Page 14 of A Season for Christmas

There, she’d learned about her own pleasure rather than merely tolerating the whole process.

But none of those men had ever set her body aflame the way Samuel did.

None of them had made her want to throw caution—and her clothing—to the wind the way she wanted to right now.

Her reputation at the Society of Sin was one of control. Coolness. Distance.

She felt none of that right now.

Not just physically but emotionally, she could not find any distance.

Could not cool off.

And her much-vaunted control was slipping through her fingers at a rapid rate, if she’d ever had it to begin with.

Everything was different with Samuel.

She gasped as his lips slipped away from hers, moving to the sensitive skin on her neck. Arching her back, she pressed her breasts against him as he moved his lips over her throat, squirming on his lap with the need pulsing through her. She felt breathless from the sensations curling through her, shocked by the intensity of the passion rising inside her.

She had to get control again.

Pulling away, she scooted back on his lap, panting for breath.

Hoping he could not see how unsettled she was, she reached for the end of his cravat and tugged, pulling it off of him. He was panting for breath as well, his fingers still curved around her bottom, eyes hot as he watched her.

“Since I do not have my ladies’ maid on hand, you will have to take her place. Help me undress,” she said once she was sure her voice would remain steady. Lower than normal, huskier than normal, but steady.

“Yes, my lady,” he replied, a slow grin spreading across his lips. It helped her sensibilities that his voice was also strained—nearly as strained as his breeches were across his erection when she stood. Satisfaction thrummed through her.

Moving back, she brushed her skirts down as he got to his feet, undulating from the chair so they were standing amere inch apart. He looked down at her, eyes still gleaming. She raised an eyebrow at him, shrugging her shoulders. Now that she was standing, she could feel how loose her dress was and knew that he’d managed to undo quite a few of her buttons…

Nearly all of them, it turned out.

“You are so damn beautiful,” Samuel murmured as he helped her out of the dress, then laid it over the chair he’d just vacated to keep it from rumpling too badly. His eyes roved over her body, sincerity shining in his eyes.

She felt beautiful when he looked at her like that.

Sometimes, it was difficult to tell, with so many silver-tongued devils wandering theton, whether or not a compliment was truly meant, if it was merely paying lip service… or if a rake was trying to seduce her. There was no question with Samuel, though. She could tell he meant it, even without the prodigious bulge at the front of his breeches.

In some ways, it felt very odd to be here with him, alone, stripping down… getting ready to do things she could have never imagined the first time he’d courted her. Then, she’d dreamed of kisses, of being held, of him touching her body. She’d had no idea what happened between a man and a woman in the bedroom.

The difference between then and now…

She actually blushed as he slowly stripped her bare, despite herself. It was hard to reconcile the young debutante she’d been with the confident woman she was now. Hard not to feel like that blushing innocent again because she was with Samuel.

Not that it seemed to bother him. He knelt before her, his shirt hanging open in the front, his fingers reverently rolling down her stockings, his breath hot on her upper thighs. Catherine lifted her foot, letting him pull thestocking off entirely, leaving her naked in front of him… but he was the one on his knees. Reaching down, she grasped his hair, sliding her fingers through the strands and gripping at the root so she could tilt his head back.

“How good are you with your mouth, Samuel?” she asked.

A slow smile spread across his lips.

“I have never had any complaints.” There was a cocky surety to his demeanor that she found shamefully attractive. Then again, she had always liked a confident man, as long as he was notoverconfident.

“Well, let us see what I think then.” The chair he’d been sitting in was still beside them. He was tall enough that she could not step over him, even kneeling, so she lifted one foot to rest it on the seat of the chair, spreading her thighs wide. She could feel the cooler air of the room against the heated flesh of her cunt, and she used her hand in his hair to draw him forward, directly into that heat.

Surprise flashed in his eyes, but he went quickly, easily, his lips and tongue seeking those wet folds. Catherine moaned, moving her hips as his tongue slid against her sensitive spots, tasting her, savoring her.

With her other hand, she reached up to cup her breast, pinching her hard nipple and shuddering as the delicious sensations began to roll through her. It was not the easiest position to maintain, but it was well worth it to have him on his knees, servicing her for her pleasure.

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