Page 58 of A Most Unlikely Lady
Something dark flashed in Edward’s gaze. ‘I might have an idea.’ Before Ivy could ask him anything more, he glanced at the door. ‘I should be going. I’ll see you this evening.’
Her feet were moving before she could merit her actions. She gripped his forearm and pulled him close, pressing a kiss against his cheek.
What the bloody hell am I about?
Everything seemed to sharpen as she inhaled the scent of soap, coffee, and Jamaican spice. When she attempted to step back, he caught her around the waist, pulling her close. His hand wrapped around her neck, and she felt the heat of his lips hovering a breath away from hers. She tilted her chin, melting the distance as she pressed her mouth to Edward’s. It began as a brushing of firm flesh against her own, but quickly, his fingers were tightening on her neck, his tongue delving deep. She opened to him, revelling in the silken sensation of his tongue tangling with hers as he tasted her. Confidence streaked through her. She sucked his bottom lip into her mouth, testing his flesh with her teeth. It was like untethering a wild animal. His hand moved from her neck to her hip, gripping hard enough for her to feel the bite, though he didn’t pull her against him. Only this time, she wished he would.
Her blood pulsed through her veins, liquid fire, heating her skin and consuming any logical thought. She wanted more. Allowing herself the glory of exploration, she slipped her hand from his shoulder to his neck, then delved her fingers into his silky hair. Gripping the strands, she changed the angle of their kiss, plunging her tongue into his dark depths and tasting mint and coffee.
His hands were moving north again. One gripped her nape while the other bumped over her ribs. He palmed her corseted breast, and Ivy was quite certain her spirit left her body. She’d always felt mildly embarrassed about her chest. Hardly a shadow of her friend Millie’s luscious curves. Barely large enough to fill the centre of her palm on the few occasions she had tested their weight. She sometimes felt like her body was trapped in the silhouette of a child. But when Edward rubbed his thumb over her hardened nipple, even through the layers of chemise, corset, and cotton, Ivy was caught in a conflagration of need.
‘Oh!’ She sounded like a panting animal, but her reaction seemed to further encourage Edward’s efforts. He rubbed again, harder, and a corresponding spark of sensation lit between her legs.
Madness!
She didn’t want it to stop.
Edward broke their kiss, his lips coasting along her jaw to her neck where he nuzzled and nipped, sucking the tender flesh into his hot, wet mouth.
Her gown was a simple summer day dress in a lovely soft green. It buttoned to the hollow of her throat. When she felt his kisses tracing along the lace trimming her neckline as his broad hand kneaded her overly sensitised breast, her heart hitched.
Edward froze.
No! I’m not so afraid. Don’t stop.
But he pulled back, his hand retreating to her hips.
‘Please, forgive me. You asked me last night for time to think, and I promised I would let you lead. Damn it.’
The hissed curse was her undoing. She understood shame on the deepest level. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel such a suffocating burden. Especially when she wanted this.
‘You’ve nothing to apologise for. Last night, you asked me a question. I didn’t think I was ready to give you an answer, but I am now.’ Speaking the words solidified the truth in her heart and mind. Something about standing against the Devil’s Sons, stepping into her power as she fought to defend the orphans under her care, made it easier to be brave in other parts of her life. Namely her sexuality. ‘I want to explore… i-intimacy. With you.’ Being brave didn’t make it any less awkward to speak the words aloud. ‘If we are going to war against the Devil’s Sons, anything might happen, and I don’t want to regret never knowing this part of myself.’ Hearing the truth spill out of her own mouth before her mind knew the weight of it stunned her.
His fingers flexed against her hips, and she felt an urge to lean closer. His eyes, darker than the sky before a storm, widened. ‘Are you sure?’
Plucking his right hand from her hip, she felt ever so bold as she pressed his callused knuckles against her lips. ‘Quite.’
‘Shall I come to you tonight? After our meeting?’
Her heart fluttered. But not in fear. In some strange cousin to that emotion, one that made her skin buzz and her stomach fizz. ‘Yes.’ Though she wasn’t quite sure what she was agreeing to. She released his hand. ‘What exactly shall we do? Tonight… when you come to me?’ The words sounded impossibly scandalous.
Edward’s lips quirked. ‘What would you like to do?’
Oh dear. What do I want to do?
‘Kissing, I think. And maybe more… touching. Perhaps I could try touching you this time. Do men like that? I mean, wouldyoulike that?’ Because this wasn’t about men. It was about Edward specifically. And Ivy. Just the two of them. And shewantedto bring him pleasure. Which was astounding. Her whole life, she thought physical relations were all about the man doing things to the woman. Unpleasant, painful, scary things the woman was forced to endure. But she was beginning to understand she could do things to Edward. Things that would bring him pleasure but would also grant her unexpected control. The very thought created a liquid heat to bloom between her thighs.
His jaw muscle jumped. Catching her hand in his own, he brushed his thumb over her wrist, spiking her heartbeat. ‘I would like that very much. But this isn’t about my pleasure, Ivy. It’s about yours.’
She bit her lip. ‘Perhaps it could be aboutourpleasure. Both of us. If it’s all focused on me, I think I’ll be too… aware.’
He exhaled through his nose, shaking his head slowly while his eyes never left hers. ‘You are a wonder, Ivy Cavendale. So be it. Tonight will be for both of us. But you determine what we do and when we stop. On this we both agree. Yes?’
She nodded, assured that if they reached a point where her fear eclipsed her curiosity, he would stop. ‘Yes.’
What a wonder. To trust a man to stop when I ask.
He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against her palm, his teeth catching the fleshy heel, creating a pulse of heat in her most vulnerable of secret places. A part of her body she resolutely ignored unless she needed her chamber pot. If she refused to acknowledge its existence, it would stay hidden. And safe. Only now, the foundations of her understanding were shifting. Because with Edward, she already felt safe.
