Page 79 of A Devil in Silk
Bentley’s fingers found the ribbon, loosening it with care. The velvet patch slipped free, tumbling soundlessly to the floor. For a heartbeat, he simply looked at her, his gaze steady, reverent.
She forced her chin high, though every nerve screamed to hide.
Then he bent to kiss her forehead, the bridge of her nose, the delicate corner of her blind eye. Each soft press loosenedanother knot in her chest until she trembled from more than nerves.
When his mouth found hers, the kiss was no longer gentle. It was fierce, desperate, passion igniting into an inferno neither could quench. He kissed her until breathing was impossible, until restraint had no meaning. His remaining clothes fell away in a blur.
Strong arms swept her up, holding her as though she weighed nothing. A low laugh rumbled through him, rich with mischief. “Three feet off the ground isn’t as thrilling as a few hundred, but I promise you’ll see stars tonight, Clara.”
“I thought nothing could match a ride in a balloon,” she said, running her hand over his broad shoulder. “I suspect you’re about to prove me wrong.”
He lowered her to the bed, following her down. The mattress dipped beneath his weight as his mouth claimed hers again, slower now, deeper, until the ache between her legs pulsed in time with every kiss.
He trailed kisses down her throat, across the hollow where her pulse jumped, then lower still, teasing the curve of her breast before closing around one aching peak. A flick of his tongue had her arching against him, breath catching. He moved deliberately, coaxing her open with each lingering kiss, each unhurried descent, until his shoulders eased her thighs apart.
“Open your legs, love.”
The endearment struck deeper than his touch.Love. The word wrapped around her heart, sweeter than anything Giuditta Pasta could sing.
The first stroke of his tongue tore a moan from her lips. Hot, wet, devastatingly skilled, he worshipped her with every sweep and circle, every flick and suck until thought splintered and sensation ruled. The velvet heat of his mouth, the rasp of histongue, the maddening rhythm had her fisting the sheets, back arching as a cry escaped.
“Bentley … oh, Bentley …”
Each time his name left her lips, his pace grew more relentless, until pleasure coiled sharp and tight, ready to shatter.
The sound of his name on her lips undid him. He gripped her thighs, holding her still as his tongue urged her higher, circling and stroking until her body trembled on the brink.
Release came swift and sharp. Clara cried out, her vision dissolving into a scatter of stars. Every nerve sparked, every muscle clenched, until she collapsed against the pillows, panting, spent, undone beneath him.
He pressed a lingering kiss to the inside of her thigh before lifting his head. His mouth glistened, and the hunger in his eyes sent another shiver through her.
“I need to be inside you, Clara.” He gripped his engorged manhood, stroking from root to tip. “But we can end this here.”
End it? Good heavens, no.
“No. I need all of you, Bentley.” He would be her only lover, the image she conjured on cold winter nights, alone in her quiet Henley home, when longing became too much to bear.
“You’re certain?” His voice carried a thread of hope.
“I’m certain.”
Bentley eased between her thighs, bracing on his forearms. The blunt heat of him pressed at her entrance, patient yet insistent.
“This may hurt. Tell me if you?—”
“I’ll be fine. Don’t stop.”
Don’t ever stop.
He pushed forward slowly, the first stretch stealing her breath. She tensed instinctively, and he stilled, his lips brushing hers in a tender kiss that coaxed her body to yield.
“Clara?” he murmured.
She nodded, lost to the rising tide inside her. “I need more, Bentley.”
He sank deeper, inch by aching inch, until she gasped and dug her nails into his shoulders. The burn was sharp but not unbearable, more overwhelming than painful, the exquisite shock of being filled, claimed, by him.
Bentley moved with exquisite control, holding himself back. He didn’t drive into her or chase his own release. He watched her, read her breath, waited for the tension in her body to shift.
