Helplessly, she obeyed, even though all her instincts screamed danger. She was sinking under his spell again, her reservations obliterated by an intoxicating madness induced by his arousing ministrations. Every nerve came alive with delirious sensation as he deftly touched, explored, discovered. She was no longer shivering with cold but trembling under his hands, melting in a warm tide.
Yet it was his eyes that warmed her the most. The expression in his eyes held great tenderness. The way he looked at her made her feel cherished somehow.
Roslyn drew a shaky breath. This moment seemed like a dream, a fantasy, yet at the same time it felt supremely real. He was her haven from the storm. She felt sheltered in his arms, protected, treasured.
She had never experienced anything like it. Certainly not in the past four years. For so long she and her sisters had had no one to depend on. No man, at any rate. And here Arden was, making her feel infinitely precious.
Her breath faltered entirely when he bent to her again. He took h
er mouth slowly, thoroughly, his kiss deep and penetrating, as if he was determined to know every secret she had. To steal away every ounce of her willpower. His lips whispered promises of pleasure, of passion beyond her wildest dreams.
Surrendering her last meager defenses, Roslyn reached up and slid her fingers into his silky hair, sighing softly into his mouth upon realizing how completely he’d captured her.
When finally he drew back, she gazed up at him with passion-hazed eyes.
His voice was low and rasping when he said quietly, “I want to make love to you, Roslyn.”
She couldn’t deny that was what she wanted too. And even if she tried, she knew he wouldn’t believe her. His gaze was on her face, too perceptive, too knowing; the tantalizing offer of his body was hard against hers.
She gave up any thought of resisting. She desired him, there was nothing more to understand. He wanted to make love to her, and this time she would welcome it.
Yet he had other things in mind for the moment, it seemed.
He had unfastened his breeches and freed his rampant erection. Letting her gaze drop, Roslyn sucked in a sharp breath at the flagrant virility of his arousal. The thick flesh jutted out, so large, so blatantly rigid, that she could scarcely breathe.
When he brought her hand to his loins, murmuring, “Touch me,” she realized that he wanted her to take the lead. Willing to obey, she touched him hesitantly, grazing the swollen head of his member, trailing a finger downward delicately to the heavy sacs below.
“Are you shocked by my anatomy?” he asked.
“Not…shocked exactly. Fanny told me something about what to expect.”
“Would you like to know more?”
“Yes.”
“Then feel free to explore.”
Her heart racing, she curled her fingers around the heated shaft, squeezing gently. It was burning-hot against her palm, hard as steel. She realized how arousing just that slight pressure must be for him because his eyes darkened, yet he wanted more.
“Harder. You won’t hurt me.”
Tightening her hold, she slowly slid her fingers down his great length and up again. He made a sound deep in his throat, like a harsh groan, which inexplicably pleased Roslyn. He throbbed beneath her touch, stirring a similar throb deep in her most secret, feminine places.
Intoxicated by the sensation, she repeated her slow stroking, wanting to pleasure him as he had pleasured her. At the same time, she couldn’t help wondering how it would feel to join with him, how her body could absorb his enormous male flesh. She wanted him inside her, filling the hollow ache that had blossomed between her thighs, yet the image of him trying to fit inside her was a little alarming.
When suddenly she drew back her hand, Arden leaned over her, gazing deep into her eyes. “You aren’t afraid of me, are you?”
Roslyn couldn’t answer. She wanted him with a longing that was new and frightening to her, yet she wasn’t afraid. “I…I don’t know.”
“You shouldn’t fear me. We have been moving toward this moment since the night we met.”
It felt that way to her also. Everything had been leading to this moment.
But he obviously wanted to reassure her, for he resumed caressing her, his tantalizing strokes drifting over her body.
The exquisite, inciting touch of his hands made her shiver and want more. Her skin heated, stoking the fire that was rising inside her.
Her breath was coming in shallow bursts by the time his fingers circled the curve of her shoulder and drew down the bodice of her chemise.