Page 137 of From Rakes to Riches

“Yes, Theodore.”

He turned the latch, their fingers tight as he tugged her inside his rooms and closed the doors behind them.

Lola drew a deep breath,overwhelmed by the scene before her. Theodore released her, crossing the room to tend the fire while she stepped through the dimly lit sitting room and into his bedchamber. The enormous room beckoned her closer, warm and inviting with its mahogany furniture and sophisticated décor, yet there was no ignoring the massive four-poster bed at its center. The counterpane and pillows seemed to overflow while the flickering shadows from the flames in the firebox danced along the pale bedlinens.

Theodore stood near the hearth. Having finished his task, he turned and watched her now, his eyes causing her to shiver with anticipation and at the same time, her skin heated with desire, her body sensitive and restless. The way he stared at her took her breath away.

She went to him, though she didn’t wrap her arms around him to meet his embrace. Instead, she loosened the knot of his cravat, dropping it to the floorboards before she set to work on the buttons of his waistcoat, discarding the garment soon after.

He grasped her hands, pausing her fevered pace. His eyes gleamed with an inscrutable emotion. Her heart squeezed tight as if he’d captured the delicate organ and held it in his hands instead of holding her fingers. In one fluid motion, he carefully reversed her position.

“We have all night, Lola,” he said as he smoothed her hair over her shoulders. “There’s no reason to rush when we’ve both waited and wanted this for so long.”

He kissed a path to the curve of her shoulder, murmuring words of endearment against her skin while, one by one, his nimble fingers released the row of ivory buttons at the back of her gown. When the silk parted, she heard his sharp inhale and bit back her grin. Her chemise was imported French lace and nothing more than a sheer pattern of gossamer flowers against her skin. She was pleased he liked it.

“Aren’t you full of delicious surprises?” he said with a throaty hum of approval. He stroked the shallow curve of her spine and buried his mouth at her nape before he brought his hand around to cup her breast, his hot kisses on her skin causing her nipples to pebble beneath the lace. Unable to stand still, she turned and lowered her gown, one sleeve then the other, until it floated to the floorboards in a puddle at her feet.

“You’re still dressed,” she said, touching her fingertips to the top of her chemise, watching his eyes follow her every move.

He walked to the bed, sat and removed his boots before he stood and discarded his shirt and trousers. His body was magnificent, powerful strength and composed elegance, broad shoulders, and sculpted legs of lean muscle. That same curl of desire wound through her, causing her to press her thighs together in an effort to quiet the demanding pulse at her core.

Wanting to be closer, she moved to where he sat on the edge of the mattress and he pulled her forward between his knees, the heated friction of his thighs through her silk stockings evoking a sensual shiver. He held her waist and she placed her hands on his bare shoulders. His muscles tensed beneath her touch though his eyes held a wicked gleam. With a fingertip, he traced the swirling lace design pulled taut across her breasts before he slowly lowered the straps of her chemise. It fell to her hips and he swept it to the floor with her pantalets, leaving her in just stockings and slippers. She swallowed, the wait excruciating and, at the same time, her body hummed with anticipation.

Watching her, he smoothed one hand upward, over her ribs to her breast and then across to the tip, tight and sensitive, while his other hand held her waist in a firm grip. She gasped, alive with pleasure as she clenched her thighs tighter, the need there ever more insistent.

His eyes never left hers as he caressed and teased her, and when he finally took her breast into his mouth, her legsthreatened to betray her. His tongue rubbed over her skin like hot velvet, each stroke tormenting pleasure. She grasped him tighter, her fingertips pressed into his muscles in an attempt to stay upright while he wrapped an arm around her lower back to lock her in place.

“You’re so beautiful, Lola,” he rasped, his hands skimming over her waist, around to her bottom and down the length of her thighs, his every touch leaving her more aroused. When he ran his fingertips along the edge of her stockings, she trembled from his sensual caress, her body taut with want. “I don’t know where to taste you first. I want to ravish all of you and at the same time savor every little piece.”

