Page 65 of Signed, Sealed, Married

His embrace stiffened. ‘You don’t approve.’

Surprised, she met his frowning gaze.

This wasn’t a love match, yet Adam had gone to great lengths to make tonight special.

‘I love it.’ She swallowed. ‘But one considerate gesture doesn’t make up for your behaviour.’

He nodded gravely and lowered her to the floor, their bodies in contact all the way. Her nerve endings hummed with excitement by the time she stood on her own feet.

‘I know what I want to do next. But what do you want, Gisèle?’

Excitement sparked. ‘To undress you.’

There was no place for false pride here. Negotiations on their marriage could wait. She couldn’t. She reached for his tie, the fabric soft against her palms.

He growled. ‘I want to reciprocate.’

Gisèle nodded. Seconds later they stood naked in a pool of discarded clothes.

Adam stroked his palms over her turgid nipples, taking the weight of her breasts, and she felt bliss beckon. His eyes glazed as his voice roughened. ‘I want you so badly. But I don’t want this to be done too soon. I want to kiss you all over, explore every inch, learn every erogenous zone.’ Moss dark eyes met hers and she saw in them the same desperation she felt. ‘Would you like that?’

Of course she would. The very sound of it made liquid heat pool between her thighs.

There were unexpected benefits in having Adam spell out his intentions and ask her opinion.

‘Only if I can do the same.’

His assent was gruff but his hands infinitely gentle as he nudged her onto the bed.

By the time he’d finished his explorations, she’d found bliss several times under his questing mouth and hands. She should be exhausted. But as he kept telling her, she was stronger than she thought. For as Adam whispered in her ear every new suggestion for delicious pleasure, she found herself agreeing with alacrity.

It seemed she had an unending capacity for the pleasure he gave her. Even her intention of exploring his body in full wavered as he took her from one peak to another.

Until finally the lure of possession was too much. She needed to have him, yearning for something deeper, the union of their bodies.

This time when they came together it felt like there was nothing but raw honesty between them. No filters, no prevarication, no half-truths. Gisèle met his mesmerising eyes and felt like she’d found home.

With infinite care, Adam brought them together. A warm tide engulfed her. A great wave of feeling that was more than satisfaction. More than delight.

For an age they moved slowly, celebrating each wondrous sensation, until it became too much. Their slow dance grew staccato, urgent, reckless, yet beautiful still. And when the explosion hit them simultaneously, Gisèle had never known such joy, wrapping her lover close in her arms as they shuddered in ecstasy.

It felt like the promise of a new beginning she’d never dared believe in.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

AWEEKLATERthey lay in the shade of a huge tree, drowsing after a picnic and the best sex of his life.

Adam grinned. The best sex ever. That was saying something, considering how amazing their honeymoon had been. Intimacy with Gisèle was on a whole different scale to anything he’d known before.

Because she matters to you more than any lover ever has.

‘What are you smiling about?’

He turned his head. She lay on the blanket wearing only his discarded shirt, her legs bare in the afternoon heat. Despite the estate being private and protected from intruders, she was still cautious about lolling around naked, unlike him. But she hadn’t been prudish when he’d set about seducing her.

Through the fine cotton he saw the thrust of her nipples and the shadowy triangle of hair at the apex of her thighs. He’d never known a more stunning woman.

Inevitably his body stirred. ‘You can’t guess?’

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