Page 41 of Sir Hugo Seeks a Wife (Cinderellas of Mayfair #1)

“Athene…” His passionate kiss made her bare toes curl against the brocade bedcover.

“Undo your breeches and lie down next to me.”

His gaze sharpened, as he ripped at the fastenings on his fawn breeches. “You mean to ride me.”

A wicked smile curved her lips. “I do. I don’t want you thinking of anything but pleasure. If you’re on top of me, you’ll worry about my injuries.”

“You’re my cherished bride. I don’t want any harm coming to you.”

How could she resist when he said such wonderful things? But then, what reason did she have to resist? None at all. “I appreciate your consideration. But if I don’t have you now, I’m going to burst.”

“We can’t have that. Think of the mess the servants will have to clean up.” With a laugh, he lay down beside her. “I’m at your disposal, my love.”

His cock stood proud through the gap in his breeches. The prospect of all that hot virility filling her dried the moisture from her mouth. Her intimate muscles clenched in anticipation. It had been too long since Hugo was inside her.

“It was clever of you to send the staff away,” she said idly, as she rose on her knees beside him. “It’s almost as if you planned this.”

His dimple deepened. “A man lives in hope.”

She laughed and took him in her hand, reveling in the contained power.

A surge of desire had her shifting fretfully.

For a second, she considered taking him in her mouth, but she was at the limit of her control.

A glance at Hugo’s strained features confirmed that his humor formed a thin veneer over a turbulent ocean of craving.

He groaned as she squeezed him. “Should I get you ready?”

“I’ve been ready for weeks.” She released him and shifted to straddle him. Flattening her palms on his pectorals, she maneuvered into place.

She wriggled until the head of his prick slid against her sleek entrance. He’d know now that she hadn’t exaggerated her readiness. With an unsteady hand, he reached down to position himself so when she sank down, he filled her to the hilt.

As she accommodated his size, she gloried in the delicious stretch. This placed the final seal on their vows. They hadn’t come together since confessing their love. While the words had been precious, Athene needed this physical proof of their union.

“Yes,” she hissed, closing her eyes to savor every second of this blissful intimacy.

He caught her hips in a loose clasp. For a long moment, they didn’t move, and the only sounds in the room were their erratic breathing and the crackle of the fire in the grate.

When Athene opened her eyes, she discovered such love in Hugo’s expression, her blood turned to syrup. She edged forward to kiss him with all the adoration in her heart. He groaned against her lips and tightened his grip.

“Are you all right?” he asked as she lifted, glorying in the change of angle. “No trouble with your ribs or arm?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt better,” she purred, settling back.

He undid the buttons down the front of her pelisse. “I dreamed of us together in this bed, you know.” The husky edge to his voice betrayed his struggle for control. “I feared it might never happen.”

Athene had expected this first tumble after the long hiatus to be fast and fierce.

But something about the empty house and the quiet and the winter sunlight streaming through the mullioned windows made her linger.

Tarry over every sensation. Use her body to express her profound love for this man, here where they’d set up their life together.

Something in Hugo’s face told her that he felt the same. He took his time sliding her pelisse off her shoulders. Then he undid the pearl buttons on the bodice of her pink merino gown.

Her yearning breasts mounded above her stays. He needed only to push away her filmy lawn shift to touch her. When he cupped her bare breasts in his large, adept hands, he set off a cascade of pleasurable shivers.

She released a broken breath as his thumbs grazed tight nipples. Very gradually she began to move, relishing the long glide.

“That’s it,” he muttered. “Don’t stop. I can feel how much you love me.”

“I do,” she sighed, hardly knowing what she said as radiant warmth enveloped her.

For a long time, she undulated over him, circling her hips until he reached the places that made her shake. The whole world glowed with desire. Athene bit her lip as the inevitable spiral to climax started. She was almost sorry their ecstatic communion veered toward an end.

Her movements became less controlled as Hugo bucked upward. For a dazzling moment, she poised on the brink, becoming one with the sunshine. Then she plunged forward into the brilliant light of invincible love.

He groaned as she convulsed around him. For the first time, she felt the hot rush of his seed inside her. The sensation was exquisite, unforgettable.

As the storm ebbed, she slumped across Hugo’s chest, gasping for breath. “I’ll love you forever, Hugo,” she whispered into his damp skin.

His arms closed tight around her. “Forever, Athene.”

Forever. What a perfect word.