Page 54 of Cora
He hastened after her.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
CORA
Cora’s heart skipped as Gideon led her into his bedroom. He made quick work of the remaining fastenings on her dress—his dexterity rivaled her maid’s. He peeled the silk down her arms and past her waist until it puddled around her ankles.
“My god, you’re exquisite,” he breathed reverently.
No one had ever looked at her worshipfully before. Lustfully, yes. Nothing like the way Gideon shrugged out of his waistcoat and dropped to one knee before her to untie the crinoline. It fell to her knees. He rose and helped her out of the pile of discarded clothing like she was a princess stepping down from a carriage at a ball.
Cora inhaled a fortifying breath and reached for the bulge in the front of his trousers. He groaned and pressed hard against her, forcing her to back up a step as he claimed her mouth in a crushing kiss. She met his intensity and twined her arms around his neck. He scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed.
“Do you know how hard it has been to listen to you each night preparing for bed?” He laid her down, his hungry gaze roaming from her breasts to her waist and back up to her face. “Imagining you splayed out like this?”
His words thrilled her. Cora trailed her fingertips from the base of her throat to the tops of her breasts. “Did you think of me, Gideon?”
“Yes.”
“Did you imagine me like this?” She posed. The way he was looking at her made her bold. Slowly, she unbuttoned her corset cover and threw it to the side.
“In my imagination you were wearing fewer clothes.” His voice was thick and gravelly, scraping pleasantly in her ears.
“I can make your fantasy come true, if you would be so good as to assist me.”
She rolled onto her stomach and kicked her feet. Gideon obliged by ripping her laces loose. When she rolled back, her breasts popped out over the tops of the cups. He fell upon the front hooks and had it off her in a trice.
“You really are too good at that.”
His gaze cut to hers. “You wear too many clothes.”
“And whose fault is that?” she responded tartly, although suddenly she wasn’t wearing nearly enough of them. Her skin was heated and her breasts felt tight and heavy. The soft lawn of her chemise barely concealed her tight nipples. They tented the fabric as his gaze raked down her body.
“I have no regrets about dressing you like the highborn beauty you are, Cora. None. I have waited years to savor you like this. Willing and wanton. I won’t rush this.”
She gasped at the effect his words had upon her. The petticoat went next. Gideon took his time removing her stockings, stripping the lengths of silk down her calves with a wondering expression. His shirt gaped open enough for her to see the sprinkling of hairs between the plackets.
He didn’t rush through perfunctory foreplay in his haste to get to the main event. He hiked up her chemise and pulled her drawers down, stroking her calves.
“Your legs are works of art, darling. Look how long they are. How sleek and toned.”
“It’s the penny-farthing you hate so much.”
“I don’t mind the bicycle.” He kissed her calf. “I only hate the trousers you wear when you’re riding it. They hint at these, yet hide them away. It’s maddening.”
He hiked her chemise up around her hips and settled his weight between her hips. This was it, Cora thought. Excitement surged through her. If he touched her between her legs he would find her soaked.
But he didn’t move to touch her there. Nor did he unfasten his trousers and dive into the act itself.
Instead, he was true to his word. Gideon took his time.
“Don’t you dare look away,” he commanded, and Cora, propped on her elbows with her hair trailing over her shoulders, watched with widening eyes as he kissed his way up her inner thighs, holding her gaze the whole time.
Her flesh stung when he nipped her near the apex of her sex. A whimper she barely recognized as her own came from her lips. A drop of her own wetness gathered and rolled down the seam of her bottom. Cora had never been this desperate for a man’s touch before.
She had wasted her time with men who didn’t know how to please her. No wonder she had been left with the impression that lovemaking was not worth the bother. She’d never been torn by agony this way before, half desperate to be filled, half needing this torment to continue for as long as possible.
Then Gideon striped his tongue up her center and she fell back with a wordless sound. Her knees fell open. He draped her legs over his shoulder and pursued the tight bead at the apex of her sex with his tongue.
