“Every word?” He untied the back of her dress, bringing the neck down her shoulders as his lips kissed all along her collarbone and chest. Her pulse raced as she looked down at the stunning man, holding her in his arms.
He glanced up at her, his fingertips lightly dragging the fabric down even further so that it just covered her breasts. “I’ll try to find a jeweler tomorrow. Is there one in the village?”
She pressed her palms against his back. “In Haversham.”
“Even better.” He gave the fabric another tug, letting her small breasts free. Then he carefully kissed all around the base of one, slowly working his way to the tip until he sucked the entire thing into his mouth. Damn, he loved small breasts.
She fisted his jacket, crying out at the pleasure that ripped through her. “Luke.”
He let go of her breast, his mouth making a small pop. “I’ve been wanting to do that for days.” Then he shifted over and did the same to the other. She squirmed underneath him, the pleasure almost painful.
“Why?” she asked her hand raking up into his hair again. “My chest is hardly noteworthy.”
He sucked a little harder and then let her flesh go. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”
He leaned up and shrugged off his jacket, ripping the knot loose on his cravat and shrugging the shirt over his head.
In response, she pulled her arms free of her dress. “If I were smarter, I’d wait until you’d actually proposed.”
He stopped, looking at her with a dark, heavy gaze. “Try to get away from me now, love. You’ll be my wife, I promise you that.”
The words, his look, they took her breath away.
He reached down and brushed the fabric over her hips and down her legs. “Tomorrow, we’re buying that property. We’ll build a home close to your family and we’ll make our life here in Seabridge just as your father has done.”
She swallowed as the dress fell to the floor. “Really?” She leaned up on her elbows. “But if my father takes my sisters to London…”
“We’ll go,” he sighed. “Even though I never want to return. But I know you’ll want to keep them safe.”
That made her smile. She could hear the resistance in his voice. She lay back down, lifting her arms to him. “I’ll need your help. Who better than a rake to know a rake?”
A smile pulled at his lips as he kicked off his boots. “Why don’t I show you why you’ve made an excellent choice choosing a rake for a husband?” Then, rather than kiss her mouth again, he brought his lips to the valley between her breasts. He started kissing slowly down her abdomen, his hands grasping her ribcage.
“What does that mean?”
He kissed lower, past her bellybutton as heat pooled between her thighs. But he didn’t answer as he brushed past her triangle of curls and gently pushed her legs wider. When his tongue flicked out to brush her soft folds, pleasure shot through her body, making her torso curl and her head lift off the bed.
She dug her fingers into his hair, even as he made another pass, applying more pressure. Heaven help her, desire churned in her stomach as she held him tighter to her body. He answered by creating a firm rhythm even as he lifted her hips for better access. She could barely breathe or speak as her body tightened until she couldn’t stand the pressure another second and she finally exploded in a shower of stars.
Chapter Fifteen
Luke felt her orgasm, his body so taut, threatening to break. Rising up above her, he looked down at the beautiful picture she made. Her hair fanned out on the bed, her body soft from his lovemaking. Damn. A man could get used to this. No one, in his entire adult life, had ever given to him the way she had. And he’d repay that kindness by using his every waking breath to make her happy. “Love,” he grated out as he came down on top of her. “Let me stay with you for a while before I return to the cottage.”
Her brows drew together even as she lifted her arms to him. “Leave? Why?”
He fell into her embrace, unable to resist. “I’ll not take your maidenhead before our wedding. I might be a rake but—”
She smiled at him, pulling him in for a playful kiss that made him tremble with need. “You’ve done other things to me. They didn’t take my maidenhead?”
“No,” his voice came out rough and craggy.
“Surely, then, there is something I can do to you?”
The idea of her small hands on his member made him swell with need and his jaw clenched in his attempt to maintain control. “Adrianna.”
But she was already sliding her hands down his back, around the waist of his trousers as she worked the stays.
Frantic need overrode his good sense and he stood up, pulling at the complicated stays until he got them undone and shoved the garment down to his knees. Her eyes went wide as she stared and then, lord help him, she licked her lips. He nearly came undone. Briefly, he marveled at how much better this experience was than all the others that had come before it but then she reached out and took his staff in her soft delicate fingers, grasping around him.
He groaned out his pleasure. “Adrianna…please.”
She looked up at him. “Tell me what to do.”
Words choked in his throat. It didn’t matter what she did. But then, she scrambled up on her knees and leaned down, that mane of blonde hair brushing his hips and legs as she placed a soft kiss on his tip. He wound his hands into her hair and his head fell back. “Yes.”
In response, she kissed him there again and again. “Open your mouth,” he said, the visual nearly as satisfying as the feel.
And when those soft lips opened and sucked him in, he came undone, growling out his finish. The next time would be long and slow but this time, he’d needed her in a way he couldn’t express.
Pulling her up his body, he gave her a full kiss, wrapping her naked body in his embrace. “I’ll never let you go, sweetheart. I’m yours forever.”
She wound her hands about his neck, sighing into his mouth. “That’s good. I’d prefer not to have my father force you to our wedding with a shotgun.”
He chuckled against her lips as he pulled back the covers and carefully tucked them both into her bed. “I love you,” he whispered as he held her close.
“I love you, too,” she said snuggling into his neck. A soft meow called from the dressing room door. “Mittens?”
He lifted his head. How fitting. Then, drawing in a deep breath, Luke got up and crossed the room opening the door. Sure enough, Mittens and all three of her kittens were on the other side.
Mittens raced across the room and jumped up onto the bed with Adrianna, meowing for her kittens to follow. Without a word, Luke scooped them up and carried them to the bed.
“Aren’t they precious?” Adrianna patted the bed, all three babies scurrying toward her hand.
“We’re adopting the kittens, aren’t we?” he asked as he settled back under the covers.
“Just one.” She grinned, lifting Socks up to him. “I think she claimed you even before I did.”
He chuckled as the little black-and-white ball settled into his neck. “Do you think I’ll turn into your father? Prone to intense optimism, quoting sonnets at every turn?”