Page 18 of Beguiling the Duke
“You’ve got me, darling.”
Lizzie grunted in frustration. “You know what I mean. I want you inside me. Soon. Now.”
Flames of desire burned in his groin. He sucked in a breath and licked his lips. “If you insist.”
He lowered her onto the bed, pinching one hard nipple before climbing onto the mattress beside her.
As he stretched out, she traced the outline of the muscles on his torso. “I’d forgotten about these. About this…” She palmed his chest, flicked her thumbs over his stiff nipples.
Then she glanced lower. “I guess I’ve been too busy remembering this.” She traced the line of hair low on his belly.
When she closed her fingers around his erection, he sucked in a deep breath. “I take it you liked what you saw when we were together?”
“What I saw, what I felt. Everything about it. Everything about every inch of you.”
“Let’s see if the experience lives up to the memory.” He buried his fingers in her bottom to press her hard against him. His kiss was anything but tender as he put all his desperation into the act.
Their hands explored, enticing each other. He cupped her core, kissing away her gasp. She thrust into his palm, asking for more. His fingers found the wet heat his touches caused. When he thrust a finger inside her, she cried out as though she’d reached her peak.
She parted her legs and tugged his upper arm. “Come here.”
“I’m having too much fun here.” His finger circled her throbbing nub.
She cried out and rocked her hips. “Torture. Not fair.”
“This is nothing. I haven’t gotten to the torture part yet.”
He continued his thrusts and strokes until she said. “Please. Matthew, please. I need you inside me. Now. Before I lose my mind.”
He shifted to lie with his thighs between hers, his hardness sliding through her wetness. Her body surrounded him. He filled her. He hovered on his arms, allowing her to run her fingers through the sparse hair on his chest. When her fingernail flicked his nipple, his groan seemed to reverberate wherever they connected. She did it again, and he thrust harder. She laughed as if she loved discovering what his body liked.
His breathing grew rough. Her muscles tightened around him. She arched and rocked, meeting his thrusts, then suddenly stiffened, crying out.
Matthew continued to drive into her, deeper, harder, so close but not yet there. He didn’t know he could feel this good for this long. Then he shattered as she cried out again. He hovered over her, sweat dripping off him, and knew he should move, but he didn’t want the moment to end.
Eventually, he rolled over, taking her with him. She molded to him as if her bones had turned to jelly. She kissed his chest, then rested her head on him and sighed.
He sighed, too. She was perfect.
A clock downstairs chimed midnight. Matthew lifted his head for a moment as if listening, then he reached for the coverlet and drew it over their bodies. “Merry Christmas, my love.”
Lizzie drew in a breath and stretched against his muscular length. “Merry Christmas. But I don’t have a gift for you.”
“This night is all the gift I could ever want. You’ve given me everything I desire by giving me yourself.”
She yawned, then smiled and rested her cheek on his chest again. “Well then, I shall never need to shop again.”
The soft glow of candlelight danced upon the walls, casting shadows that seemed to sway in time with their beating hearts. Their bodies lay entwined, a tapestry of warmth and affection, as they reveled in the sweet afterglow of their passionate union.
Lizzie’s breaths came in gentle sighs, her chest rising and falling in harmony with Matthew’s own. She traced delicate patterns on his skin, marveling at the strength that lay beneath his tender touch. The air was thick with the scent of their mingled passion, and yet it was a balm to her soul, a soothing reminder of the love she had found in his arms.
“Matthew,” she whispered, her voice still thick with passion as she gazed into his piercing blue eyes. “I must confess, I never thought my heart capable of such profound emotion again. And yet, here we are, our souls bound together by the most sublime of passions.”
His hand cradled her cheek, his thumb tracing the curve of her jawline as if to commit every inch of her to memory. “My dear Lizzie, I, too, believed that love would forever elude me, a mere specter of a life left behind. But you have shown me that even the darkest night can give way to the most glorious of dawns.”
“Promise me,” she implored, her brown eyes shimmering with unshed tears, “that no matter what may come, you will always be there to guide me through the shadows.”
“Ah, my sweet Lizzie,” he murmured, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead, “I shall always be by your side, for as long as God allows it.”
As their lips met once more, sealing their commitment with the sweetest of kisses, Lizzie knew that no matter what the future held, she could survive it, and she prayed they had a lifetime ahead of them to discover how deeply they could love.