Page 67 of Tempting the Earl

Her moan was instantaneous and deeply erotic.

He continued the pounding rhythm, his movements becoming almost frantic as the sounds of her pleasure filled his ears and sparked along his nerves. Then she suddenly arched her spine and held her breath. Her inner muscles clenched then convulsed around him, drawing him deeper.

The last of his control was obliterated as her climax triggered his own. And for a few long, glorious moments, the pleasure they shared was the only thing that mattered. It encompassed the world and excluded everything but the two of them. Starry gazes locked. Breath mingled in pants and gasps. Skin glided along sweat-slicked skin as they shared the fluttering rhythm of release.

But inevitably, it receded.

In slow, pulsing waves, the overwhelming sensations began to fade and drift farther from their source. Leaving behind a heart that beat too quickly. Muscles that shook then grew heavy. Thoughts that sparked with questions.

Colin drew a heavy breath as he tried to collect the strength he needed to pull away from her. When he finally managed to lift his head from where it had fallen beside hers, he realized with a shock that they had just made wildly passionate love in the middle of his study. With the door still ajar.

What on earth had gotten into him?

He’d behaved like a man possessed.

And maybe he had been. Possessed by passion. Destroyed by desire.

He pushed himself up to his elbows. He’d have to withdraw from her encompassing heat before long, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave her just yet. Using his thumbs, he lightly brushed tendrils of auburn hair away from her sweat-dampened cheeks and temples. Her eyes were closed and her breath came swift and steady from between her parted lips.

Lips that were plump and darkened from his kisses.

With a low sound, he pressed the pad of his thumb to the lush lower curve. The velvety texture tugged at something inside him, twisting at the core of his desire. Forcing it to awaken.

He couldn’t have stopped himself from claiming another kiss if a knife had been to his throat. He needed the taste of her.

As his mouth fit over hers, she sighed. The soft scent of her breath inspired another twist inside him. When his tongue swept gently along the edge of her teeth, her fingers curled into the hair at his nape. Another twist, harder and deeper. When she flicked her tongue against his and moaned softly, he surrendered. And the last hard twist released him.

Her eyes opened in surprise as he started hardening and thickening inside her.

He was just as shocked. He’d never been ready again so quickly.

She shifted her hips, tilting her pelvis. The testing motion caused a moment of intense sensation. Deep inside her, where the way had been made slick and hot from his seed.

She gasped. Her body gave a delicate shudder and her thighs squeezed his hips.

She would no doubt be sore from the first time. Though he’d tried, he’d not been as gentle as he should have been. Bracing himself on his arms, he slowly and torturously began to withdraw from her tightening sheath. He was already shockingly close to being fully erect and the lovely glide of his flesh within hers nearly killed him.

Her lashes fluttered and lifted. He found himself staring into eyes that glistened with magic and desire and some deep female mystery he couldn’t even begin to comprehend. But her brows were tugged into a gentle furrow of concern.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, hating the possibility that something which gave him intense pleasure might cause her even the slightest bit of discomfort.

The furrow deepened and a dangerous light entered her gaze. He knew that light. She was getting angry.

“Sorry?” she asked. “About what?”

“I shouldn’t—”

“Dinnae you dare say you already regret what we’ve just done,” she interrupted in a ferocious whisper as her entire body tensed beneath him. “If you do, I swear I’m going to...I’ll...”

It was clear she was struggling to find a punishment appropriate for such a crime. Oddly, Colin found the reaction ridiculously amusing. When a deep roll of laughter rose from his chest, her frown became downright murderous. But before she could shift her hands to push against him, he executed a quick thrust of his hips, reclaiming her. Then another. Slower and deeper.

Her breath stopped and the tip of her tongue extended to press against the edge of her top teeth.

“Does this feel like regret?”

Her eyes fluttered closed and he thrust again. She blinked and brought her gaze back to his. “It feels like magic,” she replied.

Colin smiled, but then asked earnestly, “Is there pain?”

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