“Indeed,” he promised. “There are women who enjoy lovemaking, my sweet, and you’re about to become one of them.”
“How can you be so certain?” Gillian asked. “Because I find it hard to believe that any woman could enjoy something so embarrassing and painful and messy.”
Colin gave her a tender smile. “Have I done anything this morning that’s caused you pain or embarrassment?”
“Not yet,” she admitted.
“Oh, ye of little faith,” he teased.
“I have faith,” Gillian told him, “that the morning is still young.”
Colin leaned down and kissed her again.
And his kiss was hot and sweet enough to tempt an angel. But Gillian wasn’t an angel, and she didn’t need temptation. She pulled Colin down to her until she could press herself against him. She flattened herself against his chest, feeling the heat of his flesh as she deepened the kiss. The twin points of her breasts pressed into him, and Colin groaned.
Encouraged by his response, Gillian allowed her hands to roam over his shoulders and down his back. Colin groaned again. His tongue mated with hers as he showed her what he wanted. Gillian continued her exploration. She moved her hands lower until she reached the tight, smooth skin of his buttocks. His muscles bunched and rippled under her hands as Colin held her tightly, half-lifting her off the bed as he ground
his hips into hers and rubbed his throbbing erection against her. He pulled his mouth away from hers and began to trail hot, wet kisses on her face, her neck, her throat, and over to her earlobes.
“Didn’t you ever get beyond the embarrassment and the pain?” he whispered, before tugging on her earlobe with his teeth.
Gillian shook her head.
“Then I’m doubly sorry he hurt you using my name.” Colin brushed his lips against her forehead and then her eyelids in the softest of touches. “Because Colin Fox—whomever he is—is a fool.” He looked down at her face. “Was there anything you enjoyed?”
She shook her head once again.
“You eloped with the man, Gillian,” Colin reminded her. “You must have like something about him. Something he did...”
“He kissed me,” she said. “I liked it. And the way he looked at me. And the way he spoke to me before ...” She buried her face in the crook of Colin’s neck. “Afterward...after he...after the first time we...he changed. He didn’t kiss me anymore or talk to me. He would just tell me it was time for bed, and I would lie there with my eyes closed, praying he would hurry so it wouldn’t hurt anymore.” She pulled back so she could look Colin in the eyes. “I was frightened when he left me alone at the inn, but I was also grateful that I didn’t have to do it anymore.”
Colin breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t her. It was him. The idiot masquerading as Colin Fox hadn’t introduced Gillian to the wonders of the bedchamber, he’d taken her without consideration or preliminaries. “You were an innocent and a romantic,” he said. “You like being kissed and held and told you’re beautiful.” He stopped and looked down at her. “Have I told you you’re beautiful?”
Gillian shook her head.
“Because you are,” Colin continued. “And you like feeling loved and special. He recognized that and preyed upon it because he enjoys the chase. But once the bugger got what he wanted from you, the excitement of the chase was over for him.”
Gillian thought of the night Galahad had slept beside her. “I liked touching,” she whispered. “I liked being held at night and knowing I wasn’t alone anymore. I know it sounds silly, but I liked sleeping beside someone.”
“I’m perfectly willing to share a bed for the purpose of sleeping and touching and kissing and talking.” Colin named the things she’d said she liked. It would be sheer torture for him if that were all she allowed him to do, but he would suffer if that’s what it took to show her he could be trusted. “And if you get tired of that,” he said with a wink, “we can always make love. If you feel so inclined.”
She breathed in the familiar sandalwood and soap scent of him, and suddenly Gillian wanted whatever Colin had to offer. “I do.”
Colin blinked, then quickly recovered. “I’m delighted to hear it.” Colin let go of her wrist, sat back on his heels once again, took her silk nightgown by the hem, and whisked it up around her waist and pushed it up and over her head. “I promise I won’t hurt you, Gillian.”
Gillian sighed with relief. At last she was naked against him.
Colin turned his attention back to her breasts. He dipped his head and trailed his tongue along the valley between them. He licked at the tiny beads of perspiration. The scent of her perfume teased Ids nostrils. It was warm, lemony, and all Gillian.
Colin worked his way down the valley, and his tongue seemed to ignite little bonfires wherever he touched her. He tasted the skin above her rib cage, trailed his tongue over her abdomen, circling her navel before dipping his tongue into the indention. And while Colin tasted her with his tongue, he teased her with his fingers. He skimmed his hands over the sensitive flesh covering her hipbones and outer thighs. He felt his way down her body with his hands, finally locating and tracing the deep grooves at the juncture of her thighs with the pads of his thumbs. Easing his way ever closer, Colin massaged the womanly flesh surrounding her mound, then tangled his fingers in the lush, dark curls covering it.
Gillian reacted immediately, squeezing her thighs shut, then opening them ever so slightly to allow him greater access. She couldn’t seem to get close enough to him. Her anticipation rose to a fever pitch. She began to quiver and make little moaning sounds of pleasure as he traced the outer edge of her folds with his finger before gently plunging his finger inside. Gillian squirmed, arching her back to bring herself into closer contact with Colin. Colin gritted his teeth. The slick, warm feel and the scent of her were driving him crazy.
The swelling in his groin grew until he was rock hard and near to bursting. He couldn’t wait any longer. He had to have her. He had to feel himself inside her, feel her surrounding him, feel them joined together the way husbands and wives were meant to be joined.
Colin withdrew his fingers and placed his hands under Gillian’s hips, lifting her slightly as he leaned forward and positioned himself to enter her in one fluid motion. “Gillian?” he offered her the choice, although he seriously doubted whether he could be the gentleman he professed to be and stop, even if she asked him to. “May I?”
“Yes,” Gillian answered, instinctively wrapping her legs around his waist. “Now.”