Holding her gaze with his own, he quickly went to work on the buttons of his pants, releasing each one then lowering the remainder of his clothes over his hips and pushing them down his legs until he kicked them off and they dropped to the floor.
Both naked at last, Vivian whimpered when he leaned over and practically scalded her lips with more of the same, arousing her without yet touching her body, making her ache for the joining yet to come. At last, at her body’s silent yearning, he allowed his lips to break from hers as he sat up to gaze with purpose at her beautiful form bathed in dim firelight.
Her hair spread out along the pillows, flowing in thick waves of rich, clean color, framing her remarkable eyes that shone up to him with a lazy, sensuous hunger in their depths. Her silky legs were long and graceful as they led to the soft triangle of dark hair between her legs. Her stomach remained flat as a woman’s who had never borne a child, and her breasts nicely formed and gently rounded, their rosy nipples already peaked from arousal.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered thickly, his fingers slowly gliding up and down her thigh.
Vivian offered him a crooked grin. “The most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen?”
He leaned over and kissed her nipple once, making her gasp in surprise. “I don’t remember any other women,” he said huskily as he looked back into her eyes. “Were there other women?”
She laughed very softly until he covered her nipple again, this time taking it into his mouth to suck. She arched her back in response. “You’re making me tingle to my toes…”
After several seconds of offering such delicious torment, he pulled up again and gazed into her eyes. “Good. You’re making me tingle to the tip of my—” he grinned as her eyes widened “—toes, too.”
Her gaze of delight and contentment locked with his for a moment or two, then her features grew serious once more. Reaching one of her hands up and brushing her fingertips along his jaw, she whispered with tenderness, “Thank you for always making me feel cherished.”
He swallowed hard at her words, so simple yet filled with a keen display of gratitude and adoration. Instead of replying, he chose to show her how he felt, taking her extended hand in his, gently drawing it to his lips and slowly, deliberately, kissing the delicate skin inside her wrist. She inhaled a shaky breath at the sensations he created with his tongue as it moved across her palm to one of her fingers, placing the small tip of it inside his mouth to suck gently.
She moaned with abandonment, closing her eyes, and as her passion began to rise to match his, he placed her palm on his chest and murmured, “My heart beats only for you, Vivian…”
Before she could respond, he took her mouth with his once more for a long, lingering kiss as he turned his body to lie beside her at last, stroking the top of her hair with his free hand, rocking his hips forward slightly to hold her down, his thigh crossing over hers.
He began to trace her skin with his fingertips. Teasing her waist and the underside of her arm, he felt gooseflesh rise. His breathing grew increasingly uneven, shallow, as his tongue played with hers again, plunging in, out, around, his palm finally finding her breast and covering it completely as he began to knead gently.
Vivian drew in a sharp breath as his thumb and finger stroked her nipple, the exquisite torture forcing a low moan to escape her throat. He ached to be inside her but he wanted the moment, their first time truly together, to last until he could bear it no longer. She arched her back, beckoning him for more, and he complied, pulling his lips from hers to look briefly into her passion-filled eyes, and then beginning a slow path downward with his mouth. He kissed her jawline, her neck, her pulse point where he felt the frantic beating of her heart. With wondrous satisfaction, he moved lower to kiss her chest, and when he thought she could stand the wait no more, he closed his mouth over her breast and began to tease, to suck, to flick her nipple quickly with his tongue.
Vivian moaned deeply, her breaths coming in rasps as she clutched his shoulders with tight fingers. He lowered his left hand from her hair to give equal attention to her other breast, marveling at the feminine sounds she made as he pleasured her nearer to the fulfillment he knew she desperately needed.
Will could not get enough of her, she tasted so good, felt so smooth and sweet against him as he suddenly felt the dire need to enter her hot, wet softness and let himself go. His hands lightly rubbed her satiny skin, up and down her stomach in small, feathery strokes, then quite suddenly he pulled his mouth from her breast, circling the rosy tip with his tongue as he placed his hands underneath her and pulled her with him onto their sides.
His face was even with hers now, side by side, both of them breathing raspily. Will kept one hand beneath her as his fingers played with her long satiny hair, his other hand running slowly up her hip to once again find her waiting breast, his palm teasing her nipple as it stood out tautly against his gentle caress. He kissed her face this time, all of her face, with smooth, tiny brushes of his lips against her flushed cheeks and warm, soft lips. She held to him as her hands slowly stroked the skin up and down his back, and then as he claimed her mouth for a long, deep kiss, he felt her bring one hand forward to caress his chest.
Gently, she rubbed the curls between his nipples, her fingers like velvet against his tougher skin, and then he brazenly moved his hand to her smooth bottom and pulled her hips firmly against his rigid erection.
He watched her for reaction, wanting her to feel comfortable in his bed but burning with desire. Then she sucked in a breath through her teeth and whimpered, “Yes…” and he nearly lost himself.
Will tried to remain still, to regain a bit of control before moving on, but she crossed her leg over his and rocked into him, running her wet cleft along his tip.
He grabbed her hip and stopped her movement. “You’ll make me come if you do that,” he whispered, his voice strained.
