Page 76 of Crown of Slumber

“Next, I would pin you against that armoire.” I gestured to the piece of furniture on the other side of the door. “I would hike up your skirts, exposing those glorious thighs of yours. You would wrap your legs around me andfeelhow hard I am for you.”

Her eyes closed and a soft sigh escaped her. Her hands began trembling.

“I would run my tongue along your neck, tasting your delicious skin. Then I’d bite down on your shoulder, and you’d cry out my name.”

She wet her lips again. Gods, to see her like this—to imagine what I would do to her—was almost torture.

But it was working. A flush crept into her cheeks, her lips parting as her breathing sharpened.

“I’d tug down on your bodice, sliding it to the side to bear your beautiful breasts to me. And then I would feast on them. Swirl my tongue over your nipples. Close my teeth over them.”

“Burning suns,” she moaned. Her back arched as if she were living in my fantasy right now, beckoning me to taste her. And gods, how I wanted to.

“My hand would run up your thigh,” I continued, my own voice turning raspy from the yearning pulsing through me. “My fingers would reach your slick center. You would be so wet, Aurelia. So ready for me.”

“Fenn,” she groaned. “Gods, I—I?—”

“You what?”

Her eyes flew open, and she suddenly straightened. “Stop.”

I stared at her, my heart pounding an erratic rhythm in my chest. Had I gone too far? Was she too embarrassed to continue?

Or had she simply remembered who I was, and that she would never want to do this with me?

“I—” She broke off, then licked her lips. “I need you to touch me.”

My eyes flared wide. “I beg your pardon?”

“I want to erase his touches. I want to wipe him from my mind, from my memory. I wantthis”—she gestured between us—“to take its place.”

I froze, not sure I was hearing her correctly. For a long moment, I said nothing. “Are you sure? Because only moments ago, you told me not to touch you. I just want you to be certain.” My voice was soft and gentle as I tried to assure her it would be fine if we stopped., if we did not do this tonight.

“It will mean nothing,” she said breathlessly. “I just need release. Please, Fenn. Can you do that for me?”

A mixture of disappointment and longing filled me. I didn’t want it to mean nothing. I wanted to continue what we’d started in that ballroom. I wanted to show her all the ways I could worship her body, to show her just how fierce and beautiful a creature she was. To show her that I could be a man who was devoted to her, as she deserved.

But I was not worthy of her. And I never would be. She knew it, and I knew it.

She just needed a distraction. And I was a rake. This was the perfect task for me.

I allowed a feral grin to form on my lips. It was easy to don the mask everyone expected me to wear. But I had grown accustomed to taking off that mask for her. It felt wrong to wear it here and now, almost as if I was trying to deceive her.

But this was what she needed. In this moment, I would give her anything she asked for.

I pushed off the door and strode toward her slowly, giving her plenty of time to back away. Her hands were still trembling, but she held my gaze, her chin lifting, and did not move away from me.

I didn’t stop until her chest was flush against mine, until I could feel the frantic fluttering of her heartbeat. Then, I kept going, walking her backward until she was pressed against the armoire. The doors rattled from the impact, and she gasped.

“Is this what you want?” I murmured.

“Yes.” Her voice was only a breath.

I raised a hand and traced the line of her collarbone with my finger, following the swell of her breasts. My finger slid between them, then jerked the fabric of her dress downward.

“And this?” I asked in a whisper.

“Yes.”

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