Chapter 8
Nicolas’s breath ghosted over her lips as he paused, searching her gaze. “Are you sure, Emily?”
She nodded, her pulse hammering in her throat. “Yes. I have never been more certain.”
With a low groan, Nicolas pulled her close, capturing her lips in a kiss so searing it stole the very breath from her. Emily wrapped her arms around his neck, her body melding against his, feeling every ridge of muscle beneath his skin.
His powerful hands roamed over her back, igniting trails of fire even through the thin fabric of her nightgown. She arched into his touch, a breathy moan escaping her as his lips trailed scorching kisses along the column of her throat.
Tangling her fingers in his dark hair, she tilted her head to grant him better access, reveling in the rasp of his evening stubble against her sensitive skin. Each brush of his mouth stoked the flames of her desire higher.
“Nicolas,” she gasped as he nipped at her racing pulse. “Please...”
He gentled his attentions, breath hot against her ear as he asked, “Are you certain? Another taste of you and there will be no turning back. I am a rogue, after all.”
She drew back enough to frame his face between her palms, her gaze locking with his. “I have never been more certain of anything in my life. I want you. All of you.”
Something fierce and primitive flashed in his gaze, as if her declaration had unleashed the passion he’d been holding back. “Then you shall have me. In every way a man can worship a woman.”
Lowering his head, Nicolas claimed her lips in a kiss that seared her to her very soul. Emily matched him with equal hunger, bold now in her need. She nipped at his bottom lip, swallowing his answering groan.
Large hands smoothed down her sides to her hips, spanning her waist. He gathered the fabric of her nightgown, inching it higher as he walked her backwards toward the large four-poster bed dominating the room.
The backs of her thighs hit the mattress, and she tumbled down onto the counterpane, Nicolas following her without breaking their kiss.
Her pulse thrummed as his solid weight settled over her, the hard ridge of his manhood an insistent press against her belly.
Liquid heat pooled low in her abdomen, anticipation burning through her veins.
She yearned for his touch on her bare skin, to feel him against her with no barriers between them. ..
She reached between their bodies, fingers fumbling with the tie of her nightgown. Nicolas drew back just enough to watch, his eyes blazing with passion as the delicate fabric parted. With a shaky exhale, she slipped first one creamy shoulder free, then the other.
His gaze tracked the slow descent of silk, his lips parting on a sharp inhale as she bared her breasts to him. “Beautiful,” he breathed, reverence and raw need mingling in that single word.
Unabashedly, she arched up to shimmy the nightgown over her hips and down her legs. The cool air kissed her flushed skin as she lay back against the pillows, clad only in the firelight and Nicolas’s heated approval.
“Touch me,” she whispered, emboldened by the stark desire etched across his handsome face. “Everywhere.”
He extended one hand, trailing a single finger along her collarbone and down between the valley of her breasts. Goosebumps followed his touch, her nipples hardening as he circled first one, then the other.
“Like this?” he teased, rolling the tight bud between his fingers. Sparks of pleasure streaked straight to her core.
“Yes,” she gasped, clutching at his shoulders. He palmed the soft weight of her breast, kneading the flesh as he lowered his head to lave attention on its neglected twin. She keened as his tongue flicked across the sensitized tip, pleasure bordering on pain. “Oh God, Nicolas...”
He pulled the aching point into his mouth and suckled gently, the wet heat shredding the last of her inhibitions. She threaded her fingers through his hair to hold him to her, reveling in each draw of his lips, each scrape of his teeth.
When he switched to her other breast, she was lost, reduced to wordless cries and breathy pleas. Her nails scored his scalp as he tormented first one nipple, then the other, until her hips were rocking frantically against him, seeking fulfillment only he could provide...
Nicolas released her breast with a soft pop, his eyes dark with desire as he lifted his head to capture her lips in a searing kiss.
Emily moaned into his mouth, the taste of him mingling with the scent of their arousal.
His tongue swept inside to dance with hers, stoking the flames that burned within her core.
Large hands skimmed down her sides to grip her hips, pulling her flush against the hard planes of his body. She could feel the evidence of his want pressing insistently against her, and a thrill raced through her at the knowledge that she affected him so profoundly.
“I want you,” Nicolas rasped against her lips, his voice rough with need. “I have wanted you for so long, Emily. From the first moment I saw you.”
