She moved as if to rise.
“No.” He kept her pinned beneath his body. “I’d rather do this lying down.”
Lying down?But her face would be in the pillow and her backside…
A rush of crawling heat skittered over her skin. Everything within tightened with what she would have described as mortification, if it weren’t for the thumping deep in her groin.
He moved away, just far enough to allow her to roll over.
She rolled, then set her forehead against the pillow, arching her neck so she could breathe. She waited. One inhale. Two. Her breath heated her face. Why the devil did he not begin?
She lifted one foot and impatiently whacked the bed.
He responded with a beast-like groan. But his fingers were light and tender, as he worked the buttons from the top down. One by one, he freed them. Each time she felt the silk restrict before giving way. After each, he paused, placing his lips against her stays.
Contraction.Swish. Heat. Release—over and over until she thought she’d go mad.
She lost count somewhere beneath her shoulder blades. And though the waist was still high, the upper part of her dress ended lower than would have been fashionable in recent years.
She exhaled with relief when he finally finished. Slowly, she moved to rise, intending to fully remove the dress.
He pressed against the small of her back. “Not yet.”
With her face in darkness, she became acutely aware of every part he could see. As if he wanted to accentuate that fact, he straddled her legs and ran his hands slowly down her sides. Shoulder, breast, waist, hip—he molded each as if sculpting her from sand.
She thought he’d stop when he reached her thighs, but he did not. He edged back, and, ignoring her indignant whimpers, kneaded those evil, world-altering fingers into her buttocks. By the time he reached her calves, her lips were trembling with restraint, threatening to spit out the worst of those vulgar words.
He released her. A second later, he moved away.
Slowly, she turned, fully prepared to give him a scold. But his gaze was so full of devastated longing, her anger instantly fled. She wanted to take him into her arms and reassure him she’d grant his every wish.
“‘And all that’s best of dark and bright,’” he murmured. “‘Meet in her aspect and her eyes.’”
She sat up, the dress falling from her shoulders.Poetry?What had gotten into him?
He jerked as if choked. “I don’t deserve—”
“Sst.” She withdrew her arms from the sleeves of her gown, wiggling and turning as she pushed the garment down over her hips. Then, her beautiful silk dress was just a heap of lavender she kicked straight off the bed. “You’ll need to unlace my stays. I’ll need your help. If, that is,” she made her voice sultry, “you still want to see me bare.”
His face blanked. “Come over here. I don’t think I can move.”
That was odd. He’d had no trouble moving a moment ago. The bed creaked as she sidled over. The mattress depressed, making the process difficult. Nonetheless, he set to work. Quietly, steadily, he loosened the long ribbon.
The dress fabric fell away, and she took her first truly deep breath in hours.
“I apologize for my clumsy fingers,” he said roughly. “The knots were quite tight.”
His fingers hadn’t been clumsy, not when they’d been all over her arse.
She glanced down. “They’re shaking,” she murmured.
“I know.”
He looked so grim.Ah, Auggie.The licking would probably have to wait. Only one sin at a time for her dear, moral man. She moved to her knees and worked the buttons of his waistcoat.
“What are you doing?”
“You did not think I would consent to being the only one unclothed, did you?”