Page 42 of The Winter Husband
Not yet.
His fingers were slick, she was ready for him, but he wanted more than just to satisfy an urge. He sucked her earlobe between his lips. He paused touching her nub only to slide his finger deeper and plunge it into her tight, wet opening. A little cry ripped from her throat. He considered replacing his finger with his tongue, to taste the salty sweetness of her and feel her body throb against his mouth. They would do that later, as they would do so many other things. Winter unfurled before him no longer an infinite stretch to be suffered, but as weeks of exploration. He would pleasure her here in this bed, and on the rug in the other room, and upon the dining table, and in the chair by the fire, against the wall by the door, holding her up by the buttocks as her body welcomed him. Maybe then he could make her happy—
Happy.
He stopped circling, struck by the thought, but she didn’t give him a moment to ponder. She tilted her bottom again, this time so the tip of his cock burrowed against her swollen opening, where his finger had just been. His blood rushed, sizzling away the last measure of reason. He shifted his weight, nudging his thigh between her legs to raise one, giving him leverage and better access. With one slow thrust, he sheathed his cock in her warmth from behind.
Mustn’t lose control.
Mustn’t.
He unclenched his hand, still buried in the dark curls between her legs, to resume rolling a finger around her pleasure. He thrust inside her to keep pace with her ever more labored breathing. The furs slipped away as they gently rocked, offering him a view of the sinuous indentation that defined her back. Suddenly, her sex clamped around him tight, squeezing, and he teetered on a thin edge.
“Lucas!”
He rode out her climax, on the brink of his own, his cock straining, forcing himself tohold, hold, holduntil she stopped making those noises, until he felt the last squeeze of her fulfillment, until her body relaxed upon the linens. Only then did he pause, thrust once, twice, and then pulled himself out before his mind went blank.
Seizing her hip, he laid the length of his cock, stretched to fullness, between the shapely mounds of her backside. He threw his head back and, pressing himself snug against her warmth, surrendered to his body’s demands for fulfillment. His senses reeled through a bright white place as he rode his pleasure with the scent of Marie in his nostrils. He didn’t come back to himself until a muffled laugh brought his attention to the woman shifting in his grip. Marie peeked over her shoulder and smiled with cat-like satisfaction. Inside him, something slipped at the sight of that mischievous, knowing grin. Something he couldn’t quite catch, like his still-heaving breath.
The moment left him suspended, mentally grappling, caught unawares.
“Lucas,” she whispered, arching to glance toward her buttocks, flushed pink and glistening wet, because of him. “Would you mind…?”
He nodded and nipped her on the shoulder as he reached across the bed. On the commode table, he’d left a pile of linens he’d fetched after their first coupling last night, as she’d sunk into a deep sleep. Now he took a square and ran the cloth over her lower back to clean her up. Silence stretched between them in the intimacy of the moment, a chasm he was too sated to fill with talk.
“Look at you,” she said as he finished up. “You’re almost smiling. At least now I know how to stop you from scowling.”
Their lovemaking had transformed her features in erotic ways. Heavy-lidded, pink of cheek, she was the image of a satisfied seductress taking a moment of leisure before the next indulgence. The thought kicked up a fresh wave of desire. He would do anything to make her stay like this, to make her happy.
There was that word again.
“Such a gentle smile, too.” She rolled onto her back without a care to his view. “It makes you look almost friendly.”
“Friendly?” That’s all the wit he could muster within sight of her naked breasts.
“You’re intimidating.” She rose to an elbow. “Not just because of your size.”
Shewas intimidating. Bold in her nudity. Holding so much power over him.
“But did you notice?” she asked. “You slept beside me all night and never woke up with a nightmare.”
He froze.By the saints.He’d forgotten about the nightmares. A chill prickled over him that had nothing to do with the morning air. What had he been thinking? He shouldn’t have slept in this room with her. Those nightmares would come back, they always came back. He couldn’t be around her when they did—
“I don’t like that face.” Marie pushed a curl over her shoulder. “Don’t you dare think of skulking away. There’s no need. Last night, you slept like a stone beside me. I didn’t know if sharing a bed would help hold back your nightmares, but I am sure it will be more effective than reading, and a better alternative than rum.”
A rusty wire of disillusionment speared through him. “Is that why you gave yourself to me? Just to ease my nightmares?”
She lifted her eyebrows. “I think you know better.”
He did. Yes…he did. The zeal of her response had been undeniable.
He couldn’t think straight. She was twisting him up, this woman, talking circles around him. “I don’t think I’ll ever figure out your mind,Anentaks.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Anentaks?”
“It means ‘little porcupine’ in the Huron dialect.”
“Goodness. How many languages do you know? Never mind.” She tilted her head. “What’s a porcupine?”
