Chapter Twenty-Six
Very properly indeed.
Well. It was one thing to say it with complete confidence, it was another thing entirely to actually do it.
He was in her bedroom, lying on her bed, his arms stretched out wide to either side. She was sitting on his lower abdomen, her knees splayed on either side of his body, her hands planted on the bed beside his head.
She wanted to see his chest, but she also wanted to kiss him.
So she did both: her fingers went to the buttons of his shirt as she lowered her head, putting her mouth on his. His hands went to her waist, holding her tightly, as she began undoing the buttons.
Once a few were undone, she slid her fingers underneath the fabric to touch the warm skin.
Oh! His chest was strong and smooth, and she heard his breathing hitch as her fingers touched him. She got to work finishing with the buttons, then broke the kiss to tug on the bottom of his shirt.
It was awkward, and if it had been anybody else she would have been mortified. But it was him, and they’d done enough together, and spent enough time together, to make it anything but. He half rose as well to make the shirt removal easier, and soon it was tossed to the floor, leaving him naked to the waist.
She leaned back on her heels and took a good look at him. His hands were still on her waist, now steadying her.
His chest was broad, with muscled planes and intriguing indents and curves. A tiny smattering of hair was in the center, and then the hair continued in a straight line between more muscles, which belonged to his abdomen.
It was so different from what she saw on the few occasions she’d taken time to assess her naked self in the mirror. Its very difference made it feel more real, more sensual, and her fingers itched to touch him all over.
She placed her palms flat on either side of his chest, spreading her fingers out wide so as to reach the most expanse.
“Do you like it?”
he asked, his voice husky. She could feel the evidence of his arousal beneath her, and she shifted to ease some of the pressure off him, but he grabbed her wrist, shaking his head. “No. Stay right there.”
“Does that feel good?”
she asked, meeting his gaze. His eyes were that dark blue again, the blue that made her feel as though nothing existed but them and the blue of his eyes, that they were sailing together in a stormy sea.
“It does.”
He licked his lips, his breathing growing heavier. “It will feel even better when you touch it.”
That was interesting. “Touch it how?”
she asked.
He shifted his hips, as though restless. “First, you’d take those soft, delicate fingers and undo the placket of my trousers.”
She scooted back so she was now sitting on his thighs, putting her fingers as he’d described them. “Like this?”
she asked, beginning to slide the buttons from their holes. His erection made the fabric of his pants tent, and she brushed it, making him gasp. “Did that hurt?”
“No, God no, my adventuress,”
he said through gritted teeth. “Hold on a minute, I’ve got to get my boots off.”
He twisted to the side, bringing his leg up, and slid a boot off one foot, then the other, and then returned to his previous position. “Please,” he said in a strangled plea, “keep going.”
She undid the remaining buttons, then slid her thumbs underneath the fabric at his waist. He raised himself up, and she yanked his trousers down, his erection springing free, barely restrained by his smallclothes.
Now the trousers were on the floor, and all he wore was his underclothing and stockings. As she watched, he reached inside and released his penis from the restraining fabric.
She looked down at his erection, which seemed quite intimidating from this angle. From any angle, likely as not, but she could only confirm from this one vantage.
“Shall I show you?”
he said, his voice even rougher. It sounded as though he was barely keeping himself in check, and that made a thrill reverberate through her, knowing that it was what she was doing, and that it was her that was making it difficult for him to hold on to his control.
“Please,”
she said, and now her voice was husky. There must be something that changed in a person during such interludes that would affect the vocal cords.
Though, now was not the time to be thinking of such things.
He took her hand and put it on himself. It was hard, yet soft, and felt hot and throbbing. Then he put his hand on top of hers and began to move both their hands up and down. She gripped him as one would an umbrella, wrapping her fingers around the girth of him.
“Like this?”
she said, and he nodded, his lip caught in his teeth, his chest rising and falling rapidly with his harsh breath.
“That feels so good, Diantha,”
he said. “I hadn’t even dared to dream of you touching me like this, and now . . . it’s magnificent. But let me do more. I want to make you feel as you did the last time.”
“With the explosions in my body and whatnot?”
she asked.
He grinned. “Yes, the explosions and whatnot. An excellent descriptor.”
His eyes were half-closed, and lying on her bed he looked like the most decadent prince. Like he was ripe for pleasuring, and it was her job to do it.
A job she would gladly accept.