She opened her eyes to his once more, firelight reflecting the passion within. For a second, he thought she might have smiled with satisfaction, and then she lowered her lashes again and simply lay there, waiting.
“I’m glad to know I’m doing it right,” she breathed, her voice barely audible.
He kissed her nose, then said shakily, “You’re doing it perfectly. You just can’t know how erotic it feels when you rub your sweet juices over me like that.”
Without looking at him, she fairly purred, “And you, my love, cannot possibly know how intensely marvelous it is to feel how hard you are for me. It makes me want to lose myself in you.”
Will swallowed with effort, watching her flushed face, listening to her quick breathing, knowing at once how hurt she must have been never to feel this desire from her husband.
In a husky timbre, he replied, “I’ve never wanted a woman more than I want you right now, Vivian.”
Her lashes flickered open, and as tears filled her eyes, an expression of pure love crossed her face. Will knew he would cherish this moment, remember that look, for as long as he lived.
There were no more words to say.
Tenderly, he pressed her back to lie flat on the bed once again as he began a trail of fine kisses down her body. He kissed then teased each nipple with his lips, his tongue flicking across then tracing a pattern around each rosy tip. Ever gradually he moved downward and Vivian started to moan softly once more. She closed her eyes as her hands began to knead the tops of his shoulders, her fingers moving to glide through his hair as her head began to sway from side to side against the pillows. He kissed her flat stomach, her navel, his free hand roaming up and down her legs as it slowly worked its way toward the curls between them.
Will leaned over to kiss her thigh, hoping she wouldn’t close up to him. Her honeyed, musky scent assaulted him with an urgent need to taste, to experience her dewy softness on his lips. He moved his body so that he knelt between her legs, then gently pried her thighs open.
He traced his lips along the sensitive skin of her inner leg, stopping twice to kiss her ther
e, and then he reached out with his tongue and drew it very slowly up her cleft.
Vivian gasped and lifted her hips to meet him. Will grew bolder, tasting her with abandon, wishing he could plant his face right here at the juncture to paradise every night for the rest of his life. The flavor of her, the smell of her, was nothing short of ecstasy, and he reveled in it.
Her whimpering grew; she clung to his head with rigid fingers. She moaned, rocking against him, his name escaping her lips in a whisper barely heard.
And then she cried out. He wrapped his arms around her thighs, clinging tightly to her as he moaned through her orgasm, feeling every rhythmic movement she made, with every gentle contraction of her muscles.
Quickly, before she recovered, he raised himself above her, bracing his body with his palms on the pillow, staring down to her flushed face, her tightly closed lashes, listening to her rushed breathing.
“Beautiful,” he whispered.
She opened eyes drugged with desire, gazing at him as she licked and then bit her bottom lip with surprising sensuality. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her hands massaged his shoulders, then her thumbs rubbed his nipples and he thought he might explode.
He inhaled sharply through his teeth, then lifting her legs a bit at the knees, he centered himself against her cleft, and watching her closely, began to push himself inside her.
A deep groan welled up in his throat as he eased into her soft, feminine walls, as he tried to experience every nuance of her body, feel every plush angle that belonged only to her. Her tightness encased him, her wetness soothed him, and seconds later he noticed her relax as she took him in as far as he could go, completely, his hips joined with hers at last.
She moaned faintly, closing her eyes once more. “You feel—so good…”
Will attempted to get his pounding heart to still. He breathed deeply and squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to pull back or kiss her until he had control again. “Don’t move,” he said, his tone uneven and tense. “God, this is heaven.”
Suddenly he felt her fingertips brush his temples, his cheeks, with tenderness. But he didn’t want tender, not yet. He wanted her to come again, to remember this night as the best it could ever be.
With resolve, he leaned over to capture her warm,
sweet mouth once more as he lifted his hips minutely to fit his fingers between them, resting them at the springy curls between their bodies. He kissed her long and slowly, his tongue caressing hers, his chest just barely brushing her nipples that instantly grew hard to the touch.
“Vivian…” he whispered against her lips.
She wrapped her palms around his neck, holding him close as he began to stroke the tiny nub of her pleasure, finding a rhythm she liked. She whimpered and began to match the action with the easy lifting of her hips to meet his fingers.
Will quickly felt himself drawing closer to the point of no return. But desire drove him to first see her satisfied, to feel her climax around him, the ultimate urging that would send him over the edge. He concentrated on her flushed face, pulling out of her just a fraction and keeping his body still as he stroked her faster.
Instinctively, she lowered one of her hands and pushed his fingers down a little.
“Yes,” he coaxed in a soft murmur. “Show me where…”
She turned his fingers a bit and whimpered again, gasping, squeezing her eyes shut, arching her head back as he changed the pace.
He shifted his hips to accommodate her as she grabbed his wrist to guide him. The pain of an intense lust swelled in him, making his legs shake, his body break out in perspiration. He embraced the delicious heat, the marvelous tension now coiled within his belly, ready to ignite.
“Oh yes…” she breathed.
“Come for me, love,” he whispered. “I can’t hold back—”
Suddenly she jerked against him, her legs tightly clutching his as a quiet sob escaped her throat.
