Page 84 of Ravished

"And one seldom is lucky enough to find a tibia of such proportions." Harriet drew a ringer slowly upward along the inside of his lower leg. "Very impressive."

"I am relieved to hear I compare favorably in that portion of my anatomy."

"Definitely," she assured him. Her fingers drifted up over his knee and along the inside of his thigh. "And other than the femur of an elephant I once had the privilege of examining, I have never seen such a magnificent thigh bone."

Gideon sucked in his breath as her palm drifted higher, opening his black silk dressing gown to expose his thighs. "I am glad you appreciate it."

"I most certainly do, my lord." She bent her head and dropped a tiny, damp kiss on his upper leg. The crisp, curling hair tickled her nose. The masculine scent of him made her deeply aware of her own growing arousal. She touched his thick shaft. "Now we come to a most interesting discovery."

"Do not tell me you have found fossils of that particular anatomical item," Gideon said.

"No," Harriet admitted. "But this is certainly as hard as any fossil I have ever dug out of stone."

"Ah." Gideon breathed deeply as she caressed him.

Harriet saw that the muscles of his thighs and chest were rapidly growing rigid with sexual tension. Stroking him was like stroking steel. The power in him was mesmerizing.

"Had I ever discovered something of this nature," Harriet murmured as she circled him with her fingertips, "I would have most certainly written it up for theTransactions. "

Gideon's laugh was mostly a groan of rising frustration. "I do not think I am going to survive this lesson. Come here, madam. I am going to bury a certain portion of my anatomy in your heat before it solidifies into a permanent fossil due to sheer frustration."

Harriet smiled as he reached for her and pulled her across his body. She found herself sitting astride him. The feel of his strong thighs cradled between hers was exciting. She could feel his manhood throbbing beneath her. It made her vividly aware of her own power as a woman.

She leaned forward, pushing his dressing gown aside so that she could splay her fingers across his wide chest. Then she dipped her head and brushed her tongue across his flat nipples.

"So good," Gideon breathed. "So damn good."

He put his hands on her knees and moved his palms slowly up the inside of her thighs. He found her softness, drawing forth the liquid heat. Then he slowly slid one finger inside her, testing her readiness.

"Gideon." Harriet arched her head back, her whole body taut as it reacted to the delicious invasion.

"Put me inside you," he whispered in a low growl. "Put your hands on me and guide me into you."

She reached down with trembling fingers and found him. Then she levered herself upward on her knees and sank back down very slowly. He entered her carefully, letting her set the pace.

She felt herself being stretched and filled. It was an exquisitely thrilling sensation. It always was. She took her time guiding him into her so that she could savor every inch of him.

And then Gideon was all the way inside and they were bound together in the way only a man and a woman could be. Harriet surrendered once more to the unique joy of being in Gideon's strong arms.

She did not think of Bryce Morland or of the terrible things he had done to Gideon for a long, long while. When Harriet awoke some time later and did remember the dreadful tale, she discovered that Gideon was sound asleep beside her.

Harriet thought about waking him to remind him again that he was not to deliberately provoke Bryce. But Gideon was sleeping so peacefully that Harriet decided to wait until morning.

When she awakened again in the morning, however, Gideon was gone.

Chapter Fifteen

Tattersail's was already crowded when Gideon walked into the yard that morning. Not that the place was not usually busy, especially on sale days such as today. As the exclusive auctioneers of the finest bloodstock in London, it attracted the gentlemen of thetonthe way candy attracted children. There was an unceasing competition among all who could afford it, as well as many who could not, for the most spectacular mounts.

Part of the yard was covered with a roof that was supported by a classic colonnade. Gideon propped a shoulder against one of the tall columns and watched idly as a hunter was led past the crowd of potential purchasers. He was not here to buy a hunter.

A handsome pair of bay coach horses was displayed next. They were beautifully matched in color, but Gideon did not think they looked particularly deep in the chest. Looks meant nothing in a coach horse. Stamina and wind were everything. Besides, he was not in the market for coach horses today, either.

Gideon lost interest in the bays and studied the crowd. He was almost certain he would find his quarry here. Some subtle inquiries at his club last night had revealed that Bryce Morland would be attending the auction this morning.

A moment later Gideon picked him out of the throng. Morland was standing at the far end of the colonnade, talking to a plump man in an ill-fitting coat.

Gideon unpropped himself from the column and started in Morland's direction.

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