Page 33 of Seducing the Marquess (Lords and Ladies in Love 1)

He stared after her as if everything he’d ever believed his entire life had walked out the room with her. Pulling himself together, he poured another brandy and, in between gulps, paced, desperately trying to calm his racing heart and telling himself this bedding would be no different from any other.

He almost believed it.

After checking his timepiece numerous times, he finally decided she’d had enough time to have her maid undress her—he broke into a sweat—and help her into her virginal nightgown. He needed to keep the vision of her in the type of gown she always wore. White, sleeves to her wrists, neckline to her chin. Suitable bedtime attire for a proper wife.

He listened for sounds coming through the door joining their rooms as Jake helped him out of his clothes and into his banyan. When he’d first arrived upstairs, soft murmurings between Eugenia and her maid had drifted through the door. For the last ten minutes, there had been silence.

With a great deal of anticipation as well as trepidation, he dismissed his valet and passed through the sitting room and opened the door, entering her bedchamber.

The curtains around her bed had been left open. A low fire burned in the grate and a candle glowed on a table next to her. For the first time since he’d begun his visits, he could see her clearly in her bed. She reclined on the pillows, watching his every move with unwavering awareness. Her nightgown did not come up to her chin, nor down to her wrists. The cotton he was so familiar with had turned into something silky and clingy. The neckline on the garment ended barely above her nipples, and there were no sleeves to speak of, merely straps on her shoulders.

The material cupped her breasts, her hardened nipples drawing his eyes. Any thoughts he’d had that this would be like every other bedding, quickly fled. Heart pounding, with his lungs fighting for every breath, he approached her. “Would you like to blow out the candle, my dear?”

She offered him a smile he’d never seen from her, but many times on the faces of the women he’d bedded in the past. Paid women. Kept women. Expensive women. “I think not.”

Thank you, God.

Sitting on the bed alongside her, he reached out and undid the end of the lengthy plait of hair resting against her chest. Slowly, he unwound the braid, shaking it loose until silken waves of golden strands gently caressed her shoulders. He closed his eyes, fisting the curls in his hands, bringing her locks to his nose to inhale the scent of flowers and sunshine.

Eugenia placed her soft hand on his cheek, her thumb stroking his chin. He leaned into her touch. “You are so beautiful, Eugenia. Have I ever told you?” He leaned back, studying her perfect features. “Probably not. A major omission on my part, I’m afraid.”

She dropped her hand into her lap as if waiting for him to make the next move. Which, of course, he always had. After all, she was a lady. He wanted—no, needed—tonight to be different. To enjoy her body, not just attempt to impregnate her. But the situation called for caution, so as not to alarm her delicate female sensibilities.

Devon moved so his body rested next to hers, and slid his arm around her waist. She moved toward him without hesitation. Slowly, he lowered his head to meet her lips in a gentle, soothing kiss. He moved her head so he could go deeper and nudged her lips with his tongue. To his immense surprise and delight, she opened her mouth, and he swept in. She tasted of honey and brandy, warmth and woman.

A slight moan from within her encouraged him to pull her even closer, until her body was flush against his, the rigid nipples of her warm breasts prodding his chest. He anchored her head with both hands and nibbled at her lips, then scattered kisses along her chin, jawline, back up to the soft skin under her ear. She moved her head to give him more access, releasing a soft sigh.

His heart pounded so hard he felt as though his chest would explode. Never had any woman moved him like this. She surrounded him, her scent, her feel, her beauty. He pulled slightly back, attempting to calm himself. He was going much too fast. He would terrify the poor woman and send her racing from the room.

“Why did you stop?” she said with a hitch in her breath that had his blood sprinting to his groin.

She seemed as affected as he was. Her face was flushed, her breathing heavy, and she continued to lick her lips as if her mouth were dry as a desert. Could it be he hadn’t frightened her as much as he feared? Before he could absorb that startling revelation, she cupped his face and pulled him in for a kiss.

Bloody hell.

The heart he’d been trying to calm beat a staccato in his chest. He slid on the sheets until he was lying on his back. Eugenia followed him down, lying partly on top of him, nudging his mouth with her tongue. She swept his mouth as he had done to her. Any blood that hadn’t made a dash to his groin before now happily made the trip.

His hand reached down and tugged on the bottom of her nightgown. Instead of pulling back and gasping as he’d expected her to do, she lifted her hips so he was able to move the garment to her waist.

He ran his palm down her leg. Warm, and oh, so soft to the touch. Since she did not seem to object to anything he’d done so far, he whispered, “May I take off your nightgown?”

Abruptly, she sat up and whipped the gown off before he could blink. Her crystal blue eyes had darkened, her glorious hair tumbled over her body like a shawl. Plump, beautiful breasts, the dark brown nipples pouting, begging for his mouth, sat level with his eyes. Whyever had he denied himself the full pleasure of her body? She was wonderful, pure, clean, and perfect. Every dip and curve called to him. To reach out, to touch, to caress. Tenderly, he took one of her breasts in his hand and stroked the softness, then moved his mouth and suckled. He placed his hand on her shoulder and slid her back down.

Eugenia wrapped her hands around his head and tugged him closer to her body. Her legs moved restlessly, and she softly called his name. Not wishing to ignore her other lovely breast, he switched and allowed his fingers to wander down her body, to her belly, touching the soft skin from there to the thatch of golden hair at the juncture of her thighs.

She sighed a soft breath as his fingers reached her opening, spreading the moist, full petals, dipping his finger in to feel the dampness that gathered there. Wetness for him, for his body to enter hers and surround himself with heaven.

He took her mouth in a slow, gentle kiss, which Eugenia turned into a powerful possession of his mouth. To say he was pleasantly surprised was a gross understatement. She nipped, nibbled, soothed, sucked, then started in all over again.

The scent from her skin and hair mesmerized him, making him want to devour her completely, take her body in ways he never before dreamed of. He tried desperately to hold onto his sanity while she made little mewing sounds, her enthusiastic, yet innocent kisses pushing him very close to the edge.

He froze for a moment and sucked in a quick breath. His body jolted as if struck by lightning as her warm, soft, very proper hand snugly covered his cock like the best courtesan he’d ever had.

Bloody hell, he was lost.

Chapter Ten

“Men, as a rule, do not like surprises, but every once in a while it pays to deviate from the norm.”