Page 104 of Soulbound

Heat stirred pinkness through her cheeks. "You fool. I've been yours from the start."

And then she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and tipped her mouth to his, her body wilting in his arms.

His. Finally his. Sebastian's tongue drove into her mouth, his body screaming for sweet release.

He’d worried he might ruin this, earlier in their marriage, when all he knew of sex was pain and prostitution. But it was impossible to even think of Cleo the same way he’d thought of sex—of those other women his mother had forced him to service.

This felt new. Wondrous. A drugging sort of feeling that could consume a man, and make him whole again.

Sebastian drew back, gasping for breath, and their eyes met. Then his hand was sliding down the soft green silk of her skirts and capturing a handful of it, dragging it up. The brush of his fingers against her thigh made her suck in a sharp breath, and he could see every emotion she felt in her eyes; shock, pleasure, wonder, curiosity.

"Last chance, my love," he whispered, stroking his thumb up her inner thigh and feeling that delicious tension shiver through her.

"For you? Or for me?"

He captured her soft mouth in a kiss, sweet and gentle. "I made my choice, Cleo. Yes. The answer is yes."

She had no idea how very much he wanted to make love to her.

Or perhaps she did, for the walls between their bond were softening, and he was starting to catch a glimpse of her thoughts.

Oh, God yes. "Have we finished talking about it?" she breathed, and then that old flicker of mischief lit her brown eyes. "I swear I’m going to die of curiosity."

His fingers found her, brushing against the warm cotton of her drawers. Sebastian kissed her jaw, nipping at her throat as he worked his fingers through the slit in her drawers, and found the lush, wet heart of her. The blunt tip of his finger stroked its way down her seam, earning a shocked gasp.

"Sebastian!" Cleo captured his wrist, but she didn’t push him away.

"Is that answer enough?"

He stroked her slowly, parting her wet folds, and staring into her eyes as if he could capture the moment.

She writhed, sinking her teeth into that fleshy lower lip. A certain sort of shyness came over her. It had been different the other night, in the dark, when she didn't have to look at him. He felt it too.

"Cleo." He stroked the soft little nubbin of flesh between her thighs and she moaned and rolled her hips, "Don’t hide away from me. Look at me."

Their eyes met.

Her beautiful, beautiful brown eyes wide with wonder and desire.

"Have you never touched yourself before?" His lips skated across her throat, nuzzling at her ear.

"No," she gasped. "I just cannot believe…. Oh, oh, that feels…. Ohhh."

And he knew how it felt, for she was writhing now, her thighs pinned wide around his narrow hips.

He had the sudden, distinct urge to kiss her between her parted thighs, to plunge his tongue inside her, to shock her well and truly. And he was smiling to himself at the thought, surprised at how very innocent she was, she with her Visions, who claimed she knew exactly what went on between a man and a woman in bed.

Easing a finger inside her, he bit her throat as he worked his way within her. He wanted her wet and aching. He wanted this to be perfect. She clutched at his shoulders, holding on for dear life, her hair brushing against the mahogany surface of the desk. "Oh God, oh God, oh God."

Sebastian tugged at the buttons on the back of her dress, his lips working their way down her throat. He flicked his tongue against her skin, earning a small moan. "Lie back."

"On Bishop's desk?" She sounded scandalized.

"I'm fairly certain it's not as innocent as it looks."

Cleo clapped a hand over her eyes, her cheeks scarlet. "I cannot believe…. Oh, my goodness!"

"I’ve wanted to do this for a very long time," he whispered, nuzzling his face against her gown. It slipped from her shoulder, the lace of her corset clinging to the rosy tip of her nipple. Sebastian tugged it down, licking the gentle slope of her breast, his tongue darting over that pert nipple.