"If you expect me to be still while you touch me like that," he said hoarsely, "you should think again."
"If you move, I shall stop," Aurora replied serenely.
He gritted his teeth as she opened his breeches and moved on to the buttons of his drawers. When a moment later she parted the fabric, his quivering length sprang from the dark gold curls of his groin.
Aurora felt her breath catch. He was stunning, with the moonlight silvering the hard planes and muscles of his body.
She might have little experience, but she knew what would happen when she touched him. How a soft caress would make his muscles bunch and tighten. How the lightest brush of her fingertips across his belly would make him quiver. How his skin would flush with heat and his male flesh grow rigid…
I stroke the thickening swell of your hardness and feel no shame. You have taught me desires of the flesh, sensitized my body to pleasure, burning away all inhibition.
She knew.
She kept her gaze trained on his manhood, at the shaft that was already thickly engorged, yet she wasn't as tranquil as she pretended. Her heart was pounding as she ran her hand lightly down his torso, following the feathery trail of hair over his belly, caressing him the way he'd taught her on their wedding night.
It fascinated her, the contrasts beneath her fingers – the sinewy hardness of his stomach… the velvet steel of his manhood… the downy softness of the sacs beneath. He jerked slightly when she touched him there, the heavy testicles tightening as she cupped him lightly.
"Aurora…" he rasped.
Enthralled by his response, she extended her exploration. With trembling fingers she moved upward, rimming the engorged crest of his arousal, teasing the sensitive ridge. When he shivered at her touch, she grew bolder, tracing the sleek contours, stroking the throbbing length, so swollen with heat.
Eventually her fingers folded completely around his manhood, enclosing the velvet-sheathed hardness and squeezing lightly. The thick length surged in her hand, swelling to fit her grasp. With rising confidence, she drew her hand slowly downward, then up again, creating an exquisite friction.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Nicholas asked in a strangled voice moments later.
"I had an excellent tutor," Aurora murmured.
"I don't recall teaching you that."
"Not that specifically, perhaps. But you taught me not to fear a man's body. You taught me about pleasure and arousal. The journal suggested the rest."
He was so hard under the hot, silky skin, so magnificently erect. Yet what amazed her was how simply touching him could affect her so strongly, how stroking him could stroke her own desire. She felt hot all over; her nerves, her skin, her pulse felt incredibly alive, while a sweet ache had begun throbbing between her thighs.
Her gaze locked with his, the clamor of her heart echoing his unspoken question.
Shivering with anticipation, she pushed back the hood of her cloak and bent her head to taste the male shaft that could give so much pleasure. It was shameless, brazen, yet thrilling to have this strong, vibrant man at her mercy.
When her mouth touched the distended tip, he seemed to stop breathing altogether, and her sense of power swelled. She glanced up to see that Nicholas's eyes had closed. Holding the base of his rigid length, she slid her tongue gently around the pulsing head. She felt his body clench.
"Am I doing this right?" she whispered.
His response was a strangled groan. "Exquisitely right. Don't stop."
She had no intention of stopping. Exploring the forbidden delights of his body was too sensuously exciting.
He felt the same excitement, Aurora knew, despite her lack of experience. She felt his hand touch her hair, guiding her lightly as her tongue circled the smooth, glistening crest, but his powerful body had gone rigid, his hips straining to keep from moving as she explored him with her mouth and tongue.
Letting her feminine instincts take over, she took him fully in her mouth, enveloping the thick bulbous tip with her lips. The shocking pleasure of it left her weak. He was scalding hot, pulsing with life, and her gentle suckling made him surge even larger and longer.
She heard him groan and looked up to see his hard virile face taut and rapt with ecstasy. Aurora felt a thrill of pleasure. She wanted to make him groan, wanted him writhing with need.
Almost eagerly she bent to him again, her hair spilling around him, over his stomach and groin as she renewed her sensual assault. His body clenched harder, and he arched against the blanket as his hands moved to clutch her hair.
He was actually shaking, Aurora realized. Excitement coursed through her, heightening the hungry longing in her own loins. Her own desire was burgeoning, her secret flesh wet and pulsing.
Fire beating through her senses, she feverishly stepped up her assault, her fingers fondling his stiffened sacs as she tormented him with suckling caresses.
His breathing turned harsh and ragged. He was nearing climax, she knew. She could feel him shuddering deep in her throat.
His self-control broke a moment later. With a low guttural sound, Nicholas pulled back abruptly. Turning on his side away from her, he spent himself, his body convulsing in an explosion of need, his shaft lifting and jerking helplessly as his seed gushed hot and milky onto the grass.
Aurora watched his wrenching, powerful release in awe, exhilarated by her own power to make such a strong man so helpless.
Drained, limp, he slowly rolled onto his back. But it was a long moment before he opened his eyes. "It seems I owe the journal a debt of gratitude."
Aurora felt herself flush at the heated intensity of his gaze – and at his brazenness. He made no move to cover his nakedness. She was suddenly unaccountably embarrassed by her own wanton behavior. She looked away.
"You don't mean to turn shy, siren?" Nicholas murmured. "Not now, when it is my turn to pleasure you."
He took her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss into her palm. Aurora felt herself shudder at the intense heat that simple gesture aroused in her. Reluctantly, she drew her hand away. "I think perhaps I have been daring enough for one evening."
"There is only one trouble. A taste of you only makes me want more. I want to spend the rest of the night making love to you."
Her breath faltered. "You cannot."
"Why not?" He reached up, beneath her cloak, to caress her breast. She winced when he found the sensitive peaked nipple beneath the thin muslin of her gown. "You're highly aroused, Aurora. You want me. Your body is eager for release, for pleasure."
She couldn't reply. Her instinctive wariness had returned with a vengeance, along with the warning voice clamoring in her head, urging her to beware his sensual blandishments.
When she didn't answer, Nicholas sat up. Lifting his fingers to her lips, he brushed them with the lightest of pressure. Aurora shut her eyes as a dizzying wave of need rushed through her. Her desire for him was a physical ache, throbbing and urgent.
She feared the strength of that desire, and yet the simple truth was she couldn't deny herself the pleasure of his touch.
When he started to draw her into his arms, she stopped him with a hand on his chest. Glancing around, she realized how revealing the moonlit darkness was. Though largely concealed by willows, they were still too visible for Aurora's comfort. "Not here, Nicholas…"
"You're right. We should find a bed. Where do you want to go?"
She took a deep breath, throwing prudence and caution to the wind. "Take me home."
"Gladly."
With a faint smile, he rearranged his clothing and fastened the buttons of his various garments. Then getting to his feet, he held his hand down to her. She took it with trembling fingers.