She pulled back a little to look up at him. “It’s because you see me, not some poor woman who is dependent on others. You make me feel like myself in the best way, like I am home.” Her brown eyes held a thousand stories he wanted to spend the rest of his life unraveling, but they only had tonight.
“Then it would be my pleasure.” He tilted her chin back so he could lose himself in her gentle eyes. He’d become obsessed with those eyes, how they could light up, burn, shimmer, and shine as she turned playful or spoke with passion. He could watch her eyes forever.
He kissed her softly, but quickly lost control and soon let his own passion flow from his lips to hers. She worked at his cravat, unfolding it then sliding it free of his neck before she started on the buttons of his waistcoat.
“There.” She laughed with delight as she rid him of his waistcoat. Then he pulled his shirt free of his trousers and tugged it off over his head.
“I didn’t get a chance to touch you before,” she said as she ran her palms over his bare chest. Wherever she caressed him, his skin burned in the most sensual manner.
“Before?” he asked in a daze.
“When . . . when we kissed the last few times.” She reached for his trousers, and he was helpless to resist. He certainly didn’t want to.
Sabrina had almost let it slip that they had been together at the masquerade ball. Thankfully, he was focused on her touching him, because a moment longer and she would lose her own control. Something about Peregrine Ashby made her a complete and utter fool.
His chest was a thing of beauty, all hard muscles with a dusting of dark hair that she admired as she ran her palms over him. He inhaled sharply as she traced a fingertip over one of his nipples.
“Did I hurt you?” she asked.
“No.” His rough and low voice sent a shiver of feminine longing through her. “It feels too good,” he admitted. “And I cannot wait to return the favor.”
“To me?” She raised her eyes to his in question. He captured her hands and pressed them to his lips, pressing a slow, hot kiss to the center of each palm.
“You wished for wickedness, and you shall have it.” He bent and scooped her up, carrying her to the bed and laying her upon it. He pulled off his boots and stockings along with his trousers. She had only a moment to see his glorious naked form before he crawled up the bed to her to lie beside her. She reached out to touch his bare shoulder and then his hip. He chuckled and leaned over, pinning her arms on either side of her on the bed.
“When a man is very wicked, he enjoys teasing his lover. He kisses her in all the places he can reach, places that tickle and make her laugh. Places that fill her blood with quicksilver.”
“Show me,” Sabrina begged him. She wanted to feel for one moment the way she had that night with him at the ball, like she had a world full of joys ahead of her and not sorrows.
“You have magnificent breasts,” he whispered. “Almost too large for a man’s hands.”
He cupped one breast, squeezing gently before he leaned his head down and took one of her nipples between his lips and sucked. Pleasure shot down her body like lightning, and she gasped, arching up into him. His lips increased their pressure, and she writhed as a wet heat built between her thighs. Then he released her nipple and kissed a path across to her other breast. Only as he did so, he also slid one hand down her body to that secret spot between her thighs. She let her legs fall open, knowing what pleasures would come next. He dipped a finger into her, teasing her. She whimpered in frustration, raising her hips.
“You want it, don’t you, my sweetheart?”
She nodded frantically. “Yes, please . . . Peregrine.” She needed him to the point of madness.
He captured her lips again, making love to her mouth while he thrust a finger deep into her. When their mouths finally broke apart so they both could catch their breath, she cried out as he worked her to a fever pitch and her orgasm wrapped around her, holding her to him with invisible hands.
“That’s it, my love. Let go and just feel.” He moved over her then, his hips settling between her thighs, and then he entered her in one swift thrust. She threw her head back, and he held still.
“I’m sorry if this hurts you. Please, it will pass, I promise,” he whispered softly in her ear before kissing her.
“It doesn’t hurt,” she assured him. He believed her to be a virgin, but she wasn’t, and she didn’t want him to stop.
“Keep going,” she encouraged.
“You’re all right?” he asked.
“I am. Please, don’t stop.” Desire burned in her mind, and she could not think of anything else outside of how wonderful it felt to be connected to him. He withdrew and drove back in with growing intensity. He stretched her and filled her, the sensation of his shaft sliding in and out so exquisite that it brought tears to her eyes.
Peregrine was like a god come to life, his body a divine tool for her pleasure. Fire raced between their bodies. She pulled his head back down to hers and kissed him with a desperation she hadn’t wanted to let out. In that moment, as her second climax claimed her, she lost her grip on everything that made her feel sure of herself. She was reborn into a new creature, something that craved this man and the warmth of his body and soul.
He stiffened above her, every muscle rigid as he released himself within her. She held on to him, riding out her own pleasure as it slowly faded. But the way she felt now—the same as she had that night—didn’t fade. She burrowed deeper into him, relishing the feel of being wrapped up in his arms and surrounded by his raw, muscled physique. He had branded himself on her tonight, and she didn’t care. She would always belong to this man, no matter how much time passed.
She pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “Thank you, Peregrine.” He kissed the crown of her hair, the tender gesture creating little flutters through her chest. His breath came hard against her neck as he recovered himself. Then he shifted their bodies until they were both under the covers.
“May I stay with you?” he asked. His tone was so hesitant for a man usually so strong and self-assured.
She nodded and moved closer to him, not wanting any of this to end.
“Good, because it would’ve taken a lot to get me to leave you now.”
He brushed the backs of his knuckles over her cheek and stroked her hair away from her face. She wished the stars were above them, that they were again out on the grass in the meadow, lying side by side and gazing up at the celestial view.
“Sabrina, I’m sure you won’t believe me, but the way I feel for you, it’s not like I’ve felt for any other woman.”
“I feel the same as you, but please don’t say any more. We mustn’t ruin this.”
He pressed a kiss to the crown of her hair and said no more.
12
Sabrina was alone when she woke. Part of her was relieved Peregrine had the presence of mind to leave her bed before an upstairs maid discovered them together. Yet Sabrina hadn’t wanted their night to end, and now it had. Morning had come.
A sense of melancholy settled over her as she forced herself out from under the covers. She pulled on her dressing gown and began laying out her traveling clothes on the bed. She was dressed before an upstairs maid came to pack her things, and then she went in search of her young charge in the nursery.