Page 23 of Only Earl in the World (Taming of the Dukes)

Jasper was going to fucking die.

The sight of Briar on her knees, that stunning, curvaceous body glistening like oiled bronze beneath a delicious sheen of sweat, had him so damned hard he could barely think.

Her body undulated like some kind of sinuous jungle cat as she closed the distance to him, the look of pure trust on her face and the dark sensuality of the act she was performing a volcanic combination.

He’d never seen anything so fucking beautiful in all his life.

When she was a few feet away from him, he lifted a hand. “Stop.”

“Why?” she asked, worry creasing her brow as she halted.

“Did I give you permission to question me?” he said sharply. A burst of pique flashed in that green gaze, but she bit her lip and shook her head. “Now sit up and spread your legs. Then touch yourself and tell me how wet you are.”

She blinked. “Oh.”

“ Now , Briar. ”

Her pupils dilated at the dark snap of his tone. Pushing back onto her haunches, she put her hand on her mound and then hesitated. He lifted a brow, and her cheeks went red.

“You can stop this at any time. Just say the word.”

“I don’t want to stop,” she whispered.

Ever so slowly, she slid her knees apart and her fingers slid south. He could barely see anything, but this wasn’t about him; it was all for her . Her jaw slackened as two fingers dipped into her cleft. The soft gasp that left her told him what she’d found.

Jasper’s cock throbbed violently with the need to be buried right where she was.

Soon …

“Are you wet for me, Sweetbriar?” he asked.

“Yes.”

His voice emerged like pure gravel. “Show me.”

Obediently, she lifted two fingers that glistened wetly with her arousal. Fuck . He bit back a groan at her dripping fingers.

“Good girl,” he said, her entire body quivering with pleasure at the praise. “Now put them in your mouth and tell me how you taste.”

Briar went still, her eyes boring into his. “You want me to taste myself.”

“Yes.”

His body felt hot and on edge as they stared at each other.

She seemed curious, not repelled, but everyone had their limits.

Was this when she would finally ask him to stop?

Jasper knew they were crossing lines that few gently bred ladies would have any inkling of, and making her crawl to him like this and then lick her own arousal were intense, especially for a novice.

But his daring virago didn’t resign. No, she held his gaze as she lifted her fingers slowly, that small pink tongue darting out to lick the moisture off the tip of her index finger. He didn’t even have to tell her to suck as she sank both digits into her mouth and moaned. She fucking moaned .

“Words, Briar.” Fuck, he could barely find coherence himself.

“Sweet.” She slid her tongue between her fingers, making him suck in a breath as he imagined that mouth around his cock.

His staff throbbed in his hand, and he cursed softly, the entire game forgotten. “How are you this fucking perfect?”

With a pleased smile, she grinned at him like a devious siren, that emerald gaze flashing with mischief when she went back into position on all fours.

Dazed, Jasper watched as she crawled the rest of the way to him and placed her hands on his knees. The shy innocence from her face earlier was gone. In its place was a woman who had shed her inhibitions and now had something new in her sights.

Him .

“My turn?” she purred, pushing his knees wide and wedging her way between them.

The switch in disposition had Jasper reeling.

Hell, how had the tables turned so thoroughly?

She was no longer the submissive, shy kitten who had crawled across the room to him.

No, this was Lady Ivy , in the flesh. She peered up at him through a fringe of dark lashes, taking the corner of her lower lip between her teeth .

“Words, Jasper.”

He wanted to chuckle at her playful tone as she stole his earlier words, and if he wasn’t so choked up by his feral arousal, he would.

As it was, even her breath feathering over his groin had him thinking about anything else but the feel of those lips gliding over the length of him.

His cock bobbed, and he squeezed ruthlessly, throttling back the orgasm that had been building at the base of his spine from the moment she’d said, put me on my knees .

“Yes,” he ground out. “Touch me.”

“You’re wet, too,” she said, swiping a finger through the mess of fluid on his crown.

He'd been stone-hard and leaking like a faucet since he kicked the door shut.

He nodded, hissing at the sensitivity as she scooped the moisture up and brought it to her lips.

Her eyelids fluttered as she savored him on her tongue.

Fuck me .

Savoring him, Briar licked her lips, and it took every ounce of his concentration not to grip hold of that gorgeous wealth of hair and drag that lush mouth onto him, but this was her show.

