Page 54 of King of Rogues
Her eyes grew wide at hearing his confession. All those nights when he had said no, he had been longing to say yes. Monsale had kept his distance because she was pure temptation. Another pulse of lust coursed through her.
“I see.”
“Ah, but what you don’t know is that after I refused you, I would go home, lay on my bed and think about you. Of how wonderful it would be to hold you. To have you in my arms. To touch and kiss every inch of your naked body.”
“Oh.”
Her breath grew ragged hearing her husband confess his secret longing for her. It was thrilling. She wanted to know more.
“Did the thought of me make you pleasure yourself, husband of mine?”
It was a bold question. One she had never imagined ever asking a man, but Naomi couldn’t resist. She had to know if Monsale had ached for her the same as she had yearned for him.
“Every single time. You are the woman I have lain awake and thought of for countless nights.”
A whoosh of air escaped her lips. She had been on his mind all those years.
Tell him.
“I touch myself and think of you. It’s not my hand stroking my body, it’s yours. The nights when you have turned your cool, Duke of Monsale bearing on me are the worst, or should I say— the best. Without fail, I have gone home every time and thought of you ravishing me. Bringing me to me climax over and over.”
She looked away, not wanting to meet his eyes. This conversation was breaking down all the barriers, the high walls, they had built to keep each other out. They were now standing in the crumbling ruins, finally seeing one another.
“Look at me Naomi,” he said. She shyly lifted her head. The warm, loving expression on her husband’s face a sight which she hoped he would always have for her. “Let’s take this slow. If at any time you feel unsure, just let me know.”
Her fingers settled on the buttons of his waistcoat. She didn’t want it too slow, nor did she intend to be the passive one in this moment. With a twist, she flicked open the top button.
“Keep going,” he said.
The rest of the buttons met the same fate, after which Monsale shrugged out of his jacket. The waistcoat followed it to the floor.
“And now the shirt if you would be so kind, your grace,” she said.
He laughed. “Terribly formal, but my wish is your command, your grace.”
Crossing his arms, he bunched up the sides of his linen shirt and pulled it over his head. Naomi gasped. Across his chest and stomach were dotted various markings. He glanced down at himself. “Ah. I forgot about those.”
She lay her fingers on the black outline of a swallow, tracing the edges of the wings. “What are these?”
“I wasn’t lying when I said I was a pirate at an early age. I got these tattoos in Nassau on my eleventh birthday. Hurt like the devil, but I was determined not to cry. You can’t command men if they think you are soft.”
He placed his hand over hers. “They are only ink on my skin, symbols of a time when I could have become something else. Tonight, is about us, our future. And the man I want to be for you.”
“Yes. And the woman I want to be for you too,” replied Naomi.
She was done with waiting. The time had come for her to be brave and claim what she had yearned for all those years.
Releasing her hand from his, Naomi took a step back. Her fingers worked quickly to loosen the ties of her gown. She kicked off her silver slippers. Then, taking a deep breath, she lifted the skirts of her gown and drew it over her head. It dropped to the floor.
When Monsale reached for her, she gave him a saucy shake of the head. No. She wanted to do this on her own. To strip completely naked for him.
His lust filled gaze tracked her every move. “Naomi,” he whispered.
Her fingers touched the top of her stockings and Monsale instantly held up his hand.
“No. Leave them on.”
“Why?”
