Page 35 of Pursuing Mr. Mattingly

“It’s nothing like that. I merely hadn’t given it thought.” He pushed up his spectacles but stumbled after her until they reached the foot of the bed. “I was all too focused on academics and then taking on the responsibilities of clerking for various heads of state, and after that came ambassadorial duties.” His shrug was an elegant affair. “And of course, the never going past kissing as I mentioned.”

How adorable he was! The task of teaching him how to pleasure a woman was heady stuff, and she reveled in it. Never had she held that position before. Sophia rested her free hand on his chest. “There is no cause for embarrassment, Ambassador. We all had to begin somewhere.” Slowly, she trailed her hand downward. As her fingers glanced over his abdomen, his muscles clenched, and she grinned. Already, he was so responsive. Gingerly, she stroked the building bulge at the front of his trousers. “Have you ever pleasured yourself?” Anticipation buzzed at the base of her spine, for she couldn’t wait to touch him, learn every nuance of his body, discover what would send him over the edge into bliss.

“Oh, God.” The whisper was choked with emotion. Then a moan shuddered from him when she continued her gentle exploration. “I have, of course.”

“Good. At least there is something to work with.” As she brushed her fingers up and down, tracing along his growing length, she met his gaze. “You can tell me what you like, and I shall do the same for you.” How big would he be? Her first husband wasn’t well-hung, but her second? He’d been quite satisfying.

He took her hand, removed it from his person. “I feel like a boy still at school.”

“Mmm.” She untied the sash at her waist. “I don’t mind being your teacher.”

Splotches of color blazed on his face, appearing mottled in the dim light from the one candle burning on a nearby table. “It’s hot in here, don’t you think?”

“Oh, indeed.” She was enjoying this entirely too much. “Perhaps you should shed some clothes.” With a shrug, her dressing gown slipped from her shoulders. Clad in a matching nightdress of the same silk, Sophia tugged his shirttails from his trousers. “I can help with that.”

“Allow me one moment.” Her husband raked his gaze up and down her person. “I can’t wait to see you—all of you—but right now, you are simply astonishing.”

“I’m glad you think so. That’s quite a compliment for a woman my age, but I must warn you. In recent years, my need—my craving perhaps we should say—to lie with a man and be pleasured by a man have increased exponentially. The older I grow, the more pronounced the urges come, so if I frighten you just now, I apologize.” Truly, it had been long years since she’d felt wanted, desired, by a man. It was good for her ego that he appreciated her.

“I will let you know, but this is all new for me.”

When he stepped away, she frowned. “Where are you going?”

“Away enough so I can remove my clothes.” That certain gleam in his eyes sent a shiver down her spine despite the heat in the air. “Then, you shall have my undivided attention.”

“Oh.” There was something to be said for marrying a relatively younger man, for his form was impressive. As she crawled onto the bed, her throat went dry once his trousers came off. “You are nothing to sneeze at either.”

And he was fully aroused. The thick length of him curved slightly outward, and his belly was neither chiseled nor had gone to fat. A thin sprinkling of dark hair decorated his chest, and when he grinned, she gave into another shiver. He had a bit of a golden tan; the contrast of pale skin and golden where his cravat usually lay, as well as at his wrists, amused her. The man needed to be outside more. Truly, he was so adorable and ordinary that her heart squeezed. There was much fun to be had with him.

She welcomed him into her arms and met him with a kiss. After pulling slightly away, Sophia carefully removed his spectacles, set them upon a bedside table. “You won’t be needing these, I think.” Her hands trembled, for the instant his body lay pressed against hers, the need for him, to feel his member deep inside her throbbed into her consciousness.

“Did you know that without them, I am unable to see past the end of my nose?”

“I suspect that won’t be an issue right now.” Then she resumed her intention to memorize the shape and feel and taste of his mouth. To his credit, he kissed her back with equal enthusiasm and a definite skill that had her breathless with longing. For the time being, she avoided his rampant length. That she would save for later, to enjoy almost as a dessert.

But right now, she wanted so much more.

Gently pushing him off her, she encouraged him onto his back then she kneeled beside him and proceeded to explore every inch of him with her lips, tongue, and teeth. The scent of him—citrus and sage—flooded her senses. She was nearly drunk on him, especially when he caressed and touched her when she came close again. His every reaction, each tiny moan and exhalation he uttered, the way his eyes dilated spurred her onward until she feared she would burn to death from the fires in her blood.

“Touch me, Oliver. Show me that you want me, that you haven’t married me only out of pity.” For her own peace of mind, she needed to know that.

“Of course, I haven’t.” With a chuckle that tickled her insides, he maneuvered Sophia onto her back. “I will admit, I don’t know what good I’ve done in my life to have deserved you, but I’m so glad you are mine.”

He nuzzled the crook of her shoulder, spent copious amounts of time pressing feather-weighted kisses to the base of her throat and gliding his lips along the bodice of her night dress. Then, apparently, having a barrier of fabric between them grew too frustrating, for he took the hem in his hands, tugged the garment up, and when Sophia wriggled into a sitting position, she assisted him in removing it from her body.

“I knew you would be beautiful,” he whispered before claiming her lips in a searing kiss that had her head clouding with desire. Gently, tenderly, he laid her back down. Seconds later, he made love to her breasts, working them over with his hands and fingers, teasing the buds into aching peaks with his lips and mouth. “So soft, so fascinating.”

The steam of his breath increased the need circling through her insides. Her back arched of its own accord, which put a nipple more securely into his care. “Oh, it’s been such a long time…”

“We shall go down that path together.” But then he paused in his ministrations. He released one of those aching buds and rested a hand on the other breast. “Are you certain this activity won’t send your heart into too much of a shock?”

“I cannot say with any certainly whether it will or won’t, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.” Would hitting release tax her body? She didn’t know, for it had been a while since she’d last pleasured herself with her fingers. There had simply been too much to worry about. “At least I’ll expire while flying.”

“That is the hope—yet let us hope you do not.” He again dragged his lips along the side of her neck.

“Touch me, Oliver.” Would he never get on with it? Taking his hand, she guided him between her thighs. “You are an intelligent man. I’m quite certain you know how to do this.”

He snorted. “I’m glad one of us is sure.” The second he glided his fingers along her sensitive flesh, she shivered. “Perhaps I’m getting close?”

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