And then there was no more hesitancy, though the tenderness remained even as he untied the ribbon at her throat, laughing in frustration at the tiny buttons down the front of her dress, their lips never leaving each other’s skin as she tugged at the hem of his tunic, eager to see more of him.
She sat back then to admire him, the way the firelight danced over his skin, highlighting the hard planes of muscle, the shadowed valleys formed by years of training, nothing soft about him save for the way he looked at her as she shrugged out of her dress. He looked hungry and a little desperate, as though he might starve without another taste of her.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said, rising to his feet.
“Then where are you going?”
Wordlessly, he picked her up and carried her to the sofa, settingher down as if she were as light as a feather. She attempted to pull him down to her, but he remained standing, one knee on the sofa next to her hip, gazing down at her as though attempting to memorize her.
She sat up and began to reach for the hem of her shift, but he stilled her with his hand.
“Let me, please.”
She nodded as he lifted with agonizing slowness, drinking in the pale length of her legs, the curve of her hips, the swell of her breasts. Even the scratches across her chest received his full attention, and to her relief, he didn’t recoil at the sight of them. Instead, he bent over her and pressed a kiss to the soft skin where her shoulder met her breast.
She gasped as he explored her with his lips, his tongue, his teeth. She wanted to give him the same pleasure, but the sensations were overwhelming, making it impossible to concentrate on anything other than this.
“Tell me what you like,” he rasped against her ear, but all she could do was nod wordlessly and reach for his trousers.
He smiled against her throat and allowed her to undo his laces, helping her pull his trousers down his hips. When she saw him, actually saw him, she froze.
“Des,” she whispered. “I don’t think...”
Bracketing her between his forearms, he cupped her face until she looked at him. “It’s like one of your experiments.”
She hooded her gaze. “I assure you, this isnotlike my experiments.”
He chuckled again, kissing her forehead. “We try things, find what works. Try again. If I’m doing my part right, this will be very successful. For both of us.”
“Not like the cake, though,” she whispered. “Right? Because that was truly terrible.”
He smiled, but almost instantly his features settled into something more serious, nearly solemn. “Aurelie, above all things, I promise I will keep you safe. That includes from me, too. If at any point you want to stop, we stop. If you want to stop right now, we can go to the kitchen and bake ano—”
She pressed her fingers to his lips and put her mouth against his ear. “I don’t want to stop, Des.” To prove her point, she reached between them and took him in her hand.
His breath hitched. “Aurelie. If you do that, this may be over whether you like it or not.”
“Oh,” she said as realization dawned. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t ever apologize for that,” he breathed. “Now, tell me what you’d like from me.”
She blushed, dropping her gaze. She wasn’t sure how to voice what she liked. “It might be easier if I show you.”
Where he’d once scowled at her as though she were an utter nuisance, Des gazed down at her now as though she were the most wonderful thing he’d ever beheld. That look alone was enough to undo her. But when he lowered his mouth to the hollow at the base of her throat and murmured against her skin,good girl, she knew she was lost completely.
Chapter 35
Des
As Des lay on the floor—how had they ended up on thefloor?—with Aurelie’s head resting on his bare chest, he could only shake his head in disbelief. To think, he’d once doubted that she was good with her hands.
He hadn’t come here today with this intention. The plan had been to bring Aurelie a Yule tree, to make her day a little less lonely—his too, if he was being fully honest—and put the first part of his plan into action. The fact that she was now lying next to him naked, her eyelashes fanned against her cheeks and her hair a mass of soft waves against his skin, was beyond anything he would have allowed himself to dream. In fact, he wasn’t entirely sure this was real.
Her brow furrowed in her sleep, her lips curling in a small frown, and it took all his willpower not to pull her closer to him. She was so beautiful it was a physical pain in his chest, so sweet he could hardly breathe. And the way she had taken control, showed him exactly how to touch her... Demons take him, it was a fucking revelation.Shewas a revelation. And he knew, if only someone would grant him the chance, they could discover so much more together.
Her eyelashes fluttered as she began to wake, her hands instinctively reaching for him.
“Hey,” he said, brushing her hair from her cheek. “How are you feeling?”