Page 40 of Worth Any Price
“You’ll enjoy the rest of it, too,” he promised, reaching for the hem of her chemise.
Obeying his wordless urging, she lifted herarms and let him strip away the garment. She kicked off her slippers and stood before him in her long drawers and stockings, with her arms crossed over her bare breasts.
He stood over her, his hand trailing over her back, raising gooseflesh on every inch of her skin. “Put your arms around me, Lottie.”
She obeyed awkwardly, bringing her body fully against his. Her nipples sank into the coarse mat of curls on his chest. His body was incredibly hot, his erection burning through the muslin drawers. It prodded against her stomach, until he slid his hand beneath her buttocks and hitched her upward. His hand slid between her buttocks to hold her compactly against him, and she felt him press against her sex. A shock of sensation went through her, followed by a surge of lust so acute that she could hardly bear it. Gripping his neck, she pushed her face against the dense muscle of his shoulder. His fingers slid farther between her thighs. The linen beneath his fingers became damp as he stroked the soft furrow in a lazy rhythm. For a long, blissful minute he held her like that, warming her with his own body until she began to strain against the ridge of his erection.
Reaching between their bodies, he pulled at the tapes of her drawers. He let the garment drop to the floor and picked her up, carrying her to the bed with astonishing ease. As Lottie reclined on the embroidered counterpane, Nick’s gaze slid over her. A smile tugged at his lips. “I’ve never seen anyone blush from head to toe before.”
“Well, I’ve never been naked in front of a man,”Lottie said, abashed. It was inconceivable that she should be conversing with someone while she wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing, except for her stockings.
His hand closed gently around her ankle. “You’re adorable,” he whispered, and climbed over her.
He tugged at one of her garters with his teeth, loosening the ribbon that fastened it. She gasped as he kissed the red marks left by the tie, and soothed them with his tongue. Unrolling the stockings from her legs, he pushed her thighs wide apart. Increasingly uncomfortable, Lottie used her hand to conceal herself from his view. His head moved over her, his hot breath fanning her skin. His thumbs swept over the pulse in the fragile crease between her thigh and groin.
“Don’t cover yourself,” he coaxed.
“I can’t help it,” she said, wriggling to evade the tiny flicks of his tongue, which ventured in places she had never imagined a man would want to put his mouth. Somehow she managed to dislodge the bedclothes enough to dive beneath them in search of sanctuary. She shivered at the cool slickness of the linens against her naked body.
Following with a low laugh, Nick slid beneath the bedclothes, until they tented over the broad outline of his shoulders. His head disappeared, and she felt his hands on her knees, pushing them apart once more.
Lottie stared blindly at the dark canopy overhead. “Nick,” she asked raggedly, “is this the usual way that people h-have relations?”
His voice was muffled. “What is the usual way?”
She inhaled sharply as he nipped at the inner curve of her thigh. “I’m not entirely certain. But I don’t think this is it.”
His voice thickened with amusement. “I know what I’m doing, Lottie.”
“I was not implying that you didn’t... oh,pleasedon’t kiss me there!”
Then she felt him shake with suppressed laughter. “For someone who has never done this before, you’re rather opinionated. Let me make love to you the way I want, hmmn? The first time, at least.” He grasped both her wrists and pinned them at her sides. “Lie still.”
“Nick . . .” She started as his mouth descended to the nest of blond curls. “Nick . . .”
But he did not listen, completely absorbed in her salt-scented female flesh. His breath filled the moist cleft with steamy heat. A moan rose in her throat, and her wrists twisted in his grasp. His tongue searched through the springy curls until he reached the rosy lips hidden beneath. He licked one side of her sex, then the other, the tip of his tongue teasing delicately.
His mouth ravished her so gently, his tongue slipping over her melting flesh to find the secret entrance to her body, filling her with silky heat... withdrawing... filling. Lottie went weak all over, her sex pulsing urgently. As he nuzzled and played with her, she tried to angle her body so that he would touch the peak that throbbed so desperately. He seemed not to understand whatshe wanted, licking all around the sensitive spot but never quite reaching it.
“Nick,” she whispered, unable to find words for what she wanted. “Please. Please.”
But he continued to deny her, until she realized that he was doing it deliberately. Frustrated beyond bearing, she reached down to his head, and she felt the puff of his brief laugh against her. Immediately his mouth slid away and traveled downward, tasting the damp creases of her knees, moving to the hollows of her ankles. By the time he made his way back to her loins, her entire body was sweltering. His head hovered over the place between her legs again. Lottie held her breath, aware of a hot trickle of moisture from her body.
His tongue brushed the peak of her sex in a tentative lap. Lottie could not hold back a wild cry as she arched into his mouth.
“No,” he murmured against her damp flesh. “Not yet, Lottie. Wait just a little longer.”
“I can’t, can’t, oh, don’t stop...” She pulled at his dark head frantically, groaning as he feathered his tongue over her once more.
Catching her wrists, Nick pulled them over her head and settled his body between her thighs, taking care not to crush her. His shaft was cradled in the hot valley between her legs. His dark blue eyes stared directly into hers as he released her hands. “Leave them there,” he said, and she obeyed with a sob.
He kissed her breasts, moving from one to the other. With each incendiary swirl of his tongue,she nearly rose off the sheet. His sex slid against her in disciplined thrusts that teased and rubbed and tormented, while his mouth drew hungrily on her nipples. She arched upward with supplicating moans. Stunning pleasure built inside her, gaining intensity... she hovered on the brink, waiting, waiting...oh, please... until the culmination was finally upon her. She cried out in bashful amazement as rich spasms spread from the center of her body.
“Yes,” he whispered against her taut throat, his hips working gently over hers. The sensation eased into long shivers as he smoothed her hair back from her damp forehead.
“Nick,” she told him between deep gulps of air, “s-something happened...”
“Yes, I know. You climaxed.” His voice was tender and vaguely amused. “Shall I do it again?”
