Chapter 23 #2
His hands slid over her while his mouth continued its tender assault down her throat.
He expertly unpinned the outer robe of her gown from her bodice and pulled it gently from her shoulders and arms, letting it drift to the floor in a cloud of sapphire blue and glinting silver threads.
Then he deftly untied the drawstring of her satin overskirt, and next her hoopskirt.
The heavy garments fell from the graceful curve of her hips and sank to the floor. All that was left were her stays, with the beribboned bodice pinned to its front, her stockings and satin shoes, and her linen drawers.
Stefan lifted Kassandra from the midst of her crumpled gown as easily as if she weighed nothing at all, holding her against his chest as he moved to the door adjoining their rooms.
He unbolted the lock, pulled open the door, and crossed the threshold into his own chamber. Laying her gently on the great bed, he moved away for the briefest moment, quickly kicking off his boots and stripping away his clothing.
Kassandra watched through eyes half-closed with passion as Stefan’s magnificent body was revealed to her, a ruggedly powerful silhouette in the flood of moonlight from the tall windows.
Then he was sitting beside her, and she rose up to meet him, her arms once again weaving about his neck as his strong hands caressed her.
She shivered deliciously as his fingers crept beneath the stiff fabric of her stays to the curve of her waist, exploring a silken path to the small of her back. He reached up and around and quickly untied the laces, flinging them with her bodice to the floor.
“Lie back, my love,” Stefan murmured thickly, kneeling over her as she sank languidly against the down pillows.
He kissed the tempting hollow between her breasts, their taunting beauty at last bared to his torrid gaze. He eased off her shoes and unrolled her stockings from her long legs, his feather-light touch sending shivers of anticipation through her body.
She caught a glimpse of a roguish smile, a flash of white in the shadows, as he tossed her hose playfully over his shoulder, then bent his dark head to grasp the delicate laces of her drawers with his teeth, untying the tiny bows one by one.
Kassandra arched against the tingling warmth of his breath playing across her skin, impatient to be free of this last vestige of clothing.
Stefan seemed to sense her thoughts. In one swift movement he slipped the drawers from her body and cast them to the end of the bed, then stretched his hard-muscled length atop her and captured her mouth with his own.
It was a savage kiss, possessive, all-encompassing, as Stefan sought to slake his driving need, too long denied.
He rolled onto his back, pulling Kassandra with him, his fingers freeing the silver combs and ribbons from her hair and entwining in the fire-gold mass cascading about them like a gossamer veil.
A low moan escaped Kassandra’s throat as her repressed desire for this man exploded within her, and she returned his kiss deliriously. Her moan suddenly became a gasp of pleasure as his warm mouth moved down her throat, across her smooth shoulder, seeking her breasts.
He nibbled at the pouting nipples, flicking them with his tongue, suckling lingeringly, exulting in the sweetness of her skin…and marveling that there could ever have been a woman fashioned as beautifully as she.
Kassandra knelt above him, her thighs hugging his tapered hips, the swell of her womanhood pressed against the hardness of his desire.
A flutter in her belly surged outward through her limbs, a tightening, a hunger building up inside her that she knew only he could fulfill.
She trembled, her hands resting on the sculpted span of his chest, her fingers enmeshed in the dark mat of curls.
She reveled in the sinewy strength of his battle-hardened muscles, rippling beneath her palms with his slightest movement.
Then he was lifting her from him and she felt strangely bereft, moaning the loss of the overwhelming sensations, only to find herself suddenly impaled upon his thrusting manhood.
He filled her completely, and an impassioned cry tore from her throat as he began to move within her, slowly at first, then faster, his large hands gripping her to him, urging her on with sweet words and whispers, her name a caress upon his lips.
Kassandra arched against him, again and again, panting breathlessly, her skin bathed in a fine wash of perspiration as he sought to lose himself within the soft warmth of her body.
She felt him tremble beneath her, heard him groan with passionate urgency, then she knew nothing more as jagged streaks of light burst before her closed eyelids, her mind, body, her very soul lost in the shuddering rapture that enveloped her.
She cried out, dragging her nails across his chest, and felt his own throbbing release deep within her, as he pulled her to him, crushing her lips with his own.
They clung together for a long time, drawing breath after ragged breath, a tangle of limbs and flaming hair. Then Stefan gently rolled to his side, bringing her with him, and stroked the sleek line of her hips while she rested peacefully with her head nestled on his shoulder.
He gazed down at her face, swathed in moonlight, his heart aching with love for this one woman.
He knew he was hardly sated. He would rouse her soon, even now his overwhelming desire for her was rekindling in his loins.
He had no doubt that this storm of passion finally unleashed between them—wild, shared, freely given—would rage well into the night, even until the first rays from the rising sun streaked the morning sky.