After a moment of confusion, it occurred to her what he meant. “Ah,” she said, returning to the pillows. “You have been perfectly chivalrous, my love.”
“I know. But I did not want to be.”
She started laughing. “It is not as if we haven’t… touched one another. We had moments of weakness.”
That was true. They had done a fair amount of fondling, kissing, and caressing, but Andreas had held off bedding her.
“I know,” he said, poking the fire one last time. “But I did not bed you for one very good reason.”
“What was that?”
He stood up from the fire and turned to her. “Because I did not want to rush it or be an opportunist,” he said. “The one and only time you have partaken of such a thing was not a good experience. I wanted our first time together to be very special and very tender. It is very important to me that I show you this is something wonderful. It is nothing to fear.”
The man was unbelievably sweet and considerate. It was that gentle soul that had touched her from the first, a man of great compassion. Gavriella stopped fussing with the pillows and went to him.
“I have had much time to think on this moment,” she said. “At first, I thought I would be afraid, but I no longer think that. You are my husband and you are the man I love. I am more than willing to learn what you want to teach me. I want this to be something wonderful, too.”
His expression was warm on her. “Are you certain?”
“I am.”
“Then it is usual for the couple to remove their clothing and get into bed.”
Gavriella laughed softly and began to undress in front of him. Over the past couple of months, in those heated moments alone, she’d practically undressed, anyway, as the man buried himself in her breasts or slipped his hands under her skirts, so she wasn’t ashamed or reluctant. She unfastened the ties of her blue silk garment, the one that made her look like an angel. She was just peeling it off her shoulders when she noticed him fumbling with something on his shoulder.
“What is that?” she asked.
He held it up for her to see. “Bonny gave me this,” he said, showing her the flower brooch. “He told me that he had given it to my mother when she married my father. It was the only thing of hers that he had to give to me.”
Gavriella carefully took the brooch from him, looking it over closely. “It is so beautiful,” she said. “What kind of flower?”
“A poppy, he said,” Andreas replied. “He used to call my mother his ‘fragile flower’. The poppy had some significance to them because of it.”
Gavriella’s gaze lingered on the brooch before carefully handing it back to him. “Your Uncle Edward and Aunt Cassie have a daughter named Helene, don’t they?”
“Aye.”
“Then mayhap we shall name a daughter Poppy, after your mother’s brooch,” she said. “And also after your grandfather. That is his name, too.”
He set the brooch to the table next to the bed before kissing her on the forehead. “That is very sweet,” he said softly. “I think I would like that, very much.”
Smiling at him, Gavriella finished undressing down to her shift. Over on the other side of the bed, Andreas had finished pulling his clothing off and leapt into the bed, pulling the coverlet up. He leaned back on his arm, watching her most expectantly. She didn’t disappoint. She let her shift fall away from her shoulders, revealing her perfect breasts and shapely torso.
The warm smile on Andreas’ face turned into something seductive.
“Come to me, sweetling,” he purred.
She did. As she climbed in and he reached for her, she happened to see the stigmata on the inside of his right forearm. She’d seen it before, but she’d never really asked him about it. Tonight, it caught her eye again.
“What’s that?” she asked.
Andreas tore his eyes from her full breasts to look at what she was pointing at. “The mark of de Wolfe,” he said. “All of the grandsons of William de Wolfe bear the mark of the de Wolfe standard somewhere on their body. It is a mark of honor.”
“It looks like strength to me,” she said softly, lifting her eyes to his. “Just like you.”
Andreas couldn’t wait any longer. His mouth came down on Gavriella’s, so hard that he drove her teeth into her lip. He kissed her deeply; there was passion and lust and adoration there, feelings that made him pull her more tightly against him. He could taste her blood as he sucked her lips, aware that her arms were going around his neck. Her breasts, soft and warm, were pressed against his chest.
Laying down, he pulled her down with him.
Andreas could feel her squirming on top of him, rubbing herself against him, and it drove him mad. His mouth moved down her neck to the exposed cleavage and he quickly rolled over so that she was beneath him, lifting her arms and trapping them above her head. With his mouth on her breasts, he managed to wedge himself in between her legs. With one hand holding her wrists above her head, the other hand moved to the moist heat between her legs and he stroked her gently before inserting a big finger into her.
Gavriella shuddered.
“Are you comfortable?” he asked, his lips against her right breast. “Shall I continue?”
Gavriella’s answer was a short nod. “Aye,” she breathed. “Continue.”
Andreas did, suckling on her nipple. “Do you feel me inside of you?” he whispered in between tugs. “This is where I will take my pleasure with you, as you’ve never known pleasure before.”
He thrust two fingers into her, moving them in and out, mimicking what he would soon be doing with his engorged member. Gavriella groaned with pleasure every time he thrust his fingers into her tight, wet heat, preparing her for his entry. It wasn’t long before he could feel her body start to quiver, the beginnings of her release, so he quickly removed his fingers and thrust his manhood firmly into her as her body was overcome with a climax.
Andreas could feel her body convulsing around him as carefully but firmly thrust into her. She was very hot and wet, her gasps of pleasure filling the air until he slanted his mouth over hers to silence her, kissing her with deep and abiding passion. He was so highly aroused that he released himself sooner than he had anticipated, spilling deep and feeling his seed mingle with her wet heat.
It was sheer heaven.
The sounds of heavy breathing filled the air as Andreas slowed his thrusts, finally coming to a stop as he struggled to catch his breath. Beneath him, Gavriella lay still, eyes closed as she clung to him. Andreas watched her in the firelight, thinking he’d never seen anything more beautiful. She was finally his, in every sense of the word, and when she lowered one of her arms, her breasts quivered and the sight was enough to arouse him again. There was nothing about her that didn’t set fire to his loins. In little time, he was very slowly and sensually thrusting in and out of her again as his manhood began to pulse back to life. It was a far less frenzied pace and a far more emotional one. His face was buried in her neck, inhaling her essence, as his hips moved in the primal rhythm.
“Dray,” Gavriella gasped. “Oh… Dray…”
Her hands found his taut buttocks and Andreas responded by covering her mouth with his, his kisses hot and tender. The pace was slower now, his thrusts as gentle as they could be. When Gavriella shifted and opened her legs wider to him, welcoming him deep for a second time, he held her pelvis fast against his. He rubbed himself against hers, grinding against her, and when Gavriella’s tremors begin again, he thrust into her, hard, before releasing himself in another, shorter, burst of glory.