Page 62

Frederick set down his glass, his movements deliberate and rose from his seat at the same time she did.

“Miss Brad—Gemma,” he murmured, his tone like a command and a plea all at once. “I cannot… I need to… I do not think I can hold back any longer.”

She could barely breathe, her heart pounding as he took a step toward her.

“Then do not,” she simply said.

Without any more hesitation, he closed the distance between them and captured her lips in a fierce and consuming kiss.

His hands were firm, one slipping around her waist, drawing her closer until there was nothing between them. She melted into his embrace, feeling as if she had been waiting for this moment her entire life.

When he finally pulled back his gaze was intense and his breathing was heavy with want.

He held out his hand, his eyes never leaving hers. “Come.”

Gemma’s heart raced as she took his hand, feeling the steady strength of his grip as he led her from the dining room, through the hallways and up the stairs toward his chambers.

The anticipation was electric, each step sending a quiver of elation through her until they reached his room.

Once inside, he turned to her, his gaze burning as he pulled her close again, his lips finding hers with renewed urgency. His hands roamed over her back while she clung to him, his touch leaving an electrically charged trail. Gemma believed that she would burst from the intensity of it all.

Frederick’s voice was infused with a degree of need that she had never heard before. “I have wanted you, Gemma… from the moment I first laid eyes on you.”

She shivered, her breath catching as she looked up at him, the weight of his words settling over her.

He began to trace his fingers over the line of her collarbone, his hand lingering on the edge of her dress, but he paused, searching her face for an answer.

“You must be certain,” he said, his tone gentle. “I would never do anything you did not also wish to do.”

Gemma smiled, her voice soft but resolute as she looked up at him. “I am already a spinster, Your G—Frederick. I do not careto wait for a husband to tell me what I can and cannot feel. Go ahead,” she whispered, her gaze daring, “Ruinme.”

Her offer ignited something within him. He held her close, his hands beginning to move with a degree of confidence and tenderness that set her skin aflame. In that moment Gemma knew she was exactly where she was meant to be, with no thought to tomorrow or to the world beyond the room they now shared.

“Take off your clothes,” he ordered, sitting on the edge of the bed.

The intensity of his eyes as he looked over her face and body sent heat rushing through her veins.

“Yes, my lord,” she nodded, loosening the string from around her waist before unlacing the top half of her dress.

The sleeves fell over her shoulders, and she pulled down the petticoat to reveal her underdress.

He watched silently and intently as she continued, eventually stripping down to nothing but her corset and her linen shift.

“I need your help, my lord,” she said, turning slowly and pulling her hair over her shoulder towards the front. “The corset, the ribbon, my lord…”

He didn’t hesitate and strode to cover the short distance between them to untie the strings of her corset.

The corset came loose as his deft fingers unlaced it and slid it down her spine. It caught around her hips and he roughly shoved it down so it fell to her ankles.

She turned to look up at him, his hands going to his own neck as he pulled the tie and kerchief away before unbuttoning his waistcoat.

She stood silently, watching him eagerly as he pulled off the fine clothes to reveal his clean white undershirt.

“Take off my shirt,” he ordered, putting his hands on her hips.

“Yes…”

She untied the string and pulled open the shirt to reveal the downy black nest of hair that covered his chest. She ran her fingers through the tiny curls and smiled as she pulled his shirt off him, throwing it over her head and onto the floor.