Her heart wanted this, wanted him, even though her brain warned against it. Warned her of the pain and humiliation that lay ahead. She let sensation drown out her caution as she offered her husband all he wanted.
Her husband.
Sapphire leaned against his broad shoulders and absorbed the rich masculine scent of him, the feel of his hard chest against her soft breasts, and the tickle of his breath against her bareness.
Sir Matthias spread a hand against her back as he held her against him. His hands were rough and calloused. Nothing like the doughy fingers of Lord Musgrave or her stepfather. A smile curved her lips, and she leaned back into his hand as she brushed her thighs across his.
Her smile widened at his sharp intake of breath. She was a hoyden for sure, but for the moment, she reveled in his response to her. In what she could make him feel.
Matthias unbuttoned the rest of her gown and let it pool at her feet. She felt vulnerable and exposed as she stood before him wearing nothing but her silk chemise and stockings. No man had ever seen her so scantily clad, and Sir Matthias was still in his uniform, the sturdy fabric a stark contrast to her bare skin.
He held her close and brushed a soft kiss over her lips. “Are you sure about this?”
“Of course. We’re married.” But she couldn’t meet his gaze as her stomach fluttered.
“I don’t want to rush, and I don’t want you out of obligation.”
Sapphire’s thoughts jumbled, warring between what she wanted and what she thought she should want. When she didn’t answer him, Sir Matthias nipped her jaw then caught her mouth with his. A bolt of desire speared her, and she parted her lips for him, their tongues taunting and teasing each other.
Matthias lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed, lying her down under the soft cotton sheets. He shrugged out of his coat and tunic, then pulled off his boots and trousers.
Sapphire’s eyes widened as she took in his muscular chest, long powerful legs, and tanned skin lightly sprinkled with hair.
Her fingers itched to touch him.
Matthias slid into the bed beside her and lay down on his back. Her breath escaped her as he lifted her and straddled her over his narrow hips.
Tracing the silver chain she wore under her chemise, he smiled up at her. “You’re in control. We go as fast or as slow as you’re comfortable with.”
Sapphire blinked. While she understood the basic concept, her entire experience consisted of stolen glimpses of dogs and horses at her father’s stables. “I’ve never…”
“Listen to your body. Do what feels good and tell me if something doesn’t.” Matthias trailed the tips of his fingers over her collarbone, down the length of her arm, and over the swell of her breasts. “I only want to do things you like.”
Sapphire arched her back, filling his hands with her. A soft moan escaped her when his thumbs found her rosy peaks and stroked.
She braced her hands against his strong chest as waves of pleasure rippled through her. His touch felt so good, and she wanted to share that with him. Wanted him to know the same pleasure. Gathering her courage, she dipped her head and kissed the hollow of his neck.
His skin was hot, firm, and smelled of sunshine and male. Without thinking, she tasted. Salty and so very masculine.
She wanted more.
A kiss. A lick. A nibble.
She teased her lips over his neck and across the broad expanse of his shoulders. She stroked over his hard chest and down his flat stomach before stroking back up again.
As she explored him, Matthias trailed his hands through her hair, tugging out the pins so he could run his fingers through it.
The sensation of her hair along her back and arms heightened her need.
Sapphire tipped her head back into his hands. He was so gentle with her, so kind, never taking more than he gave. Never pushing. It allowed her to relax, to enjoy his touch, his kiss, all without fear.
Perhaps Rashalee’s lust darkened her heart, but Sapphire couldn’t imagine the goddess of greed would be responsible for such gentle sharing, such intimacy, such respect.
With her handsome husband sprawled beneath her, Sapphire felt like a nymph from folklore. A beautiful, powerful, sensual creature.
It was intoxicating.
The only thing that separated them was the fine silk of her chemise, and she wanted that gone. Wanted to feel his hands on her, all of her, but she left it on because she didn’t want to appear wanton. Didn’t want to completely succumb to Rashalee.
Even so, Sapphire wanted Matthias to feel as amazing as she did. Wanted him to know how much he meant to her, how much his patience meant to her.
Could this be desire? Not lust or possession, but mutual desire?
She didn’t know. Couldn’t be sure. She tried so hard not to be like her grandfather, but as much as they both wished it otherwise, his blood flowed through her veins.
Knowing that, how could she tell the difference between the dark stain of Rashalee and the touch of the Twins?
Matthias’s lips cruised over her bare skin, and all other thought scattered. He kissed the soft flesh of her arms, then eased over the curve of her breast. He paused, his breath heating her, then swirled his tongue over a silk-clad peak before sucking it into his mouth.
Sapphire gasped, clinging to him as sensation stormed through her and pooled in her belly.
He eased back, then stared up at her, his deep hazel eyes dark with desire.
She offered him her other breast.
He took, suckling even as he thumbed over the damp peak of the first.
Need shot through her, and her hips rocked against him as she gave herself over to raw need.
Matthias groaned, and he stiffened beneath her. He rolled her onto her back and levered himself above her.
She stroked a finger along his shoulders. “Did I do something wrong?”
“What you were doing was exactly right, but I promised myself I wouldn’t take you until you were certain.”
Heat and a deep aching need roiled through her, and Sapphire wrapped her arms around him and pressed closer. She needed him to quench the rising pressure within her. “I’m certain.”
Matthias’s lips found hers and plundered, his mouth hard and demanding. She met him, matched him, and opened for him. He surged inside, his tongue finding hers and stroking.
As his mouth took hers, his hand skimmed down the curve of her back, over her bottom, and along her thighs. Bringing it back up, he parted her and stroked along her feminine curls.
Sapphire tangled her fingers in his hair and opened herself to him, her lips never leaving his. A shiver stole through her as desire merged with excitement and a sliver of fear. Her mother had warned her it would hurt unbearably, that it would feel like being split asunder.
And she would be tainted. No longer the pure, untouched virgin.
But this was Sir Matthias. A Knight of Valor chosen by Dracor. And her husband.
Keeping her marriage vows wasn’t wrong or degrading.
Her thoughts scattered as he slipped a finger between her folds and found her wetness. Sapphire clung to her husband as he eased his finger into her. She felt so open, so vulnerable as he touched her depths.
Something stopped his progress, and he paused, waiting for her to adjust to him within her.
Again his patience comforted her, reassured her, and Sapphire parted herself wider for him even as it felt a little terrifying for him to touch her so intimately. To touch her as no one ever had.