Page 41 of Desire and Discipline
“If you are leaving after breakfast, then what’s the harm in one night?” the Marquess murmured in her ear.
One night.
One night in his arms. One night with him in her bed.
What’s the harm?The little voice whispering in her head agreed with him, urging her to take the offer. One night. Then she’d leave on the morrow. It was the same plan she’d had before but with an additional bonus.
She had just had her menses. The likelihood of a child resulting from their union was extremely unlikely.
He was the first man who had ever tempted her. The first who had ever made her feel this way. If all he wanted was one night before he would let her go… Her heart ached at knowing that was all he wanted, but then it was more thanshe’dever wanted before. One night, then she’d leave and have an incredible memory to take with her.
An even more incredible one than the one she already had. Something to take out and treasure and remember when she was an old grey spinster, surrounded by nieces and nephews. The night she’d been seduced by a marquess.
Why not?
“Very well.” She gasped as his hands moved up to cup her breasts, her back automatically arching, pushing her back against him as he squeezed the firm handful. “But we do this my way.”
“Of course, my lady,” he murmured in her ear, running his lips down her neck. His thumb moved over her nipple, and even through the fabric of her dress, she felt it. It was as though her entire body was heating up from the inside, all over again.
She was starting to understand how one could indulge multiple times in one evening. If anything, she was even more sensitive, more eager than before. She wanted him, and she did not want to deny it anymore.
5
Diana
Turning in the Marquess’ arms, she reached up to bring his lips down to hers. Now that she had made her decision, she felt utterly brazen. Though she lacked personal experience, she’d watched enough couples at the Society of Sin to know what she wanted. She had her own personal fantasies, and if he was insistent on seducing her, she was going to try the things she wanted.
Well… not everything. There were things she would like to do that one needed certain equipment for, but they could do everything else. Everything she could do for her first time with a man, so that it was exactly the way she wanted it. How many ladies were able to say that?
Very few that she knew of.
And she’d overheard quite a bit.
The Marquess’ lips on hers were like a brand, his tongue sweeping into her mouth ruthlessly. Diana kissed him back just as passionately, though perhaps not as expertly. Shehadbeen kissed before, but not quite so thoroughly. Not with such fervor. And certainly not with the man’s hands traveling up and down her spine, caressing her flesh and curving over her bottom to squeeze and pull her more firmly against him.
Oh, heavens.
She might be in over her head.
No… no ‘might’ about it. She was definitely in over her head. She had jumped in like an utter ninny, and now it was too late to pull back. Even if he let her, she already knew she’d regret it forever. She just hoped she did not regret givinginin the same way.
Passion spiraled up inside her. Given permission to touch each other, knowing this was the only night, lent desperation to her movements. She’d touched him before, of course, while tending to his wound, but the difference between then and now was even more than the difference between seeing him shirtless under her care and tonight when he’d stripped down to be flogged.
The heat filling her body was a blaze that was not going to be extinguished without him. She had never felt like this before.
Fabric tore as they pulled and tugged each other’s clothing. His hands on her bare skin was a thrill like none other. She was awash in sensation, drowning in the pleasure, yet knew they’d barely gotten started. Having him under her skirts had been naught but a tease by comparison as they touched and caressed each other now.
His skin was so smooth, except where he was hairy, and the bristles rubbed against all her sensitive parts in a manner that was wildly arousing. Diana was not used to such stimulation. Or having every part of herself touched and caressed.
She pushed him, partly to get herself some breathing space and partly because she wanted him on the bed. If he did not slow down, she was going to burst… and that was not part of her plan for the evening. She wanted to take her time, so she could remember everything in detail. Already, their earlier encounter felt like a blur—she did not want to risk forgetting any moment of this.
The Marquess fell back onto the bed, a wicked grin on his face that made her whole body flush. Well, she would have flushed if she were not already so heated.
The thick stalk of his cock lay against his body. Thiswasthe first time she had seen him unclothed from the waist down, and it was worth taking the time to admire. To memorize. He was a beautiful specimen of the male form, and she had plenty of comparisons to go by.
“What now, my lady?” he asked, clearly amused by the situation. The satisfied smirk on his lips was as infuriating as it was appealing.
She knew very well that some of what she enjoyed about their relationship was that it was always a battle to the top—one she liked winning over and over again.
