He held Tess’s gaze, savoring the perfect beauty of her smile, the giving warmth. Her generosity of spirit was what had drawn him to her from the first, but she awed him in so many ways.
He would never get enough of her, Ian knew. Yet physical desire was only part of his attraction. There was something deeply satisfying about just sharing her company. Even simple things somehow seemed new again to him. Every moment with Tess was like discovering something he’d never known was missing.
When he had bared her lovely body, he kissed her nape as he let down her hair, luxuriating in the sable tresses that fell in lustrous waves down her back. Then he attended to the delectable skin of her shoulder, which naturally led his lips down her arm to the ripe swell of her breast.
As he laved the budded nipple with his tongue, Tess sighed and wound her fingers in his hair.
“I always thought you the most vexing man alive,” she admitted in a breathless murmur, “but now I am inclined to think you the most wonderful man alive.”
“I am not quite the arrogant devil I once was,” Ian agreed, lifting his head. “In fact, I’ve been humbled by love.”
“You, humbled? I’ll never believe it.”
Her smile tantalized him as always, but the loving laughter in her eyes was new. He relished that look, relished the hint of challenge in her tone. He suspected she would have continued
provoking him, but he kissed her again, seducing her mouth into silence with his ardor.
Tess reciprocated, her lips melding with his, her hands touching him in a way that made him breathless with need.
When the heat grew nearly unbearable, Ian led her to the bed and drew her down. For a time they held each other … embracing, kissing, caressing, cherishing, leaving arousal everywhere they touched.
He ached to be inside her and yet he wanted to go slowly, to make this moment last. They fondled and stroked until they were both flushed and aroused to the point of trembling.
Only then did Ian shift to cover Tess’s lithe, lush body. Easing between her thighs, he braced his weight on his forearms so that he could gaze down at her, wanting to watch her eyes as she went wild beneath him.
She was already awash with wanton desire, he could tell from her quivering response. And she was incredibly hot and wet for him, Ian discovered as he tenderly thrust inside her.
Yet it was the way Tess watched him that took his breath away. Golden firelight bathed her face and turned her dark eyes brilliant, the expression on her face one of joy.
The sight made his chest hurt with love.
“I’ve waited forever to love you like this,” he said reverently.
Her features etched with passion, Tess clasped her legs around him and arched her back, drawing him in further.
“So have I,” she admitted, her fever-bright eyes shining into his.
Caught in the magic of her dark gaze, he began to move, feeling Tess surround him, feeling Tess love him. Stark hunger and tenderness poured from him as they rocked together in ancient rhythms, intensifying the fire between them, the raw wanting.
When Tess softly moaned his name, Ian sank even deeper, claiming her as his own, filling her until she was gasping, until she was pleading, until they were both shaking with desire.
“My wife, my love …”
“My husband …”
Tess gave herself to him, body and heart and soul. Her moans turned to sobs that were echoed by his deep, guttural groans. Their bodies twisted feverishly together, writhing, clenching, until at last the powerful explosions left them gasping and replete.
As the pulsing ecstasy receded, Ian slowly withdrew and turned onto his back, pulling Tess with him, holding her possessively. It still stunned him, how powerfully she affected him. No woman had ever shattered his sense of reality the way Tess did. She consumed him, enchanted him.
Too sated to move, he lay with her, their limbs tangled together, their heartbeats slowing. After a while, Ian brushed his lips against her temple and peered down at her. The fire glowed, gilding her lovely face. Her eyes were closed now, but the blissful contentment on her beautiful features spoke volumes.
Ian felt the same contentment, along with a fierce, primal satisfaction, knowing that Tess’s passion was something he alone could summon.
When he traced his fingertips along the rise of her cheek, she stirred enough to open her eyes.
“Fanny was right,” she said dreamily. “Lovemaking is even more wonderful when you are in love.”
Ian smiled. “I couldn’t agree more … although it still startles me to hear you spout romantic wisdom from a notorious Cyprian.”