“As you wish, my lady.”
Mia walked up the steps wondering why he wasn’t immediately following her. If she couldn’t put on the sheer nightclothes made for tonight, what was she to do? She looked at the few items on his dressing table. Lifting the cork out of one bottle, she inhaled the spicy scent that was pure Simon.
“What are you doing?”
She turned at the sound of his voice. “I love this scent.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
The room closed in on them as he stepped close. “I’m so glad you didn’t take your hair down.”
“Why?”
He reached behind her and withdrew one pin. “Because I want to do that too.” He slowly pulled each pin out of her hair until it cascaded down her back. “You have the most glorious brown hair.”
“But it’s brown.” She had always envied her sister’s fiery red hair.
“And filled with streaks of gold.” He cupped her face with his large hands and kissed her slowly, languidly.
Mia savored the heat of his kisses but desired so much more. She backed away before smiling at him. “I don’t believe you will need this on.” She skimmed her hands up his chest and then slid his jacket off his broad shoulders. She unbuttoned his gold waistcoat but before she could remove it, Simon ripped it off.
He then untied his cravat. Mia pushed his hands away when he tried to unwrap it from his neck.
“I am supposed to be undressing you, remember?”
“You are taking far too long,” he said in a hoarse voice. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for this night?”
Wasn’t it only a week? “Hush, and enjoy the anticipation.” She went to work on his crisp white shirt next. After it was lying on the floor with the other pieces of clothing, she stared at his hard chest. The man was lined with muscles unlike any man she had ever seen. She traced her nails down his chest until he hissed.
“Turn around now,” he demanded.
Once she did, he moved her hair out of the way and set to work on the pearl buttons of her gown.
“I want to rip this off you,” he whispered.
“Don’t you dare!”
He nipped her neck with his teeth. “I won’t.”
Gently, he slid the gown off her and tossed it on a chair. Her stays hit the floor seconds later. Only then did he turn her back around to face him. He leaned back against the bedpost.
“Take off your shoes and stockings for me.”
Mia kicked off her shoes. Feeling like a seductress, she placed her leg on the end of the bed and l
ifted her shift to her knees. She untied the garter holding her stocking up and then slowly inched the stocking down over her calf and ankle. The sound of his shallow breathing gave her the confidence to lift her shift up to her thigh as she removed the next garter. Peeking a glance at him, she noticed the tight grip on the bedpost as if to keep him from touching her.
“Now the shift,” he ordered as the second garter hit the floor.
“As you wish.” She lifted her shift with excruciating slowness, exposing her skin to his gaze inch by inch. His eyes grew steely gray as the material slipped over her hips to her flat belly. He groaned as she exposed her breasts to his gaze. Finally, she yanked the garment over her head and let it fall to the floor.
“Dear God, you are beautiful.”
She closed the distance between them. “But you still have far too many clothes on for my taste. Sit down.”
Simon did as she ordered and sat on the edge of the bed. He clenched the coverlet in his fists as she bent over to remove his shoes. He was already about to burst but would give her this little bit of control for a while.