Page 115 of Frankly, My Dear

He chuckled, then turned serious. “I want to make this last forever.”

“Forever? Hmmm. You are confident of your abilities.”

“Supremely.” He gripped her face in both hands, angling her to fit his kiss. At first, he just brushed the firm flesh of his lips against hers—pleading, coaxing, murmuring soft sounds of pleasure.

When her lips turned pliant, he changed the kiss from gentle and persuasive to hard and demanding. He claimed her then with savage intensity. Open-mouthed and clinging, sucking and nipping, he turned her into a mewling creature, dying for the sustenance only he could give.

“I never knew a kiss could be so erotic, James,” she confessed, breathing raggedly. She pulled back and traced the lines of his mouth with utmost tenderness. “I love your kisses.”

“I love the way you respond to my kisses,” he rasped out. Putting a hand to her throat, he lowered his face again, but this time the kiss was dramatically different. “Open for me, Selene,” he murmured against her mouth.

When she complied, his tongue glided into her mouth, searing her, filling her with incredible completeness. And every erogenous zone on her body—including some she hadn’t known existed—turned into a pulsating quiver.

Drawing on his tongue, she encouraged him without words to begin the slow, sensual strokes that were a prelude to that culmination their bodies were already seeking.

“You’re killing me, Selene,” he groaned out finally, panting against her neck.

“I don’t think I can wait, James,” she said, taking one of his hands in hers and pressing it against her aching breast. She gasped. The sheer pleasure of that slight touch against her sensitized nipple almost brought her to climax.

James saw her reaction. And he knew.

Laughing softly, he pulled his hand away from her breast. “It’s too soon, Selene…far too soon. I think you are a mere ember now. You are a long way from the bonfire I promised you.”

“Ember!”

“Well, I could be mistaken. Perhaps I should check,” he said cryptically and stepped back, holding her at arm’s length. “Will you let me, chérie. Hmmm?”

“What?” Lord, every hormone in her body was humming for satisfaction. At this point, she’d probably jump off a cliff if he asked her.

Instead of answering, he took her hand and led her to a nearby fainting couch—one of those decadent pieces of furniture indolent ladies used to loll during lazy afternoons, reading a book, eating bonbons.

James had neither literature nor food in mind.

Laying her down on the upholstered couch, he began to lift the hem of her gown.

“James, I don’t know about this,” she protested.

“Shhh. Indulge me, chérie. I want to examine your…embers.” Before she had a chance to think, he drew up the edge of her gown to bunch at her waist, exposing her nude body.

“Embers,” she choked out as he dropped to one knee near her bare feet. Her hands reached out for him to pull her upright. “I’m not sure I like this, James.”

“Trust me, darling,” he said in a thickened voice.

She hesitated, then let her hands fall back. He ran his fingertips along the outside of her legs. “Why are your legs so smooth?”

“I shaved.”

He laughed.

“With your razor.”

“Now that would be a sight.” He moved between her legs, parting them. “But nothing compared to this.”

Selene felt vulnerable and incredibly excited.

“I see your fire, Selene,” he informed her, “but it is a wet heat.” Embarrassed, she tried to close her legs, to no avail. “Ah, finally I see the source of your heat.”

Lightly he placed a fingertip against her wetness and the swelling bud. Selene began to keen with the rising waves of her coming orgasm.