Page 26 of Dropping the Ball

“I want you,” she whispered, leaning into him and brushing his stubbly jaw and his neck with her free hand. She watched her hand’s path as she dipped lower, touching the exposed skin of his throat and the top of his chest before delving beneath his shirt to rest her hand on his shoulder under the cloth. Then she raised her eyes to meet his smoldering ones again. “I want you as I’ve never wanted a man before.”

She braced herself, waiting for what she feared was the inevitable moment when good sense would reign and when he would back away as a sign of misplaced respect for her position and her person. Bernadette had experienced that moment whena man’s conscience overrode her desire far too many times in the past, and she hated the infantilizing feeling it gave her.

But just when she thought Alden’s hesitation would shift to setting her aside, he breathed, “I want you, too,” and pulled her tighter against him so that he could kiss her again.

His kisses were a wonder. More than any of the few men she’d been with long ago in her past, he ravished her with strength while remaining tender and caring. He played his tongue against hers without thrusting or taking, but still gave Bernadette so much to savor and enjoy. And when she returned his passion with her own, he groaned and accepted her advances, allowing her to take from him what she wanted.

The intensity of the moment increased when he swept one hand around to cradle her breast. She caught her breath then sighed as he raked his thumb over her nipple through the fabric of her gown. It was tantalizing and delicious, and she immediately wanted to shed all of her clothes and give herself to him fully.

“Take me to bed,” she whispered, leaning away from their kiss so that she might work loose the remaining fastenings of his shirt. “Have your wicked way with me.”

Alden swallowed, making his Adam’s apple bob, and asked, “Are you certain that is what you want?”

Bernadette pulled her gaze up from his chest to meet his eyes again. “Oh, yes,” she said, her voice deeper and more sensual than usual.

That was all Alden needed to hear. He kissed her again, deep and possessive, then stepped back to rush through the fastenings of his breeches. Bernadette went to work with swift, shaking hands as well, tugging at the ties of her gown, then shimmying out of it and working on her stays as soon as her grown was nothing but a puddle of fabric on the floor.

Undressing was always a frustrating interruption to ardor, but Bernadette’s heart continued to pound with excitement as she watched Alden pull off his boots, then drag his shirt up over his head and toss it aside. He watched her as she tugged and pulled at her underthings. The two of them smiled broadly at each other, as if they were both racing and putting on a show for each other.

All of that was forgotten the moment the cool, evening air caressed her bare skin, and as soon as Alden stood from removing his stockings and breeches. She could hardly breathe as she drank in the sight of Alden’s powerful, naked body. It was one thing to guess that he was fit and strong by looking at him clothed, but to see his defined muscles, his tanned skin, and his narrow waist was a marvel.

But the most enticing sight of all to her was his proud, erect cock and tight balls beneath it. It had been so very long since Bernadette had been treated to the intimate sight of a man who wanted her, or since she had indulged in the freedom to enjoy herself that was a hallmark of her Oxford Society friends. She’d caroused with the best of them in her university days, but not at all since the day her parents ruined her life.

She didn’t pause to consider what Alden would think. She stepped toward him, then dropped to her knees so that she might caress that intimate part of him. He gasped in surprise and went rigid when she held the base of his cock, then leaned forward to kiss and close her mouth over his cockhead to enjoy him.

She knew full well what sort of pleasure her mouth on a man’s member could give, but she grinned in triumph all the same when Alden let out a strangled, “Good God!” as she licked him.

It had been such a long time, but she remembered enough to draw him deeper into her mouth, using her tongue and the suction of her cheeks to bring him alive with sensation. Alden letout another moan of pleasure and curled his fingertips into her hair, as if on instinct, as she worked him deeper.

She had once prided herself on her skills in bringing a man completely to his knees that way, but she was desperately out of practice. As soon as she started to choke, she pulled back.

Alden didn’t seem to mind at all, however. His breathing had turned quick and shallow, and Bernadette suspected she had brought him closer to the edge than even he had anticipated. He seemed relieved to gather her into his arms and lift her to her feet before slanting his mouth over hers in another kiss.

“You do not have to do that,” he told her a moment later, as they moved toward the bed.

“I enjoy doing that,” Bernadette said coquettishly. “I’m quite good, you know. But it has been a very long time.”

Alden made an indecipherable sound of lust, then lifted her so that he could lay her across the bed. “As it happens,” he said, mischief in his eyes and his tone, “I am also very fond of certain activities, and quite accomplished at them as well.”

Bernadette began to laugh, but that laughter turned into a gasp, then a long moan as Alden pushed her legs wide open, then dove into the heat and need between them.

He was true to his word. From the moment his fingers delved into her damp folds, teasing and exposing, pleasure overwhelmed her. It grew by the second until she was too overwhelmed to do more than throw her hands over her head and give in once he brought his mouth to her sex. He absolutely knew how to use his fingers and tongue and lips in concert to draw heady pleasure from her that threatened to swallow her.

He did not take his time either. He barely allowed her to think as he licked and suckled her clitoris while sliding his fingers into her wetness to fill and stroke her. He seemed to be able to read her body’s responses and to know what she liked and what sent her careening toward the abyss faster.

It was too much for her to resist. She gave herself to the swell of pleasure that coiled within her, and then burst. She threw her head back and cried out as she came with stunning intensity, her entire body throbbing to his touch. It was exquisite.

And then he surprised her even more by rising, gripping her thighs and pulling her hips toward the end of the bed. He glanced down at her, as if gauging her feelings and asking for permission.

“Yes,” she moaned, still feeling the tremors of her orgasm.

He did not hesitate or second-guess her wishes. He lined himself up with her sex, then pushed into her swiftly and thoroughly. Bernadette cried out with pleasure again, shivering as his thickness seemed to fill her to the point of bursting and then some. She was no virgin, but it had been so long that she had forgotten how tight the feeling of being claimed could be, or how magnificent it was.

Better still, once Alden was sheathed inside her, holding her lower back up so that he could thrust, it was like he became some sort of wild thing that only wanted. He watched her the whole time as he thrust, setting a punishing pace that made Bernadette feel both used and worshiped at the same time.

“Yes, yes!” she gasped as he took his pleasure in her.

She could tell he was close to his release when he adjusted their positions so that he could spread himself over her as he thrust. He kissed her once, but they were both too breathless with pleasure for it to last. Bernadette’s body coiled with life again, and when he clasped a hand around her breast, almost as if he needed it to keep himself anchored, she cried out and burst into another orgasm.

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