But when he leaned in and pressed a kiss to the back of her neck, his hand settling possessively on her hip, she knew she wanted to risk it. She needed to do so, as much as she needed to breathe.
She opened the door and they stumbled in together. He reached behind himself and shut the door, then pivoted her against it, pinning her there as he kissed her again, this time wild and heated and driven in a way he hadn’t allowed before. That touch and the promise it made burned through her like wildfire, making her arch against him as he cupped her backside and ground gently against her, letting her feel how hard he was already.
“Oh God,” she whispered, burying her head against his neck, her nose tickled by the edge of his cravat.
He made a low chuckle, deep in his chest. A sound of confidence, of certainty that he was going to give her exactly what she needed. From another man it would have been irritating, but from him it inspired excitement, anticipation.
And a tinge of anxiety. She had built this up so high in her head—could he ever live up to it?
She was about to find out.
“Lock the door to my dressing room,” she whispered. “I don’t want anyone coming in.”
He tilted her chin up toward his and kissed her gently as he reached around and locked the door to the hallway first. “A very good idea,” he said.
He pulled away, the loss of his warmth making her shiver. She watched him saunter across the room, turn the key in the door to the dressing room. And now they had privacy. They had time.
He pivoted to face her, his light brown eyes roving over her with hunger, and then gentling. “You don’t need to be nervous,” he said.
“Need to be and cannot control being are two different things,” she said with a shaky laugh. “It’s been a while since I did this and never with a man who had so much…so much focus on me. Like he could see into every desire I’ve ever hidden.”
His brow wrinkled. “I would love to fulfill every desire you’ve ever hidden. You deserve to be satisfied, pleasured, made weak with release.” He motioned to the bed. “Please.”
She glanced where he indicated and then slowly did as she had been told. She stopped at the edge of the mattress and faced him, only to find he had removed his jacket and was working now on the buttons of his waistcoat.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
“Oh no,” he said with a laugh. “If that is where we’re starting, I have a great deal of work to do. My dear, when a man wants a woman and they have agreed to make love, nakedness is required.”
She rolled her eyes, a little of her fear dissipated by his teasing. “I know that. I just didn’t expect you strip first.”
“There is nothing I would rather do than unwrap you from that pretty gown and lick every inch of your body. But you said you were nervous, so I hope that if I…” He paused to shed the waistcoat and began untying and unwrapping his cravat. “…am naked first, it will ease your mind a little.”
The cravat fluttered to the floor and he stripped the buttons of his shirt swiftly before he tugged it over his head with one hand.
She stared. He was…well, she had never seen anything like this man. The lanky, lean body that made him cut such a striking figure in clothing was even more shockingly beautiful devoid of them. His broad shoulders led to a tapered waist and a lightly muscled stomach. His chest had a lovely V of hair that trailed off into the waist of his trousers like a path directing her to heaven.
“This does nothing to ease my mind,” she choked out.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because all I can think about is touching you.”
His eyes went wide. “Then come over here and do that.”
Her legs shook as she moved to him. When she reached him, she waited for him to catch her in his arms and tug her into him, but he didn’t. He just stood there, looking down at her with eyes bright with desire.
“Touch me if you want it, Valaria,” he murmured. “I’m yours to use.”
She blinked. Use him. She had often felt used in the two years of her marriage. A toy to be thrown away when it wasn’t wanted. She didn’t want to treat another person like that, but the idea that he was hers to play with was certainly a tempting one.
She placed the flat of her palm against his chest, felt the solid, heavy thud of his heart beneath. He sucked in a breath as she dragged her hand lower, across his ribcage, down to his stomach, her fingers playing just above the waistline of his trousers.
He made a low groan, a sound of both pleasure and frustration, and she smiled at the idea that she wielded such power over such a strong man. It was heady and it made her bolder, more wanton.
She lifted her gaze to him and held his stare as she slowly flattened her palm against the front of his trousers, across the outline of his cock beneath the thick fabric. His face twisted with pleasure, with need. She unfastened the buttons of his fall front slowly and lowered the flap. His cock freed, it curled against his pelvis, hard and ready to do such wicked things to her.
She wanted those wicked things.
“Touch it,” he said, his voice strangled. “If you want it, touch it.”
She nodded and caught him in hand. Shivered at the lovely meeting of soft skin and the hardness of his desire. She stroked him once, twice, and he dropped his head back.
“Fuck,” he murmured. “My apologies, Your Grace.”
“I’ve heard the word before, Callum.” She shivered. “And I think I’d like to try just that now.”
He jerked his gaze back to her with a gasp at her boldness. “Your wish is my command. Turn around.”
She reluctantly released his cock and turned her back to him. His fingers dragged down her spine, tracing the line of buttons between her shoulders before he unfastened the first one.
“You blush when you come,” he said softly. “Did you know that? The prettiest pink I’ve ever seen. It slashes across those beautiful cheeks of yours, it disappears beneath the neckline of your gown. And I want to see how far it goes. I want to watch it make a trail down your body as you writhe under me, over me, around me.”
She reached back, catching his hip with one hand as she made a garbled moan at those wicked promises. “Please,” she gasped.
“Oh, that’s like music to my ears, Valaria,” he whispered, kissing the side of her neck, first gently and then harder until she arched back against him. He pushed her gown forward, over her shoulders, over her breasts, drawing it down away from her arms, her hips until it pooled at her feet.
Despite the fact that she was wearing a chemise, she lifted her hands out of habit, covering herself as he turned her to face him.
“Don’t hide,” he said, so gently that it almost brought tears to her eyes. “I want to see you. All of you at last.”
She drew a few long breaths, trying and failing to calm a racing heart. Then she let her hands fall away from herself and ducked her head as he looked at her.
“My God, you are beautiful,” he murmured as he reached out to cup her shoulder. His fingers played along the thin strap of her chemise for a moment before he looped them beneath it and slowly glided downward.
She caught her breath when her chemise slid over her breast and he lifted his hand to the other side to reveal her from the waist up. His pupils were dilated to almost entirely black as he stared at her, his lips parted, his breath short.