Page 33 of A Scandal Before Christmas
When the earth resumed its rotation, Theodore discovered his shirt had been unbuttoned by quick, nimble fingers, and warm, feminine hands were smoothing the fabric off his shoulders.
He never released her mouth while tearing the shirt free from his body. Once that was accomplished, his hands gripped Lauren’s tiny waist, pulling her against him. Crushing her to his broad chest so he could feel her firm, high breasts burning his skin even through the thin, satin nightdress.
“I’ll be gentle,” he murmured when he finally took a breath, kissing the slender column of her neck, delighting in the scent of roses and the taste that was uniquely hers. “I’ll try, at least.”
“I know you will. I’m not afraid.” She angled her chin higher, letting him devour her as he liked, gasping when he moved lower and nipped her shoulder. When he chuckled at her response, she turned her head and licked the spot just below his ear before taking an earlobe between her teeth and worrying it gently.
“Little minx,” he groaned in surprise at her playfulness. “You’ll be the death of me. You know that, don’t you?”
Lauren laughed softly, running her hands over his chest as if awed by the sharply chiseled muscles rippling beneath the skin. “You are so wide. So hard and strong.”
The words were followed by soft lips skating over the flesh her hands just touched, hovering for a brief second above his flat, disc-like nipples. Then… a lick, a languid swirling of her tongue across the turgid flesh, an experimental taste before her teeth closed over each one in turn to give a teasing bite.
The slight pinch of pain only heightened Theodore’s arousal, to the point he thought he might explode with the need to bury himself deep inside her.
“Christ, Lauren,” he choked out while her hands maneuvered even lower until they rested on the button placket of his trousers.
“The rest of your clothes, Theo. Shouldn’t they be removed for this to work properly?”
She blinked up at him, innocent and flushed, her eyes dark silver with arousal, and all that silky brown hair flowing around her shoulders. The shadowy vee of her breasts, decadently exhibited by the nightdress’s neckline, demanded he run his tongue over the exposed silky flesh. But he wanted more than just that little sliver. He wanted all of her. Now.
Rising from the bed, he quickly stripped free of his remaining garments and boots and returned to her. Intending to tug the gown over her head, he reached for the hem, but she grabbed his hands, halting his motion.
“Wait.”
Theodore froze. He recognized the unsure quality of her voice. The slight tremor of fear it contained. Her eyes were glued to the area of his groin.
Dread seized his heart and bottomed out in his stomach.
“My love… I’m sorry. I’ve frightened you with my impatience, my roughness—”
Lauren gave a shaky laugh. “No, wait. I only want—I want to look at you.” Her gaze traveled his body, from neck to thigh and all gorgeous slabs, edges, hollows, and bulges in between. “Oh, Theo. You are so beautiful. So… amazing.”
Her eyes lifted to meet his, shy but bold. Curious, but hesitant. Because this might not be acceptable behavior between a man and woman, and she was new to all of this, and only he could teach her.
“A truth, Theo.” At his nod, Lauren’s lips parted slightly with anticipation. She licked them, a slow swipe of her tongue passing over the pouting top lip first, the lush bottom one last. “May I touch you? As you touch me? Do you… want me to touch you?”
Theodore’s eyes closed in a silent bid for strength. For willpower. For divine intervention because, God help him, he felt capable of ravishing her like a pillaging thief. “You are killing me, Lauren. I may burn up in flames on this very spot, but yes, you may touch me, however you like. Whenever you like. I am yours. You are mine. Remember that.”
She assessed his form again, lingering in certain areas, and damn if he didn’t harden all the more because of it.
Then, very softly, she instructed, “Lie back upon the pillows.”
* * *
Lauren’s pulseraced like mad.
For all her outward calm, she trembled like a leaf as Theodore followed her instructions without a hint of hesitation.
When he was in place as requested, she faltered, suddenly unsure of her next move. Because there was so much of Theodore to admire… to salivate over. To worship and adore. He sprawled across the bed, propped by stuffed pillows like a magnificent warlord. Great expanses of gleaming skin lay bare before her, waiting to be explored however she wished.
There were his shoulders to begin with. Wide and defined with angular edges and thick tendons leading to biceps that flexed and bunched with muscles when he moved his arms above his head, clasping his hands tight at the base of his neck. She’d already discovered the mysterious planes of his chest and the way he quivered the tiniest bit when she touched him.
Her determination to conquer his willpower led to the intriguing roadmap of ribs and the blocks of muscles that demarcated his abdomen. How intriguing to find a whispery fine and yet somehow coarse trail of black hair that extended below his navel, reaching downward to a nest of the same consistency between his magnificently sturdy thighs.
And then there was…
Oh, goodness…
