Page 104 of The Paid Companion

He moved his hands around her waist and undid the knot in the sash that held her wrapper together. The garment parted to reveal a simple white lawn nightgown trimmed at the throat with lace and blue ribbons. He could see the soft swell of her breasts and the peaks of her nipples pressing against the delicate fabric.

He kissed her throat and then caught her dainty, delicate earlobe between his teeth. She responded with more shivers and a choked gasp of pleasure. Her reaction thrilled him and stirred him in a way that no drug could ever match.

One by one he removed the pins that secured her little cap. When the last one came free, her hair tumbled over his hands. He made a fist in the sweet, scented tresses and used it to anchor her head for more kisses.

She pushed her hand beneath the lapel of his dressing gown and flattened her palm across his bare chest. The heat of her fingers was so intense that it was all he could do to swallow his groan of raw need.

He looked down into her face. There was enough light from the candle to show him that her expression was drenched in wonder and passion. She parted her lips, and he knew that she had already sunk so far into the realm of sensation that she had forgotten the need for silence.

Hastily, he covered her open mouth with his hand and shook his head, smiling slightly. Rueful comprehension gleamed in her eyes. A teasing, provocative light quickly followed. Very gently, very deliberately, she bit the palm of his hand.

He almost laughed aloud. Half-drunk with the knowledge of what was yet to come, he picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bed.

He tumbled her down onto the rumpled sheets and stripped off his dressing gown and slippers. He was entirely naked now, as he had not put on a nightshirt earlier when he had prepared for bed. He suddenly realized that this was the first time Elenora had seen him in a state of complete undress.

He looked down at her, wondering if she would find him pleasant to look upon or if the sight of his uncovered, fully aroused body would make her uneasy.

But when he saw her expression, his tension disappeared. A radiant fascination gleamed in her eyes, making him smile. When she reached out to encircle him with her fingers, it was all he could do to contain himself.

Slowly, deliberately, he lowered himself onto the bed. For a few minutes, he relished the hot pleasure of being touched intimately by Elenora. But after a moment or two of exquisite torture, he was forced to catch and trap her exploring hands. If he did not stop her, he thought, he would not be able to finish this as he intended.

He pushed her gently onto her back, bent over her and slid his palm along her bare thigh. The bottom edge of her nightgown caught on his wrist and was carried upward with the movement of his hand.

He did not stop until he could see the triangle of dark hair that veiled her secrets.

He leaned down and kissed her soft, beautifully round knee. She brushed her fingers across the back of his neck. After a moment he gently separated her legs and touched his tongue to the inside of one silken thigh. This time her fingers tightened in his hair.

“Arthur?”

Reaching up with one hand, he covered her lips with his palm, reminding her of the need for silence.

When he felt her subside, he returned to his task.

He settled himself between her legs and inhaled the exquisitely feminine scent he discovered there. She smelled of the sea and spices too rare to be named. He could live the rest of his life on that drugging fragrance, he thought. Raising her knees on either side of his head, he found the small, sensitive bud and began to work it with his fingers.

She stiffened immediately, as though not quite certain how to respond. But her body knew precisely what to do. In a very short time she was so wet that his hands glistened in the candlelight.

She began to breathe more quickly. Her hips shifted, lifting against him. When he eased a finger into her she clenched around him and gasped.

He lowered his head and kissed the very heart of her desire, simultaneously sliding another finger into her and probing gently.

“Arthur,” she gasped in a muffled whisper. She struggled to rise to a sitting position. “What are you doing?”

He did not raise his head, but he used one hand to push her gently but firmly back down onto the bed.

At first he thought she would resist. But gradually she moaned and fell back. He could hear her quick little breaths. He knew that she was in the grip of a force she did not fully comprehend.

“Oh, my, oh, my, ooooh, my goodness.”

So much for her vow of silence, he thought, amused but also a little worried. He could not stop now, though. She was too close and he was determined to finish this properly.

He sensed her impending climax before she did. Her hands twisted in the sheets. Her entire body tensed.

She was lost, he thought. She no longer had any notion of what was going on around her.

In that moment he heard the unmistakable sound of the door in the front hall opening. He caught the distant, muffled murmur of voices downstairs.

Margaret and Bennett were home.

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