Page 84 of The Seduction of an English Scoundrel

She couldn’t help laughing at that. “Listen to you, making decadence out to be a virtue.”

“Well, from my position, it is.”

“I hate that you sound so experienced,” she murmured.

“I love that you don’t.”

But the truth was that he might have been making love for the first time. He could barely remember all the techniques he had mastered, the lovers who had taught him, and yet somehow his instincts felt sharper than ever, focused on pleasing this woman. His heart beat like a war drum in his chest with his desire to possess her.

Everything had gone as he had planned except for the unexpected erosion of his restraint, his emotional involvement. But Jane would be Jane, even at the moment of her moral downfall, practically turning the tables on him until he wondered who indeed would emerge the victor in their game. The possibility of defeat, however remote, only stimulated him.

But he would win this battle. He would master her body, mark her his own, make her beg him for more. He quickened the movements of his fingers and felt her delicate muscles contract as he brought her to a climax. She twined her arms around his neck and molded herself to his body, a seductress in her own right as the aftershocks of pleasure inundated her. He watched her in shameless enjoyment. The fierce tenderness he felt for her humbled him. Making love had never involved his heart before.

Then he was positioning the tip of his penis to enter her, his ballocks nestled below her cleft. The invasion into her body made her tighten all over, and he reacted by slowing his penetration, whispering soft reassurances and sliding his large hands under her hips to steady her.

“Jane,” he said hoarsely, “give in to me.”

Her hands tightened around his neck. His shaft felt huge inside her, pressing into her moist passage, stretching her in a ritual of pleasure and pain. “I’m trying,” she whispered.

“I want you.” He pushed a little deeper inside her, relentless in his need. “I want you so much.”

She wanted him, too. She wanted to know him this way, to take him completely into her body. She wanted to drown in him, to feel his power in every part of her. Her eyes widening, she stared up in unabashed fascination at his shadowed face. He was beautiful, her seductor. The erotic intensity in his blue eyes sent little shocks of lightning up and down her back. His muscular biceps strained as he held his body motionless above hers. Her blood thrumming in suspense, she whispered, “Yes. Oh, yes.”

He threw back his head, and she felt herself splintered by his initial thrust. Uncertain what would follow this sensual onslaught, she dug her fingers into his shoulders and anchored herself for the next stroke. Even then she was taken by storm when his hips surged forward, embedding himself inside her to the hilt. She felt the strength forced from her body.

“I—can’t—”

He grazed her trembling mouth with a kiss, murmuring, “I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”

His voice mesmerized her, breaking through the misty haze of her mind. Her inner muscles quivered and gripped him, adjusting to the rhythm he had set. The way he rolled his hips, the gentle slamming into her, and the raw sexuality on his face stole her breath.

“Oh, God, woman,” he muttered. “You feel good.”

“So do . . . you.”

“Like nothing—like no one I have ever known.”

His words thrilled her. “Truly?”

His eyes glinted. His voice was a low purr. “Truly, Jane,” he answered softly. “I have never opened my heart to another as I have to you.”

She was too lost in his seduction to acknowledge the prickle of guilt his confession awakened. Surrendering her maidenhead might have been a lot more uncomfortable than she had anticipated, but there was no denying how exciting the basic crudity of it all was. Just to follow the mysterious instincts of their bodies. Bumping. Shoving at each other. Moonlight silvering the corded muscles of his chest. She shook with the violent beauty of their mating.

Grayson had kept his entire body wound taut to stop himself from coming at the first thrust. The unbreached walls of her passage closed around him like a silken fist. The pressure in his loins had him gritting his teeth. If she gave another one of those sexy little shivers again, he would explode inside her. Only when he felt her coming apart beneath him did he allow himself to let go, driv-ing into her so deeply he was afraid he had hurt her.

His climax reduced him to basic sensation, gripping him from head to toe. He heard her breathing his name as he buckled, wrapping his arms around her slender white shoulders. She was so small compared to him, and yet she had proved his equal in passion. They lay together like two warriors who had declared a truce after a battle, exhausted, drained, exultant.

He had planned her seduction—and succeeded—with the same unyielding resolve he applied to the rest of his life. But he had not anticipated the feelings that accompanied his pleasurable victory. Holding her warm body next to his, their hearts beating in unison, he was overcome by emotions he could not quite reconcile with his intended revenge. Tenderness ravaged his heart and laid it bare. Never had he loved anyone so completely.

He wanted to resent her for deceiving him; he did. He wanted to regain the upper hand in their relationship; physically this was a fait accompli, but otherwise . . . the balance remained uncertain. Revenge had been sweet, especially in the elemental form it had taken. She belonged to him now; he couldn’t let her go. Neither could he let her get away with deceiving him even if there would be hell to pay when she discovered he knew her secret.

She stirred and opened her eyes, her heavy honey-colored hair wrapped around his wrist. Her voice was low with emotion. “Oh, Grayson, don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” he whispered, his large hand splayed on her belly.

“Like a big satisfied beast who’s just eaten a—”

“Mouse?” he teased gently, wedging his knee between her legs. He couldn’t stop touching her now. He felt a stab of jealousy to think she might have ended up with his cousin.