12. Chapter 12 #2
His breath wavered. “Do you truly?”
She nodded and they stood like that for a moment, savoring each other.
Eventually, one of his hands came up to pull at the pins holding her hair up.
It fell in heavy waves, and he took his time running his fingers through it as if he were savoring the feel of it.
When he was done, he let her go and walked around to her front.
His pupils were blown and his eyes had turned to blue flame as he looked at her, or more specifically, her breasts.
He held the cotton fabric tight, pushing them up a little and making the nipples appear almost vulgar in the way they stood out, vividly erect.
She felt like a creature on display for his pleasure, but the strange thing was that she liked it.
She really liked it.
She didn’t think she would like it with anyone but him.
He made her feel wanted, no, needed, no…
it was more like she didn’t think he would look at any other woman like he was looking at her.
This dangerous obsession was only between the two of them and they could pull it out and play with it only for tonight before they had to bottle it up again.
Maybe that sense of scarcity emboldened her, but she suddenly wasn’t afraid anymore.
No matter how she might feel about him, this would end in the morning.
She would go to Paris and leave him here.
They would stick to their arrangement and live separate lives.
The reassurance gave her the courage to make the most of tonight.
She couldn’t do that if she went on being afraid of all the things he made her feel.
Taking a deep breath, she delighted in the way his eyes deepened at the movement of her chest, at the way the nightdress pulled even tighter.
Suddenly, she wondered how far she could push him.
Arching her back just enough to improve his view, she reached for the single keyhole button holding the garment together.
He watched in fascination as she toyed with it and made it take much longer than it should for the fastening to release.
The bodice fell open, nearly revealing her nipples but stopping just short of opening that wide.
She helped it along and pulled one side down so he had an unobstructed view of her right breast.
“Christ,” he whispered and swallowed audibly.
She thrilled at his reaction and there was an answering throb between her legs. She was certain she was already wet enough to take him if he wanted her now. Though she hoped he didn’t because she didn’t want this to be over with so quickly.
She watched as his hand slowly came up to touch her.
The backs of his fingers gently played over her nipple with just enough pressure to make her press her thighs together.
His gaze flicked up to her face, taking in her reaction, before going back to her nipple as if he didn’t want to miss a moment.
He gently pinched, drawing a gasp from her.
He grinned as he set up a slow rhythm of pinch and release that drove her mad.
His other hand joined in, caressing her left breast through her nightgown so she got the conflicting sensations of cotton rubbing over her sensitive and swollen nipple and skin-on-skin contact.
“David,” she said when she didn’t think she could take anymore. Her voice trembled over his name.
He stopped teasing her naked breast long enough to lift it in his hand.
He leaned down as if he couldn’t wait any longer and touched her nipple with the flat of his tongue.
The new sensation was exactly what she’d been craving.
He tongued her only briefly before sucking and drawing her deeply into his mouth.
She cried out and he released her only long enough to move to the other breast where he did the same thing, fabric and all.
His teeth scraped over her when he let her go and her knees nearly buckled under her.
He smiled at her reaction, his loving gaze tracing over her face and her lips. She knew he would have kissed her at that moment if she hadn’t forbidden it. She only had a second to regret her decision, because he said, “To the bed.”
She blinked at the abrupt shift, but he was already stepping forward, hands on her hips to guide her backward. He lifted her easily up the step and set her feet on the raised dais with the bed behind her hips .
“You’re beautiful, Jenny.” He pulled at her gown, not giving her time to be embarrassed, and raised it off and over her head, tossing it behind him to land somewhere on the floor.
He looked at her like a man who’d never seen a nude woman before.
His eyes were wide and intense at the same time.
His hands followed the way of his eyes, tracing down over her breasts and hips, filling his palms with the voluptuous curves he found there.
One hand trailed down lower so his fingertips could touch the soft down that shielded her sex.
“More beautiful than I imagined,” he murmured.
She blushed at the compliment. She wasn’t a fool. She knew how most men responded to her. She wasn’t in denial about how they found her attractive. But this was him and she thrilled at the fact that he was so pleased with her.
His index finger nudged its way between her nether lips, finding her swollen and damp. He pulled it away and stared at the glistening tip before saying, “I want to taste you.”