“Lie down next to me,”
he urged, and soon she was nestled in his arms, her hand still on his hard shaft, still working him up and down. “Slow down a minute. I don’t want to—”
But she didn’t get to hear what he didn’t want to do, because then he had moved to the foot of the bed, his strong, powerful hand holding her skirt, raising it slowly, so slowly up her body. “Is this all right?”
he asked. “If I do this?”
“Yes. Yes, please,”
she said, desperately curious to know what was going to happen next.
His bare palm found her naked thigh, and he stroked it, murmuring delicious nonsense as he did. And then her skirt was up over her head, and he was looking down at her as though she was the most delectable treat he’d ever seen.
“What . . . ?”
she began, but then she lost her words as he lowered his head and kissed her there. Right there, where she felt achy and hot and wet.
“Oh God,”
she moaned, then clapped her hand over her mouth. Her voice sounded loud in her bedchamber, and she most definitely didn’t want anyone coming to check on her—her family might have gone, or not, but the servants were still at home.
He raised his head and looked at her. His eyes were savagely blue now, and she felt as though she could get lost in their depths.
“I don’t think you should be addressing the Almighty, Diantha,”
he teased, “since I am the one kissing your sweet cunny.”
And then he lowered his head again and began to lick her, slow rhythmic licks that seemed to spiral from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. He nestled himself comfortably between her legs and set to his task in earnest, keeping up his long, slow strokes until she was gasping and clutching the coverlet, her head moving from side to side. Knowing that the only thing she wanted in the entire world was for him never to stop what he was doing until—
“Aaaah,”
she moaned, and she felt that explosion and whatnot all over again, but much more intensely this time. Reverberating through her whole body, making it seem as though she was seeing stars (but thankfully not comets) as she floated in a miasma of pleasure.
It took several minutes before she remembered who she was and realized what had happened. By this time he was leaning on his elbow looking up at her, a smug expression on his face.
“Well,”
she said, not sure what the proper thing to say was. Just that all of it was entirely improper, and she wanted to do all of it again immediately.
“Well?”
he asked, his self-satisfaction evident in his tone.
“Well,”
she said again, her lips twisting into a wry smirk. “What’s next?”
His expression changed, darkened into something that made her breath catch. “Oh, there’s more, my adventuress. As long as you want more.”
“I do.”
She sat up, tugging at her gown. “But I want to be unclothed, like you. It’s hardly fair, you’re all Greek statue-y, and I’m fully gowned. Help me?”
She turned to present her back to him, and like before, he undid the buttons with dexterity, and her gown had landed on the floor with his clothes before she even knew it.
“And this,”
she said, yanking the shift up over her head and tossing it.
“My lord, Diantha,”
he said, his eyes taking her in.
She arched a brow at him. “I don’t think you should be thanking your lord, when clearly this is my body.”
He nodded, clearly approving her riposte, then his expression darkened, and his look became predatory.
“Oh my,”
she said, as he maneuvered up the bed to reach her. He turned her head toward his, placing a soft kiss on her mouth. She tasted herself on his lips, and then he was kissing her as frantically and hungrily as he ever had, his hands roaming all over her body.
There would be no forgetting him. Ever.
Lucian already felt an ache in his heart, knowing this would be their last time. Determined to make the most of it, even though a part of him was already preparing to walk away. If only she wanted him in the same way he wanted her—but he knew she wanted her own life, to make her own choices. Not to be the wife of a duke’s son, forever in Society’s spotlight, forever playing the role of wife and then mother.
He kissed her hard, passionately, infusing as much of the desire and love he felt for her as he was able. His hands roamed her body, touching, caressing, squeezing. He couldn’t get enough.
She held on to him as well, stroking his arms as their tongues tangled with one another. His cock was hard and ready, and he willed himself to stand down—literally—so the moment wouldn’t be over too soon.
“Mmm,”
she murmured, low in her throat.
He lifted his head and met her gaze. “Are you already ready for seconds, my greedy girl?”
Her eyes widened in surprise, and she began to shake her head. “No, I—”
she began.
“I am just teasing. I would love to give you a second one,”
he said. He ran his hand down her body to there, his fingers sliding in to find her wetness. His touch was soft and gentle, and she gasped as he began to make tiny circles around her sweet clit.
“But what about you?”
she asked, breathy.
“I will be fine.”
She half rose on her elbow, giving him a stern glare. Which would have been much more effective if she wasn’t entirely naked and flushed with arousal. “But I will not be. This—”
she wiggled her hand in the air “—is our event, so I expect you to participate just as fully and enthusiastically as I am.”
She paused, then dipped her head, her expression set. “So go on. Let’s continue.”
