“Is that what you need?” he asked.
“Yes. Yes.”
Because his hands were occupied, she used her own to knead her breasts, to tease her nipples, her joy increasing as his eyes darkened, his jaw clenched. All her nerve endings began tingling. The most exquisite sensations rushed through her.
When they exploded, she had to bite her fist to keep her scream contained. The vibrations were still erupting through her when he dug his fingers into her hips, groaned, and thrust deeply into her one last time.
She collapsed on top of him, not certain she’d ever again move.
Beast didn’t know why he’d never thought to bring her to his chamber. His bed was larger than hers. They had plenty of room to sprawl over it. Not that they needed it. As always, afterward, she snuggled against his side, one of her legs draped over his hip, while he held her close.
“I like when you lead,” he said. “I like it very much. I think you should lead every time.”
Her head was resting in the crook of his shoulder. Turning slightly, she pressed a kiss against his skin. “Not every time, but occasionally, because I like when you lead, too.”
He’d enjoyed every minute of what had transpired after he’d walked into the room, but sometimes it had felt as though there was almost a desperation to it, as though everything needed to happen because it would never happen again. Which made no sense whatsoever.
“What you did earlier... your mouth... my cock... did Jewel teach you that?”
She lifted up until she could gaze down on him. “In a way.” She blushed. “But not really. I’ve been thinking about it, wondering if it’s what people did, because more and more of late, I’ve been wondering what it might be like to . . . taste you. So tonight I asked her about it.”
“She taught you what to do?”
She shook her head. “Not really. She told me to just do whatever I thought I’d enjoy doing.”
He threaded his fingers through her hair near her temple. “You thought you would enjoy doing that?”
Bobbing her head, she smiled. “And I did.”
“Lucky me.” He skimmed his thumb over her cheek. “In the future, you can always ask me if there is something you want to try. It doesn’t matter if other people do it. It only matters that you want to.”
Averting her gaze, she placed her head back against his shoulder. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
But he was left with the impression he’d said something wrong. “Thea, is everything all right?”
“Of course it is. Did everything work out for you today?”
He wished he could rid himself of the sensation that something was amiss. “It seems my father is a very powerful man, which I suppose explains how my grandfather was able to do all the damage he did. Whenever we walked into a building, an office, a room, everyone jumped to do his bidding. It was extraordinary. My siblings and I are formidable, but this was something more.”
“He’s nobility. It’s not only his character or his temperament or his disposition. His title carries weight. The more revered his title, the more revered he is, even if it’s undeserving. Like your brothers’ father, Lord Elverton. He always made my skin crawl, but people bowed down to him as though he were a saint. Now that you’re a lord, you’ll exert more power than you do now.”
“I’ve always known the nobility was treated differently. I suppose I never noticed it with Thornley or Rosemont because they regarded me as an equal. Although to be honest, I’ve never seen them outside of the family. My father didn’t demand that anyone treat him differently. They simply did.”
“You’ll get used to it. Eventually, you won’t even notice that everyone offers you such reverence. I never did. I just accepted it as my due.”
He didn’t know if he’d ever get used to the bowing and curtsying, the servants coming in to stir the fire, someone always on hand to take his coat, hat, and gloves. “I don’t know if I’ll ever feel completely comfortable with it all.”
“You will.”
What he did know was that it would all be easier with her at his side. He skimmed his fingers up and down her arm. “They want me to go back to Scotland with them. For a few weeks, so they can show me around and introduce me to my other family.” He still wasn’t accustomed to the fact that he had another family. Uncles, aunts, and cousins who were anxious to meet him. “You need to tell me when and where you want that second proposal because I want us to be officially betrothed when you go with me.”
She went still, so very still. It was uncanny, the way he could detect the smallest of changes in her, especially when something was amiss. “Thea?”
She unfurled herself from around him and pushed herself up, bringing the sheet with her so the most delectable parts of her were covered. “I can’t marry you now.”
As his heart slammed almost painfully against his ribs, he shoved himself up to a sitting position. “What do you mean you can’t marry menow?”
“You are part of the aristocracy.”
