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I cupped her, and her gasp seemed to ricochet through me.

“Is this fine, Claire?”

She bit her lip as she nodded.

“Should I continue?”

When she nodded again, I squeezed the lush mounds before trailing the fingers of one hand down over her stomach. From the way her breath hitched, I knew she was remembering what we’d done at the ball.

I’d left the ball very frustrated that night but no more. I gathered the fabric of her chemise and inched it up, exposing her knees, then her thighs, and finally her mound. I hesitated, but then I decided I didn’t want to do this standing. I gathered her in my arms and strode to the bed.

She was clinging to me, her head buried against my neck, kissing me there, then licking my skin. I deposited her onto the bed and then settled between her legs. She popped up onto her elbows, her eyes wide.

“What are you doing?”

“Do you trust me?” I asked.

She considered it for a moment before nodding.

“Lay back.”

When she did, I raised her chemise again above her mound and then did the one thing I’d never done with another woman. For some reason, I needed to use my mouth on her. She was trusting me with her innocence, and I wanted to prove myself worthy of that gift.

She gasped when my mouth settled on her inner thigh but didn’t protest as I continued kissing along the smooth expanse of skin. And then I kissed her there, where I’d already brought her pleasure once.

“Greyson,” she said on a long, low moan. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but please don’t stop.”

I chuckled against her. “Your wish is my command, Miss Sullivan.”

I used my hands as well, inserting first one, then two fingers inside her. She was incredibly tight, and with any luck, this would ease the discomfort of our first coupling. She was making mewling sounds now that were driving me insane. Finally, her entire body tensed, and then I felt the contractions on my fingers as I continued to pump them inside her. I kept my mouth on that tight bundle of nerves, licking her until she climaxed a second time.

Chapter 25

CLAIRE

Shock had filled me when Greyson kissed me there, then I thought I would surely die if he stopped. But after he brought me to my peak a second time, I had to pull him away.

He kissed my thigh and then I watched him stand and begin unbuttoning his waistcoat. His eyes were locked on me, traveling up and down my body. I should have been embarrassed, but all I wanted was to see him.

“You are a greedy boy,” I said. “First you unwrapped me and now you’re unwrapping yourself.”

He was grinning. “You may do the honors next time, but right now I need to get inside you before I embarrass myself.”

I didn’t know what he meant, but he was clearly feeling a sense of urgency. So I propped myself up on my elbows and watched him as he removed his waistcoat, cravat, and then pulled his shirt over his head. I gaped at the muscles of his chest and abdomen.

There was more hair on his chest than I’d expected. “Do all dark-haired men have so much hair?”

His hands were on the fall of his trousers, and he frowned. “I forbid you from thinking of other men.”

The deep timbre of his voice had me imagining a world in which such a man could ever be jealous of another. This is a short liaison. Don’t get carried away.

But it was impossible not to wonder what it might be like to capture his heart. It would be difficult when all this came to an end, but I’d suffered losses before. And those losses had taught me it was important to grasp onto whatever happiness I could in that moment. The future was a problem for another day.

With an economy of movement, Greyson divested himself of the rest of his clothing and stood there, his manhood erect and curving upward. “Take off your chemise,” he said.

I considered refusing, but it seemed only fair since he was naked before me. And it wasn’t as though he hadn’t already seen the most intimate part of me.

Hurrying before embarrassment could cause me to reconsider, I stood and shrugged the chemise from my shoulders, allowing it to fall to the floor in the same way he’d removed my dress.