“Can I touch you?” she asked shyly, somewhat surprised that she wanted to so desperately. She’d never wanted to touch the duke.
He laughed roughly. “I wish you would. I’ve been dying to feel your hands on me.”
Reaching out tentatively, she traced her fingertips over his collarbone, and then across the swells of his well-defined chest. She hesitated over his flat male nipples, wondering if they were as sensitive as her own, then gently brushed them with the very tips of her fingers, marveling at the interesting texture.
He remained quiet and passive beneath her touch, but his blue eyes burned feverishly, and she could tell that he loved being touched as much as she had.
Slowly, she moved down his body, running her hands across his stomach, which was ridged with muscle, and then his powerful thighs, carefully avoiding either looking at or touching that huge, swollen part of him. She still couldn’t get over how different his body was from the duke’s, even though she knew it wasn’t fair to compare them. Roman was a young man in his prime, and the duke had been in his late middle-age even when they’d wed.
At last, when it seemed he could take her exploration no longer, he took one of her hands in his, placing it on his hard, swollen flesh. “Here,” he gritted out. “Touch me here, darling.”
Face flaming, she finally allowed herself to look as she awkwardly wrapped her hand around it, surprised by the steely texture. The duke’s had certainly never felt like this! Once again, she felt some trepidation. He was likely to split her apart with this thing!
“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted, embarrassed to the depths of her soul. A woman who’d been married for as long as she had should certainly know more about these sorts of things than she did. She sensed that she ought to be able to give him pleasure, the way he’d done for her, without actually engaging in the sex act. But she had no idea how to go about it.
“It’s all right,” he murmured. “I’ll show you.” Wrapping his hand around hers once more, he proceeded to rub it up and down his length, creating a silky friction that made her blush even more. She was touching him, and she was actually enjoying it! Even though she’d wanted a lover, she really hadn’t expected to like it. She’d just felt as though she needed to experience the act with someone else, someone who cared for her. She’d wanted to know what all the fuss was about, why Natalia and some of her new friends seemed to enjoy it so much.
After a few minutes, he let his hand fall away, then rolled suddenly, so that she was on her back and he loomed above her. “That feels too good,” he said, his voice rough with passion. “I have to be inside you. Will you let me?”
No turning back now. For a long second, she gazed into those burning blue eyes, then she nodded nervously. “Yes,” she whispered. “Come inside me, Roman.”
With a low groan, he rubbed himself against her core, his burning length stretching her briefly before he thrust his hips and seated himself all the way inside her. She gasped, her hands automatically going to his chest as though to push him away before stilling against him in confused delight. This wasn’t what she’d been expecting. She’d certainly never felt the duke so deeply inside her like this. There had been a lot of thrusting, a lot of pain, but she now wondered if he’d ever truly been inside her.
Any thoughts of the duke’s shortcomings were quickly washed away when Roman began to move, holding her gaze as he learned her body intimately. She found herself moving against him, enjoying every thrust, her body straining toward the release she’d had before, certain he could once again give it to her.
When it came this time, it was even more intense than before, a tidal wave of pleasure that shook her to her very core.
Moments later, he went rigid and cried out, obviously having some sort of release of his own, then sagged heavily against her as they both fought to reclaim their breath, their eyes still locked.
“That was... amazing,” she finally managed, wondering how the same act could be so entirely different with this man than with her late husband. In fact, she wondered again what it was that her husband had been doing.
“You are amazing,” he said, rolling them so that his weight no longer pressed into her. He now lay on his back, and she was sprawled across his chest.
She idly drew circles on his chest with her fingertip, expecting that any minute he’d get up and leave, now that he’d gotten what he wanted from her. That had been her experience, after all. But nothing about making love to Roman had been what she’d expected. The entire thing had been more than she ever could have imagined.
But he made no move to leave. Instead, he pulled the blankets up over them both, hugging her even tighter against him. What was he doing? Of all the things that he’d done that had surprised her this evening, this was perhaps the most surprising of all.
All she could think of was that he expected her to be the one to get up and walk away. Perhaps he was simply tired and didn’t want to traipse back across London in the cold.
With a regretful sigh, she tensed and prepared herself to end the best night of her life.
Chapter Five
Roman stretched out on the large bed, more sated than he could ever remember being. With a sigh, he pulled Clarice close, and she rested her head upon his chest. They were both silent for a long time. He wasn’t certain what she was thinking, but his own thoughts were a jumble of pleasure and pain.
This had been the best sexual experience of his life. He couldn’t help but be sad that they’d lost so many years. Even the last year and a half had been a total waste. Why hadn’t he been braver that day he’d gone to her husband’s funeral? Why hadn’t he let her know then that he’d never forgotten her? They could have been meeting clandestinely this entire time.
With a sigh, he kissed the top of her head. Regrets were pointless now. All they could do was make certain not to waste another moment.
“This was lovely,” she finally murmured. “Thank you so much for coming.” Her voice sounded strange... flat and emotionless.
A sick feeling bloomed in the pit of his stomach. Was she kicking him out? Had she gotten what she wanted from him and now wanted him to leave?
The thought was so ludicrous, so completely outside of his experience, that he couldn’t even process it. He said nothing, and after a moment, she pushed out of his arms and left the bed, slipping into a sapphire blue silk robe.
“If you’d like to wash up, there’s a water basin in the bathroom,” she told him, going to the sideboard and pouring herself a drink.
He watched her, taking in her stiff shoulders and rigid posture. What the hell had he done wrong? He’d thought she’d been enjoying herself as much as he was.
