Page 46 of Peregrine's Call
“You are wanted,” he told her. “Stay with me and I’ll show you.”
Chapter 19
Robin heard Octavian’s invitation, buther heart didn’t quite believe his words. “You want me to stay?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said, looking at her intently. “But only if you want to.”
“I do,” she confessed, her breath rushing out of her. She was certain she’d made a fool of herself when he kissed her before, but why pretend at this point? He already knew she desired him in the most desperate way possible.
“I’m not sure I’m ready…for…” She trailed off.
“You are definitely not ready,” he said flatly. “Whatever else happens tonight, you’re still going to be a virgin in the morning.”
“It’s all right?” she asked with a frown. Her experience with men was limited to fending them off because as far as she could tell, they always wanted more than what she was willing to grant. Never less.
“If you think that’s the only thing I can enjoy doing with you in a bed, Robin, you do need a bit of an education.”
She exhaled in relief. “Then educate me. Please. Because I spend too much time thinking about you, and just wondering…”
“Is that true?” He kissed her again, and Robin closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of his mouth on hers, and the promise of more at last. But not too much more.
She edged closer, eager to remind herself just how good it felt to be in his arms. Except for the constant irritation of the fur lining against her skin.
She squirmed. “Wait,” she said. “This dress is horrible. The stupid fur keeps tickling me in the worst way. I have to get out of it.”
His eyes slid downward to the lacing, which was growing more tangled by the moment as her nervous fingers knotted the cord.
“Stop that.” Octavian put his hand on hers. He knelt down, his attention on the lacing at her right side. His hands had a golden cast from the firelight, and she inhaled at the thought of those beautiful hands on her skin.
“These laces really are in a tangle,” he said, as if it were perfectly normal for him to be undressing her. “Just be patient.”
Patient? She was practically shaking with eagerness and embarrassment, but Tav didn’t seem to notice. He loosened the lacing on both sides, and then lifted the gown carefully over her head, leaving her clad only in her shift, which went down to her ankles.
He put the gown aside and turned back and surveyed her. “The firelight behind you makes for a pretty picture.”
She glanced over her shoulder, realizing that the light silhouetted her body against the fabric. “Do you want the shift off?” she asked.
“You can keep it on if you prefer,” he said. “Your choice.”
Robin took a breath, and then gathered the fabric up and pulled the shift off. She swallowed nervously. If she was going to spend a night with him, she wanted him to see all of her.
Tav’s eyes widened, and he took a long moment to consider her from her feet up to her head.
“Well?” she demanded, putting more defiance in her voice than she felt. “Am I acceptable?”
“You’re lovely.”
She melted instantly.Lovely.She wanted to be lovely to him.
He reached out and drew her hair over one shoulder, partially covering her breasts. “Go to the bed before you get cold,” he said, his eyes locked on her.
She obeyed, though cold was the last sensation she was feeling at the moment.
Tav undressed himself, a lengthier operation since he was still wearing boots and had multiple layers on.
But at last he stood naked at the side of the bed, and she could take in the sight of him—the bulk of his shoulders, which she already loved, to the expanse of his chest and the tightly curled hair dusted across his front and down to…well. She bit her lip, wondering if she’d been a bit too impulsive when she agreed to stay.
Tav slid onto the bed and slipped an arm under her and pressed his hand against the small of her back, bringing her closer to him.
