongue. Of course, Harry happily obliged, freezing only when Mina’s hand snaked between them to take his member in her hand.

Harry threw his head back and hissed a breath between his teeth as she gave him a tentative stroke. He bucked into her hand as she tested his impressive length and girth, noting how her fingers could not fully encircle the broad head, her mouth watering when she realized just how large he was. She couldn’t wait to be stretched and filled by him, claimed by him. His hips bucked when she cupped the soft sac below his erect member and rolled the delicate skin in her palm.

“Please, do not make me embarrass myself,” Harry ground out through gritted teeth.

“On the contrary, I would take it as a great compliment if you spilled merely from my touch,” Mina purred.

“Bloody hell.” Harry’s guttural groan was utterly delicious, but she decided to show him mercy.

Lifting her hips, Mina notched the head of his cock into place after running it through her folds and coating him in her slickness. She guided him to her entrance and wrapped her legs around his hips, urging him forward.

“Take me, Harry,” she breathed into his ear. “I am yours.”

With that, Harry pressed his hips forward, spurred on by Mina’s encouraging words and her gasps of pleasure as he filled her inch by inch. The process was perfectly, agonizingly slow, and Mina was desperate for him to thrust into her by the time he was finally buried to the hilt.

“You feel incredible,” Harry groaned into her throat.

“You, as well,” Mina replied with a contented sigh. “Can you move?”

Harry lifted his head. “Do you want me to?”