Page 598 of From Rakes to Riches

And she thought she was leaving him tomorrow?

He pulled her trousers off and flung them away. Her delighted laugh followed. “In a hurry, Your Grace?”

He grunted and tugged at his boots, hopping on one foot, then the other. Next went all the other articles of clothing in hasty succession as she watched from the bed, her body arrayed like the most delectable feast—created to be devoured.

He took a leg in each hand, and she bit her bottom lip between her teeth, eyes burning bright, as he bussed a kiss onto the arch of a foot. He stepped between creamy thighs, his rigid length leading the way.

Again, base carnality beckoned him to take her, but it was another feeling twining alongside it that he heeded.

Tenderness.

He knew it wouldn’t hold as their bodies succumbed to lust. But it could be a beginning. A way for his heart to express itself.

He angled forward and continued his trail of kisses—the arch of her foot…the turn of her slender ankle…the dimple above her knee…the stretch of skin just inside her hipbone…the taut tip ofher nipple…the indent at the base of her throat… He was a man in worship to this woman, and he would have her understand it.

He planted one forearm to the side of her head, the length of his body heavy against hers and met her lust-glazed eyes. “Rake,” she whispered, “what has happened between us?”

“Tomorrow, remember?” he spoke low.

Her brow furrowed for an instant and released.

He reached between them and took himself in hand. Her legs spread wide to accommodate him, one foot sliding down and hooking around the back of his leg, as the crown of his manhood pressed against her cunny, smooth and slick and swollen with desire.

Ready, that was what she was for him.

His mouth found the curve of her neck, and trailed around to take her mouth, the kiss sweet and demanding as he entered her slowly, filling her inch by deliberate inch. Her hips swiveled, greedy for more, but he held steady. This coupling wasn’t simply about what their bodies wanted, but about what their souls needed.

In and out of her, he moved, pulling gasps and sighs and moans and groans from her. Delivering all the pleasure his body could give hers.

He reached beneath and cupped her bottom, controlling not just his movement, but also hers. Her arms twined about his neck as his thrusts intensified, perhaps tipping into the pain of pleasure for her—the way he knew she liked it.

There was a time for tenderness.

But in every coupling the time inevitably arrived when the carnal took over.

Yet with Gemma, it was different.

With Gemma, he couldn’t give enough of himself.

Because of the feeling that beat within his heart for her.

And he knew.

Though he’d convinced himself otherwise, he’d never experienced this feeling before.

Not like this.

Not as if he wanted to pour all of himself inside another person.

And like this, together, their bodies moving in unison and abandon, she began to tense beneath him. A whimper of ache escaped her as they reached the edge, oblivion beckoning. As one, they tipped over that crest, her cry of release joined by his shout, their bodies mere mortal vessels for another sort of expression—that of their souls.

The bounds of Earth fell away and it was only him and her, here.

Awash in the glow of satiety, he gathered her into his arms, willing her not to speak, but let this one perfect moment be.

Her breath became soft in the cadence of sleep, and Rake felt the twin strums of elation and determination resonate through him.

For the rest of his life, it would be only him and her.

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