Page 40 of The Black Lion
She gave a halfhearted twist in his grasp as he carried her toward the bed. The massive tester was adorned with a rich white damask counterpane with gold embroidery. It, the sheets, and pillows were the only adornments of the room. It had been his aim to allow her to decorate to her heart’s content, so even the walls had been left bare.
Arabella was a bright splash of color against the stark coverlet, limbs splayed and breasts heaving with every breath.
Drew shrugged out of his coat, letting it fall in a heap as he crouched to yank off his boots. By the time he climbed up to join her, Arabella was propped up on her elbows, watching him with equal parts annoyance and desire warring in her eyes.
“Allow me to further put you at ease,” he said, straddling her and using one hand against her chest to push her to her back.
She went down with a huff, squirming and whimpering as he loomed over her, locks of his hair brushing against the skin bared by her half-open bodice. The lace edge of her chemise teased him with a peak of white lace.
“Drew,” she whispered when he lowered his head, his mouth hovering just over hers.
He nuzzled her nose with his, then pressed his lips lightly to hers. “One of the things about pirating is, if a man centers all his energies on plundering ships and stays at sea more often than he is on land … he doesn’t have much time to go staggering into whorehouses.”
She furrowed her brow, but didn’t resist as he began plucking at the laces of her bodice, making the two sides fall open. Her breasts sprang free, heavy and full, the dark peaks of her nipples beckoning through the fabric of her chemise.
“Do you mean to tell me you’ve been celibate all these years?”
Drew grinned against her nipple just before licking it through her undergarment, drawing a surprised gasp from her.
“That’s exactly what I am telling you,” he confirmed, lapping at her nipple again, then taking the very tip of her nipple between his teeth.
She cried out, then muffled the sound by pinching her lips, as if worried they might be overheard. He couldn’t help but chuckle by the evidence that time aboard a crowded ship had affected her reactions to him. She had begun restraining her moans, seeming more aware that they could be overheard by anyone walking over the quarterdeck.
“Oh … how I am going to make you scream for me tonight, lioness,” he murmured over her dampened chemise, using his fingertip to toy with her distended nipple.
He bit her opposite nipple and was rewarded with a hiss between clenched teeth, Arabella’s head tipping back to reveal the way her pulse thundered at the base of her throat.
Cupping her breasts, he plied both nipples at once, enraptured by the reaction painted across her face as he twisted and pulled. She panted and writhed, back arching in a silent plea for more.
“Most of the times we we made port, I remained behind on the ship,” he said conversationally, helping her out of her bodice, then going to work on the knot holding the sarong in place over her hips. “I spent that time caring forThe Sea Lion, taking over the duties of the carpenter, helping Big Jack mend canvas and rigging. Anything to keep from thinking about how badly I wanted … and I didwant, Bella. That never went away. But what I desired couldn’t be found in a brothel or behind some filthy tavern. What I wanted was worth waiting for. I was that convinced I would make my way back to you, and aside from my own disinterest in whores there was also the possibility of being afflicted with the pox or some other foul disease.”
The folds of the sarong fell open, leaving her laid under him in her shift and stockings. Her eyes were wide and probing as she stared up at him, hands resting against his chest.
“Oh, Drew,” she murmured, her voice heavy with regret and sorrow and joy all at once.
He felt it, too. The years of loneliness, the agony of loss, every painful moment that had pulled her farther away from her, but eventually brought him back full circle.
“Why do you think I can hardly keep my hands off you?” he teased, inching his hands beneath her chemise, tracing the contours of her thighs. “I feel as if I’ve crawled across the desert, and you were my first taste of water. And, God … how you taste …”
He ran his tongue down the inside of her thigh, senses overwhelmed by the scent and flavor of her. His cock gave a desperate surge, throbbing and making a nuisance of itself as he sank to his belly between Arabella’s legs and pressed his mouth to her. He ignored the persistent annoyance of his cockstand for the moment, determined to take his time this first night in their shared bed—without the distraction of his crew nearby, or the continuous rocking of the ship. Tonight, there was only the two of them, the world beyond shut away.
Arabella made a choked sound against the back of her hand as he drove two fingers into her, latching onto her clit with his lips and sucking. His other hand fell on her belly, keeping her anchored to the bed as she jerked and arched beneath him. He was torn between amusement and raw lust at the way she clenched her teeth to hold in the sounds of her pleasure. Fingers threaded through his hair, she raised her hips and rode his mouth, all that sweet innocence of hers melting away to reveal her true self. Drew reveled in the appearance of his wild lioness, never tiring of watching the strata of her ladylike comportment fall away like the layers of her clothes.
He curled his fingers, finding the spot that sent her eyes rolling up into her head and made her cry out with wild abandon. Primitive satisfaction surged through him at her wanton moans, heightening in pitch and volume as he fucked her with his fingers and lashed his tongue at her swollen clit. Her wetness soaked him to his knuckles, and the spasms of her climax made her clench around his fingers.
She whimpered and went slack when he withdrew, sucking the remnants of her climax off his fingers. Drew tore at his shirt, ripping it off over his head before going back over Arabella, hands braced on either side of her head. She wrapped her legs around his hips and urged him closer, her heat searing through his breeches.
Her gaze darted to his coffer—the one containing his clamps and plugs and the other implements he’d introduced her to during their time aboard his ship. He chuckled, tracing the tip of his finger along her lower lip. Her nostrils flared and her mouth parted as she recognized this was the finger he’d just had inside her. The tip of her tongue came out to caress the pad and he groaned, pressing deeper into her mouth. She sucked, never taking her eyes off him, basking in her own shamelessness.
“I see my lioness is in need of a little something more, tonight. Aye?”
She nodded, watching silently as he left the bed and went to retrieve the chest, dropping it beside her and flipping it open.
Arabella spoke just as he reached inside. “If you’ve been celibate all these years, how have you become so knowledgeable about … such things?”
Her gaze had fallen to the chest again, and Drew smiled. She must have wanted to ask all this time, but would have been too afraid to learn the truth. He couldn’t blame her. It had been difficult for him to simply witness a kiss between her and Will. The thought of anything beyond that had him wanting to tear his own hair out.
“Well … I might have left the ship a time or two. To sell or trade, to turn gold currency into something more portable. I had the rare occasion to … observe a few things. I came by the clamps and the plugs as part of my share of a prize. I wanted to know how to use them properly.”
