Page 27 of Until I’m Safe in Your Arms

Well, he’d been expecting that question. “It was something of a personal nature.”

“A personal question? About what?”

An inquisitive wife was the bane of any husband with something to hide. But he wouldn’t lie to her. “About Aunt Lucinda.”

Emma’s brow wrinkled and her eyes narrowed. “What did you want to know about Lucinda that would be so personal he’d do this to you?”

Whoever said honesty was the best policy was surely a bachelor. Alex took a deep breath. “I wanted to know how it felt when they fell in love.”

“Oh.” Emma sat back on the chaise, the cloth clutched in her hand. She looked at him, blinking rapidly. “Why would you wish to know that?”

Such declarations should not be made in such a prosaic manner, but in for a penny… He took her hand and squeezed it. “Because I have never been in love before, so I wanted to know if what I was feeling when I looked at you was love.”

Her eyes widened and she gripped his hand as though it were a lifeline. “A…and is it?”

“Oh yes.” He leaned forward to press a kiss on her trembling lips. “I believe it is.”

“Oh, Alex.” With a little gasp, she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, pressing her breasts against his chest until he could swear he could feel her nipples hardening against him. That couldn’t be real, not through the armor of her corset, but in his imagination, he could feel them brushing his flesh, making his member harden just from the image.

He rose, catching her up in his arms and bringing her to her feet as well.

“Oh, Alex.” She gazed into his face, her eyes glistening with unshed tears and joy. “I love you too. So very much.” Pulling his head down to her, she peppered his face and lips with quick, darting little kisses that made his cock frantic.

There was nothing else for it. He scooped her up and strode to the bed, made to toss her onto it and then follow, but looked down at her dress, stymied. “Damn, we wear too many clothes.”

Giggling, Emma wiggled herself to the floor and turned around. “Unbutton me, please. Then I can do the rest.”

That was a skill at which he was very adept. With speed born of great urgency, he pulled the fabric covered buttons out of their loops in record time. As soon as the dress began to sag, Emma pulled it out of his hands. “You’d better start on your own clothes, my dear.” She sent a sultry glance over her shoulder and his heart stopped. “You don’t want to keep me waiting.”

No, he did not. Alex pulled the cravat from his neck, almost choking himself in the process. His hands flew to his trousers, ripped the garment open, and pulled them and his drawers down to his boots. Drat. He hopped about, pulling first one then the other boot off, and kicked the clothing aside. Now unencumbered, his cock stood straight out, tenting his shirt in a rather comical way. But none of this was a laughing matter. He burned with an intensity hereto unknown to possess his wife’s body, to show her irrevocably how much he adored her.

Glancing at the bed, Alex’s breath stopped.

Naked, Emma lay on her side, one arm stretched out above her head, her other hand rubbing the cover in front in invitation. Never had she looked so utterly beautiful. “Come to bed, my love.”

With one movement, Alex tore the shirt over his head, threw it into the air, and bolted for the bed. He sailed up onto it, pushed Emma onto her back, and covered her, unable to wait one moment more to feel her pressed against him, bare skin to bare skin. The exquisite warmth and softness of her body overwhelmed him, and he had to stifle the urge to immediately plunge into her. This time, he needed to show her how much he cared, that her pleasure was just as, if not more important, than his own.

“What would you like me to do, Emma?” He raised his head to gaze at her beautiful face.

With a throaty sigh, she said, “Make love to me, Alex.”

“Of course, my love. But what exactly would you like me to do? Where do I start?”

Frowning, she raised her head up. “I…I don’t know.”

Lifting himself overtop of her, instantly bereft of the intense closeness he experienced when their bodies were joined, he touched his lips lightly to her neck. “Do you like that?”

“Yes.” She smiled and closed her eyes.

“How about this?” Sliding his lips down to the base of her neck, he licked the skin, then massaged it with the tip of his tongue.

“Hmm, yes.” She sighed, her hips restless beneath him.

“And this?” Alex moved to her breast, clasped his lips around her nipple, and sucked gently.

“Ohhh, yesss.” The change in her voice to a guttural tone would have been enough to excite Alex, but she thrust her hips against his member, still standing at attention, as if seeking him out.

Groaning, Alex flicked his tongue over her nipple until it tightened into a hard point. Oh, he longed to sink himself into her hot sheath, but tonight was about what she wanted, not him. Gently, he closed his teeth around her peak and slowly scraped them across her tender flesh.