To Desire a Wicked Duke (Courtship Wars)

She couldn’t help but smile in return. “Why should I be the only one tossing all night long?”

Rotham’s long sigh held amusement and exasperation both. “If I show you there is nothing to fear, perhaps you can sleep.”

He reached out to touch the corner of Tess’s mouth then. When he shifted his body closer, her lips parted wordlessly.

Heaven help her, but she wanted him to kiss her again.

When she tilted her face up to his, though, he shook his head. “I won’t be kissing you, darling.”

“Then what do you mean to do?”

“Simply to arouse you. For you to experience passion, your body must be prepared for it.”

Propping himself up on his elbow, he drew down the covers to her waist. Then his hand moved upward again, sliding over the rise of her bosom to the high neckline of her nightdress. “Next time you will have to take the initiative, love, but for now you may leave everything to me.”

Tess automatically tensed, but Rotham kept his movements slow and unhurried as he worked the small buttons at the front of her gown, his deftness suggesting long practice at relieving women of their clothing. When he had unbuttoned her bodice, he slipped his hand inside. Tess’s breath faltered as his warm palm brushed across her nipples, which were suddenly tight and hard.

For a long moment he merely explored the contours of her breasts at his leisure, cupping the ripe swells, grazing the taut peaks with his thumb. Tess felt herself flushing when he parted the fabric to expose her naked breasts to his gaze.

His eyelids lowering, he stared down at her in the firelight, at the full mounds crested with rosy nipples.

“You are one of the loveliest women I have ever known.”

She found it hard to speak past the sudden hoarseness of her throat. “And you … are a master of flattery. No doubt your compliments are part of your repertoire.”

“You vastly underestimate your allure. Now hush, love, and allow me to continue. Your sole task is to close your eyes and simply feel.”

It was difficult for Tess to trust Rotham enough to give herself over to him so completely, but she obeyed and shut her eyes.

Without the use of sight, her other senses came vibrantly alive. The sweep of his fingers was only a whisper across her skin, but the pressure affected her more keenly than before. Th

e quickening thud of her heartbeat seemed louder as well, as did the husky note in his voice when he asked, “How does it feel when I tease your breasts like so …?”

He lightly traced each aureole before attending the peaks. When he plucked her tautly straining nipples, he dredged a soft gasp from Tess. The tips of her breasts were hard and aching under his curving fingers, and she stirred restlessly.

Her response only encouraged Rotham, for he lowered his mouth to one breast. “How does it feel … when I taste your nipples?” he queried, flicking his tongue lightly over one crest.

Tess gave another sharp inhalation as pleasure rushed in to flood her. Then Rotham began to stroke her with his tongue, laving gently. Heat flared inside her. She felt dazed by the sensation of his hand molding the soft flesh of her breasts while his mouth worked its magic. She arched her back helplessly, craving more of his touch.

“Just relax, love, and let me pleasure you.…”

How could she possibly relax? Tess wondered as he suckled each of her breasts in turn. She tried desperately to remember Fanny’s instructions. Breathe, was the first rule. Think of something unpleasant such as a visit to the toothdrawer or an unruly pupil in one of your classes at the Freemantle Academy. If all else fails, count to one hundred.

She began counting but only reached “twelve” before Rotham shifted his attention from her bare breasts. Reaching beneath the covers, he skimmed his hand over her nightdress and down her stomach in a light, tantalizing massage. When he deliberately cupped her woman’s mound, Tess whimpered and clutched at his arm.

Rotham, however, easily freed his arm from her grasp and pushed the covers lower to expose the rest of her body. Surprisingly, she wasn’t chilled in the least. Instead, she was overheating rapidly.

She thought he planned to remove her nightdress, but he merely raised the hem to her hips. His warm palm came to rest on her inner thigh, then glided slowly upward.

Tess tensed beneath his stroking hand, but made no protest when he tangled his fingers in her dark curls at the apex. But when they gently spread to probe the folds of her sex, her eyes flew open.

“You are wet and swollen for me. A good sign.”

He held her gaze as he rimmed the sleek cleft of her femininity with exquisite care, teasing the tiny bud hidden there. Tess shuddered at the fire rushing across her skin, pooling between her thighs. It was sweetly painful and only made her want more. Without volition, she raised her hips, straining against his touch, seeking more of the delicious pleasure his bewitching, brazen caresses were arousing in her.

Her longing grew as his tender ministrations continued. He caressed her with the skill of a man who knew women, cupping her naked center with his palm, then sliding his middle finger over her cleft and penetrating inside a fraction of an inch. When his thumb rubbed the swollen bud there, the heavy ache at her core became sharp and focused, and Tess moaned.

“That’s it,” he murmured in approval. “Let me know how you feel.”