Oh, she really was a wicked temptress. His cock throbbed with the need to join with her. His heart ached for an opportunity to love her.
He swallowed deeply. “Let us find somewhere more comfortable before I lose my mind and take you here where we stand.” He grabbed her hand and opened the door nearest to them. “This room will do.”
Any damn room would do.
It was dark. The bed was too short and too narrow for his liking, although his personal comfort was not on his list of priorities. Banishing all other thoughts, he turned to focus on his delectable partner, surprised to find her busy loosening the ties on the back of her dress. He watched with wide eyes as the garment sagged at the bodice and shoulders, decided to sit on the end of the bed and enjoy the enthralling spectacle.
Perhaps noticing that his mouth hung open so wide he was practically dribbling, Isla gave a seductive wiggle, pushed the dress down over her hips and let it fall to the floor. Noting the absence of a corset or stays, he smiled inwardly. The woman was nothing if not unconventional. Sliding out of her petticoat to stand in just her chemise, she offered a bashful smile that bordered on being coy. His heart thumped in his chest. Hard and loud.
He waited for her to remove the last item, but noted her hesitation. With only a fine layer of cotton covering her modesty perhaps she felt self-conscious, a little embarrassed.
“Take it off.” He hadn’t meant to sound so commanding, but his husky tone betrayed the true depth of his desire. “I want to look at you. I want to gaze over every inch of your delectable form.”
A sensual smirk replaced a look of apprehension. She raised her hands in the air, challenging him to finish what she had started. “I might need a little help.”
Needing no other prompt, Lachlan jumped off the bed. He came to stand in front of her, placed his hands on her hips. Through the thin fabric he could feel the heat radiating from her skin, could feel the soft curve where her hips met her narrow waist. His hands moved up over her ribs to cup her breasts, lightly thumbed her nipples until she closed her eyes and a moan escaped from her lips. When she heaved and sucked in a breath, his confidence in his ability to please soared.
Balling her chemise in his fists, he resisted the urge to tear it from her body. Instead, he let it glide slowly up over her skin before raising it over her head. The material felt warm in his hand. He stepped back to survey God’s marvellous creation.
“Lachlan,” she chastised as she tried to hide her nakedness behind awkwardly positioned limbs. “There is no need to stare. I’m sure I am not the first woman you have gazed upon.”
He ignored her comment as she was the only woman who had ever captured his interest. “Don’t be shy. Let me see you.”
With a mild huff of protest, she dropped one hand but left the other on her hip. Never in his wildest imagination could he have envisioned such pure perfection. He almost choked at the sight of her luscious body. He drew his hand down his face as he tried to identify the strange emotion filling his chest. It didn’t matter how many women he’d seen naked or how many he’d pleasured. Being with Isla was an entirely new experience.
“Come here.” He threw her chemise onto the bed and beckoned her to step forward. Without any hesitation, she closed the small gap that separated them and fell into his arms.
The feel of her warm creamy skin pressed against his was …. well, he could find no words.
“Kiss me, Lachlan. Touch me as though the last few years had never happened.”
Lachlan claimed her mouth. The kiss was fierce, possessive, leaving her in no doubt she was his now. She clutched his shoulders, ran her hands through his locks. Nimble fingers played with the sensitive hair at his nape, twirling and teasing, sending a charge of energy down to his bulging cock straining against the confines of his trousers. She must have read his mind as her hands fluttered over his chest, even lower still.
“I can’t promise our joining will last for more than a few minutes,” he mumbled when she began fiddling frantically with the buttons on his trousers. “This may be our first time together,” he gabbled as he assisted her in stripping him bare. “But I promise you it will not be our last.”
After stepping out of his trousers, he gathered her up in his arms, aware of her shocked expression as she noted the size of his jutting erection. A wave of masculine pride coursed through him. Good Lord, he never been so hard in his life.
Dragging back the coverlet, he lowered her down onto the bed. A round mark on her hip captured his attention, and he made a mental note to ask her about it at a more appropriate time.
She looked up at him and tugged his hand, forcing him to focus. Her blue eyes brimmed with longing, with wonder. “Make me yours, Lachlan. For now. For always.”
Every sensual comment she made aroused him further. A guttural groan escaped from his lips as he came down on top of her and covered her body. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around him, rocked her hips as though she wanted him to take her there and then.
“Do you not want to take things slowly?” he asked as the tiny hands racing frantically over his back led him to believe otherwise.
Her golden locks brushed against the pillow as she shook her head. “Don’t wait,” she panted as she suddenly gripped his buttocks and pushed against him. “I need you now.”
Bloody hell. He would need the restraint of a monk to refuse such an irresistible request.
Rising from the bed and using his elbow to help support his weight, he took himself in hand to guide his erection until the head breached her entrance.
He stilled. “I assume you’re not a … a …” Damn, he could not form the word.
“No.” She paused. “I gave myself to Nikolai believing he was my husband.”
Hot, molten rage rushed through his veins. A vicious curse burst from his lips. It was what he had expected to hear. But the reality made him want to shout, roar, punch the walls until his knuckles bled and the pain obliterated all else.
She cupped his face and forced him to look at her. “It meant nothing to me, Lachlan. You know I was not myself when I married him. This is the first time I have made my own choice. I want you. It has always been you.”