Patience opened her singing heart and welcomed him in. She kissed him as ravenously as he kissed her, hands greedily searching through his clothes.
With a hissed curse, he drew back. "Wait."
Dragging the long pin from his cravat, he laid it on the mantelpiece; swiftly, he unknotted and unwound the long folds. Patience smiled and reached for him; his expression granite hard, he stepped aside and around-linen folds blocked her sight.
"What…?" Patience raised her hands to her face.
"Trust me." Now behind her, Vane brushed her hands aside and deftly wound the linen twice about her head, then knotted it tight at the back. Then, closing his hands about her shoulders, he bent his head and trailed his lips, feather-light, up the curve of her throat. "It'll be better this way."
Better for him-he might retain some degree of control. He felt the responsiblity of being her love keenly; taking without giving was not in his nature. He needed to tell her what was in his heart. If he couldn't manage the words, at least he could demonstrate his feelings. For now, with desire rampant, pounding through his veins, that was the best he could do.
He knew very well what being "blind" would do to her. Without sight, her remaining senses would heighten-her sexual sensitivity, physical and emotional, would reach new peaks.
Slowly, he turned her to face him, and lifted his hands from her.
Senses nickering wildly, Patience waited. Her breathing was shallow, tight with anticipation; her skin prickled. Hands lax at her sides, she listened to her heartbeat, listened to desire thrum in her veins.
The first tug was so gentle she wasn't sure it was real, then another button on her nightgown slid free. Her senses told her Vane was near, close, but precisely where she couldn't tell. Tentatively, she reached out-
"No. Just stand still."
Obedient to his deep voice, to its compelling tone, she let her arms fall.
Her gown was buttoned down the front, all the way to the floor. Onl
y the waft of air on her skin and the slightest of tugs told her when the last button fell free. Before she could imagine what might come next, quick tugs at her wrists had the lacings undone.
Blind, helpless, she shivered.
And felt her gown part and lift away, then it was sliding down her arms, down her back, slithering free of her hands to fall to the floor behind her.
She sucked in a tight breath-and felt Vane's gaze upon her. He stood before her; his gaze roved-her nipples puckered; heat spread beneath her skin. A warm flush followed his gaze, over her breasts, her belly, her thighs. She felt herself soften, felt anticipation surge.
He shifted-to the side. Tilting her head slightly, she strained to track his movements. Then he stepped closer. He stood to her left, bare inches away; she could sense him with every pore of her skin.
A hard fingertip slid beneath her chin and tipped her face up. Her lips throbbed; he covered them with his.
The kiss was long and deep, ardent, brutually candid. He surged deep and claimed her softness, then tasted her, languidly but thoroughly, a demonstration of what was to come. Then he drew back-and the fingertip slid away.
Naked, unable to see, with nothing beyond the soft glow from the fire and the heat of desire to warm her, Patience simmered. And waited.
One fingertip touched her right shoulder, then lazily meandered down, over the swell of her breast to circle her nipple. At the last, it flicked the achingly tight bud, then disappeared.
His second caress mirrored the first, teasing her left nipple, sending a long quivering shiver through her. She sucked in a fractured breath.
He leaned closer, reaching behind her to trace the long muscles framing her spine, one, then the other, stopping where they trailed into the hollow below her waist.
Again his touch was withdrawn; again Patience waited. Then his palm, hard, hot, slightly rough on her smooth skin, settled low on her back, in the curve below her waist, then boldly traced down. And around. Proprietorially claiming the full curves, knowingly, appreciatively assessing. Patience felt desire flare, hot and urgent inside her, felt its dew dampen her skin.
She gasped softly; the sound echoed in the stillness. Vane bent his head; she sensed it and lifted her lips. They met his in a kiss so full of aching wanting she swayed. She lifted a hand to grasp his shoulder-
"No. Stand still." He breathed the words against her lips, then kissed her again. Then his lips trailed to her temple. "Don't move. Just feel. Don't do anything. Just let me love you."
Patience shivered-and mutely acquiesced.
The hand fondling her bottom remained, distractingly intimate. It dropped to briefly trace the backs of her thighs, then, long fingers trailing up the line between, returned to caressing her tensed curves.
Then a rogue fingertip found the hollow at the base of her throat. Involuntarily, Patience straightened. The finger slowly tracked down, sliding smoothly over her skin. It passed between her swollen breasts, continued down her sensitive midriff, over the line of her waist, to her navel. There, it circled, slowly, then trailed diagonally, to one hip, then down the midline of her thigh, stopping and disappearing just above her knee.