“Won’t it?” He sounded unconcerned. “That remains to be seen.”
She watched him a moment as he stripped off his stockings, breeches, and smallclothes. He seemed entirely comfortable with his own nudity, but she felt her breath quicken. When he’d bedded her the day before, she’d been in shock, only half aware of what was going on. Now she was wide awake, her senses almost too alert to him. He stood tall and proud, his skin an even light brown over his entire body. His arms and shoulders were leanly muscled, like a laborer’s. She remembered that he’d told her he’d had to hunt for his food. There was black curling hair on his chest, but it wasn’t thick, and she could see the dark brown points of his nipples.
Her gaze wandered downward, drawn inevitably to what lay between his thighs. The hair was thick and black there, as if to highlight his cock, standing boldly. He was hugely erect, the veins of his penis standing out, the head glistening with moisture. The whole was beautiful and at the same time intimidating in his obvious intent.
When she raised her eyes to his, he was watching her. He nodded and cupped himself. “This is for you. Look your fill.”
“What if I don’t want it?”
“Then you lie.”
That sent a spurt of anger through her. “I think I have the ability to know when I want something or not.”
He shook his head. “Not in this case. You’re new to lovemaking. You haven’t experienced a fraction of what can be between a man and a woman.”
She was warm now, and wet, but she still addressed him testily. “And if you show me all that can be and I’m still not interested, will you desist then?”
“No.” He strolled toward her, implacably confident. “You’ve given yourself to me. That choice has already been made.”
“But why me?” She truly didn’t understand. Why now? Why her? “Do you love me?”
“Love has nothing to do with it,” he said, and pulled the covers from her body. “This is much more basic than love. You belong to me, and I intend to demonstrate that fact to you.”
“Reynaud,” she said softly, using his name for the first time, hating the pleading in her voice. She was so disappointed that this wasn’t love to him. She wasn’t interested in his “more basic” feeling. She wanted his love.
He climbed into the bed and reached for her chemise. She didn’t resist him, because the reality was that she couldn’t. He was right and a part of her acknowledged it. She had given herself to him. She did belong to him on some basic level that seemed to bypass love altogether.
And maybe, just maybe, she wanted to watch his face as he lost control in her again.
Then it was too late for analyzing and worrying. He’d bared her body, and she lay before him like a feast for a starving man. He just looked for a moment, sitting beside her, not moving, only his eyes roaming over her. She felt her nipples crest as if displaying themselves for him. His face was grave. He reached out and touched her right nipple with only one finger.
Lightly. Delicately. Devastatingly.
She swallowed, feeling the heat build at her center.
“You are so pretty,” he said, his voice deep and rough. He circled that one nipple with his finger, his touch so light it might have been a feather, and she shivered. “Your skin seems to glow from within, and it’s soft, so soft.”
His finger wandered down, lightly tracing the undercurve of her breast and then skimming over her skin to her other breast. She breathed shallowly, the very lightness of his touch making her tremble with need.
“Your nipples are pink,” he whispered, brushing over the tip. Her nipples were so tight they ached. “But they deepen to rose as they come erect. I wonder if I sucked them if they would turn red like cherries?”
She closed her eyes, feeling that one point of contact, so slight and so erotic. This wasn’t what she’d expected when he’d declared his intent. She thought he would act quickly, consummate his desire in fast, hard moves.
Instead this was a slow, unhurried seduction.
His finger was wandering down over her ribs, gliding over her belly, circling her navel. She sucked in her tummy; the touch was almost tickling.
“So soft,” he crooned. “Like velvet.”
He was trailing lower, and her whole attention was focused on that finger and where it was headed.
“Spread your legs,” he murmured.
Her heart leaped in alarm. “I… I . . .”
“Beatrice,” he said darkly, “spread your legs for me.”
Maybe it was because her eyes were closed—if they’d been open, if she could see him looking at her so intimately, she wouldn’t have been able to do it. But as it was, she widened her thighs.