His kiss was achingly gentle. His hands settled on her hips and did not move while he placed tender open-mouthed kisses along her jawbone and then slowly down her neck. Impatient, she pushed his coat off his shoulders and he watched in amusement as she undid the buttons of his waistcoat with slightly shaking fingers. Beneath her palms, she could feel the heat of his skin through the thin linen of his shirt, but when she attempted to untuck it from the waistband of his breeches so that she could plunge her hands beneath that unwanted barrier, he held her at arm’s length.
‘I will not let you hurry me. We have all night and I fully intend to thoroughly enjoy every single moment.’
With hooded eyes and painfully slow fingers, he carefully plucked each of the pins from her hair until it hung to her waist. To torture her further, he picked up a heavy lock and wound it around his hand before he kissed her again. ‘I did not know until recently that I preferred brunettes.’ He trailed his lips across her collarbone and then back up to her face. ‘And beautiful brown eyes.’
Amelia felt his hands drift to the laces at the back of her dress, felt the bow at the base of her neck come undone, and then her tight bodice loosened as the laces slid effortlessly from their eyelets. Every part of her body began to tingle with awareness when he stood back again to watch as he bared her shoulders to his intense gaze. The fabric pooled at her waist, so it seemed appropriate to shimmy out of it; however, Amelia now felt self-consciously exposed, standing in nothing but her plain shift and half-corset.
Once again, he unlaced the small garment slowly and let it drop to the floor. His eyes drank her in, lingering at the swell of her breasts rising from the top of what was left of her clothing, before he stepped forward and scooped her up into his arms as if she weighed nothing at all. He kissed her deeply again, then strode to the bed. She managed to kick off her slippers before he lowered her onto the counterpane and slowly rolled off her stockings one by one and tossed them on the floor.
When his fingers went to the ties of her shift Amelia experienced a ripple of excitement, closely followed by a moment of fear. As the candles were all still glowing softly, he obviously intended to see her completely naked, and that was something that she had never been in front of anyone.
‘Wait.’ His fingers paused at her neckline and Amelia licked her lips awkwardly. If she was about to be naked, she certainly did not wish to be the only naked person in the room. ‘Perhaps you should take off your shirt first?’
Without taking his eyes off her, he grabbed the bottom of the linen and pulled it up and off in one fluid motion. The sight of his bare skin, the shape of his intriguing male muscles and the unexpected dusting of golden hair across his abdomen and chest rendered her speechless. Without thinking, she reached out one trembling hand to touch him and experienced a moment of feminine triumph when she felt his heart begin to hammer beneath her palm. It was empowering.
Rising up onto her knees, Amelia began to explore his torso, first with her fingers and then with her lips. She heard his breathing become heavier, more erratic, but he did nothing to stop her. Only when her hand reached the waistband of his breeches did he take control again, but he allowed her to unbutton his falls while he undid her shift, before he pulled back again.
The bulge in his lap magically held his trousers up and held her transfixed. She was beyond curious to see what lay beneath that tented fabric and her open curiosity made him smile.
‘You first,’ he said, gesturing to her shift with a flick of his eyes, and then promptly crossed his magnificent arms over his magnificent chest and waited for her to comply. Feeling suddenly bold, she slowly slid the straps of her shift off her shoulders and allowed the fabric to fall far enough that it rested on the crest of her bosom. She gave him a knowing look beneath her lashes and heard him chuckle. ‘Minx.’
One of his hands came forward and gave the soft muslin a tug, exposing her pert nipples to his eyes, and she watched them widen. The blue irises darkened further when she raised herself up onto her haunches and brazenly pushed the flimsy fabric over her hips, watching his gaze follow the journey intently until it rested on the dark curls at the apex of her thighs. She could tell that he liked what he saw. His eyes came back up to her breasts and then returned to her face and he licked his lips and swallowed.
‘I believe that it is your turn now...Ben.’
Satisfyingly, a muscle twitched in his jaw as he fought to maintain his control, but then he grinned wolfishly. ‘Help yourself.’ He saw her hesitation and purposely folded his arms across his chest again. ‘I dare you.’
Amelia had never been one to shy away from a challenge and she was almost squirming in her desperation to see him completely nude. She forced her hands to work slowly as she pushed the buckskin down over his hips, openly staring at the intriguing golden hair that appeared first, until his manhood sprang free, so hard and so much bigger than she had anticipated. Boldly, she traced the shape of it, marvelling at the heat and the smoothness until he growled, hauled her into his arms and sent her toppling backwards onto the bed.
