Page 22 of Falling for the Earl (Improper Ladies #2)

T he few guests who’d stayed to dinner had finally departed Dorchester House. Hugh’s arm around her, Lucy climbed the stairs with him for their first night together. He escorted her in and closed the door to the countess’s bedchamber behind him.

“It was a perfect wedding, wasn’t it?” Lucy asked, standing on the threshold, observing the elegant splendor which was now to be her bedchamber.

“It was.” He drew her close. “Absolutely perfect.”

Lucy giggled. “You should have seen Mrs. Vellacott’s face when Papa escorted me into the church. She stood outside looking sullen.”

Hugh nuzzled her neck. “Who is Mrs. Vellacott?”

Lucy pushed away to gaze up at him, aware that he teased her. “You know full well who she is, Hugh. She’s the one who…”

He slid his hand through her hair at the back of her head and pulling gently, raised her face and kissed her. When his tongue pushed at the seam of her lips, Lucy gasped and held on to his coat. She opened for him as a coil of desire stirred low in her belly.

She hung on to him as her knees sagged. His mouth tasted clean, with a hint of champagne.

He released her, and his fingers worked at the buttons on her gown. In a moment, the fabric spooled at her feet along with her petticoat. Her stays soon followed.

In her shift and suddenly shy, she saw the intent in his heavy-lidded blue, blue eyes and quivered. “Do you think that I should…?”

He shook his head with a wry smile. “I have been a patient man, Lucy, but no more.”

What she was about to suggest vanished from her mind as he swept her up in his arms and strode across the thick carpet to the enormous four-poster bed draped in gold damask. A gold coverlet was folded over a chair and the sheet pulled back.

He gently laid her down on the satin sheet, then, holding her calf, slipped off her shoe. Stroking up her leg, he pressed a kiss on her thigh and untied her garter. Before she could draw breath, both her stockings were thrown onto a chair. She marveled at his expertise and wondered idly how much experience he’d had with ladies’ stockings. Quite a lot, she decided.

Hugh moved away to undress. She watched as he stripped off his clothes. His legs were long and powerful. Tall and lean, he was superbly muscled, his buttocks round and taut, and so different to a woman’s body. She curled her fingers with the desire to touch them. He was already aroused and so perfectly male. Her chest tightened, making it hard for her to breathe.

He came back to the bed and stood for a moment, looking down at her. “How beautiful you are, Lucy.”

Her breath quickened, and she held up her arms to him. He joined her on the bed. The heat and weight of his body wrapped around her as the rampant sensations he aroused in her demanded more of him. His skin was smooth beneath her questing fingers, the strength and fluid movements of his muscles and tendons beneath fascinating her.

He sat up to remove her shift, and her shyness fled. She lay boldly naked before him.

“Sweetheart.” His voice guttural, his rough palm closed over her breast, and he thumbed a nipple until she whimpered. His warm breath feathered across her skin as his finger circled the sensitive, puckered nub.

When he drew the other nipple into his mouth, an aching tension throbbed between her legs. Lucy clutched his hair and moaned softly. She murmured his name, begging him, wanting him to ease the pleasure-pain that built low down in her stomach.

*

As Lucy’s hands stroked over his arms and shoulders, Hugh’s loins throbbed. He’d wanted this for too long. He was conscious of this being Lucy’s first time and didn’t want to hurt her. After all, they had all the time in the world. His fingers stroked the hard nub within her soft folds, feeling the slick moisture, evidence of her desire, while she murmured incoherently. Then he moved between her legs and settled himself against her.

Lucy grew still.

“It will be all right in a moment,” he said as he pushed a little way. Then he waited for her body to accept him. He moved again, and an explosion of heat enveloped him, threatening to draw him in farther like a siren’s call. He clamped his teeth and moved slowly, watching Lucy’s face. Her tongue traced her swollen lips, her hands gripping his shoulders so tightly, her nails dug into his skin.

Hugh kissed her deeply and increased his pace. She moaned against his lips, pushing up her hips to meet him.

Wrapping his arms under her bottom to raise her higher, he thrust harder. When Lucy’s body tightened around him, he gave in to his release. His body shuddered and with a deep cry, he fell back.

Hugh moved to her side and raised himself on an elbow. “Did it hurt, sweetheart?”

She shook her head, her eyelids half-closed. “It was lovely.”

He kissed her, then drew the sheet and blanket over them. “I love you. Sleep, my love.”

“I love you, Hugh,” she murmured as she closed her eyes.

Hugh lay beside her, his thoughts drifting. He’d never believed in this kind of love before. He’d known deep down in his soul for some time that Lucy was the one. He smiled. She was his at last.