The Handmaid (Unexpected Circumstances 1)

“May I kiss you again?”

“Yes, please.”

Again, his mouth touched mine but for a little longer this time. His lips hovered over mine before he descended, moving slowly against me. He turned slightly, changing the angle and kissing me again, but his touch remained light. I could feel my heartbeat in my chest and my breathing increase in time with his movements. He pulled back again.

“Did you like that as well? Do you want me to do it again?”

I could only nod this time, and he kissed me again and again. His hand moved from my cheek up into my hair, twisting through it and pulling me closer to him as his lips danced over my mouth, leaving me out of breath when he finally stopped.

“Alexandra, will you touch me?”

“What?”

“Touch me while I kiss you.”

“Where?”

Branford chuckled slightly.

“Anywhere you would like,” he said.

“I don’t know where I should,” I told him.

He ran his hand down the outside of my arm until he met my fingers. He pried gently, releasing my grip on the bedsheets and pulling my hand up to place it atop his bare shoulder. I hadn’t realized I had been holding the sheets so tightly.

“How about here?” he said with a smile. I nodded again, and this time when he found my mouth with his, I gripped his shoulder a little and felt the hard, tense muscles under his warm skin. He moved his hand to the back of my neck, holding me firmly as he continued to softly kiss my lips. He backed off slightly, and then I felt the tip of his tongue against my mouth.

“Do you like that?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, trying to be truthful. It seemed when he touched his tongue to mine, his kisses would become much more urgent with need than they had been thus far. He looked down into my eyes.

“Would it be all right if I tried that again?” he asked. “You don’t have to if it makes you uncomfortable.”

“All right,” I said, acquiescing. Branford’s hand returned to my face, and he ran his fingers over my jaw.

“I’ll still be gentle,” he said with sincerity. I looked into his bright green eyes and nodded my agreement. He touched my lips with his tongue again, and I opened my mouth a little. He used his tongue to reach inside, and the tip ran along the edge of mine. I tensed a little, but he kept his movements slow, and it only lasted a moment.

“Was that all right?” he asked. I nodded again because it had been all right. I looked up into his darkened, hungry eyes again. “Do you want me to do it again?”

I nodded and closed my eyes as his tongue entered my mouth, caressing me before pulling my tongue into his mouth and sucking on it a little. It felt strange, but I found the taste of him to be…intriguing. He backed off and kissed me softly on my lips again before leaning back and looking intently at me.

“I want to touch you,” Branford said. “But I’ll only touch you slowly and softly. I won’t hurt you, my wife. Is that all right?”

“Yes.” My voice came out in barely a whisper.

Branford traced over my cheekbone and then down along my jaw. His touch was soft, and it left my skin tingling when he passed. He ran the backs of his fingers down my neck, and then he flipped his hand over so his fingertips could glide slowly over my shoulder. Some of my skin was exposed there, where I had earlier untied the lacing from my nightdress. My gaze moved to his hand as he slowly—oh, so slowly—traced the tip of one finger across my collarbone.

The blanket was drawn up to just underneath my breasts, and I could see my chest rising and falling as Branford’s fingertip traced back and forth. His slightly open mouth pressed against my cheek, then moved close to my ear.

“Do you like that, Alexandra?” he whispered into my ear. “Does it make your skin feel warm where I’ve touched you? Do you like how that feels?”

“Yes,” I responded in yet another, nearly breathless whisper.

“I want to touch more of you,” Branford said. He sucked my earlobe into his mouth and then kissed down my neck as I lay there, unmoving, but strangely unafraid now. He said he wouldn’t hurt me, and so far he had not. “Just feel, Alexandra.”

I closed my eyes and did as he said—concentrating on the movement of his lips over my jaw and back down my neck. They followed the same trail over my collarbones where his fingers had recently been. I felt warm moisture when his tongue danced lightly over my skin, then shivered as he blew cool air in the same spot.

“Do you like that?” I could feel the movement of his lips as he spoke with his mouth still touching my skin. I couldn’t even answer him through my shaky breaths. “You’re trembling, Alexandra. Are you frightened?”