Page 84 of Why Do Earls Fall in Love?
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Relief and joyand desire coalesced into a fog that rolled in over her. Her bodice had already dropped down to her waist. Now he was raising her skirts up to meet it. She leaned against the door, her breasts bare and her nipples hard and more of her legs showing every second, while he trailed kisses past her knee and up the length of her thigh.
She’d gone breathless. Wild. Wanton. And incredibly nervous. She hadn’t meant to push him so hard, so soon. But circumstances had forced her hand and she would never regret asking for a chance at happiness or encouraging him to reach for his own.
He nudged her legs apart a little and her racing pulse settled into a steady throb, right where his fingers had paused.
“So lovely,” he breathed. The feel of his breath on her sent her into a shiver of anticipation.
“Gabriel?” she asked again, low. She had an idea what happened in the marriage bed, though honestly, she’d secretly thought it sounded preposterous. But they were not in bed. She was leaned up against the door and he still had all of his clothes on and she . . . “I don’t know what to do,” she confessed.
He grinned suddenly. “Have I flustered you? I think that puts me two points ahead.” He put a hand on the inside of her leg and lifted it high, opening her most private place to his view in the most disconcerting way. “Hold on,” he warned. “I’m about to go for three.”
He touched her. Right there. She gasped. He didn’t pause. His clever fingers continued exploring. Her hips bucked. She flung one hand out to brace against the door. The other reached down to grip his wrist where he held her leg imprisoned. She was splayed open, balancing on one leg and she didn’t care. Her attention was fixed on the wicked path his fingers were walking, on the exquisite ripples of pleasure that spread outward from his touch.
“No,” he said suddenly, letting her leg fall. He stood quickly and scooped her into his arms in one fluid motion. “I need both hands for this.” Setting her down on the edge of the bed, he leaned in and kissed her, nipping and teasing. “And my tongue.”
She blinked, trying to absorb that information, as he leaned her back to lay on the bed. He pushed her skirts up again and placed her feet to the edge of the mattress. “Now. That’s better.”
She lifted her head to look down at him. “Better than what?”
Leaning in, he licked all the way along the seam of her swollen sex.
Her head fell back. “Oohhh.”
She could never have imagined such incredible feelings. A combination of pleasure, distress and a great, aching need. He knew her body better than she did. With fingers and tongue, he stroked and licked until she was writhing. He tasted her everywhere, all along her folds and valleys and on up to the raised bud that awaited him. Using both hands, he spread her wide open and he took his time, breathing, dipping, tasting and circling until her breath came in great, heaving pants and she spread her legs wider still. “Gabriel!”
It was a plea, and with a low, throaty chuckle he answered, pressing harder, flicking his tongue over her again and again.
It broke over her like a wave. Her back arched and she thrust into him, moaning in rapture and disbelief until the spasm had its way with her. It held her in its grip for several long, lovely moments before slowly letting her go.
She lay there, stunned, while he sat back. “Three,” he pronounced with smug, masculine triumph.
“Four. Five.Ten,” she said fervently. “I’ll extend you a hundred points, if you only promise to do that again.”
“I don’t think so.” He climbed to his feet and stood over her, grinning wickedly. “We’ll get to a hundred, but I’d prefer to do it one point at a time.”
She propped herself up on her elbows. “None of that bore any resemblance to the talk poor Aunt Bernadine gave me before our wedding.”
“Your spinster aunt?” He sounded fascinated. “What did she tell you?”
“Only the things I thought I already knew.” She raised a brow. “But not even the snickering girls at school mentioned what you just did.”
He started to remove his coat. It was fitted tightly, though, so she sat up to help. “And what did you think of what Aunt Bernadine and the snickering girls had to say?”
She lifted a shoulder. “I thought it intriguing.” Glancing down at the bulge in his breeches, she made a face. “However, I am beginning to entertain doubts.”
“Never fear. It will all work remarkable well and you will enjoy it just as much.”
She snorted in disbelief.
“I’ll make sure you do.” Reaching down, he stroked her cheek. “Don’t you trust me?”
She took his hand and kissed the back. “I do. That’s what all of this is about, Gabriel. Trusting each other.”
His eyes darkened and he reached for her, grasping the bodice of her gown and trying to pull it up and over her head. She wiggled, helping him and he kept going, tossing aside her stays and shift and petticoat. Kneeling once more, he pressed a kiss just above each garter before slowly untying each one and rolling the stocking down with slow, sensuous movements. By the time he was done, her heart pounded again, and she was back on her propped elbows, watching him while hunger grew in her once more.
“You are so lovely,” he whispered.
