Page 35 of The Truth Serum (My Lady’s Potions #2)

She didn’t think that was a big promise. Honestly, she’d heard it lots of times. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you’re safe. In fact, Fletcher often said it.

But Nate meant it. Nate had never hurt her. He’d gone ashen when he’d just squeezed her hand. She really would always be safe with him.

The moment she understood that, everything inside her crumpled.

All of her reserve, all of her doubts, and all of her strength…

disappeared. They fell into him, or around him, or somewhere she couldn’t name.

In that moment, he became part of her. He became we .

For better or worse, richer or poorer, for the rest of her life.

She was now a we . With him. And it felt so right.

She kissed him. She pressed her lips to his, opening his mouth and pushing her tongue in. She felt his reaction, the surprise and the welcome. And then, he met her and dueled with her.

And typical to the annoying man, he gently gripped her arms and pushed her back.

“Becca. I am not here for that.”

Frustrating man. She was beginning to think he didn’t want her.

“Do you know,” she said, “I have done all that I was told for the last ten years. I have kept my brother’s house, been handmaiden and doctor to my mother, and served my village as the face of my family.

Tonight, before I return to appeasing Fletcher, I would like to have one thing for myself. One night. With you.”

His eyes looked anguished as need gripped him.

“Don’t go back tomorrow. Stay safe. Ras will protect you.”

“And then who will distract the baron?”

He looked tortured by the question. He had no clear answer. She saw that in his face, and she smiled.

“I am my own woman,” she said. “I make my own choices. And tonight, you are my choice.”

He swallowed. “I won’t take your virginity. I won’t take away your ability to marry.”

He already had. How could she marry anyone else but him, now that they were one? But she didn’t say that. Instead, she leaned in for another kiss.

“Becca,” he whispered. “Are you sure?”

She’d never been so sure of anything in her life. At sixteen, she had questioned, even as she said yes. Tonight, she wanted to feel safe. And she wanted to feel alive.

“Yes,” she said as she pulled apart the ribbon that tied her shift. Then she kissed him again. He supported her weight, his hands on her shoulders, both keeping her close and keeping her from descending further into his kiss. And when she lifted away from him, she smiled.

“Yes,” she repeated. Then she stood up. With a simple shrug of her shoulders, she let her shift slip off her body. It clung for a moment, hanging on her breasts. She inhaled, lifting it higher, then let it slip down with her next exhale.

His gaze tracked it. His eyes were hot as they watched the fabric pause on her hips, then fall all the way down to pool at her feet. She stood naked before him, and the flare of heat in his eyes kept her from feeling anything but desired.

Right now with him, she felt beautiful, seductive, and oh, so alive. It was as if the blanket of the last ten years had been pulled away. Or perhaps it was a protective coat that she stepped out of. Only one thought made her pause.

“Your ribs,” she said. “Will they—”

“They are nothing compared to my desire for you,” he said as he pulled her forward. “God, let me look at you.”

His gaze traced her curves, his hands skimmed over her collarbone and breasts. And his body grew taut. She knew enough of men to see the lift in his pants. He wanted her. And she wanted to see him. She wanted to know his possession. She wanted to touch him the way he once touched her.

“Take off your clothes,” she said.

He swallowed even as he levered himself upright. “Not everything off. Becca, I have wanted this for so long, I don’t trust myself.”

She stretched up her arms, lifting her breasts and breathing deeply for the first time in ages. It was so freeing to be naked. To be so before him, seeing the way his hungry gaze followed her every movement—it made her feel precious.

“Stay like that,” he said.

“What?”

He reached up and wrapped her left hand around one of the posts of the canopy. Then he tugged her other hand forward, setting it on the headboard. That made her lean down, her breasts dangling so delightfully in front of him.

He skimmed his hands down her arms then, around her breasts, to settle on her hips.

“Such a sight,” he murmured.

“Nate—”

“Don’t move.”

He cupped her breasts then. First one, then both. He drew them up, squeezing them, pinching her nipples, one after the other.

She gasped as sensation shot through her body. Her back arched and her spine lengthened. Everything in her was stretching for him, but her hands and her legs kept her back. All while he touched her everywhere.

He focused on her breasts, kneading them while she murmured in delight. Then he set his mouth to them. And as his tongue teased her nipples, she shivered. Her womb tightened reflexively, and she gasped when he began to suckle. One hand squeezed while his mouth pulled.

Fire rolled through her, up and down from her nipples to her womb, then flashing outward. Her breath came in gasps and her weight shifted on her feet. She didn’t want to be standing. She wanted more. She wanted…

He fell back on the bed, his one hand on her breast continuing to work. But the other hand slipped down her belly.

“Can you stay standing?” he asked. “Can you keep from crying out?”

She nodded not because it was a coherent answer but because she did not want him to stop what he was doing. She would say yes to everything—anything—so long as he continued. He must have understood because his free hand slipped lower. It pushed into her curls and slid between her thighs.

She bucked at the feel of something touching her there. Her legs spread without her willing it. Her body knew what he was doing, though her mind was whited out with sensation. His finger pushed between her folds. His fingers on her nipple pinched in a pulse that throbbed in every part of her body.

“Let me move,” she whispered. “Let me feel—”

His fingers curled and he thrust one inside her. She cried out, her mouth pressed against her arm to muffle the sound.

“Just feel,” he whispered.

