Page 19 of A Scottish Lord for Christmas
With a slow grin, he stood and faced Rowena.
Chapter 7
Allow me to help you.” The soft words, deep and rich in that Scottish lilt, heated her blood.
Excitement flooded her and butterflies stormed through her stomach as she glanced at Quinn over her shoulder and shivered. She’d imagined this night a hundred times, how he might come to her, how it would go. She never dreamed he would offer to undress her. She’d always assumed she would have had a maid undress her and then she’d wait in her bed with nothing but a shift on. After that…well, she knew the basics of lovemaking thanks to her mother’s explanations, but there was still so much she didn’t know. When to kiss him…or was he the one to start the kissing…How was she to know what to do and when? Suddenly the flood of questions made her anxious and she twined her hands fretfully. Her heart beat harder and she licked her lips as she tried to calm herself.
Her body hungered for his in ways she still didn’t fully understand, but she had to slow things today and find a way to enjoy tonight without rushing it. She wanted him to feel good that he’d chosen her as his bride, that she was a worldly and sensual woman, unafraid of their marriage bed.
“Would that be proper?” She was half teasing as she spun slowly to face him.
The wicked gleam mixed with primal hunger in his eyes erased all thoughts of any further teasing. Shyness crept in then, and her previous boldness seemed to fade. Perhaps she was supposed to do something, or say something…Did he really wish to undress her? What if he saw her body and did not like it? Shame heated her as that thought took hold. What if she wasn’t beautiful or desirable in the way he’d hoped?
“Whatever you’re thinking, lass, stop.” His husky whisper sent riotous shivers through her. “This will be good between us, I promise you.”
Good between us…She wanted that so much, not simply on a physical level but on an emotional one too. She wanted him to be happy with her, to enjoy being her husband both in bed and out.
For a moment they simply stared at one another before he stepped close to her, hands gripping her waist as he turned her around. Rowena trembled and held her breath as he plucked gently at the laces of her corset. The barest, briefest touches of heat where his fingertips brushed her skin burned like wild fire. When the corset was loose enough, she wriggled it down her body, desperate to be free of it quickly. She let it drop to her feet before nudging it with one foot out of the way. Her hands trembled as she fought not to cover her nakedness. Surely he would be pleased with her…He would still want her, wouldn’t he?
“Lord, you’re lovely.” His voice was low and smooth like the Scotch they’d drunk earlier. Hearing him speak as he stood behind her was overwhelmingly erotic, her body humming. The flutter of nerves hadn’t vanished, but she was excited to be with him, to experience everything she could with him.
“So are you,” she replied, breathless.
His gaze raked over her body again and she saw the muscles of his shoulders tense as though he was struggling to stay in control. He removed their suitcases from the bed and set them on the floor. “Sit on the edge of the bed.”
She turned to face him and stepped back until she bumped into the bed and sat down. The quilted blankets beneath her hands were soft and warm, soaking up the heat from the fire. When Quinn knelt in front of her, she resisted the urge to touch the dark hair of his bowed head.
He lifted her feet one at a time, unlacing the boots before he slipped them off. She bit her lip, her heart racing as he cupped the heel of her bare foot and began to slide his hands up her leg to reach the hem of her stocking on her upper thigh.
He toyed with the lace garter with his fingertips, her breath catching before he slowly peeled the stocking from her leg, the fabric whispering off her skin, which was ablaze with the touch of his hand. As the first stocking fell from her toes, he landed a kiss on the top of her foot. Her entire body tingled with that single kiss. He smiled up at her before carefully repeating the process with her other foot.
“Scoot back a wee bit, love,” he whispered huskily, and she scooted farther onto the middle of the bed.
“Very good,” he praised. “Lie back.” He was staring at her lap and she blushed, but stretched out.
She stared up at the ceiling, her heart racing, her body flushing with a wave of heat as his hands moved up her bare legs, pushing up the thin chemise. Cool air touched her between her thighs as he nudged her legs apart.
What was he going to—
Rowena gasped as he kissed her inner thigh. She panicked and tried to close her legs but he kept them open.
“Quinn, what—”
“Shh…” he whispered against her sensitive skin. “’Tis your first time. This will ease you, relax you for me.”
Struggling to understand what he meant, she whimpered in pleasure and shock as his mouth touched herthere. His tongue traced the sensitive folds and delved into her. Little pangs of pleasure so sharp they hurt spiked through her at every little lick of Quinn’s tongue. The bedding wrinkled as she dug her nails into it, trying to find something to grasp so she didn’t float away on the slowly building sense of bliss she knew was within reach.
Her chest heaved as she found it harder and harder to breathe, the sensual torture and the need for something almost at her fingertips…
His lips fastened onto the sensitive bud and she cried out as an explosion rippled through her. Her inner walls clamped down, but she still felt empty. She neededmore; it wasn’t enough.
Quinn rose to his feet and stripped out of his clothes. Rowena lay still, naked from the waist down, trying to recover her breath when she caught sight of her husband completely bare. The muscles she’d known were beneath his clothes were now exposed. He was no slender English aristocrat. He was all Scot, brawn and muscle with a hint of sunlight kissing his skin even in the winter. Her belly quivered in heady anticipation as she let her gaze drop below his waist. A thin, dark trail started a few inches below his navel and moved down to his groin.
He was large.Too large. He would not fit inside her…
“Easy, lass,” he murmured as he came toward the bed.
Rowena scooted up to sit on the bed and swallowed.
