“I’m beginning to understand you.”
“I don’t understand myself.”
“Our past is what shapes us. Your past made you the man you are today. You aren’t as cold or as unfeeling as you want others to believe.”
He looked at her incredulously. “I’m not sure whether I consider that a compliment or an insult. At my club, I prefer to be viewed as cunning and cutthroat.”
“Your ledgers tell another story entirely.”
“Thankfully, only you can read them,” he said gruffly.
She came close and touched his cheek. “We have more in common than I’d believed.”
His hand covered hers and held her there. “Such as?”
“Both of our fathers have failed us. Their failure was in different ways, but I fear the result is similar. We were left to fend for ourselves. You fought for money. I kept the books to pay the creditors.”
Her body responded to his physical appeal, but her mind reacted to the man. A large part of her admired him for not just surviving by using his fists, but more so for his grit and determination to invest his earnings and start a business. A very successful business.
Even if the enterprise was one she despised.
He could have spent every shilling he’d won in the ring on drink, women, and gaming, but he had not. He’d worked and invested.
“You need never worry about money again,” he said.
Her heart ached in her chest. “I know, and for that I am grateful.” She touched his lips with her forefinger, and he gently nipped the tip and swirled his tongue around it.
She gasped at the sensations and the undeniable spark of desire in Ian’s eyes. Then his gaze lowered to her mouth, and she recalled the pleasure of being held against his body, of his lips caressing hers. Her breath quickened, and she feared that with one encouraging word from his lips, she would sink to her knees and ask him to join her on the soft carpet.
“Grace, no one can see us through the window.”
“What?”
“We can see out, but the bright candlelight of the chandeliers prevents anyone from seeing inside this room.”
She finally understood his intent and her pulse lurched. Her treacherous body reacted strongly to his virile pull, and she knew that she wanted him again. Here. Now. Even above the sinful vices going on below that had led to the destruction of her remaining parent and her family. Perhaps she could exorcise this obsession and then think with a clear heart and a conscience.
“You swore to keep me from your bed,” he said.
“I did.”
“There wasn’t a bed in the library, and there isn’t one here, either.”
Her eyes widened, but she didn’t step back. “You’re right.” She knew exactly what he wanted. She wanted it, too. “There is no bed here.”
Primal satisfaction glinted in his gaze. His lids lowered, and she waited for him to pull her close, to hungrily cover her mouth with his.
…
Ian craved her with a fierce hunger. “I’ve wanted to take you in this room the first time I saw you,” he said hoarsely.
She looked at him in surprise. “You did?”
“Oh, yes. I never bring women upstairs, but there was something about you. You didn’t belong here. You were innocence and temptation at once, and I was drawn to you like no other.”
“I was afraid of you,” she said.
His large hand took her face and held it gently. “And now?”
Her blue eyes met his with shimmering honesty. “No longer.”
He lowered his head, and she stood on tiptoe and met his mouth. He kissed her thoroughly, and she met him with equal abandon. Soon he wanted more. He wanted everything. His lips blazed a path down her throat to the tops of her breasts.
“I need to see you. To touch you.”
“Yes.”
It was all the encouragement he needed. She turned, and he made quick work of the buttons on her gown, then her stays, until the dress was loose and the silk slipped to the floor. Wearing only her shift, she turned to face him. Desire burned in her eyes.
She was lovely. Utterly lovely.
And his.
He stared at her, his breathing labored. Then she reached for the dainty bow at the neckline of her shift. He watched, his mouth dry as she untied the pretty ribbon and the shift, too, slid to the carpet. She stood before him bare except for her white stockings and garters.
Blood pumped hot and heavy in his veins. “You are perfect.”
His hands rose to his cravat, but she stopped him. “Let me.” She stepped close and reached for his cravat and began to slip it from its knot. It was erotic torture.
She soon divested him of his coat and waistcoat. His skin was tight with need by the time she’d stripped him of his shirt. Her fingers brushed against his chest. When at long last, she reached for the flap of his trousers, and began to work the buttons, he wanted to push her hands away and make quick work of the task. She sensed his impatience and gave him a warning look.
“Hold still,” she said.
Finally, his cock sprang free. He tugged off his own boots and discarded his trousers. They stood staring at each other for a heartbeat, breathing hard, then he reached for her, swept her off her feet, and laid her on the thick carpet beneath the window. Light from the chandeliers of the gaming floor reflected off her curves and hollows. He’d stood staring out the window countless times but never had he seen such a magnificent sight. She was like a goddess offered to him.
His goddess.
And he would feast like he’d desired from the moment he’d seen her.
He kissed her breasts, and she sighed and arched toward him. He marveled at her sweet response, urging him on. He lifted her leg and peeled down her stocking and garter and then moved to the other.
His lips trailed a path down her stomach and paused to press a kiss to her navel, then lower still, to the top of the soft curls between her legs.
She must have sensed his intent because she rose on her elbows, her dark hair cascading down her back. “Ian?”
“Shh, love. Let me love you the way I’ve longed to.”
He blew on the curls, teasing them with his hot breath, before parting her slowly. The sight of her glistening for him heightened his need. He lowered his head, licking her once.
“God, the taste of you.”
She moaned and the sound heightened his already fierce craving. He was harder than he’d ever been, driven to give her pleasure. She arched toward him, urging him on. He hooked her leg around his shoulder and grazed a finger down her wet slit. She cried out.
“Let me.” He parted her and swirled his tongue over the straining bud. She grasped his hair and tossed her head from side to side. He was enthralled at the way she writhed beneath him. Then he gave a leisurely lick, and she cried out as she reached her climax.
Her eyes opened, a vivid blue, and she sighed. “Ian.”
He’d never been more aroused in his life. He needed to be inside her, deeply embedded, until they were one. She opened her arms, and he moved between her legs and drove into her welcoming heat with one powerful thrust.
Her slickness encased him, held him tightly. He began to move and she joined him, meeting his wild thrusts with an urgency that drove him on, heightening his pleasure even further.
“Come for me,” he said.