Strong hands pushed apart her covered legs and he stepped between, giving in to capture her lips in a searing kiss. Hands roved over her back, before skimming lightly over her breast and down, feeling for a sash. The night had been cold and she wore a robe, but now she was hot, too hot, and she shrugged off the garment as soon as his fingers tore at the knot.
The remaining deep-blue night-rail was cut lower in the bodice than some but now she was glad she’d worn it as Lucas’s eyes hotly caressed the bared skin above.
A single finger touched her neck and then gently trailed a path of fire down her upper chest to the slope of her breast. They both watched its descent as it stopped at the ribbons holding the bodice. Neither breathed as the fingers toyed with the blue velvet. Then they pulled. The material did not gape or fall: it stayed where it was, demanding further action.
She expected him to sweep the material aside, to leave her naked, but instead, he slid his hand inside the cotton, feeling instead of seeing. His broad palm covered her breast and cupped its slender weight. She let out a low cry as his rough caress abraded her already tightened nipple.
With a deep growl, Lucas brought his other hand to push the material aside. The cotton resisted no longer and the bodice fell in one swish, pooling on the wooden surface like waves around her hips. His breathing hitched, chest heaving for air, and his mouth swooped down, taking her own breath instead in a passionate kiss.
Now he began a possessive claiming: fingers, mouth and body all urgent and seeking. One hand grabbed her naked back and slid her closer until she pressed firmly against him.
Sharp bursts of pleasure peppered her body: his thumb played with her nipple, starting lightly then becoming rougher; his hips started to rock against her and with every thrust, she could feel his hard shaft push against her core, causing a tightening pressure to build within; the hand at her back started delicately scraping its nails against her lower spine.
She wanted to pull his shirt off, to feel his skin, but Lucas had other ideas and started kissing his way down her chest. She thought she’d known the pleasure of his mouth when they’d been in the breakfast room but it was nothing compared to this – skin to skin.
So hot, his mouth a burning furnace against her, and when his tongue touched her breast, she grabbed hold of his hair and moaned his name. He lapped at her already sensitive rosy crest and ground his hard body against her.
“Lucas,” she pleaded again. Her body felt so tight, clenching in want.
Briefly, he drew back and she quivered at the loss but it was merely to haul the night-rail up, leaving her calves and thighs naked except for pale-blue woollen stockings tied just above the knee.
She tried to put her hands upon him, to throw off his remaining attire, but he captured her fingers and laid them palm down on the oak surface.
“Can I trust you not to move your hands?” he rasped in her ear.
She shook her head. What a silly question, she thought.
He grinned at her with a wicked, sinful smile. “Well, I’ll have to use other means then.” And keeping her hands imprisoned, he bent to capture her breast with his mouth whilst simultaneously grinding his pelvis against her.
It was too much: the incessant rocking, his restraining hold, his laving tongue, the slight graze of teeth. She cried his name as sheer pleasure overtook her, pulsing through her body with relentless force and burning ferocity, shaking her very core, and all those days of wanting him, watching him, admiring him, converged into that one moment of heady intensity.
Slowly, her breathing calmed, head rested against his chest whilst a hot hand soothed its way up and down her back. His hips still leisurely rocked but without force, sending sensitive shivers throughout.
But she could also feel the rigid tension in his unfulfilled body. She could hear the hard rasp of his breath against her hair and see the damp skin at his throat. And all of a sudden, her body, even after so much pleasure and fulfilment, still felt hunger – for more.
His shirt had partially come loose from his breeches so she tugged at the rest and heard his breath catch. Pulling away, she started dragging the wads of material over his chest, nearly wrenching his head from his shoulders.
God, he was lovely – pure muscle and glistening bronzed skin. The scars only seemed to emphasise the rugged, chiselled torso. She looked up and saw he was gazing intently, tawny-golden hair flopping over his forehead.
Keeping her eyes on his, she leaned forward to kiss his chest. She feathered soft touches all over his torso, occasionally lapping at his skin, making him reach out to hold the back of her head, his hand tangling in the long hair.
Moving to his shoulder, she reached down to fumble at the button on his breeches, but a large hand stopped her, and he stood back. An arm slipped beneath and he lifted her, making for the soft bed.
The candle still fluttered as he laid her down, but she stilled his hand as he reached to pinch it out.
“I want to see you, Lucas,” she said softly, leaning up to pull off her stockings.
Lucas gently pushed her back. “Leave them…in case you get cold.”
His eyes blazed, and she wasn’t sure the reason given was the entire truth but it made her feel decadent and positively reckless. The night-rail, however, was still gathered at her hips. “There’s a button. At the waist.”
She waited until feeling the material slither down her legs.
No longer did she want to be passive. Now she wanted to touch Lucas’s body and hear him pant athertouch. With a hand on either cheek, she grabbed hold of his face and kissed him fiercely, biting his lower lip and then slipping her tongue inside. She was unsure of what to do next, but Lucas didn’t seem to care about her inexperience – he gasped at every stroke, every caress, wherever or however it was done.
With nimble fingers, she caressed his lower back, which arched under her touch. She traced nails over shoulder blades that flexed like iron wings straining for her embrace, before moving down to linger on his firm stomach with its delectable trail of darker hair. And then lower. She cupped the hard bulge.
Her boldness must have enthralled him as he groaned loudly, and his hands and mouth once again roused her skin, her breasts and her core to heat and fervour.
