He tangled his fingers through her hair, toying with a long tendril. “Then I want to dispel your fear of me. I want you to trust me completely.” He ran his fingers over the curve of her cheek and neck, making it difficult for her to think. “And I want to kiss you.”
“You can kiss me anytime you want,” she said breathlessly. “As long as we’re alone, that is.” She rose on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips.
He kissed her back, but not with his usual hunger. When she withdrew, he sucked in a breath.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I want to kiss you here.” He inched his hand lower over her collarbone, breast, hip, to stop between her legs. “When we kiss, you always squeeze your legs together, and I want to see what happens if I kiss you here.”
The shock of his honesty robbed her of words for a moment. What was she supposed to reply to at a request like that? Her lips parted, but not a sound came out. Although wetness pooled between her legs at the thought of his soft, warm lips on her aching core.
She wasn’t an expert, but she knew his lips and tongue would soothe the throb tormenting her every time he touched her. Just feeling the weight of his hand through the layers of her petticoats and skirt caused the illicit pulse to pound harder. Everywhere. Her whole body came alive with sensation.
He removed his hand and stepped away. “I must apologise. It seems my request was too bold and inappropriate.”
“No!” she nearly shouted.
She clutched his retreating hand by pure instinct without having made the conscious choice to move. She licked her suddenly dry lips as she pondered once again if she was making the right decision. But good heaven, she wanted to experience all the sinful sensations his lips had to offer, and she couldn’t imagine a better man to share such intimacies with. Hector wouldn’t judge or scorn her. He wouldn’t gossip about her wanton behaviour with his friends at the gentlemen’s club. He wouldn’t discard her afterwards. So, she did the only sensible thing her body and mind told her to do.
She took his hand. “Not in this room. Anyone could see us.” She peeped in the hallway.
The noise of pots and pans came from the kitchen while her mother’s voice sounded from the parlour. On her tiptoes, Maddie led Hector up the stairs, her pulse thudding in her ears. Only a few feet from her bedroom. Anticipation itched along her body. She gasped when a door opened.
Verity stepped out of her bedroom and skidded to a halt. She took them in, and a smile curled up her lips. Tilting her head to the opposite side, pretending to haven’t seen them, she went down the stairs.
Maddie smiled. She loved her sister. She exhaled when she finally locked the door to her bedroom, Hector at her side.
“Look at your face.” He cupped her cheeks. “All flushed. But it’s worry, not pleasure.”
“It’s a little exciting as well.” She leant into his touch.
“May I kiss you now?” His voice sounded low and husky.
She placed his hand where it’d been a moment ago, right where she ached the most. His eyes lit up with enough raw desire to knock her off her feet.
“I want it as well,” she whispered the words about to seal her fate as a woman and a lady of London’s society.
His fingers seemed to burn her skin through the fabric of her skirts as he dipped his head to kiss her lips. He took her mouth without hesitation, conquering it with a few lashes of his tongue. She was losing herself in the ardent kiss when he lifted her by the waist. She grabbed his shoulders for balance and gasped when he laid her on the thick rug next to the four-poster bed.
He loomed over her, stroking her cheek and neck. “I can’t believe you let me kiss you.”
She couldn’t believe how beautiful his hungry gaze on her made her feel. He dragged a hand down her body, pausing over her aching breast to rub her nipple through the fabric of her white shirt.
“Next time, I’ll kiss you here,” he said before kissing her breast.
She already wheezed, her muscles tensing with anticipation and her drawers getting soaked with desire. He gently spread her legs and nestled between them. He was so broad that he made her feel even more petite than she was. When he bunched up her skirt and petticoats, she held her breath, waiting for his reaction.
He drank in the sight of her, awed. He caressed her leg reverently. Even through her silk stockings, his calloused fingers teased her skin.
He pushed the skirt further up and revealed the silk garters at her thighs. Up again, and her drawers were fully exposed. He paused, crouched between her legs, and admired his work.
Her chest rose and fell quickly as he bent her knees and pushed her thighs wider apart. The fabric of her skirt and petticoats frothed at her waist, leaving her silk drawers fully uncovered. The slit at their opening parted when he spread her legs. Cool air hit her tender flesh currently hot and wet. She should be ashamed of being so exposed to a man, but instead, she ached to feel his lips, fingers, anything on her core.
He took his time though, running his large hands over her calves and thighs, and toying with the garters. He kissed her knee before stroking her thigh again, leaving behind a trail of goosebumps on her skin.
“Your scent is delicious,” he whispered against her inner thigh.
She couldn’t say anything because, if she opened her mouth, only moans would come out. She gasped when he pulled apart the opening of her drawers and stared at her for a long minute. The more he stared, the wetter she became.
