As he kissed her, his hands roved over her body, bunching her dress into his fists, using it as leverage to drag her ever closer. Her heart was racing and her breath came short as anticipation mounted. Just when she thought she could take no more, he glided his fingers up the long line of buttons along her spine and began to unfasten them one by one.
She drew back and watched his expression as he did so. His gaze was hooded and intense as he locked it to hers, holding her steady with just that look.
“Nathan,” she whispered.
His fingers slowed. “What do you need?”
Her breath hitched. In her life, she could almost count the number of times someone had asked her that on just one hand. When he asked it, it seemed like he meant it. Her hands shook as she reached up to trace his cheek with her fingertip, across his bottom lip.
“Too much?” he whispered.
She nodded. “But also not enough. I want to please you. I want to be pleased and yet I’m shaking like a leaf.”
He smiled against her fingertip. “If you surrender, just a little, I promise you I will make this good for you. You don’t have to hold on with both hands.” His own hands gripped against her back. “I have you.”
She blinked. Surrender. She’d done that once and it hadn’t worked out in the slightest. But she wanted so badly what he offered.
“Yes.”
His mouth found hers again, this time with less desperation. He stripped open her buttons down to her waist with what felt like only a flick of his wrist and then his fingers slid beneath the fabric of her gown. Though she was wearing a chemise beneath, the pressure still made her shiver, and she turned from his mouth to bury her face in his shoulder. Sensation hit her in waves, waves that built as he pushed her dress off her shoulders, down her arms.
He’d seen her naked before, of course. That dizzying day on the settee was something she’d dreamed about many times since. But now he was going to look at her and she was his wife. That changed things somehow. Made them mean something more. Because he had to be pleased with her for the rest of his life. If he wasn’t…well, she already knew how that would turn out.
She stepped away from him and lifted her chin as she pushed out of her dress. It pooled at her feet, and she stepped out and kicked it aside. Her undergarments were pretty but the fabric was thin, and with the firelight behind her, she was fairly certain there was very little to be left to the imagination.
“My God, you are something,” he said as he looped a finger around the thin chemise strap and tugged so it drooped against her shoulder. “I could look at you like this all day. All week. And your scent.” He leaned in and brushed his lips to the spot where her neck and shoulder met. “It’s been driving me wild for months. What is it?”
She blinked. Months. How could that be? They’d been enemies months ago. Not playful, but truly at odds. He had to be exaggerating or caught up in the moment.
“Cinnamon,” she whispered, digging her fingers into his hair as he moved his mouth along her neck toward her ear. “Vanilla,” she gasped because when he nipped her earlobe her entire body reacted with a lurch of electric pleasure. “I don’t know what else, I can’t think of anything but what you’re doing.”
He chuckled against her skin. “You. The rest of it is you.”
He backed her toward the bed as he continued kissing her throat, sucking hard enough that there was a tiny hint of pain, laving with his tongue to soothe. When her backside hit the high edge of the mattress, she bit back a cry.
He pulled away from her and tugged the chemise the rest of the way down her body. Slowly. Slow enough that she felt the silken slide on every inch of her. When it puddled at her feet, he caught her bare hips and lifted her onto the edge of the bed. They were face to face now, and he took advantage. He kissed her, deeper than before, longer than before, with far more purpose.
It was amazing. She’d been kissed before. Well-kissed by this very man. And yet every time he did it, it gave her the same thrill as a first kiss. It pulled her under soft waves, it made her forget everything around her. All there was was him. All there ever would be was this.
“This seems unfair,” she said after they’d kissed for what felt like a lifetime.
He smiled against her mouth. “Ah, a complaint to be lodged. Excellent. What is unfair?”
“I am all but naked and you are fully clothed,” she said.
He nodded. “That’s true. It does seem unfair. How about this? I will remove all of this if you take off your stocking and slippers?”
She shrugged. “That is acceptable.”
“I do love our negotiations,” he said, and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.
He backed away and she scurried to roll her stockings down her legs and unbuckle her slippers. It was quick work and by the time she had done it, he had removed his boots and jacket.
“I’m realizing I haven’t actually seen you with your clothing off,” she mused. “Your…” She motioned toward his crotch.
“My cock,” he said.
Her eyes went wide. “Well, if you want to be vulgar about it.”
“You’ve had it in your mouth, Your Grace,” he said. “I very much want to be vulgar about it with you in this room when you’re naked.”
She laughed despite herself. “Fine. I’ve seen your cock. It’s a very nice cock. Did I tell you that at the time?”
“You did not,” he said, and his lips twitched. “I’m flattered.”
“But I haven’t seen the rest.” She waved her hand. “So if you could hurry it along, I would like to remedy that situation.”
He gave a lazy mock salute but did not rush in the slightest as he unwound his cravat, unbuttoned his shirt and then pulled it over his head.
She lunged forward so quickly she nearly threw herself off the bed as she stared at the half-naked form of the Duke of Gilmore. She’d felt the strength of him when he pulled her close, but seeing the evidence of it was another thing entirely.
He had well defined, muscular shoulders and arms, and a broad chest that tapered into a narrow waist. His chest hair was a shade lighter than the dark hair on his head and made the most fascinating v that pointed into the waist of his trousers.
“Your mouth is open, Abigail,” he said softly.
She glanced at his face. “I-I didn’t expect you to be so…so…perfect.”
“I can’t hear that enough. Though I am not, I assure you.”
She shook her head. “How do you look like that under all those layers of propriety?”
“I box,” he said. “And I’m not opposed to work on my estate when I go there.”
She nodded. “I’ll take your word for it. I approve, by the way.” She bit her lip. “I very much approve.”
He gave a slow grin, but said nothing more as he unfastened his trousers. Carefully he lowered the fall front and his cock, which was fully hard, bounced free. She hardly noticed as he stepped from the trousers because all she could do was look at him.
“Still approve?” he asked softly as he moved toward the bed.
Her breath hitched. “Oh yes,” she whispered. “I more than approve.”
“Good,” he said. “And I think it’s obvious I approve.” He motioned to that same hard cock. “So we are in accord, perhaps for the first time in our relationship. And I have a very specific way to celebrate that fact.”