Page 104 of The Earl’s Forbidden Temptation

Every stroke, every kiss seemed to carry apology, promise, and devotion in the slow drive of his body into hers. Her moans broke against his mouth, sharp and breathless. Darcy met him without reserve. Her legs tightened around his hips, drawing him closer, her gaze fixed upon his. Pleasure darkened her eyes, but love shone beneath it, unmistakable and fierce.

Her nails raked his shoulders, and she lifted her hips more urgently against him.

“More?” he asked roughly, his voice thick and strained with restraint.

“Yes,” she whispered, her breath shuddering. “I want you…this…so much.”

The words shattered what remained of his control.

Sebastian kissed her again, deep and passionate, and the measured rhythm of his hips changed. He drove into her harder now, deeper, each thrust deliberate and hungry, as though no depth could satisfy him, as though he could never have enough of the feel of her wrapped tight around his cock. Darcy met him eagerly, her arms tightening around his shoulders as their rhythm quickened. Her breathing broke into soft cries against his mouth, and he swallowed each one with another kiss.

He felt her pleasure gathering in the tension of her body, in the way she clung to him and moved with him. Sebastian was close himself, every muscle drawn tight as he fought to hold back until she reached the edge with him.

“Darcy,” he rasped against her mouth.

She answered with his name, her body tightening as pleasure finally overwhelmed her. Sebastian followed almost at once, his own release hard enough to leave him trembling. He buried his face against the curve of her neck, his breath ragged, while Darcy’s arms remained wrapped tightly around him.

For several moments, Sebastian could do nothing but feel her. Her warmth beneath him. Her fingers moving lazily through his hair. The frantic beating of her heart gradually slowing against his chest.

Eventually he shifted his weight, unwilling to crush her. Darcy immediately tightened her arms.

A laugh escaped him. “Am I permitted to move?”

“No.”

“No?”

“Absolutely not.”

His smile came without effort. “Demanding woman.”

“You have only just discovered this?”

Sebastian lifted his head and looked at her. Her hair lay in glorious disarray across the pillow, her lips swollen from his kisses, her face softened by satisfaction and affection.

God, he loved her.

He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek and kissed her again, slowly this time. Darcy touched his face when their mouths parted, and Sebastian turned his head to press a kiss into her palm.

Later, they lay tangled beneath the coverlet, Darcy tucked against his side, her cheek resting over his heart. Sebastian idly traced his fingers along her bare shoulder while the distant revelry of Aphrodite drifted upward from below. Music and laughter mingled with the unmistakable sounds of people determined to pursue every pleasure available to them before dawn.

Sebastian glanced toward the door. “I believe there is still dancing below stairs.”

Darcy did not move.

“And gaming,” he added. “You did come here intending to enjoy yourself tonight.”

“I have enjoyed myself.”

His mouth twitched. “There are still several hours before dawn. Shall we go below and dance and gamble the night away?”

Darcy finally lifted her head and regarded him suspiciously. “Are you attempting to be rid of me?”

“God, no.” Sebastian tightened his arm around her waist. “I am making the heroic sacrifice of offering you other entertainment when I would much rather selfishly keep you here until morning.”

Her eyes gleamed.

“Well?” he prompted.