In a flash, he had put both hands under her arse, then hoisted her into the air. She let out a startled bark of laughter that quickly turned into a moan as he kissed the curves of her breasts, one and then the other, now conveniently placed at the height of his mouth.
He carried her across the room and carefully laid her on the edge of her bed. His hands were gentle as he supported her back. He took her hair, braided it into a rope like she wore it to sleep, and gently pulled it out from beneath her so it wouldn’t cause her any discomfort.
He kissed her nose, her mouth. He kissed the point of her chin, then skimmed his nose down until he could press a kiss to the divot at the base of her throat. He kissed the hard plate of her breastbone, right above the collar of her shift.
And then, he sank to his knees before her.
“Oh, God,” she breathed, clapping her hands over her face.
“No, no,” he crooned. She felt his hands come around her ankles, his thumbs resting on the bone of the joints. He gave her a caress, each mirroring the other. “Don’t hide your face from me. Please, Letty, dearest. Let me see.”
It took more courage for her to remove her hands from her face than to let him use his grip on her ankles to spread her legs wider and wider, until her shift’s width prevented her knees from moving any further.
He traced his fingers up the fine bones of her shins, then cupped his grip around to the backs of her calves. He pressed a kiss to each knee, the touch bright and hot even through the fabric of her nightdress.
“Let me give you more, Letty,” he said, his breath making the muslin damp and warm. “Tell me yes.”
“Yes,” she breathed. Her hands were trembling at her sides. “Yes.”
He raised the hem of her shift an inch, then one more. The rasp of the fabric against her skin was a tease in itself, but it was nothing compared to the hot, open-mouthed kisses he pressed to the inside of her knee, then the tender skin inside her thigh.
She was burning, and her breath came in little hitching pants.
“Ezra,” she murmured. “What are you doing to me?”
“Oh, sweetness,” he breathed into her skin. “I haven’t even started yet.”
The sound that escaped her next was garbled, and, honestly, she didn’t even know what words she’d beentryingto utter. He raised her hem higher, kissing each exposed inch as he went, higher and higher still, until?—
Oh, Lord, she was bared to him, entirely.
She knew she was slick enough that her arousal would be obvious—she could feel it, and belatedly, she fretted that it was uncouth, somehow. As soon as the thought occurred to her, she had to fight back a hysterical bubble of laughter. They had gone rather far pastuncouthquite a while ago.
“God, you are so beautiful,” he breathed, sounding like she was a revelation.
“Ezra...” she said.
And then, he pressed his mouth right to her center.
The sound that left her was akin to a scream.
Lord help her, she hadneverfelt anything like this. She’d never felt as though her body was made of pure energy, as though she could burst into flame at any moment. His mouth was warm and wet and consuming, and everything ceased to exist except for the places that he touched her.
“Do you see the power that you have?” he murmured, interspersing his caresses with punctuated kisses on her thighs, along the crease where her leg met her body, then back to her core. “Do you like knowing that you can put me on my knees?”
She should not admit it, but yes, she did. She propped herself up just enough to look down her body at him, the sight nearly dizzying her. He licked her again, this time bringing his fingers to gently touch her entrance, and she dropped back down flat on the mattress.
“Good God, Letty,” he groaned, sounding almost as delirious with desire as she felt. “The things you do to me.”
“I think,” she gasped, the sound choked, “that you are—oh—doing things to me.”
He slid a finger inside her, and she instinctively felt her body tense. He withdrew, then plunged in again, this time with two fingers, stretching her in the most delightful way.
“Yes,” he hissed into her flesh. “Let me. Let me show you how good it can feel.”
He focused his attention on that one spot that felt so good she almost wanted to cringe away from it, as if the pleasure was so intense it might actually tear her apart.
“Ezra,” she cried, her hand going to his hair, clenching his locks between her fingers. He groaned when she tugged, just a little, and then she fell truly apart, her entire body clenching and shaking with the onslaught of pleasure. Her vision went briefly dim, and when she returned to herself, Ezra was standing at the end of the bed, shirt off, trousers unlaced.
