He snaked his arms round her waist. ‘You make me feel as if I belong. As if I’m exactly where I ought to be.’
‘You are, Tom,’ she said softly. ‘You’re with me.’
‘And what,’ he said with a rakish smile, ‘do you intend to do with me, now you’ve got me?’
‘Do you know, I’ve been thinking about that,’ she said, with a little frown. ‘When you left me, one of the things that made me really cross was the fact that I’ve gained the reputation of being a fallen woman, without actually experiencing any of the pleasure that would have made it worth while. So, Tom, do you think you could show me?’
‘Show you?’ He swallowed.
‘Yes. What is the point of falling in love with a rake, and knowing he’s had so many other women, and being the only one to leave his bed still a virgin?’
‘Because you’re not like any of the others,’ he said.
‘Are you going to tell me they meant nothing to you?’
‘No. Not that. I’ve been grateful to every one that’s been generous enough to share a few moments, or hours of pleasure. I like sex, Sarah. I won’t deny it. I like it a lot. It chases away all thoughts of who you are, and where you are, and replaces it with sensation. Glorious sensation. And leaves a sort of peace in its wake. A peace that enables a man to sleep without having to numb his brain with liquor. But this, for me, will be completely different.’
He sat up and clasped her hands. ‘I know that you are feeling rebellious, and lonely, and will be seeking comfort and a sort of thrill. And there is nothing wrong with any of that. Those things have driven me to indulge in liaisons, in the past.’
He gazed deep into her eyes.
‘But if I make love to you, Sarah, it will be really making love. For the first time in my life.’
She didn’t know what to say.
He bowed his head over her hand, and kissed it. ‘Lord Randall would say I’m not worthy of this,’ he said, kissing each knuckle in turn. ‘And I agree. I don’t have the right to claim it.’ He slid his tongue between her first and middle finger. She gave a little gasp, because for some reason the slide of his tongue sent sensations spiralling from her stomach to the juncture between her thighs. ‘But you have asked me, very politely—’ he turned her hand over and bit down on to the mound of flesh at the base of her thumb, turning the spiralling sensations to an insistent throb ‘—to show you the kind of pleasure that fallen women experience.’
‘Are you going to?’ Her voice came out like a sigh. He’d already started. And if this was how he could make her feel just kissing her hand, what would it be like when he really got going?
‘No power on earth could stop me. Not today,’ he growled, surging to his feet and pulling her into his arms.
‘Tom, oh, Tom—’ she panted between kisses ‘—you are shaking. You aren’t well enough for this. Today was your first time outside since the battle. We should stop.’
‘I have strength enough for what I have in mind,’ he said, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling her on to his lap. ‘But,’ he continued, as he deftly undid the ties at the back of her gown, ‘if I need to, I can always lie down, can’t I? And you will lie down with me.’
She opened her mouth to agree, when he started kissing his way down her neck to her shoulders, which he could get at easily now that he’d loosened her gown. And all that came out was a little sound halfway between a gasp and a groan.
‘I think,’ she panted out, when she was able to form thought into words, ‘we should lie down right now. Just in case.’
‘Not yet,’ he pleaded. ‘I want to get your clothes off first. May I?’ His hand went to her neckline.
‘Oh, yes, please.’
The dress fell to her waist. He tugged her breasts free of her chemise. Cupped one gently in his hand, while he kissed and suckled at the other.
‘Tom—’ she gasped. ‘Oh, Tom.’ She kneaded at his shoulders, her head rolling back as the delicious sensations he’d already started grew and blossomed, so that she felt full, and ripe, and ready for...something.
He slid his hand up under her skirt, caressing the soft skin he found at the top of her thigh, above her stocking. And then a little higher.
And when his fingers began to work at her there, it was as though he unleashed some
kind of storm. As he skilfully removed the rest of her clothing, flashes of lightning flickered up her spine, lit up her blood, dazzled her every sense. And she was naked, on her back, and he was beside her, stroking her, kissing her, nibbling at her neck, her breasts, her belly. Making her gasp with shock, moan with pleasure.
And then he shifted further down the bed, bent over her and fastened his mouth to the spot that was at the very centre of the storm. Pushed his finger into the heart of a maelstrom of sensation. Lashed her with his tongue. Lashed her into a frenzy.
‘Tom, I can’t, I... Oh, Tom...oh, oh, oh!’
Pleasure exploded through her. Ripped her from her moorings. And gently floated her back to shore.