“You have the loveliest breasts,” he murmured as he stroked the tight points. “I could do this for hours.”
She stared up at him, stunned that he would say something … so … so exciting.
His lips curled back, wolflike, exposing strong white teeth.
“Would you like that?” he asked with a wicked grin.
“Ah …” She was at a complete loss. It had never occurred to her that people talked about these things while they were doing them.
He gave a soft laugh. “Another time.”
Swiftly, he unlaced her stays and pulled them from her body. Her chemise came next and then she lay before him, clad only in her stockings and shoes.
Clarissa blushed from head to toe as he gazed at her. But she felt only shyness, not shame. Christian’s face bespoke adoration as much as lust, and his hands were gentle as he settled her more comfortably on the bed. She waited quietly while he stood to strip off his clothes.
As his body was revealed, her breath snagged. She saw a godlike, brawny, and powerful man. But a man who had experienced all the brutalities of war. She couldn’t help clapping one hand over her mouth.
Christian’s head came up and his eyes filled with concern.
“What’s wrong, love?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
She touched the barely healed bullet wound on his shoulder, and then ran her fingers along the ridge of a cruel scar that bisected the left side of his torso. “Do they still hurt?” she asked.
He carried her hand to his lips. “I’m fine. There’s nothing to worry about. I promise.”
An echo of sorrow rustled in her chest. “I hate that you have to be a soldier.”
He drew her close. She shuddered, loving the feel of his hot, hard body blanketing her limbs.
“Shh,” he murmured. “Don’t think about that. Not now.”
He nuzzled her mouth as one hand shaped the globes of her bottom. Her aroused nipples brushed against the coarse hairs of his chest, forcing a groan from her mouth. Hunger and need poured through her veins, and her thighs dampened.
“Christian,” she panted, breaking free from his tender kiss. “I need you. Now.”
“Patience, love,” he crooned as he trailed kisses along her jaw. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
She grabbed him by the ears and yanked his head up, bringing them nose to nose.
“Ouch,” he yelped. For effect, she thought, since his eyes were gleaming with laughter.
“Now,” she gritted between clenched teeth.
He made a quick, ravishing foray of her mouth, and then settled in the cradle of her thighs. She pulled her legs up around his hips to accommodate his muscled girth.
“As my lady commands,” he said in a rumbling voice.
He flexed his hips, nudging the broad head of his erection into the opening of her body. Holding her head between his hands, he gazed into her eyes as he surged into her. She gasped at the scorching invasion that stretched and filled her to the limit. He stilled, and his head dropped to her shoulder, his breath a pant on her skin.
“Clarissa—” he choked out.
“No,” she breathed. “It’s all right.” She wriggled a bit, and pleasure lanced up from the place where they were joined. It was more than all right. It was wonderful.
With a satisfied hum, she arched her spine, rubbing her breasts against the hardness of his chest. He began to move in short, hard nudges. She greedily absorbed every sensation, running her hands over the broad contours ofhis shoulders, tracing the rippling of muscles down his back and across his lean flanks.
Her touch spurred him on. He tilted her hips, moving deep, setting off a delicious, fevered ache in her most sensitive flesh. His mouth locked on hers, his tongue hot and caressing between her lips.
Clarissa pulled her knees up, opening herself as wide as she could. She was desperate, sobbing against his mouth, yearning for completion.
Breaking the kiss, Christian lifted on his elbows. She whimpered a protest, needing all of him—on her, in her, bringing her to rapture. Murmuring comfort, he brought his hand down between their bodies, slicking two fingers through her damp folds. She dug her heels in his thighs and cried out as a shuddering release trembled through her limbs.
In response, his muscles began to spasm. He lunged into her, pressing down as he shook with his release. A deep groan broke from his throat, and he collapsed, curling around her.
As they lay there, a panting tangle of arms and legs, Clarissa slowly came back to herself. The pressure of Christian’s body lifted from her chest. She opened her eyes to look at him.
Her heart lurched. What she saw on his face wasn’t some temporary infatuation. It was love—selfless, adoring, and full of joy.
Her plan, God forgive her, had worked.
