Her words, said softly, almost wantonly, took the breath from him. Was she not a virgin?
She continued. “I believe that would entail kisses in other places and clothing being dispensed with until…”
At her hesitancy, he knew her to be pure yet well informed. He had to know what she thought. “Until what?”
She looked down at her now-clasped hands, one thumb rubbing the other. Then her head came up and her gaze met his. “Until we joined and found the ultimate pleasure.”
Even as he stood there astonished, he could feel himself growing hard. Did she know she tempted him beyond his own control? “How do you know this?”
A soft smile appeared. “A book. Is it truly so wonderful?”
Bloody hell. He gave a short nod.
She sighed. “I hope to experience it one day.”
Even as she said the words, an image of Lord Wilford helping her down from a coach filled his mind.No!His body shook with a flash of anger and in that moment he finally understood.
He loved Lady Sophie, his very own Rosalind.
Stunned by the revelation, he missed her movement until it was too late. She stood before him, her green eyes full of curiosity. “Is it the same no matter who you are with, like Lady Worcester?”
He tried to remember who Lady Worcester was, then wished he hadn’t. She’d been the woman he’d tupped the night before kissing Sophie the first time. How could he have ever thought Sophie was Lydia?
Unable to resist any longer, he cupped her cheek. “No, it’s very different.”
“Does that mean my future husband wouldn’t make me feel like I do now?”
He took a deep breath as his heart started to pound. “How do youfeel?”
She pressed her hand to her chest. “I feel like liquid fire is in my veins, my heart is racing, and there is a tightening in my belly when I think of your kissing me.”
Despite his best intentions, or maybe because of them, he lowered his head. “Let us see how you feel, then, when I do.”
“Yes.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and closed the space between their bodies.
If he’d ever had a chance to walk away from her this night, it vanished the moment he touched her lips with his own. She immediately opened for him and he accepted her invitation, stroking her tongue with his own as he deepened the kiss. His arms tightened about her as if of their own accord, pressing her soft body against his hard one.
A small moan of pleasure rippled out from her throat, even as she stroked the hair at the back of his neck.
His need for her was overpowering yet coupled with a protectiveness he’d not experienced before. Listening to his instincts, he cupped her arse and pulled her tight against his erection.
Instead of jerking away, she pushed closer.
He bent her back and left her lips to taste her jawline, the pulse at the base of her neck, and the skin at the top of her shift. When her dressing gown opened, he halted.
She moved her hand from his neck to his bare chest revealed by his open shirt. “You’re so hard.”
Though she spoke of his chest, it was his erection that jerked at her words. “And you’re very soft. I want to taste all of you.”
“Yes, please.”
Her words were far more than an invitation, and he wasn’t about to reject such a plea, even if he could. Pulling her up, he moved his hand between their bodies and untied the sash at her waist. Gently, as if she were the most delicate flower, he pushed the dressing gown wide, over her shoulders, and let it drop to the floor. The lantern lightshe’d lit left little to his imagination. Though she wasn’t tall, she had the curves of a full-grown woman, and the tips of her nipples made their presence known beneath her white shift.
A shiver raced through her.
He laid his hand upon her arm. “Are you cold?”
“No. I don’t know why I shivered. I’m excited.”
