Only yours, she thought, biting her lower lip as his finger slowly trailed down the back of her neck.
“You won’t find lovemaking unpleasant, I’ll vow. At least not after the initial time. I think I can safely promise you will enjoy the physical side of marriage.”
She wouldn’t meet his gaze. And yet it was difficult to remain aloof when his fingertips were moving over her skin with such delectable pressure.
His hand continued caressing her nape. “May I take down your hair, Brynn? Please?”
She hesitated, vaguely disarmed by that “please.” She would have liked to refuse him, but as her husband, he had that right. “If you wish.”
“I wish very much.” Rising partway, he knelt behind her and began to remove the pins from her hair. Brynn held her breath at his tender ministrations. She could smell the warm, clean, musky scent of his skin, feel the heat of his hard, elegant body at her back as he freed the heavy mass and let it fall. When his fingers curled slowly, possessively in her hair, she felt a dangerous softening inside her. His touch was so gentle, so incredibly arousing.
Then, wordlessly, he brushed her hair aside, smoothing the thick tresses over her shoulder, and began unfastening the buttons of her gown. Brynn went rigid. Moments later, she felt the hot, moist tip of his tongue trace the high curve of her spine, and she shivered. He was nuzzling her neck, his teeth strangely arousing against her flesh.
She remained frozen, aware of a disquieting pleasure that uncurled low in her stomach. His soft, persuasive lips continued to kiss her nape as he slid the neckline of her gown down over her shoulders to expose her corset. She could feel him loosening the hooks, feel the restrictive pressure ease. When he lowered the bodice of her chemise, her breasts spilled out.
“Lucian…” she protested.
“I like the sound of my name on your lips.”
His hands slid around to cup her breasts, and she drew a sharp breath.
“There is no need for shyness between us, my lovely Brynn. Your body likes me touching you. See how your pulse has quickened… your nipples are taut…”
His fingers closed around the tight buds, sending hot arrows of pleasure streaking through her, making her arch against the tormenting ache. “Do you like how that feels, Brynn? You will like the feel of my mouth even better. Let me taste your sweetness…”
He took her glass from her and set it aside, then eased her back on the blanket. Brynn felt her senses swimming, her blood pounding thickly with the wine she’d drunk, as he bent over her. He kissed each nipple in turn, laving the swollen tips with his silk-rough tongue, suckling until she gave a breathless whimper. When he blew on a turgid peak that was still glistening from his mouth, she quivered at the erotic shock of it.
Holding her dazed gaze then, he sat back and unfastened the buttons of his breeches, drawing them down around his lean hips.
In the gathering darkness, her gaze locked on his naked loins. He was heavy and aroused. She was faintly shocked to see the huge shaft, pulsing and erect, between his sinewed thighs.
“It is only flesh, love. Touch me and see for yourself.”
Taking her hand, he brought it to his groin, letting her explore at her own pace. Brynn swallowed her shock and touched him gingerly, feeling the warm, satiny flesh stretched over granite. He was very male, but not really so frightening. Experimentally, she closed her fingers around the rigid length, and he surprised her by giving a soft groan.
Brynn pulled back her hand at once. “Did that hurt?”
He gave a soft, husky laugh. “A very pleasurable hurt.”
His eyes were hot as he bent over her again, but this time instead of attending to her breasts, he took her mouth. She lay tense beneath him until he murmured against her lips, “Let me in, siren. Kiss me the way I’m kissing you. Give me your tongue.”
She opened to him then, absorbing the slow, penetrating motion of his tongue in heated pulses, even as she felt a ripple of despair course through her. He was so very experienced, and she had no weapons to aid her in halting his sweet seduction. Against her will, she was being tantalized by his potent sensuality, his magical kisses.
When he gathered her closer against his aroused body, deepening his kiss, Brynn shuddered, helpless against the surge of warmth that enveloped her. A shivering desire began to grow inside her, tightening her nipples, her thighs, heating her every nerve ending. It was as if Lucian wove some strange spell around her, a spell she no longer wanted to escape. Her arms climbed upward to encircle his neck, and she gave in to the need to return his kiss.
As the tentative thrust of her tongue met his own, Lucian felt an emotion akin to triumph. It was beguiling, the innocence and enthusiasm in her untutored mouth, the excitement, the tender searching. He tangled his fingers in the rich fullness of her hair and drank of her sweetness, showing her how to respond, to give, to take.
She was making small sounds of pleasure deep in her throat when he slowly swept his hand down her body, pausing at the juncture of her thighs that was shielded by her muslin gown. When she stiffened instinctively, he caressed her soothingly.
“Let me touch you, sweeting,” he murmured. “An aroused woman feels pleasure when she takes a man inside her body, but you must be ready to receive me. Let me arouse you, lovely Brynn.”
In the darkness he could feel her questioning gaze searching his face. “I… don’t think it’s possible,” she whispered thickly, “to be more aroused.”
He buried his smile against her throat. “Oh, yes, it’s possible. And it will be my great pleasure to show you.”
She made no protest as he raised her skirts to bare her delicate flesh to the night air, and yet she tensed when he moved his palm along the warm satin of her inner thigh.
Wanting to distract her, Lucian lowered his mouth to her tantalizing breasts, suckling her again as he fingered the soft folds at her damp apex.
She was wet silk between her legs, her body already prepared for his taking. The realization made his shaft clench with savage need, yet he knew he had to take exquisite care in satisfying her for her first time.
Her breathless moan told him he was succeeding. She clutched at his shoulders as he found the nub of her sex. He murmured a soft reassurance when her body jolted in shock, and went on stroking the sensitive flesh. In only moments she had tilted her head back, moving it restlessly against the blanket, straining her hips against his caressing hand.
He felt her tremble, and gently thrust a finger into her silken warmth. Brynn whimpered softly in pleasure. He slid a second finger into her, pushing deeper, and she gasped, clamping her thighs around his hand.
Sucking hard on her engorged nipple, he kept up the arousing rhythm with his fingers, probing and withdrawing, until the motion enticed her hips into an undulating movement she couldn’t control.
She arched and twisted, instinctively seeking relief from the feverish passion he was building within her. He could feel the heat rising from her flushed skin, hear her rasping pants as she reached the brink of climax. A heartbeat later, he felt her shatter.
Triumphant, Lucian took her mouth again, capturing her startled moans. He kissed her face and held her until she lay completely pliant in his arms. His erection was a throbbing, painful heat, but he forced himself to remain still, allowing her time to recover.
He sensed her bewilderment as Brynn searched his face in the darkness.
“That was the pleasure you spoke of?” she whispered hoarsely.
He smiled. “Yes. That was the pleasure. But there is more.”
“More?” Her voice sounded faint. “I don’t know if I can bear any more.”
“You can,” he promised softly. “You’ll find the bliss even deeper when our flesh is fully joined. Let me show you, Brynn.”
Her silence, while not welcoming, suggested surrender.