Will felt it all as it happened, relished the sensations—that divine feeling of her wet, heated muscles pulsating rhythmically around his rigid erection as she reached her crest and climaxed for a second time. As he knew it would, the feeling of it carried him across the brink of sanity.
With a shudder, he thrust into her once, twice; she grasped his head with both hands and leaned up to meet his mouth with hers. And then he exploded deep inside her, feeling each exquisite pulse as he spilled himself within. He clung to her lips as long as he could, then gasped for air, groaned, and finally collapsed on top of her, lingering where he found himself, breathing hard and fast, joined with her in blissful surrender.
Lazily, Vivian wrapped her arms and legs securely around the man lying peacefully beside her. She was truly amazed at what had taken place between them only a few short hours ago, and in fact had found herself thinking about it over and over, unable to sleep. Unlike him, it seemed. She’d been fitful; he hadn’t moved at all since he’d dozed off while still inside her. It made her smile to think of how different men and women were in so many ways. Different, but at the same time remarkably complementary.
But it was true, she supposed, that she’d never thought lovemaking could be so… powerful, so intimate. She smiled to herself as she considered how rare it must be to have a man like Will entice her into reacting in ways she’d never thought possible.
“What are you thinking?”
Vivian glanced up into his lovely eyes, still groggy and half-closed from slumber.
“I was thinking about my sheltered childhood,” she replied, running her fingers down his bare back.
He drew a long breath and snuggled down farther into the feather pillow. “Childhood?” He grunted. “I was expecting something else.”
She grinned. “I was remembering, my lord duke, that when I was young, one of my lady’s maids told me that coupling in marriage was a repulsive act that must be endured, that it consisted of ten full minutes of my sweating husband pounding away on top of me every night. For years, I never wanted to marry because I was deathly afraid of having someone ‘pound away? inside my body.” She lightly kissed his nose. “I was just considering how glad I am that I took the risk.”
He gazed at her, his expression nothing short of incredulous. Then he chuckled and turned over onto his back, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “God, if’s amazing what ladies are told.”
“I suppose your wife thought much the same thing?” she asked without hesitation.
He nodded. “It took me two hours to coax her into bed on our wedding night. She kept clutching her blasted sewing scissors and threatening to cut off my—” he quickly tossed her a glance. “You know.”
She laughed softly, eyes wide with amazement. “You’re joking.”
“I am not.”
Shaking her head, she confessed, “I am so, so thankful she spared you your… parts, your grace.”
He watched her, then suddenly leaned over her and embraced her fully. “I am, too, for obvious reasons.” He paused, then asked in murmur, “What did you think of last night?”
Her heart warmed from a concern that radiated through his casual words. “I think,” she replied as she wrapped her arms around his neck, “that you are very, very talented, your grace.”
He grinned soundly, and she nearly rolled her eyes at his obvious pride. So like a man.
“What did you think of me?” she asked coyly.
He groaned and leaned over to kiss her fully on the mouth. “Matchless,” he whispered.
She giggled beneath him. “If nothing else, I certainly hope I satisfied you.”
“Satisfied me?” he breathed against her lips. “I’m besotted.”
“Goodness, besotted, your grace?”
He snuggled his face into her neck. “Besotted, enamored, and finding myself overcome with an addiction to your smell.”
She stretched her head a little to the side to accommodate him. “Mmm… my smell? What do I smell like?”
“Like you,” he whispered. “All uniquely woman.
Roses. Sunshine. Lovemaking.”
In some very odd manner, his words sounded beautiful to her. She sighed audibly. “I never want to leave this bed.”
He stopped teasing her neck for a moment, then pulled himself up again to look into her eyes. “Then don’t,” he said, his tone sparked with a hint of gravity.
She ran her fingers through his hair. Oh, how she wished it were possible to stay with him, to be with him. To marry him.
Vivian swallowed with an emotion she had trouble containing, then raised up enough to kiss his lips, thoroughly, showing him what words could not convey.
He responded in kind, as she knew he would, kissing her back, first tenderly, then with a growing fervor. Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and in one quick movement, pulled her up on top of him as he leaned back against the pillows.
She smiled down at him, her hair flying about his shoulders, her breasts flattened against his chest She would gladly give up everything she possessed if she could stay here just like this. Laughing with him, loving him…
She gave him a sly smile. “Now what are you thinking?”
Grinning, he began to trace his fingertips down her back. “I’m thinking of making love to you again.”
Her eyes widened with a feigned gasp. “Now? You’re so terribly insatiable.”
He lowered his palms to her bottom, gently massaging her.
“True. But I promise there will be no pounding,” he added as he reached up to plant a small kiss on her chin.
She could suddenly feel him getting hard beneath her, and it occurred to her that just the feel of his reaction to her made her weak, both inside and out.
“You make me want you so badly,” she murmured as she lowered her head to rest it beside his on the pillow.
“Jesus, Vivian, do you have any idea at all how saying something like that makes me feel?”
He’d spoken lightheartedly, but contrasting his inflection with his words confused her. “Good?”
He chuckled again. “Yes, good. And aroused.”
Duke of Sin Page 25
