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With that, he lifted her into his arms and claimed her mouth once again. Clarissa, so intent on the feel of the arms cradling her and the firm pressure of his lips, barely registered they were moving before the cool cloth hit her back. She now lay on his bed. Assuming he would join her, Clarissa began to push herself upward, toward the pillows, but Aidan grabbed her ankles to stop her.

“Nay.”

Running his hands from her ankles upward, he reached behind her waist and pulled her toward the edge of the bed so her feet now dangled over it. He stood then, pulling his own shirt over his head and tearing off his leather boots as if they offended him.

She attempted to prop herself onto her elbows, but Aidan stopped her.

“Stay where you are,” he commanded. “I begin to fulfill my promise now.”

“What promi—”

The sight of him kneeling at the foot of the bed confused her. What was he about?

“Relax, my love,” he said, gently pulling her knees wide. And then, with the wickedest of grins, he added, “My promise to worship you.”

Nothing . . . nothing could have possibly prepared her for the feel of Aidan’s tongue on her. She did pull back then, surprised. But his hands reassured her, his thumbs rubbing gently on her inner thighs. When he touched his tongue again, she was prepared.

And worship her he did.

Clarissa grasped the coverlet at her sides as he used his tongue, his lips and, oh God, his fingers to render her incapable of coherent thought. Her legs quivered as she brought her hips up to meet him, and the slight throbbing she’d felt turned into violent pulsing that started at her core and traveled straight up to every other part of her body.

Calling his name over and over again, Clarissa finally opened her eyes and relaxed her grip on the coverlet. He stood between her legs, smiling.

“If you’d done that before, I might not have left.”

The sound of his laughter as he walked to the side of the bed sent a different kind of warmth flooding through her. Moving upward to join him, Clarissa tried to grab the top of the coverlet to pull it down, but Aidan stopped her.

“Nay,” he said. “I would see you as we make love.”

And that was when she realized they had only just gotten started.

* * *

He didn’t know where to begin.

As he stared down at the perfection of the woman who would be his wife, Aidan worried, for the first time in years, about his ability to prolong her pleasure. He’d thought of this so many times. Dreamed of this very sight, a naked Clarissa in his bed.

When she’d come down to the hall earlier, Aidan had felt sure he’d never see a lovelier sight.

He’d been wrong.

Aidan took a deep breath as he removed his braies and trewes.

“Oh . . . dear.” Clarissa’s mouth hung open, making it difficult for him to remain humble under her appreciative gaze. Her eyes revealed all, as usual.

“Are you scared?”

“Nay,” she said. “But I am surprised.”

He wasn’t sure he wanted to know why. Instead of responding, Aidan surprised her again by shifting back down to the bottom of the bed. Positioning himself between her legs, he started with her calf, moving quickly to the sensitive flesh behind her knees. As he ran his hands upward, following each touch with a kiss, his lips pressed harder and harder each time. When he reached her hip, he flicked out his tongue. On her stomach, a bit more. By the time he arrived at her breasts, Clarissa reached down and grabbed the hair at the back of his head.

But he didn’t need prompting to take the hard peak into his mouth. Or to give her other breast the attention it deserved as well. When his fingers found her, Clarissa was wet, waiting. But it was not time.

Not yet.

First, he wished to hear his name on her lips. He would feel her pleasure beneath his mouth. He would know she had been well pleasured this night, the one just before he made her his in truth. When she closed her fists in his hair, he did not let up. Just the opposite in fact. He caught her cries with a searing kiss, thoughts of hearing his name forgotten in a rush of pleasure so powerful Aidan knew he’d not last much longer.

Without giving her time to recover, Aidan pulled away and watched the haze of her climax begin to lift.