Page 39 of The Gentleman's Seduction
Their gazes locked, and he couldn’t help but notice the pulse at her throat as he touched her neck with his fingers. She trembled as they gazed at one another. He could have let his touch linger on her forever, taking his time to explore her, but there was an anticipation in her eyes that electrified the moment even further.
“What about you?” She reached for his waistcoat.
“All in good time.” He lifted off her chemise, and she trembled as she lay gloriously naked upon his bed. She looked like a sacrifice to the pagan god of lust. He may not be a god, but he was going to enjoy taking her as a sweet sacrifice.
“Mr. Banks—” She tried to cover her breasts, but he caught her wrists in one of his hands and pushed her onto her back. Then he pinned her wrists above her head in the soft bedding.
“One of these days, you’ll trust me enough to call me Martin all of the time and not just some of the time.”
“One of these days,” she agreed, relaxing a little.
“Let me show you pleasure, Livvy. Close your eyes and just feel.”
She did as he asked, and he lay beside her, nuzzling her neck, licking and kissing the sensitive spot behind her ear and along her collarbone. He moved his focus down to her breasts. She whimpered and jolted as he sucked one nipple into his mouth, making it turn a soft red that pleased him. Her skin was like velvet, soft and sweet and he covered her with kisses. Lord, the woman’s breasts were utter perfection. He couldn’t wait to bury his head against their pillowy softness after he was done making her scream in pleasure. He released her wrists and slid his free hand down her belly and over her mound. He parted the dark thatch of curls that defined the lips of her sex. They were wet and hot as he explored her with stroking fingertips. She bucked her hips when he slid one finger inside her.
“My, you’re tight.”
“Tight?” she gasped, her eyes flashing open. “Is that bad?”
He chuckled. “No. It’s quite good. But it’s going take me a little while before I can enter you. Do you understand?”
“I… Yes. I think so,” she whispered, a fresh blush staining her cheeks.
He pushed a second finger inside her, thrusting them in a slow, sensual rhythm as he started kissing her again. He kept her on her toes, surprising her with soft and hard kisses. All the while he played with her, letting her feel the tight penetration of his fingers before he felt she was ready.
She was panting and dreamy-eyed as she watched him climb off the bed and strip out of his clothes. Then he rejoined her on the bed and parted her thighs as he eased down on top of her. Livvy tensed and her breath grew ragged as he guided his shaft to her entrance.
“Try to relax. It won’t be like this after the first time.” He pushed in, and she gritted her teeth, pain showing in her lovely eyes.
This was not going to work.
Martin nuzzled her throat and captured her lips in a deep, searing kiss. She relaxed and he thrust in hard and fast. He felt her maidenhead tear, and she whimpered against his lips, but he kept still, giving her time to relax and adjust to him. He poured himself into the delicious task of distracting her with kisses and eased himself to give her a chance to recover. Her hands moved into his hair, tangling in the strands and clasping him closer to her.
He’d always wanted passion from his lovers, but this was different. Livvy was sweet, innocent, yet passionate in a way he’d never expected. Her hands didn’t caress with the cool, seductive slide of his last mistress. She clutched, gripped, clawed, moaned, and wriggled, letting her body and her desires dictate her actions. He sucked on her tongue, letting her taste his hunger as he finally began to move his hips. He withdrew from her and then slid slowly back in. She gripped him tight as a fist, and he almost blacked out from the exquisite pleasure of it all. It took a minute to work his way back inside. The hot wet heat of her center welcomed him by his third thrust.
“Does it still hurt?” he whispered.
“No—no,” she answered and gasped as he tilted his hips and penetrated her at a new steeper angle.
“Thank God,” he moaned and rammed himself home, driven by hard and primal need. He’d never been one for gentle lovemaking, at least not once he had properly sated a woman. He was trying to be slower, gentler.
Livvy dug her nails into his back, and he hissed out of breath. “Faster.”
Martin let go of his threadbare control and possessed her body, driven like a hungering beast seeking the pleasure of her climax and his own. She lifted her hips, taking him deeper. He thrust hard, then shallow, then slow, then fast, never letting her find a rhythm. He liked the glint of delighted and aroused shock in her eyes each time he took her with another surprising move.
Without warning, she came apart beneath him and called out his name. She went limp beneath him, and he pistoned even harder until his body ached, demanding one more push, and then he came. A rough shout escaped him as he melted into her. He should have withdrawn, or used a French letter, but he had become lost in this woman and in this moment. He stayed there, lying on her, feeling her channel squeeze him with rippling aftershocks. His release had been pure bliss, and he couldn’t deny that everything about this woman in this moment had feltright.
He looked down at her, and she gazed up at him, cheeks flushed and eyes bright. “How do you feel?”
“Like I’m going to perish.” She paused and then added, “Perish in the most exquisite way.”
“You’re not hurt?” He had to be completely sure.
“No.” She shifted beneath him, wincing. “Well, perhaps a little sore, but I don’t mind.”
“Stay right there,” he commanded and carefully withdrew from her. He retrieved a cloth from beside his washbasin and returned to the bed. They both blanched at the streaks of blood on her thighs as he wiped her clean, which extended to his own shaft as well. He cleaned himself, and when he turned around she was already burrowed deep beneath the blankets, still naked.
“Is it all right if I stay? Or should I sleep in my own chamber?”
