Page 110 of Aurelia

Tell her the truth.

Roland gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the annoying voice.

Tell her where you have been. What you have been doing. What you have found. What you have not found…

“We do not need to go any further than this,” he said, the words sounding as if they’d been forced from his mouth—because they had been.

Her hand stilled and her forehead creased. “You don’t want—”

“Hell yes I want to,” he retorted, grabbing her wrist and keeping her hand pressed against his cock. “I just thought I’d try to take the chivalric route for once.”

Her lips curved faintly. “Why start now, my lord?”

Roland laughed, delighted by her cheek. “I could not agree more.” He plucked at her hideous, voluminous gown. “I want this off.”

Her mouth opened in surprise, but she recovered swiftly. “And I want this and this off,” she shot back, tugging at his coat and breeches.

He grinned, loving this side of her. “You first,” he said, eyeing the hideous gown.

She took the fabric at the loose waist and then proceeded to lift it over her head. Roland helped her with the last bit, freeing it from her arms and then tossing it to the floor.

She had removed her stays and petticoat earlier and wore only a whisper-thin chemise.

Roland’s gaze locked on to the tips of her full breasts, her hard nipples thrusting at muslin that was so fine it was all but transparent. He cupped a handful in each palm, earning a whimper of pleasure as he thumbed the stiff peaks.

She gasped and leaned closer when he mouthed each nipple over the fabric, suckling and nipping until there were two damp spots.

He began to lift off her chemise but she scrambled off his lap.

“What is it?” he asked when she backed a few feet away.

She crossed her arms over her chest, hiding her gorgeous tits from him. “I have already bared myself to you once before. It is your turn. You need to take something off.”

Roland laughed and then stood. First, he toed off the heavy boots he’d worn to explore rock pools. Then he unbuttoned and shrugged off his waistcoat.

Once his cravat had fluttered to the floor, Aurelia’s gaze dropped to the V of his shirt, the raw yearning in her eyes making his hard cock throb even more.

Roland reached behind his neck and pulled his shirt over his head.

There wasn’t a man alive who would not have reveled in her long, admiring look.

Her throat flexed twice as she swallowed, exploring every inch of him with greedy eyes, her chest rising and falling faster.

Roland’s hand paused on the waistband of his breeches. A man’s naked chest was one thing, but a hard cock was another entirely.

He gestured to his tented breeches. “Are you sure?”

“I have seen naked men before,” she said, sounding miffed.

His hand froze, jealousy twisting in his gut. “Who?” he demanded. A sudden, infuriating thought assaulted him. “Was it that bloody Talbot? Has he—”

“No!” She laughed and shook her head. “Of course I have never seen Sir Gideon unclothed.”

Roland grunted. At least he wouldn’t have to kill the man. But he’d have to kill somebody else. “Who was it?”

Her eyebrows shot up at his tone, which Roland had to admit was a bit imperious.

“I suspect there were far fewer naked men in my past than naked women in yours,” she retorted tartly.