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Chapter Twenty-Two
Carmen closed her eyes as Arthur softly ran his knuckles down her cheeks. When she opened them, he was so close that she could see the planes of his face. She liked everything about it—the slant of his eyebrows as he watched her, the way his lips curved up slightly as if in a ghost of a smile and his dark eyes that were pools of molted honey and she could see herself being lost in there. She wouldn’t mind that at all.
His hands skimmed over her shoulders and then to the side of her waist. Since they were still sitting on the floor, their backs leaned against the door, it was difficult for him to reach her properly, so he trapped his hands at the back of her waist and pulled her up in one fluid motion. Their bodies were pressed together, her breasts fused to his chest and his hands firmly holding her buttock. He squeezed it firmly making her gasp. They were so close together that she could feel his hardness press against her stomach. He rubbed against her deliberately and Carmen groaned at the delicious heat that unfurled inside her at the friction. She could feel him hot and wanting even through all the layers of clothes.
But then that sickening feeling grew over her and her hands fell away from his shoulder. Arthur could immediately tell something was wrong. “What’s wrong?”
“I-I haven’t been with a man since…” She trailed off. Arthur already knew about her past, but she expected him to move away from her in disgust. But instead, he held her closer, nudging his finger under her chin so that she was meeting his gaze. “Look at me. I understand.”
“It’s hard for me,” Carmen said. She didn’t see anger or disappointment in his voice, only understanding. He stepped away from her giving her space, but she immediately regretted the loss of him. She reached for him despite the apprehension knotting her stomach. Whatever she felt outweighed the warmth that she felt anytime he was near her. “Don’t go away.”
“I wasn’t,” Arthur said. “I thought I might be making you uncomfortable.”
Carmen shook her head. “You aren’t. You never do. You’re…different. You’re kind and compassionate and so many other things.”And I’m in love with you.The realization was swift and sudden and crashed into her like thunder. Yet, it was true. She loved him. Somewhere between their arguments and clandestine meetings she had fallen in love with him. She had sworn her heart off to all men, but he had managed to tear down the walls.
This time she stepped closer to him. It took everything inside of her as she reached for him. His touch ignited something in her that no man had ever been able to reach. She could be brave with him. She traced the hard planes of his face with her finger and then nudged him closer so that she could kiss him. Arthur didn’t hesitate as he kissed her back, her mouth willingly opening beneath him so that he could explore her. His tongue caressed hers and she shivered.
He drew away from her for a moment. “I’ll be kind to you. You don’t have to be afraid with me.”
I know. She craved him, reaching for him to close the distance between them. As they kissed, his hands laid at her side. He was still wary, but Carmen was slowly gaining courage. She was claiming her body for her own, something that had been taken away from her a long time ago. But she was here, and she had chosen this moment of intimacy for herself.
Arthur seemed to understand the shift inside her. His hands gripped her waist as he pulled her to himself. This time when they kissed there was a sense of urgency to it, almost frenzied. Both of them could feel that this kiss was leading them somewhere. He picked her up easily in her arms and led her to the bed where he laid her down.
She panted as she sat watching him from the bed. Arthur slowly took out his cravat and tossed it to the floor, the waistcoat came next. After it was discarded, he joined her on the bed. The delicious press of his weight as he slowly climbed over made Carmen breathless. She closed her eyes in anticipation of the kiss but what he did next surprised her. He flicked his tongue against her nipples that were jutting out of the thin material of her dress, clear signs of her arousal. She moaned at the feel of him.
“I need to get you out of this,” Arthur murmured. “Turn around.” Carmen hesitated for a fleeting seconds before she gave him access to her back so that he could easily take out the pins holding her dress. Carmen was shy when his eyes took her in. She had the urge to cover herself but resisted that. Arthur watched her with reverence in his eyes as he took in the slopes of her milky white shoulder down to the curves of her breast. She knew that her curves weren’t even that lush, but he seemed to like what he saw. But something still bothered her despite the look of want in his eyes.
“I can’t afford a corset,” she said in a small voice. She wondered what he thought of her. It couldn’t be more obvious that she wasn’t worthy of him.
Arthur shook his head. “I didn’t even notice. You’re beautiful, just the way you are. You’re the most stunning woman I have ever met, and you don’t need powder or beetroot juice or whatever it is that ladies use to make themselves more appealing.”
Carmen giggled. “Beetroot juice?”
Arthur frowned. “I assume that is the tint used to bring color to the cheeks.”
Carmen pretended to be thoughtful. “I never thought about that!”
“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway,” Arthur said. His voice had a husky undertone to it. “Because you’re stunning either way. And I want you to never change any part of yourself. I like you just the way you are.” Her breath hitched at his words and she dared to hope just at that moment that she might mean more to him than just a quarter hour of pleasure.
Her fingers sank into the thick bush of his hair as she pulled him to her for a kiss. His body settled over hers, his hands running up and down the curves of her body. Something deep unfurled in her, but it wasn’t apprehension anymore. She let him have access to her body, let his fingers skim over her bare skin, hissed when his hands stopped at her drawers. There was a question in his eyes, but she was impatient for his touch.
She nodded and immediately he vested her of the last clothing, and she was completely bare to him. He moved away from her to have a better look at her, but she immediately grew self-conscious and covered her breasts with one hand and the thatch between her legs between the other.
Arthur shook his head, gentling removing her hand. “You’re beautiful. Let me show you.”
Carmen nodded. She didn’t feel afraid anymore, only excitement for what was to come. She tugged at her undershirt and helped him unbutton it and then promptly discard aside. The pantaloons came off next and then his undergarments until he too was completely bare to her.
Carmen shyly averted her eyes away from the pulsing thing that rested against her thigh. It was hot and wanting and it was a sign of how much he desired her.
“Look at me,” Arthur said. She did and she could see the want clear in his eyes, but she also saw something else, something she had only dared to hope. Was it true then? Did he feel the same way as she did?
He knelt between her thighs and then put one of his digits in his mouth. She watched him suck on it and then push it inside her. She arched against the sudden intrusion. It was painful at first but as his finger curled inside her and sought out her pleasure, she could feel herself hurtling towards pleasure. It built like a soft sizzle inside her and then ignited to form a bright burning fire. “Oh.” A soft shudder emanated from her mouth as he leaned over and took a nipple in his mouth. He bit down it lightly before putting his tongue around the nipple and licking it. At the same time his finger continued to work inside her. He added another one and Carmen could feel herself stretching to accommodate her.
All her previous encounters had been painful, with impatient men who were done in a few minutes with hardly a care to what she wanted. But that wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Arthur sucked and licked on one of her breasts, giving it all his attention before continuing to the other one and following his ministrations. Carmen clutched at the bedsheets, her back arching as the motions of his fingers sped up. She was climbing up towards some unknown plane and then…She fell.
She was breathing loudly as she came. Arthur looked at her in a matter of concern. “Are you all right?”
Instead of answering him, she held his shoulders and brought him closer so that she could kiss him again. As their tongues danced around the other, her hand skimmed down to his stomach and then down there until she was holding his cock in her hand. His breathing hitched as she held the sensitive tip to the pulsing organ and rubbed it and continued the motion till her hands were moving from the tip to the base. “Faster,” he groaned against her mouth. Carmen didn’t know where she had found the courage to touch him like that, but she liked it. She liked the way her body held a certain power over his.
