“What are you—” Her voice broke as his fingers parted her again—and were joined by something firmer, softer—and warmer as she felt his breath against her.His mouth!She called his name as he began with a kiss, then slipped his tongue into her, licking and sucking as if he intended to devour her.
A euphoric fire shot through Rose, and she bucked hard against him. Grabbing one of the pillows, she put it over her face as she moaned, pleasure rippling through her. His grip on her buttocks tightened as she writhed, her peak building hard and fast. Then he shifted again, and his lips closed on the taut bud at the top of her sex. He pulled it into his mouth, sucking as his tongue flicked against it.
Rose screamed into the pillow, her pleasure shattering over her. Her legs stretched and kicked, trying to find purchase on the bed, as her hips bounced. Thomas held tight to her, his touches with mouth and fingers turning gentle as the waves of passion slowed. Rose moved the pillow, trying hard to catch her breath, as she turned completely limp.
She tried to speak, but “I did not know—” emerged as a garbled mess.
Thomas kissed her thigh, then her stomach, one nipple, then her lips. He slipped the sash from her eyes. “Shh.” He snuggled against her, wrapping his arms and legs around her. “Just feel, remember?”
Rose cupped his cheek, searching his face, wanting to ask so much, wanting to do nothing but hold him. She settled for resting her face against his chest, her fingers drifting lightly through the scattering of hair.
He kissed the top of her head. “I know you have questions. But the night is far from over. There will be time. That’s the first good news. The second is that women recover faster, and more often, than men.”
Rose pushed away and looked up at him. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
*
Thomas almost laughed,which he knew would be a bad move in that moment. But the startled look on Rose’s face—and the naiveté of her question—made him adore her even more. He had not been sure how she would accept the blindfold, but he’d had to find a way to get past her reluctance to let him see her—all of her. As he’d said, he planned to spend a lifetime looking at her, making love to her—hell,worshippingher—and her scars made her all the more remarkable in his eyes. She was, without a doubt, the strongest woman he’d ever met, and that she’d agreed to marry him still dumbfounded him.
But Rose remained an odd mix of worldliness and innocence. She knew so much about the dark side of people, knew even how often some men used their sexuality for evil, but she understood so little about the true ways men and women were with each other.
He stroked her hair. “How do you feel right now?”
Her languid smile told him most of it. “Blissful.”
“Still boneless?”
She blinked, then shook her head.
“Sleepy?”
She considered that. “Not really.”
He kissed her forehead. “I can promise you that when I’m finished, I will be asleep in moments. The curse of being a man.”
“But you did not in the labyrinth.”
“Because I was sitting on a hard bench with the sun in my eyes. If I had been contentedly snuggled in a bed with you—poof—out like a snuffed candle.”
“That doesn’t quite seem fair to your lady.”
He chuckled. “No, it does not, which is why I wanted to please you first.” His fingers stroked down her arm. “And then again.”
Rose’s eyes widened. “You want to do that more than once?”
He gave her a quick kiss. “Twice.” Another kiss. “Three times.” A deeper one.
Rose sighed, giving into the tug of his lips on hers, her body compliant and warm against his, the feel of her breasts and hips pressed against him renewing his deep need for her. Her warmth urged him on, and he moved over her, letting his weight press her into the mattress. He broke the kiss and stroked her face. “Am I too heavy?”
Her eyes held an adulation that made his chest ache. “No—the feeling of you on me—is arousing.” She writhed under him—which set fire to his senses—and her legs parted. He sank against her, and the feeling of his erection against her still moist flesh made his head spin. “Thomas. Should you not... take your pleasure...”
Again, her innocence charmed him. She knew what she wanted, but did not have the words to ask. He merely nodded. “Yes.”
Thomas moved down her body, his lips caressing her neck and shoulder. He cupped one breast, pulling on the hardening nipple with his teeth, then sucking it into his mouth. Rose arched beneath him, a low mewling sound in her throat, a sound that let Thomas know he would never last as long as he wanted to. He reached between them, his fingers parting her, checking for her readiness, and she brought her knees up.
“Please.”
Thomas braced himself on one arm, then guided his engorged erection toward her. Rose was truly ready, the fluid of her body lubricating them both. He pressed the tip inside her, watching her face. She gasped, her eyes widening. Thomas paused, waiting. “Are you all right? Do you want me to stop?”
