Page 49 of Suddenly a (The St. Clairs 5)

She turned and looked at him. “Whereareyou taking me?”

“Away from here.”

Mia smiled.

No one stopped them as they quit the ballroom, though she did see the Duke and Duchess of Everton looking on with approval. They left the townhouse and he waved an arm, whistling shrilly. His carriage pulled up and he opened the door. His hands settled on her waist and he lifted her into it before following behind her and shutting the door. The vehicle took off.

He seated himself as close to her as when they’d ridden in his curricle. She turned to him, thinking him her special white knight, a man of honor who had rescued her from an impossible situation.

Mia threw her arms around him. “Thank you,” she said—and kissed him.

She knew she’d surprised him. Again. It didn’t matter because the moment her lips touched his, she knew it had been the right thing to do.

The kiss started slow and tender. His hands moved to cradle her face, making her feel as if she were some priceless vessel. Her palms went to his chest, loving the feel of it. The kiss was sweet and giving and full of promise. Then he urged her to open to him and she yielded, eager for those previous sensations he’d brought to her. His tongue explored her leisurely, as if he wanted to know everything about her.

His hands drifted from her face to her neck, his fingertips lightly stroking it, causing a delicious shiver to run through her. Suddenly, he lifted her onto his lap, still kissing her and they both laughed. He broke the kiss and smiled at her, making her heart flip, its beating erratic. His mouth moved to her throat, nuzzling it, finding her pulse. His tongue flicked against it, circling it, causing it to beat wildly. His lips slid lower, to the top of her breasts, which peeked out from her neckline. His hands went to her breasts and squeezed and molded them as his tongue ran along the upper curve of one. Mia clutched his shoulders and closed her eyes, her head tossed back as she reveled in his touch.

Then he pushed her gown down and lifted one breast, teasing the nipple with his thumb, swishing it back and forth, driving her mad. She could feel it swelling in his grasp. A throbbing between her legs began, pulsating, calling out for attention. He seemed to know it did because one hand slipped under her skirts and slid up her leg until it reached the apex. His finger slid back and forth along the seam of her sex, causing her to whimper.

He did two things at the same time which caused her to gasp. His head lowered to her breast and his mouth took it in, sucking and pulling on it, his tongue flicking across the nipple. Before she could begin to understand that, he pushed a finger inside her.Inside her!She wriggled, tightening her grasp on his broad, solid shoulders. As his tongue continued teasing her nipple, his finger stroked her. Mia felt her hips rise as a moan escaped her lips.

Hudson lifted his head and pulled her gown back into place.

“Why did you stop?” she asked, gasping.

“Because I want to see your face as I do this.”

A second finger joined the first, stretching her, caressing her. Her eyes widened as her breath came rapidly. Finally, she closed her eyes and shook her head.

“No,” he said, his voice low but commanding. “Open your eyes. I want to watch you as I touch you.”

She whimpered as she opened them, her fingers kneading his shoulders now. She licked her lips.

“Don’t do that,” he warned.

“Why?” she managed to ask.

“Because it makes me want to kiss you.”

“I wouldn’t mind that,” she said weakly.

“Later,” he promised and his fingers now petted and stroked her deeper. She swallowed, panting now, her hips rising and falling, her body no longer in her control but his as his touched drove every rational thought from her head. The he touched somewhere new and she squealed.

“Ah, I’ve found your pearl,” he said, satisfaction in his voice.

His gaze continued to hold hers as his thumb rotated in sensual circles against the nub. Mia felt something burst from her, like water breaking through a dam. It flooded her. Filled her. With color and emotion and waves of immense pleasure that made her cry out.

“Yes,” he urged. “Yes. Ride it, Mia.”

She did until she was spent. Her head fell against his shoulder. Her body trembled with aftershocks. She sighed as her hand clutched his coat.

He slipped his fingers from her and smoothed her skirts into place. Then he captured her chin and lifted it until their eyes locked.

“I believe I promised you a kiss.”

Hudson delivered on that promise—and then some.

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