She smiled as she held him tightly.
By the gods, he felt so good beside her. So strong, so protective, so wholly a Knight of Valor. To the seven hells with what was right and proper, she wanted to be his in more than name.
And she was his wife.
Teasing her hands along the broad expanse of his chest, Sapphire let her nails scratch through the whisper of hair. Her lips followed her fingers, and she trailed her tongue over his firm flesh.
Matthias speared his fingers through her ebony hair then teased a lock of it over her milk-pale skin. He lifted her so she straddled his hips, then traced his fingers along her bare arm and over her collarbone. It was a soft, almost reverent gesture.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered.
Her lips curved into a sultry smile as she leaned forward and brushed them over his. The tips of her breasts teased his chest, sending sensation skittering through her. Sapphire gasped, and Matthias took advantage, parting her lips as his tongue surged into her mouth.
She welcomed him, her tongue playing against his, stroking, teasing as she gave herself over to the pleasure stealing through her.
He gripped the hem of her chemise and slid it over her head in a swirl of silk.
Her immodesty would have embarrassed her, if not for the raw need on his face.
His strong hands stroked her bare back, along her sides, then cupped her heavy breasts. Color stole across her cheeks, but a wave of pleasure subsumed her embarrassment as his thumbs found her pink tips.
His palms felt hard against her soft breasts, the sensual contrast deepening her pleasure. She arched her back, filling his hands with her.
The flicker of desire deepened, and Sapphire ignored her mother’s warnings, focusing on the pleasure of every touch, every kiss. She ached for his hands to be on her, for the heat of his kisses, and for something more.
She wanted him. All of him.
Matthias lay strong and hard between her thighs. Without her chemise, she was naked except for her silver chain, and she rubbed her hips against his. Pleasure coursed through her, and she repeated the motion.
He grunted, then slid a hand over her hips and gripped her smooth bottom. Her breath tangled in her chest as he eased her further down his body. He still wore his braies, but his shaft now pressed hot and impossibly hard between her thighs.
Tension gripped her, and she shut out all the times her mother had told her how awful wifely duties were. How they must be endured when they couldn’t be avoided.
Sapphire didn’t want to avoid this. She was a wanton and a whore. A devotee of Rashalee, goddess of lust.
At least when it came to Sir Matthias.
He slid his hand between their heated bodies, sliding through her curls and trailing a finger in the wetness between her soft folds.
A bolt of sensation jolted through her, and Sapphire sucked in a breath as she tried to absorb it. Her husband stroked her again as his lips and tongue skated over the smooth flesh of her neck and shoulder.
Rather than back away from the growing heat, Sapphire rubbed herself against his hand, gasping as he found her tiny nubbin and stroked. Desire lanced through her as she balanced against his broad chest.
Matthias eased back, filling her with sensation rather than overwhelming her. He slid one finger into her hot sheath as he continued to stroke her little pearl. Her hips writhed above him as he slid a second finger into her, gently thrusting in time to her body’s movement.
Pressing herself against his hard chest, she gasped for breath as aching need filled her and carried her upwards on the waves of pleasure.
This time, Sapphire wanted him to come with her.
She reached between them for him, stroking his massive shaft through his braies as she trailed kisses over his broad chest.
As if he understood, Matthias rolled her beneath him, the weight of him pressing her back into the soft mattress. He stripped off the rest of his clothes then settled beside her, his hands exploring her heated flesh.
Sapphire parted her thighs, opening herself to him in explicit invitation.
An invitation he took as he slid his fingers back into her and thumbed over her hidden button.
Heat and pleasure mixed through her, amplifying her need. She wanted this, wanted him. Wanted to be his in more than name.
His lips found hers as he eased between her parted thighs, and his knees spread her wider. He withdrew his hand, and Sapphire gasped as cool air touched her wetness followed by something far larger and far hotter.
He found her nubbin again and stroked, sending pleasure cascading through her. Then he pushed forward, easing into her, filling her.
She gasped, clinging to him as he stretched her. There was a jolt of pain, and he slowed, focusing on her pleasure as his lips fastened around a nipple while his thumb teased her hidden pearl.
Her hips were soon writhing in time to his touch, and he used her motion to seat himself the rest of the way in her and fill her completely.
By the gods, he was so hot and hard.
Surrounding her.
Filling her.
She felt so open, so exposed, so vulnerable and yet so safe with him. Sapphire wrapped her arms around him, holding him against her as he touched her very core.
He kissed her, softly, reverently, then he slowly moved inside her.
While her most secret passage was tender from his invasion, her hips seemed to know this age-old dance, and she met and matched his gentle thrusts as he continued to stroke her nubbin. The whisper of pain eased further, and Sapphire opened herself to him, holding him close as he tapped her core.
The wave of pleasure built within her, stronger than before, amplified by the feeling of having him within her. The fullness. The completeness.
While there was still an ache of pain, there was nothing dirty of degrading about this most intimate of joining. There was nothing but bone deep bliss and a protected vulnerability that heightened her desire.
That may make her a wanton, a devotee of Rashalee, but she was Matthias’s and Matthias’s alone.
Need grew within her, carrying her higher and higher, until feeling overwhelmed her and shut out all other thought.
Her stomach clenched as the pleasure crescendoed to an almost unbearable intensity. With one final thrust, Matthias sent her up and over.
Fulfilled need flooded Sapphire, carrying her away on the tide of pleasure.
He tightened above her, thrusting into her one last time, then he lost himself in the same golden glow of fulfilled desire.
The moon hung high in the sky when Sapphire awoke. Her head was pillowed on Matthias’s shoulder, and his arms were wrapped around her. A twinge of tenderness between her thighs reminded her of what they’d done.
What she’d done.
Closing her eyes, Sapphire waited for the wave of shame, but she felt none. She loved Matthias. She’d wanted all that had happened between them, and she found her wifely duties more than just a little pleasant.
Sapphire hoped Matthias would want her to fulfill them often.
Sapphire bit her lip and sent a prayer to Dracor, asking for Him to help protect her from the dark goddess of lust. It was far too easy to give in to physical desire when she was in her husband’s arms.
Snuggling closer to Matthias, Sapphire noticed the pendant against her stomach and blushed. She should have taken it off. Wrapping her hand around the glass teardrop, she paused as she heard a strange rustling.
She closed her eyes and listened. The sound came again.
“Did you hear that?” Sapphire whispered, her voice a ghost on the night air.