She tugged at his fingers, releasing his grip on his shaft, and made a contented noise in her throat when the whole of him was visible to her greedy gaze.

She traced the vein along the underside with a fingertip, making him hiss again when she crested the top.

“Does that hurt?” she asked.

“No. It feels good. Too good.”

“Do you want more?”

“Yes,” he groaned when she leaned over to blow a stream of air on him.

Jasper was at her mercy. She would set the pace and lead where she wanted. If she wanted to torture him, he would endure. If she took it further, he would be grateful. If she wanted to stop, he would. He might die, but he would obey.

He’d do anything for her.

Luminous green eyes met his as she inched closer between his legs. “May I?”

“ Please .” The word was an unhinged sound.

His eyes rolled back in his head when she closed her hot mouth over him, swirling her slick tongue around the tip, her small hand replacing where his had been.

Her fingers didn’t touch, and her grip barely covered half of him, but when she worked his shaft counterpoint to the deep suction of her mouth, he saw fucking stars as he hit the back of her throat.

“Fuck, love, like that. Yes .”

Her mouth felt like liquid velvet, the soft press of her tongue driving him wilder with each seductive pass. Jasper was already beyond aroused, and her enthusiasm made up for her lack of experience. But after only a minute or two, he pulled her gently off him. He wasn’t going to last.

“I’m not finished,” she protested, wiping her lips.

He winked. “I know, but in my book, ladies come first.”

In a glorious display of well-muscled flesh, the earl reached underneath her arms and rose, taking her with him as if she weighed nothing. Briar knew he was strong, but she couldn’t help an appreciative sigh from escaping.

Wrapping her legs around his waist for purchase, she clung to him as he walked them both toward the bed. With each step he took, she bit back her whimpers when her sensitive nipples abraded against his coarse chest hair and her drenched core slid against his grooved abdomen.

She was obscenely wet after pleasuring him.

Licking her swollen lips, Briar savored the decadent, earthy taste of him that lingered on her tongue. She leaned into the gratification she’d felt when she’d taken Jasper into her mouth and the noises he’d made, even the hedonistic enjoyment she’d felt tasting her own arousal.

Ever since she’d first written a scene involving pleasuring a man by mouth, she had wanted to try it.

Briar had no idea if she’d demonstrated much skill, but from Jasper’s shudders and moans, he had to have liked it.

He’d almost been too thick to fit in her mouth, and she could barely take much of his length inside without gagging, but she’d enjoyed every second of it.

Her cheeks were hot from how brazen she’d been, but well, Lady Ivy wouldn’t have any shame.

You’re not Lady Ivy.

No, she wasn’t, but Lady Ivy had become the understated symbol of a sexual revolution, especially as it pertained to this and the fact that women were also deserving of pleasure.

The ideas of morality that sexual intercourse was sinful or dirty were archaic notions.

Having—and enjoying—an orgasm had no impact on a woman’s modesty or her ability to be a good wife and mother.

If anything, it made women happier and healthier.

As Minthe had succinctly said, the divine creator wouldn’t have included a button if they didn’t want someone to press it. Repeatedly .

Briar couldn’t help her grin at the courtesan’s irreverent words. But Minthe wasn’t wrong. People weren’t born with shame—it was a learned and taught self-conscious behavior. Shame had no place when it came to loving every part of oneself.

“I can feel how wet you are,” Jasper said when they reached the bed, his hands sliding down to the curves of her bottom. She froze. Clearly, from her splayed position, she’d smeared her arousal all over him.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured automatically, and then realized she wasn’t sorry at all. Men didn’t apologize for being hard—it was a natural response. “Wait, I’m not .”

He grinned. “You shouldn’t be, I’m desperate to get my mouth on you so that I don’t waste another drop.

” And that was all the warning she got before he tossed her to the mattress and dove between her legs like he was starving and hadn’t had a meal in weeks.

“Fuck, you’re stunning here, too. I knew you would be.

All pink, claret, and dewy, like a blossoming rose. ”

“I…” Words failed her as he smirked, staring up at her like a devoted sybarite from between her thighs.

God, it was indecent seeing herself open like this…with him right there , her most private place on display. She instinctively tried to close her knees, but he held them open.

“Stop whatever it is you’re thinking right now, Briar. And don’t you dare hide from me.”

“I’m not. I wasn’t.”