Page 78 of The Trouble with True Love

She did look at him then. She couldn’t resist, and when she saw his face, saw the hunger in his expression as he stared at her naked body, her relief was so profound, she almost sank to her knees, too.

He lifted his hand and cupped her breast in his palm, and her relief dissolved into a jolt of pleasure so strong, she gasped. The feel of his palm against the bare skin of her breast was exquisite, and when he took her nipple between his thumb and forefinger to gently toy with it, she couldn’t help a soft moan.

“Ssh,” he admonished, then he kissed her there, a sensation so sharp, so exquisite that she had to bite her lip to keep from crying out. And when his mouth opened over her nipple, her knees gave way beneath her. He caught her before she fell, his arm wrapping tight around her hips, as his mouth suckled her breast.

She stirred against him, for what he was doing made her want desperately to move, but he wouldn’t let her. His arm tightened around her hips, pinning her to his body, bondage that only seemed to enhance the pleasure he was evoking with his mouth.

As last, she could take no more. “Rex,” she gasped, raking her hand through his hair, pulling his head back.

He relented, easing away, reaching for her hands, pulling her down to join him, and as she sank to her knees in front of him, he shrugged out of his smoking jacket.

He moved to kiss her, but Clara stopped him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his breathing uneven.

“Nothing. I just—” She stopped, her gaze lowering to his chest. “I think it’s my turn to look.”

He laughed low in his throat. “Fair enough. Look your fill.”

She did, her gaze roaming over his wide chest and powerful arms, and as he watched her, he realized that looking at him pleased and aroused her, and for the first time in his life, Rex was grateful for the good looks he’d inherited from his mother.

When she lifted her hands to his chest and touched him, he bore the sweet agony of it. But when her gaze slid to his trousers and her hands followed, he shook his head and pushed her hands gently away. “A man can only take so much torture,” he told her. “If you start undressing me, I’ll go to bits and our evening will be over far too soon.”

“But you got to undress me,” she protested.

“That’s different.” He kissed her to stifle any further discussion on the subject, then he eased her down onto the carpet.

That didn’t seem to please her, for at once, she wriggled, making a face. “It’s itchy. Can’t we lay on the bed?” she whispered.

He shook his head. “Iron beds make too much noise.”

“Oh.” She blushed as she realized why, and it made him laugh. Never in his life would he have thought sweetness like hers would be addicting, but he craved it now, as if it were a drug.

“Really, Rex, I don’t understand the things you think are funny.”

“I know.” He kissed her. “I know.”

Straightening, he reached for his smoking jacket. “Here,” he said, spreading it out. “Lay on this.”

She complied, and the sight of her stretched out naked on top of his jacket was the most erotic thing he’d ever seen. He ran his gaze over her sweet, round breasts, her slim waist and hips and her long, long legs, coming at last to the soft brown curls at the apex of her thighs. He wanted her so badly, it was making him dizzy, but he had to bank his own need just a little bit longer, for her first time was going to be the most beautiful, romantic experience he could make it.

Not that he quite knew what he was doing there, he realized, a thought that almost made him laugh. All the women he’d had, and yet, that sort of experience did him no good with Clara. He’d never made love to a virgin before, and he hadn’t been this intimidated by the act of love since he was an adolescent.

He took a profound, shaky breath, then eased down beside her. His weight on his forearm, he spread his hand over her stomach.

She responded to his touch at once, a low moan in her throat as her hips arched. He smiled at that. She was so delicate, and yet, the passion inside her was titanic. Nonetheless, when he eased closer and his erection pressed against her thigh, she shied away a little, opening her eyes.

“Rex?”

“It’s all right,” he promised. “Trust me.”

He kissed her, slow, deep kisses, as her body slowly relaxed. Still kissing her, he slid his hand to her breast, shaping it, toying with her for a bit, then he bent to take her nipple into his mouth. She moaned again, and earned herself another admonition to be quiet, and when she lifted her arm, pressing her wrist over her mouth, he smiled.

Still suckling her, he slid his palm down her ribs, across her stomach, and between her thighs to touch the soft triangle of her curls. She gasped, her legs squeezed convulsively around his hand, her hips working as he caressed her.

She was wet, ready, and yet he waited, stroking her as he had that night on her desk, gliding his finger back and forth along the crease of her sex, watching her face as her eyes closed. Her arm fell to her side, her breathing quick, her hips working against his hand.

“Remember this?” he whispered. “Remember the last time I did this?”

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