Romancing the Heiress(36)
Author: Darcy Burke

 

Tearing her mouth from his, she rasped, “Take your shirt off for me. Please.”

 

He shrugged out of his waistcoat, letting it fall heedlessly. “Since you asked so nicely.” He whipped the garment over his head and threw it away. Leaning forward, he kissed her cheek in front of her ear and dragged his tongue to her lobe before giving her a gentle nip. “You don’t really have to ask. Nicely or otherwise. Just take what you want.”

 

Leah shuddered. She had no experience with this, just the urge to see and touch him, and a wild throb within her that begged to be tamed and satisfied. “I’m not sure what to do,” she whispered, her hands shaking. She still couldn’t quite believe this was happening.

 

He swept her up and walked until she felt the worktable against the backs of her legs. “One moment.” Setting her down, he reached behind her and pushed whatever was on the table onto the floor. The sound of breaking pottery made her gasp.

 

“I hope that wasn’t important.”

 

He cupped her face. “It wasn’t you, and that’s all that matters.”

 

Leah nearly melted into a puddle at his feet. Luckily, he was holding her and then he was kissing her again, his lips and tongue making her body spark with desire. But he didn’t linger on her mouth. He kissed her jaw and her neck, again using his lips and tongue to create a path of fire. She clutched his shoulders and parted her lips as her breathing became more ragged.

 

He lifted her onto the edge of the table, which gave her an excellent view of his bare chest. She flattened her palms against his flesh, reveling in the contours of his muscles. “I can see how hard you work.” She’d imagined being close to him, touching him like this, but it did not compare to actually doing it. “Is this real?” she breathed.

 

“I hope so.” His hands moved down to her waist as he kissed his way to the edge of her bodice. At the same moment, his hand brushed up her side and cupped her breast. Suddenly, every sensation within her was focused right there.

 

Raising his hand to the center of her neckline, he hesitated. His fingers were poised just above the small string that cinched her gown tight over her undergarments. “May I?”

 

“You don’t have to ask either. I want everything you want.”

 

“I will still likely ask. It’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”

 

She’d always thought he was perfect, and now she had undeniable proof. “Are you going to loosen my gown or not?”

 

His lips spread into his familiar heart-stopping grin, but there was something more to it now. Because of the way he was looking at her. At last, he was seeing her the way she’d always seen him.

 

He lifted one end of the tie and snagged it between his teeth, then used his hand to pull the knot free. Tugging at the neckline so it gaped away from her chest, he skimmed his fingertips along her flesh to her left shoulder. “It fastens here?”

 

“Yes.” The word came out short and breathless. Her entire body was aquiver. Every touch was a new, captivating sensation.

 

He found the small button and slipped it free from its loop. The front drooped on that side. Deftly, he moved to the other shoulder and performed the same task. Her bodice fell open.

 

“Still trapped,” he said with a sigh before pressing his lips to the top of her breast.

 

Leah pushed her dress down so she could access the laces, which were on the front of her stays so that she could easily tighten them herself. Making quick work of them, she loosened the garment and untied the straps. Then she pushed the corset down beneath her breasts. That was as far as it would go. “Good enough?”

 

He stared at her breasts, now covered only by the thin lawn of her chemise. “More than. But I want to touch them, and not through your garments.”

 

She didn’t wait for him to ask. “Do it now.”

 

His auburn brows arched as the side of his mouth ticked up. He pulled the string on the neckline of the chemise and tugged the garment down to expose her bare breasts. Though it was warm in the conservatory, the air was still a shock to her flesh. She gasped softly and felt her nipples harden.

 

“Beautiful,” he murmured, tracing his fingertip around one breast, making the circles smaller until he reached the point of her nipple. He added his thumb and rolled her flesh between his fingers. Her arousal intensified. She felt a shocking jolt that went straight to her sex. He softly pinched her before moving to the other breast to repeat the torment.

 

She’d never been so aware of herself, of every shift in the air, each brush of his fingers and hand. He lowered his head and kissed the first breast while cupping the other. As with his finger, he went slowly, working his way with lips and tongue to her nipple. When at last he put his mouth over the turgid tip, she cried out and clasped his head. He suckled her—hard—and grew bolder with his touch, squeezing her.

 

It was as if a fire had ignited within her, the flames licking between her legs. She needed him to extinguish it before she was completely consumed. Or perhaps that was the point—to burn into ember.

 

Her hips moved, gravitating toward him. She wanted, no, she needed relief. If he could just touch her there. She knew where she liked to be touched—she’d learned that long ago. But would it feel differently when he did it?

 

He seemed to understand what she needed because he lifted her hem and swept his hand beneath her skirts, his fingers brushing along her thighs. “Open your legs, Leah.”

 

She noticed he didn’t ask, and she dug her hands into his nape, doing as he bade. His hand moved up to her sex where every nerve pulsed and begged. “Touch me. I need…release.”

 

His fingertip brushed over the nub at the top of her sex. “Here?”

 

Whimpering as her body quaked with desire, she could only nod. He put his mouth on her breast once more, suckling the one he hadn’t yet tasted. That was overwhelming enough, but then he stroked her sex, teasing and arousing her more than she’d ever been before.

 

She bucked up from the table, her body seeking more. He drew hard on her nipple, and another flash of heat burned through her. Closing her eyes, she began to pant.

 

“Lie back.” He guided her down onto the table.

 

He kissed her cheek and whispered, “This is not where I would prefer to do this, but I can’t very well carry you into the house like this. Remind me to add a chaise or a settee to the greenhouse.”

 

She opened her eyes on a giggle to find him staring down at her with a sense of wonder. But that was quickly replaced by a fiery need that mirrored her own. He pressed his finger into her sex, and she cried out, arching off the table.