She could do nothing else. His one finger thrusting in her, then pulling out. Then thrusting in again. In and out, first one finger, then more. Two fingers. In and out.

Her back arched, her mouth opened on a silent gasp.

In and out. He stretched her.

“More,” she said, her voice a hoarse rasp.

This time when he pulled out, he slid his fingers upward. He rolled through her folds, and then there was the rough brush of his callused finger across her… Across…

Lightning flashed behind her eyes.

Her body bucked.

And suddenly he stilled. “Have you felt this before?” he asked.

“What?”

“Do you know what this is?”

“What?” She had no mind to understand him. All she knew was that it was wonderful. It was all-consuming. “Nate” she gasped. “Please.”

“Don’t scream,” he said. And then he began to stroke her.

Deep inside, then the slow withdrawal. It was that part she relished as he moved over her most sensitive place.

In and out, then the deep slide.

He kept going, never long enough, never hard enough. Until she began to bear down.

She arched against him, and he didn’t pull away.

She ground down as he moved.

She thrust her hips up and down.

She took what she wanted as tension built. Pleasure built. Everything built.

Until it exploded.

A burst of ecstasy. Light flashing outward behind her eyes. Pulsing again and again.

It was wonderful.

She rode the waves with abandon. No thought, no question, just a rolling float of yes.

And when it was done, she sighed happily against his chest.

His chest? Good lord, she had collapsed on top of him. Well, that was a nice place to land.

“That was wonderful,” she whispered as she pressed a kiss to his skin.

“Never had a quickening before?”

“Never. Why didn’t you show me that when I was sixteen?”

He snorted. “Because I was nearly as ignorant as you.”

“Well,” she said slowly. “I’m glad you learned.”

“I’m glad you let me show you.”

“Does that happen every time?”

“It should.”

She smiled. “Hmmm. I like that.”

He grinned.

“But what of you?” she asked. Her gaze slid down to where his organ was a clear bulge in his clothing.

“What do you know of men?”

“I’ve tended to sick men before. I know what it looks like on the old and very young.”

He touched her chin, bringing her gaze back up to his. “I am neither.”

“And so, I am curious.”

He chuckled. “You were always curious.”

“Will you teach me?”

His gaze grew fond, his expression hot. But in the end, he looked away.

“I fear I am teaching you too much.”

She thumped his chest in annoyance. “You will not choose what I learn,” she said. “I have always found a way to learn what I want. My parents could not stop me. Fletcher has never stopped me. And you will not either.”

His expression tightened. “Are you saying you will learn this from another man?”

No. She wouldn’t. But she let the suggestion stand.

“You will not!” he growled. Then he caught her chin and pulled her in for a kiss. It was deep and possessive. And she loved it.

Then when she pulled back, she arched her brows at him. “Show me, Nate. Please.”

And so he did. He unfastened his pants and his falls. He opened up his body to her gaze, and he waited in taut patience as she looked.

As she touched.

As she explored.

“God, you’re going to kill me,” he groaned as she continued to caress him. Her touch was light, her explorations gentle, but still, his breath tightened as if in pain.

“You want something different?” she asked, knowing he was holding back for her sake.

He didn’t answer except to guide her hand. He showed her how to hold him, how tight to squeeze. And when he began to thrust into her hand, she gloried in the way he watched her, as she watched him, eye to eye while pleasure suffused his expression.

His breath shortened. His mouth pulled tight as he thrust into her hand. But always, his eyes held hers with such intensity that she felt as if she were his whole world.

She knew it was the reality of the moment. But it still locked inside her heart. It made what they were doing something shared. As if she were integral to his pleasure and not just any willing woman.

She was part of his we , and that made her exquisitely willing.

His pleasure built quickly. His thrusts were powerful, and she struggled to restrain his movements. She needn’t have worried. Soon, he threw back his head as he climaxed.

She watched in fascination, seeing the pulse of his seed and remembering her own contractions. So that was how it was meant to be. His thrust matching her contraction. And if they pulsed as one, their bodies would bring seed and womb together.

“Amazing,” she whispered.

He laughed. It was a kind sound, filled with humor and sweetness as he caressed her cheek.

“From now on, I will never stop you from learning. Anything you want. Any time you want.”

She grinned. “I shall hold you to that.”

He chuckled. “I’m sure you will.”

“Right now.”

He lifted his head. “What?”

“I have more questions. And you shall answer.”

He blinked. “What?”

She squeezed his organ as a pretend threat. She would never hurt him, but it was enough to get his attention.

“Becca!” he cried.

She eased her grip. “I want to know everything.”

“What?”

“What you have been really doing for the last ten years. More than you told us all tonight.”

“Becca, I cannot tell you everything.”

“I will not press for details, but you will explain.”

He nodded slowly. Then he gently pulled her hand off his organ. Fortunately, he had a handkerchief available to clean himself. She helped. There was water and cloth nearby. But when it was done, she sat on the bed beside him.

“Tell me everything,” she said. “Please.”

“On the condition that you do the same. You must tell me what happened to you. What have you done since I left.”

“Agreed.”

And so their bargain was struck. And hours flew by as they talked.

They should have been more careful. They should have known they hadn’t all the time in the world. But just like when she was sixteen, she lost track of everything but him. And so when morning came, it was a shock to them both.

Especially when the maid walked in to find her asleep in his arms.