Page 62 of A Virgin for His Grace
"As are you," Devon replied with matching wonder, his own hands beginning their exploration of her curves with the sort of reverent attention that made her tremble with need. "I want to worship every inch of you, to learn what gives you pleasure and what makes you cry out with need."
"Then do so," Arabella challenged, her boldness growing with each caress. "I am yours to explore, yours to claim, yours to love in whatever manner you choose."
The generous offer seemed to overwhelm Devon with its implications, and he swept her up into his arms once more, carrying her through the connecting door into the master bedchamber where a fire burned cheerfully in the grate and the massive four-poster bed had been turned down in preparation for their wedding night.
"Mrs. Henderson appears to have anticipated our needs," Devon observed with slight humor as he set her gently upon thesilk counterpane, noting the fresh flowers that adorned the room and the bottle of champagne that waited in a silver bucket beside the bed.
"How very thoughtful of her," Arabella managed, though her attention was focused entirely upon the magnificent man who stood before her like some classical statue brought to life. The firelight played across his features, emphasizing the sharp planes of his face and the way his dark eyes burned with barely controlled passion.
"Indeed," Devon agreed, though his own attention was similarly occupied by the vision of his wife reclining upon their marriage bed like some ethereal creature from mythology. "However, I confess myself more interested in other sorts of... refreshment at the moment."
He joined her upon the bed with fluid grace, his hands and mouth beginning a thorough exploration of her body that left her gasping and writhing beneath his ministrations. Every touch seemed designed to drive her higher, every kiss placed with precision to elicit the maximum response from her increasingly sensitized flesh.
"Devon," she cried out as his mouth found the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder, her hands mingling in his dark hair as waves of pleasure threatened to overwhelm her entirely. "Please... I need..."
"What do you need, my darling?" he asked against her throat, his voice rough with his own desire even as he maintained his careful attention to her pleasure. "Tell me what you want, how I can make you feel as cherished as you deserve."
"You," she gasped, her body arching against his as he continued his sweet torment. "I need you, all of you, completely and without reservation."
The desperate plea seemed to unleash something primal within Devon, and he rose above her with the sort of controlled power that spoke to his strength and her trust in his ability to use that strength gently.
"Are you ready for me?" he asked softly, his eyes holding hers with infinite tenderness as he positioned himself at the entrance to her most intimate place. "I have been waiting for this freedom for us to express our love for so long that it feels it is the first time. I want to be gentle but I fear I might hurt you despite my best intentions.”
"I trust you," Arabella replied simply, her hands coming up to frame his face with the sort of loving touch that conveyed more than any elaborate speech could have achieved. "I trust you completely, my beloved husband."
With infinite care, Devon began to join their bodies in the most intimate way possible, his progress slow and careful as he wanted this time for both of them to enjoy the romantic joining of two people in love rather than the joining due to physical need. The initial discomfort was brief, quickly giving way to a sense of completion so profound that tears sprang to her eyes at the beauty of it.
"My wife," Devon whispered as he settled fully within her, his voice thick with emotion at the magnitude of their union. "My perfect, beautiful wife."
"My husband," she replied with matching fervor, her body already beginning to move in instinctive rhythm with his as ancient impulses overrode rational thought. "My love, my heart, my everything."
What followed was a dance as old as time itself, yet made new by the depth of feeling that bound them together. Devon moved within her with careful attention to her responses, his own pleasure secondary to ensuring that she experienced the full joy of their union. As her confidence grew, Arabella began to participate more actively, her hips rising to meet his thrusts whilst her hands explored the strong muscles of his back and shoulders.
"So perfect," Devon groaned as the pace of their lovemaking gradually increased, both of them approaching the peak of sensation that would bind them together in the most fundamental way and free of guilt. "So tight, so warm, so completely mine."
"Yours," Arabella agreed breathlessly, her head thrown back in abandon as waves of pleasure built to almost unbearable intensity. "Always yours, forever yours, completely and utterly yours."
The possessive declarations seemed to drive them both toward the precipice of completion, their movements becoming more urgent as they chased the release that would seal their union in the most primitive and satisfying manner possible.
When the moment finally arrived, it struck them both with the force of revelation. Arabella cried out Devon's name as her body convulsed around him, waves of pleasure so intense theybordered on pain washing over her in endless succession. Devon followed her over the edge with a harsh groan, his manhood deep within her as he claimed her in the most fundamental way a man could possess a woman.
For long moments afterward, they remained locked together, both struggling to catch their breath and process the magnitude of what they had just shared. The physical pleasure had been extraordinary, but it was the emotional connection—the knowledge that they were finally, truly one in every way that mattered—that left them both shaken to their very cores.
"Was it as you had hoped it would be?" Devon asked gently as he slowly withdrew from her body, his hands stroking her hair with infinite tenderness. ‘Was it what you imagined it would be if we had the freedom the previous times? If we could express our love openly and not hide from everyone and especially from our emotions?”
"It was perfect," Arabella replied with quiet conviction, her voice still breathless from their exertions. "More perfect than I had ever dared imagine. You were so gentle, so patient, so completely devoted to my pleasure. I could not have asked for a more wonderful introduction to the marriage bed free of shame and guilt."
The sincere gratitude in her voice made Devon's chest tighten with emotion, and he pulled her against him with desperate need, as though he feared she might disappear if he loosened his hold.
"I love you," he whispered into her hair, the simple words carrying the weight of everything he felt but could notadequately express. "I love you more than I have ever loved anything in my life, more than I thought it was possible to love another human being."
"And I love you," Arabella replied with matching intensity, her own arms tightening around him as she savored the feeling of being held so completely. "So much that I sometimes wonder how my heart can contain it all without bursting."
They lay together in comfortable silence for a time, both lost in the wonder of being able to hold each other without fear of discovery or interruption. The fire crackled cheerfully in the grate, casting dancing shadows across the walls whilst the scent of roses from the conservatory drifted through the partially open windows.
Epilogue
"I have something to confess," Arabella said eventually, her voice taking on a note of nervous anticipation that immediately captured Devon's attention while they were in bed.
