Page 27 of An Earl’s Sacrifice (The Clandestine Sapphire Society #3)

“I’m going to touch you now,” he told her in a low voice that vibrated with an insatiable hunger.

To his shock, his fingers trembled as they edged closer to the heart of the enchantment he craved, then brushed the curls there to a wetness he desperately thirsted for.

With an index finger, he slipped between the folds.

“Oh!” Her squeal floated on the air, cascading over him, through him, seeping into his bones.

Lucius pressed against the hidden nub with the base of his thumb and her fingers dug into his shoulders.

The chamber was too hot, inundating him with the spicy scent of her that mingled with the violets.

He brought up his other hand and worked her breasts from her snug bodice.

“Beautiful,” he whispered, then took a rosy, hardened nipple into his mouth.

In rhythmic synchronization, his tongue swirled in time with his fingers working her sex. His own arousal strained against the flap of his trousers, but it was her hips gyrating against him that refused to let him stop and find a way to make her truly his.

“What—” she panted, appearing unable to form a coherent question.

“Trust me, darling. Let yourself fly. Let… go…” He took her breast back in his mouth and bit down lightly.

The most astonishing thing happened. Her squeal careened through his chamber; her sex clenched against his fingers then flooded him with that sweet nectar as she moved wildly over him.

After a time, she relaxed against him.

If only he could have done the same.

“I suppose I’m no longer a virgin,” she said against his neck.

Laughter rumbled in his chest. He brought his arms up and wrapped her in them, deciding the truth could wait a little longer.

Holding her firmly in his arms, Lucius clenched his teeth against the pain in his back and rose from the settee.

He carried her to his large, not so comfortable bed and tossed her in the center.

The twinge in his back had completely dissipated.

She gasped. “What are you doing, sir?”

“Ah, so we’re back to ‘sir,’ are we?” He stripped off his cravat, his waistcoat, his shirt, dropping each on the floor.

“I’m taking my wife to bed.” He turned and sat on the edge and yanked off his shoes, then stood and unfastened the flap at his breeches, nearly laughing outright to see Meredith’s hands covering her face, yet not, as she was peeking through spread fingers. “You aren’t the least bit curious?”

“It’s indecent,” she squeaked.

“But so delightful. I’m certainly curious about you.

” He shucked the pants, placed a knee on the bed and lowered his voice to a purr.

“For example, I wonder if the skin on your belly is as soft as that of your hands.” He tugged off her slippers and threw them over his shoulder.

Pushed her skirts up past her knees, baring her thighs which were indeed as silky as the skin on her hands.

With deft fingers, he untied her garters and rolled down her silk stockings, then pitched them aside.

“I’m not so sure about this.” Her voice wobbled.

He licked the inside of one thigh. “No? Don’t worry, darling. I’m sure enough for the both of us.”

She fell back against the pillows with her face still covered. “I don’t think this is… is legal.”

“And who shall turn us in?” He edged closer to the heart of his desire and breathed in deep.

Her fingers gripped his hair but she wasn’t pushing him away. Was, in fact, pulling him in.

Definitely a sign of encouragement , he decided, licking his way to ecstasy.

She writhed beneath his mouth. He was certain to lose hair before the end of this night but, oh, she tasted delicious.

A minute later, her joyful cry once more careened through the chamber and his mouth was flooded with her release.

He raised to his knees and gripped his arousal and placed it at her opening.

“Brace yourself, darling,” he whispered.

“I don’t know what you mean—”

But he was more than ready to show her, and eased himself in the opening, pulling back then moving forward.

Back and forth, he worked until he broke past her hymen and engulfed himself to the hilt.

Her snug passage squeezed the life from him until the blood roared in his ears and drove all thought from his brain.

There was nothing strategic about this copulation. It just was. His skin prickled with a need he’d never before experienced. Her fingernails cut into his shoulders, and he froze. Had she gasped? Had he hurt her?

“Meredith,” he croaked out.

“Why… are you… stopping?”

“I don’t wish to hurt you.”

“I, it—” She sucked in a deep breath. “It doesn’t hurt. Not any longer.”

He dropped his lips to hers. To his delight and shock, she touched the tip of her tongue to his lips, creating a sensation that shot straight to his groin. He drew her tongue into his mouth, and he moved his hips between her legs without pulling back. Just used the pressure of his groin to hers.

Her legs wrapped his hips; her arms tightened around his neck. Her mouth broke from his. “Yes,” she whispered, writhing harder against him.

The dam inside him let loose. He pulled back and surged forward. Once, twice, the third time, a brilliant spectrum of light shattered behind his closed eyes as he flooded her with his seed, his heart drumming in its wake.

It took a moment for Lucius to gather his bearings, a moment for the blood in his body to redistribute to his arms enough to gain the strength to lift himself up and fall to Meredith’s side.

He dragged her along, settling her head on his shoulder.

Dropping a kiss on her dampened forehead, he said, “I was too rough. I’m sorry. ”

Meredith bolted upright. “Sorry? You’re sorry ?”

“What—”

“How dare you insult me so. It’s… it’s outrageous . Why, I still have my clothes on.” Meredith threw her legs over the side of the bed, but he snagged her about the waist before she could make good her escape.

“What the devil is the matter with you?” he demanded. “I said I was sorry I hurt you. I am not sorry I took you.”

The fight went out of her and she sagged against him. “Oh.”

“Is this something I should prepare myself for in the future?”

“What do you mean by ‘something’?” she muttered.

“This over-sensitivity, over-reaction thing.”

She wriggled, outraged, in his hold. “Over-reaction!”

“See? This is exactly what I’m talking about.” He yanked her up beside him in a move that reminded him of the twinge in his back. He pulled her face to his, dropped his gaze to her lips. “It appears you still require convincing that you belong in my bed,” he murmured.