From then on his onslaught was relentless. He kissed and nibbled every inch of her skin, avoiding her breasts and that intimate triangle of hair. The more he tortured her body, the more those parts cried out to be touched. Amelia pushed her breasts towards his mouth time and time again, and each time he found somewhere else to nip and tease until she was writhing on the mattress. ‘Please!’ She had no idea what she was asking for and she could tell that the wretch was openly enjoying the effect he was having. ‘Ben—please! Touch me.’
‘Where?’ he asked with feigned innocence and then trailed his lips over the undersides of her breasts, then, inch by painful inch, he continued upwards until she did not think she could stand it any more. As his mouth finally closed over her taut nipple, she moaned and arched upwards, the pleasure was so intense. So perfect.
Once he had fully worshipped one breast, he turned all of his attention on the other while she raked her hands through his hair and made noises that she could not quite believe came from her. By the time his fingers wound a lazy path towards her most secret place, she welcomed them gratefully, allowing her legs to fall wantonly open. Amelia groaned as he gently explored the soft folds, and then almost screamed when his finger circled a part of her body that she had not known existed.
‘Oh, Ben.’ Her words came out on a sigh as she surrendered to his touch. Over and over again he teased that aching bud, staring down at her face as he did, so intently that it made her feel beautiful. When her body began to tense and her hips began to buck, he plunged his fingers inside her. Lights exploded behind her eyes and for a second or two she actually thought that she might die from the sheer bliss of it all. And then she experienced the most tremendous rush of pure, intense relief and floated back down to earth completely boneless.
‘You look smug.’ He did. Delightfully so and Amelia could not even muster the strength to cover her nakedness.
‘I am smug. And you are perfect.’ He shifted his body slightly so that the male part of him rested insistently against her stomach. Without thinking, Amelia moved to accommodate his hips and looped her arms languidly around his shoulders.
‘Are you going to show me what happens next?’
‘Only if you want me to. It might hurt, I’m afraid.’
‘Will it feel as good as that just did?’
‘I hope so. Eventually. Perhaps better.’ His teeth had found the soft part of her ear again and already she could feel her body begin to reawaken. Unconsciously, she tilted her hips upwards and felt his hardness nudge at her entrance.
Amelia raked her nails gently down his spine and brought them to rest on his deliciously rounded, firm buttocks. ‘Go on, then.’
So he did. With a look of intense concentration, he carefully pushed inside her. From the outset, she welcomed his intrusion, enjoying the sense of completeness at being so intimately fused with this wonderful man. The muscles of his abdomen were clenched so tightly, the tension in his big body so extreme that she knew that he was holding himself back for her. When he reached the barrier of her virginity he paused and rested his forehead against hers in apology. Instinct made her wrap her legs tightly about his hips. ‘Please, Ben,’ she whispered next to his ear. ‘I want this.’
With a sigh of acceptance, he pushed through, screwing his eyes shut tightly so that he did not have to see her wince at the unexpectedly sharp, but brief, pain. Her own body tensed and she forced herself to relax. As soon as he began to move, she knew that everything would be all right. Because being joined with him, filled with him, was the most wonderful feeling in the world.
Bennett felt like a brute. She was so small and tight, yet so trusting and eager, and he was so big and clumsy. But then she opened her eyes and gazed up into his and he saw nothing but desire and pleasure in them. She wanted him and she wanted this. Emboldened, he began to move quicker and, to his complete delight, she moaned her encouragement loudly. When he thrust into her deeper, her hips came up to meet his enthusiastically and she clawed at his back, wrapping her lovely legs even tighter about his waist and writhed and cried out his name. There was nothing reserved or proper or awkward in what they were doing, only rightness. His body had been made to fit with hers perfectly, as if they were both created to be together like this. When he felt her body tighten and pulse around him, he gave up trying to be gentle and clamoured hungrily for his own release. All the while she urged him on, meeting him thrust for thrust until he lost the ability to think about anything except the way it felt to be buried deep inside her. Fused with her, almost as if he was a part of her. Meant to be. Perfect. His climax came out of nowhere and stunned him; on a guttural cry he spilled inside her. And then he collapsed into the warm comfort of her arms and buried his face in her neck.
Undone. Unravelled and changed irrevocably.
