Page 56 of The Duke of Ruin
With a flick of his fingers, he untied her dressing gown. Then he bent slightly at the knees, his hand whisking up the end of her night rail. She felt his fingertips against her bare thigh.
Gasping, she breathed his name. “Simon.”
“Isn’t this what you want?” He caressed her bare flesh, moving slowly but specifically toward her core. “If it’s not, tell me now.”
“It’s what I want.” So badly.
He lifted her and carried her the few steps to the bed, setting her on the edge of the mattress. His dark eyes stared into hers, his dark lashes fanning out over the narrowed slits. “Open your legs.” The command was silkily seductive, and she obeyed it without hesitation.
“Do you remember what happens next?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“This will be a bit different. I’m going to put my fingers inside you.” His thumb found her clitoris and teased it. “You like it when I touch you here. You’ll also like it when I’m inside—and this will give you an idea of what will happen after we’re wed.”
“Then you’ll put your cock inside me,” she said huskily.
He pushed out a breath that sounded a bit like a grunt. “Yes.”
His fingers teased at her folds, coaxing her to open even more. She fully relaxed and yet tensed at the same time as her body reacted to the growing pressure and desire. Then he did what he said; he slipped his finger into her. She clutched his shoulders and gasped loudly.
He kissed her then, his mouth taking command of hers and driving his tongue into her. She met his thrusts with her tongue and with her hips. He felt so good inside her, as if they were meant to be joined.
His thumb grazed over her clitoris again, and she dug her nails into his shoulders. His pressure increased, and he used his hand relentlessly, pushing her to the edge of reason, that dark and beautiful place where she’d come apart before.
He tore his mouth from hers and kissed along her cheek before whispering against her ear, “Come for me, Diana.”
Her body quivered and then shattered as her orgasm broke over her. His movements increased, taking her through those hysterical moments and guiding her to the bliss on the other side.
Their ragged breathing filled the room as her body sagged with satisfaction. She opened her eyes and blinked, focusing on him. His face was taut, his eyes dark with lust. “What about you?” she asked.
“Don’t worry about me.”
“You said that last time.” And she wasn’t having any of it. “Show me what to do.” She reached for the hem of his shirt, her hand brushing against his cock.
Simon quirked a smile at her. “You’re not going to let me refuse, are you?”
She shook her head firmly. “Absolutely not.” She tugged the shirt up, and he helped her pull it over his head.
When his chest was bare to her, she smoothed her hands over the hard plane. “I’ve wanted to do this since you took off your shirt in front of the fire.”
His breath caught as her fingertips trailed across his nipples. “You were watching me?”
She met his gaze and felt a bit of heat in her cheeks. “Guilty, I’m afraid.”
His finger grazed the underside of her chin. “Don’t ever feel guilty for anything you want where I’m concerned, and don’t feel guilty for wanting pleasure.”
“My mother told me that what happens between a man and a woman is a necessary evil to beget children. Even kissing isn’t to be tolerated.”
“Is that why you were so shocked when I kissed you at the house party?” he asked.
She continued to stroke his chest. She loved the feel of his muscles and was fascinated by the light sprinkling of hair between and around his nipples. She traced along his collarbones and back down over his chest. “No, I was shocked because I liked it.” She lifted her gaze to his once more and saw the stark desire burning in their depths.
Trailing her hand over his abdomen, she felt his intake of breath more than heard it. She found his waistband, then the buttons of his fall, undoing first one side and then the other until the front of his breeches dropped open.
He was nude beneath, his cock jutting proudly toward her.
“I pulled these on in a hurry,” he explained. “When you knocked on the door.” He sounded hoarse, as if his throat were constricting.
