Chapter 21 #2
“Now,” he said, kissing down her neck as he placed her safely again on the ground, “While I would greatly love to see one of those lovely nightgowns I got for you, I would much rather in this moment, see you with nothing at all.”
Cordelia shivered, feeling the pull of his finger against her bodice. She had a decision to make.
If I say yes, he will descend into that place of passion where he can escape my questions and my attempts to see him as a good man.
If I say no…
She could not even finish that thought for she didn’t want to say no. If she could not have Nicholas in the way she was growing to want, then she would have him this way.
“If you will let me, that is,” he whispered, nipping at her earlobe before bringing his mouth to hers again.
“Yes,” she breathed, leaning her head back as he kissed down her neck again, having pulled the gown from her shoulders and pressing his lips to the soft skin there.
When their eyes met once more, she noted again the depth of the blue. The blue always seemed to change every time she saw it, and in them she could see that animal hunger he so often wore whenever he looked at her, but now, there was tenderness too.
He spun her around and began to work at the buttons on her back.
She tried to keep the breath steady, and she pressed a hand to her belly as he worked quickly, laying kisses to the base of her neck as he did so.
And then, the gown fell away, leaving her only in her corset and shift.
He untied the corset as well and tossed it to the side.
She slowly turned around to face him, and he shook his head in disbelief. “You may think me a rake by saying so, love, but I have always found you rather delectable.”
She pinked, chuckling a little. “You lie.”
“Not at all. I had often dreamed of what you might be like under all that stiffness and muslin, and I find I am right. Or will be.” He grinned, nodding at her shift.
She slowly pulled it from her skin and left the soft fabric pool at her feet, and she thought that she heard a soft gasp from him.
“Christ,” he said before he pulled her against him and kissed her once more.
This time, there was no more talking as his tongue plunged into her mouth to explore, and his hands roamed down her bare back, squeezing at the plump flesh of her backside, making a wetness gather between her thighs.
He pushed her back against her bed and laid her down, following her.
She let her hands trail over the strength of his arms as he held himself up over her, his mouth worshipping hers, moving down her chest until his mouth found a nipple.
She whispered his name in a pleading tone as he pulled it into his mouth and suckled, moving to the other to give it the same treatment. Her hands threaded through his hair as her moisture grew and the heat in her belly spread lower and beyond.
“Nicholas, please,” she begged again, and she felt him chuckle against her skin, moving ever lower until his mouth found her center.
She cried out again, but he was unrelenting as he pressed his firm hands to her inner thighs, pressing her open as he licked and sucked, his eyes watching her from where he feasted.
Cordelia lost all sense of time as her hands tried to reach for him but could only grasp fistfuls of the bedclothes instead, and she arched as his tongue swept a circle around her, and then pleasure broke, her orgasm so powerful it shook her body, and the cry she let out felt full of such release that it nearly frightened her.
She was still recovering with her eyes closed as she heard Nicholas remove his clothing and toss it hastily to the side.
“Good God, Cordelia, I could never tire of the taste of you.”
She opened her eyes and blinked, sitting up in amazement at the Adonis who stood before her.
It was unfair, really, that a man who seemed so confident about his appeal to woman should look so, but he seemed carved out of marble.
For a duke, who was meant to be indolent and indulgent, Nicholas’s muscles were well-formed, his chest broad and hard, his arms large and sinewy, his stomach muscled, with two lines leading down to a hardened cock which stood to attention.
Her eyes remained there, and she found she was not afraid, only hungry for more of what he could give her.
“You are staring, wife. What is in that head of yours?”
“I am afraid to tell you what I am thinking, for I fear you will only get a big head about it.”
A feminine tingle fluttered in her belly as he leaned over her again, his gaze strong, his large, strong body covering hers until they were face to face.
“Well, I think it might be too late for that, so you might as tell me every –” He kissed her mouth, “little”, he kissed her neck, “thought.”
Instead of replying, she pulled his mouth to hers again, and he settled his hips between her thighs, prompting her to open them to him. His hand lifted her thigh a little, and she gasped at the feel of him at her entrance.
When he pulled back, he said in a soft voice, “Cordelia, it may hurt a little, but I promise you, it will not be for long.” She saw the tenderness in his eyes again, and it made her heart flip.
I fear that this man has taken my heart.
But Cordelia didn’t have time to dwell on that thought.
He seemed to be awaiting her answer, and so she nodded at him.
This moment felt important, so full of something that she could not let fear get in the way.
She wanted this, no needed it, needed him, and she bit her lip as she felt the pressure of him as he pressed into her, slowly but surely.
“Breathe,” he said, rubbing a thumb over her cheek, and he pulled out and then plunged again, this time deeper.
She arched up a little, wondering if she could take all of him.
The next time he pulled away and returned, he slid deep inside her, and she felt a tiny pinch, but then, he sank further until he was fully seated.
“Nicholas,” she breathed at the lovely full feeling of him inside her. He kissed her, moving out and then in again, and the pain was now fully gone.
“God, love, you are so beautiful. So perfect,” he said against her neck. “Delectable.”
As she felt the warm pleasure gather inside her, she spread her fingers over the muscles of his back, and he moved deeper, his hips picking up speed. Never before had she imagined such delicious warm feelings, spreading from her center to her entire body, the pleasure rising up in pitch again.
“Wrap your legs about me,” he prompted and then leaned up over her.
Cordelia gasped when the angle shifted, and he found an even deeper place inside her. He grinned down at her, the grin of a rake, of a handsome, skilled man, putting all his skills of pleasure to good use on her.
Her eyes widened as the pleasure rose sharply, and she gripped his arms as his hips bucked more quickly, filling her completely, hitting that place inside her that had never been touched.
“Nicholas, don’t stop!” she cried, not even recognizing herself, and he gave it to her, thrusting harder and faster, until once again, her ecstasy reached a peak, and she screamed, arching upward to feel his mouth pull once more at her nipple, and she came all around him, her muscles feeling like butter as he continued to thrust, his hips bucking wildly until he groaned, held her waist steady and spilled into her.
In seconds, he was leaning over her again, breathing hard against her ear.
In a daze, she felt his kiss on her cheek.
“So perfect, Cordelia. But you are always perfect.”
When he pulled himself away from her, and lay down next to her, Cordelia felt completely satisfied in a way she had never been before. In a way that gave her hope for the future.
Perhaps my mother was right.