There was nothing to do but laugh, which he didn’t think he’d ever done in bed before. Of course Diantha would present something new to an activity he thought he knew everything about.
“Well?”
she prodded, and he nodded his head.
“If you insist,”
he said, making his tone extra-aggrieved, which was hilarious given the circumstances. He took her hand and placed it back on his cock, exhaling sharply as she wrapped her slim fingers around it. Then she began to repeat the motion she’d been doing before, albeit this time with nothing separating their skin.
“Ahh,”
he said, closing his eyes and laying his head back on the bed.
“I know this isn’t it,”
she said after a few moments.
He opened one eye to look at her. “Are you cert—?”
“Yes, damn you! I told you I wanted to know all about it. I’ve planned for it, and I will not be refused.”
He laughed again at her words. “So you’ve planned for it, hm? Of course you have.”
She stopped her lovely hand motion on him for just a minute to flick his stomach, then returned to what she was doing. Thank God.
“And what have you planned after? Have you thought more about what you’ll do when your family is less . . . chaotic?”
Why they were embarking on a discussion when both of them were naked and panting he didn’t know. But here they were.
“I might have,”
she said, sounding tentative. Unlike herself.
“And?”
he said, curious.
She bit her lip before answering. “I am thinking I might not be over all of this. I am thinking of asking you to—to join me, if you are of a mind to.”
It was so unexpected he froze.
“Join you?”
She exhaled, and then her words came out in a rush. “Yes. You see, I seem to have fallen in love with you, entirely by accident of course, and I know you are as unhappy in your home as I am in mine, so I was thinking perhaps, if you weren’t doing anything else, that perhaps you’d like to be with me?”
Had he heard her correctly? “You . . . seem to have fallen in love with me?”
“Mm-hm,”
she said, nodding.
He felt his mouth curve into a gigantic smile. Perhaps the biggest smile that had ever been on his face in the entirety of his existence.
“Well?”
she said after a moment when he hadn’t spoken.
“Well, my adventuress, I seem to have fallen in love with you.”
He pressed a kiss on her mouth.
“Oh good,”
she replied, stroking him more firmly.
He flipped over onto her, caging her with his arms. She gasped and looked up at him, wide-eyed. “I’ve never made love with someone I’ve been in love with,”
he said. “This will be my first time as well.”
“Oh,”
she said on a sigh, and then he kissed her. Long, deep, and slow, exploring her mouth with his tongue as he caressed her breasts, her hips, her skin, reaching down between them to rub gently at that delicious spot.
She moaned, low in her throat, and wrapped her arms around him, sliding her hands down his back onto his arse, which she squeezed, flattening her palm and exploring every curve and indent of him.
He maneuvered his body so his cock was there at the apex of her thighs, tantalizingly close to her entrance, but not yet pressing for it.
“What is . . . what is next?”
she said, her words husky.
“Do you want to see what’s next?”
he asked. “Or we could do this for a bit longer. It is entirely up to you.”
“I want,”
she said simply, and then she put her hand on his cock and drew it toward herself. “I want.”
“I love you,”
he said, stroking her there more firmly.
She arched her back, and he lowered his head to her nipple, taking it in his mouth and sucking as he continued his rhythm below.
“Please,”
she said, shifting under him. “Please.”
He drew up and took his shaft in his hand, then guided it to her entrance. Her eyes were focused below, her mouth red and swollen from their kissing. Her hair wildly disheveled from their movements.
He’d never seen anything more beautiful.
“I love you,”
he said again, feeling the wonder of it as he began to enter her. She gasped and stiffened, and he stopped, meeting her gaze.
“I love you too. Go on,”
she said, offering him a wicked smile. “Go on.”
He did, pushing more, sliding into her wetness, feeling her body welcoming him.
And then he was fully inside, and her hands were gripping his shoulders, her legs were wrapped around his hips, and he began to move, to slide in and out as she bit that lovely lower lip.
He felt her body relax as she grew accustomed to the movement, and then she was closing her eyes, her features tense, as he moved faster and faster, feeling the sensation building within him until it came to a fevered pitch, and he pushed in again, pausing there as the climax burst through him.
“Aaah!”
he cried and then immediately smothered what was left in his throat. He had nearly forgotten that someone might hear them.
He collapsed on top of her, relishing the feel of his chest against hers, both of them panting from the exertion.
Eventually, he recovered and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. Her hands and legs were still wrapped around him, and it felt so good, so right, he didn’t know why they hadn’t done all this before.
“So,”
she said, her voice tinged with humor, “what now?”
“Now,”
he said, raising his head to look at her, “now we make plans to get married.”