“Hmmm?”
“If you would unfasten a few more buttons then I could see to the rest myself.”
“No.”
“I can’t move. It’s disconcerting, what with you kissing me everywhere.”
He wanted to tell her he hadn’t even begun to kiss her, but he didn’t. Not yet. “Don’t you like me to kiss you?”
There was pained silence, then, “It’s not too bad. Actually, it’s not bad at all, but it makes me nervous. It’s a prelude to other things that I know are horrid.”
“Hmmm,” he said, and the chemise straps joined the gown at her elbows. He pulled down the chemise. Unfortunately he couldn’t get it past her waist, but that was just fine. For now. He eased his hands around her, and without touching her breasts, he slipped the chemise down to her waist.
The breath whooshed out of her and she jerked away from him.
She whirled to face him, struggling desperately to pull the chemise and gown back up, but she couldn’t manage it. She could only cross her arms over her breasts.
“You look delicious.”
She was shaking her head. She took one step away from him, then another.
“I’m not going to rape you, Susannah.”
Her back was nearly against the wall now. He just smiled at her and walked toward her, saying nothing. When he reached her, he said, “I just want to put my arms around you. Lower your hands. I’m not even looking at your breasts. I’m not embarrassing you. Come closer, Susannah, and let me hold you. That’s all I want to do.” That was a lie of great tonnage, but who cared?
She didn’t move. He took hold of her wrists and lightly tugged until her arms were again at her sides. He didn’t look down. It was important that he keep looking her right in the eye. Then he drew her slowly against him. His arms were around her back. The feel of her was incredible. There was only his dressing gown between them, but it didn’t matter. He could feel the softness of her, the giving of her flesh. He wished he could rip off his dressing gown this minute. To feel her breasts against his chest—he shuddered, but held on.
“Kiss me, Susannah. Just a small kiss, just a kiss to tell me that you’re not too worried about all this, just a kiss to tell me that you like being my wife.”
She closed her eyes and pursed her lips.
He stared at those pursed lips. Hadn’t George even kissed her properly? He felt an odd moment of utter contempt, then even greater relief. He touched his fingertip to her mouth.
“Open your mouth just a little bit and bite the end of my finger. Not hard, just a little nip.”
Her eyes flew open. “Why?”
“No, that’s too wide. Just enough so you can get the end of my finger with your teeth. Why, you ask? Well, I doubt you’ll find it disgusting, and I would enjoy it.” His fingertip was soothing her bottom lip, light, easy, when she closed her eyes again, opened her mouth just a crack, and bit him.
It wasn’t a nip. On the other hand, he didn’t bleed. He laughed. “That was a start. Now, just a bit easier. Don’t try to draw blood, all right?”
He laid his finger on her mouth, waiting. Finally, she parted her lips, not far enough, but it was a start.
“Just a little bit more, Susannah.”
She nipped it just like he’d told her to. He felt a nice bolt of pleasure and wondered if perhaps she had as well. Then to his astonishment, she sucked on the end of his finger. He thought he would die right in that very instant, simply sprawl in a heap to the floor. He looked at his own finger in her mouth and thought he would go into convulsions.
She must have noticed how he stiffened, how his eyes had glazed over, because she immediately released him.
“Is that what you wanted?”
Her mouth was wet. It was very hard not to stare at her mouth. “It was a beginning,” he said. “Now I want to kiss you—nothing profane, Susannah, nothing threatening—just a light little kiss, but I want you to open your mouth a bit, just like you did to bite my fingertip.”
He didn’t give her time to protest, merely leaned down and found her mouth. “Part your lips,” he said against her mouth. She did, just a bit. Very slowly, he slid his tongue along her lower lip, then entered her mouth, just a very little bit.
She jumped, pressing her hands against his chest. But she couldn’t pull back because she was naked to the waist. He saw her dilemma in her eyes—such very expressive, beautiful eyes she had.
He slid his hands up her back, until he could reach his fingers around and lightly touch her earlobe. He pushed her hair away from her ear, always touching her warm flesh, and now he looked at her ear, then leaned down and kissed her, then slowly tugged on her earlobe. When he let his tongue trace the outline of her ear, she jumped again, only this time it was from surprise and, perhaps, from a bit of interest.