“Then take me,” she breathed. “Take all of me.”
With a growl, he claimed her mouth once more, the kiss fierce and demanding. His hands roamed her body, mapping every curve and hollow, each touch branding her very soul. She surrendered to the sensations, lost in a haze of desire as he stoked and kissed her burning flesh.
Nicolas’s lips blazed a trail of fire down her neck, across her collarbone, lower still, to the peaked tips of her breasts. He paused there, licking and suckling until she was writhing beneath him.
“More,” Emily keened, arching her back in a silent plea. “I need more.”
He answered with a flick of his tongue against the sensitive bud, wringing a cry from her lips. Lower he trailed, painting a path down her quivering abdomen with openmouthed kisses. When he reached the thatch of curls at the apex of her thighs, Emily went still, hardly daring to breathe.
Slowly, reverently, Nicolas parted her folds, baring her most intimate flesh to his heated gaze. She threw her head back in anticipation of his touch. Her fingers twisted in the sheets as he brought his tongue to her most intimate place.
Her world narrowed to the exquisite sensations he was drawing from her body. His clever tongue danced over her sensitive flesh, teasing and tasting with expert precision. She clutched at the bedsheets, her back arching as waves of pleasure coursed through her.
“Nicolas,” she gasped, her voice barely recognizable to her own ears. “Oh, Nic…”
He groaned against her flesh, the vibrations sending shockwaves of bliss through her core. His hands gripped her thighs, holding her open to his ministrations as he laved and suckled at her sensitive bud. Her breath came in short, sharp pants, her chest heaving as she climbed higher and higher.
“Nicolas,” she moaned, one hand leaving the sheets to tangle in his dark hair. “Oh, God... please...”
He hummed against her, the vibrations sending shockwaves of bliss straight to her core. One large hand splayed across her stomach, holding her in place as he continued his sensual assault. The other crept up to cup her breast, fingers plucking at the taut peak.
Emily felt herself climbing higher and higher, chasing a peak she’d nearly forgotten existed. It had been so long since she had felt anything close to this level of passion. Her hips rolled against his mouth of their own accord, seeking more of the delicious friction.
Just as she teetered on the brink, he slipped a finger inside her, curling it in a motion that had her seeing stars. The dual stimulation proved too much. With a husky cry, Emily shattered, waves of ecstasy washing over her in relentless waves.
As she came down from her high, Nicolas placed gentle kisses on her inner thighs, soothing her quivering flesh.
He crawled back up her body, capturing her lips in a deep, passionate kiss.
The taste of herself on his lips sent a renewed spark of arousal through her still-trembling body and she pressed her hips against him, greedy for more.
“You are exquisite,” Nicolas murmured.
“That was...” she breathed against his mouth.
“Only the beginning,” he promised, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down her spine.
Her hands roamed over Nicolas’s broad shoulders, relishing the feel of taut muscle beneath her fingertips. A surge of boldness overcame her as she tugged at his shirt, eager to feel his bare skin against hers.
“Off.” She tugged at his shirt, breathlessly. “I want to see you.”
He chuckled, a low, sensual sound that sent heat pooling low in her belly. “As my lady commands.” He sat back on his heels and pulled the garment over his head.
Her breath caught in her throat as she drank in the sight of his bare torso.
Lean muscle rippled beneath bronzed skin, a dusting of dark hair trailing tantalizingly down his abdomen.
Her fingers itched to trace every dip and plane, to learn the textures of his body as intimately as he had learned hers.
“Do I meet with your approval?” He asked, a hint of teasing in his voice.
In answer, she reached out, running her hands over his chest and down his stomach. She delighted in the way his muscles jumped beneath her touch, in the sharp intake of breath as her fingers dipped below the waistband of his breeches.
“Very much,” she whispered, meeting his gaze. The hunger she saw there made her breath catch.
Nicolas caught her wrist, bringing her hand to his lips. He pressed a kiss to her palm, then each fingertip in turn. “You are playing with fire, my dear.”
“I do hope to get incinerated.” She pulling him down, her mouth finding his in a demanding kiss.
Nicolas growled low in his throat as he claimed her mouth, his kiss fierce and demanding.
She matched his passion, her hands roaming over the planes of his back, nails scraping lightly against his skin.
She reveled in the way he shuddered against her, in the evidence of his desire pressing insistently against her.