He looked up at her and, while she lost herself in his gaze, he eased his fingers between her thighs, into her sex, his thumb stroking the swollen bud at the center. She cried out, sensation coursing through her with such force she shuddered, but he gave her no relief, tasting her breasts and at the same time rubbing her slick folds with exquisite pressure. Her head fell back, her long hair another erotic pleasure as it swept over her back and heightened her awareness.

She closed her eyes and moaned, wanting him to stop and never stop, craving the climax of gratification he promised with every delicate touch of his fingers until the intense ache inside threatened to consume her. Need twisted tighter and tighter, and he sensed each tremor, feeling her thighs tremble with impatience every time he stroked back and forth, knowing she couldn’t bear much more.

Until at last, with a featherlight brush of his fingertip, she cried out and bliss coursed through her body with an intensity she’d never known. Leaning into his strength, her hair fell forward in a curtain around them. She found him ready for her kiss, his embrace enveloping her as they tumbled back to the mattress together, her slippers lost to the floorboards.

Theodore heldLola against his chest, his heartbeat thrumming in rhythm with hers, their legs entwined. He kissed her, tasting her with slow, languid strokes though his body burned with intensity.

“I want you, Lola.” Something fierce and possessive shot through him as he spoke the words. Not desire, something far more dangerous.Far more meaningful.

“Yes,” she answered, her eyes fluttering open to meet his gaze. “I want you, Theodore.”

Without effort he reversed their positions, the bedlinens tangling with the motion and promptly kicked aside. She still wore her stockings and the slide of her shapely, silk-covered legs against his body stoked his ardor, his arousal hard and insistent. Without another word, he discarded his smalls and moved over her, his erection pressed against the creamy soft smoothness of her thighs.

She wiggled beneath him, positioning herself better as he braced on his elbows. He leaned down for another kiss, the moment fraught with reverence and tenderness. His chest tightened with emotion.

She stared up at him, her eyes wide as he settled between her thighs, his length thick and hard at the seam of her legs and she opened for him, raising her hips slightly, telling him what she wanted without words. Holding her gaze, he nudged into her, slowly at first, finding her tight and hot and incredibly wet. He tried to wait, but couldn’t, his desire too strong as he entered her with a swift thrust. She gasped as they joined, his hard cock perfectly sheathed within her as if they were made to complete each other. She closed her eyes and he did the same before he withdrew almost completely and thrust again, each stroke establishing a rhythm, their bodies working together in a dance of give and take. She met his movements, gasping at the exquisite friction of his thrusts, the delicious tension of theirbodies together every time he pushed into her heat. A sheen of exertion covered his skin, the overwhelming sensations racing through him. Pleasure threatened to consume him, destroy him, as if nothing had any meaning except this moment in time, together with Lola.

She must have felt it too. Her whole body trembled. She clung to his arms, her body rising to meet his, her breathy gasps and sensual sighs too much for him to bear. When she tilted her hips, taking him deeper, he had to fight for clarity, burying himself within her tight body one last time. She cried out just before he withdrew and spilled himself on the sheets. Not wanting to be separated, he drew her close, holding her to his heart as their breathing slowed.

For several long minutes they stayed that way. Time ceased to have meaning. The air was heavy with emotion, unspoken words, and the scent of their lovemaking. Eventually, she turned, creating a small space between them as she wrapped herself partially in the sheets although her pale shoulders were exposed, tempting him to lean in and kiss her again. She looked beautiful, her hair fanned atop the downy counterpane like a mantle of black silk, her skin flushed pink.

“You belong in my bed,” he said, reaching forward to sweep a stray piece of hair from her brow, unable to keep from touching her.

“I like being here.” She caught his hand and brought it to her mouth where she kissed his knuckles. Perhaps she couldn’t keep from touching him either.

“I want you to know how important you are to me,” he began, unsure of his words and even less sure of her reaction. He waited, the only sound the crackling wood in the firebox. He touched her cheek gently. “How much I care about you.”

Her eyes widened slightly and she didn’t immediately respond. She turned beneath the sheets so she too lay on her side, able to look at him directly.

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