“I like the way you think, my love,” Francis said, holding her closer.
The physical proximity and heated approval in Francis’s eyes—combined with the pure enchantment of the evening—pushed Priya over the edge. She was the daughter of a maharaja. She was an educated woman. She deserved to take charge of her own life and take what she wanted from it.
“I think that I would enjoy it very much if you were to escort me upstairs to your hotel room,” she said, astounded by her own brazenness.
Francis instantly stopped dancing and merely held her, almost as if her words had stunned him. He was holding his breath too. But though his body was frozen in surprise, his eyes sparkled, proving that his mind was racing.
“That is a very big step, Miss Narayan.” Priya felt as though he were teasing her with the more formal address. She could feel his desire in the tension of the way he continued to hold her, though. “Are you certain it is a step you wish to take?”
Priya drew in a breath, then nodded. “You’ve no idea how important it is to me,” she whispered.
For a moment, she was afraid she’d shocked him and that he would push her aside and call her a strumpet. But then he surged into her, clasping her face with both hands and kissing her with a passion that blasted away the last of her doubt. She wanted this. She wanted him. No matter what fate had in store for her, she wanted her first time with a man to be with someone she desired and whom she would have loved, if she’d been free to do so.
“Come,” Francis murmured as he broke their kiss and took her hand. He glanced around furtively, checking to see if anyone was paying attention to them, then hurried her back into the hotel.
The lobby was busy at that time of night as holidaymakers came and went from their evening plans, or simply used the hotel as their venue for the night. Most people were too involved in their own concerns to take any note as Francis whisked Priya around the corner of the lobby to the nearest staircase. It wasn’t the main staircase, but that was probably for the best, as it would be more discreet.
As it turned out, completely by chance, Francis’s room was on the same floor as Priya’s, though at the opposite end of the hotel. Francis fished his key out of his pocket as they climbed the stairs, meaning he could slip it into the door and draw Priya inside quickly, while no one else was on the hall.
As soon as the door was shut and locked behind them, Francis pulled Priya into his arms again for a kiss that was even more passionate than the one on the patio.
“Are you certain this is what you want,” he asked after the initial mating of their mouths, before diving in for another kiss that blew nearly every thought out of Priya’s mind.
“Yes,” she said as soon as she was able to pry her mouth away from Francis’s. “Oh, yes. Make love to me, Francis. Give me something to remember this night forever.”
Francis growled at that, the sound causing Priya to shiver from head to toe. She shouldn’t want to throw herself at the mercy of a man who had such a dangerous, powerful presence about him, but that didn’t stop her. She threw her arms over Francis’s shoulders and threaded her fingers through is hair, letting him back her toward the bed in the center of the room.
She wasn’t a complete innocent when it came to knowledge about copulation between a man and a woman. She’d found an illustrated copy of the Kama Sutra among her father’s second wife’s things several years ago, and she and her half-sister, Sunita, had pored through it, giggling the whole time. What those naughty illustrations hadn’t prepared her for was the practical irritation of removing layers of western-style clothing. That task was cumbersome and would have left her feeling clumsy and embarrassed, if Francis hadn’t helped her.
“You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he murmured, dropping kisses on her shoulders as he stood behind her, undoing rows of buttons. It was much quicker to have him undo them than it had been for her to twist and writhe to do them up without a maid’s help. “I could spend my life worshiping this skin.”
Priya sighed, knowing they wouldn’t have a lifetime, they would only have that one night.
She shimmied out of her skirts as soon as she was able, then turned to help Francis with the buttons of his waistcoat and shirt. There was something comfortable and domestic about the two of them helping each other undress, although as more layers of clothing dropped away, her heart raced harder and her hands began to shake.
Her breaths came in shallow gasps by the time Francis stepped out of his trousers, exposing himself fully to her. He was magnificent in every way, far better than any of the drawings she’d seen of nude men. His stomach was flat and muscular, his thighs were thick and strong, and his male parts were so intriguing that she couldn’t help but stare.
Of course, Francis caught her staring and laughed. “I am yours, my darling,” he said, easing her onto the bed and between the pulled-back bedcovers. “Whatever you’d like to do with me—look, touch, taste….” He arched one eyebrow at that as he spread her on her back in his bed, then set about removing her chemise and drawers, leaving her naked as well.
Taste? Priya could only imagine. She shivered at the thought.
Francis didn’t give her long to contemplate it, or anything else. He dipped down to capture her mouth in another kiss, and within seconds, Priya felt as though she were melting. She stroked her hands over his body, learning his curves and plains, and digging her fingertips into the muscles of his back. He was so perfect in physical form that she wanted to sing. His body felt wonderful against hers.
He explored her with his hands and mouth as well, leaving a trail of magic where his fingertips brushed her. She sighed with pleasure as he played with her breasts, then let out a surprised yelp that turned into a moan as he closed his mouth over one breast and teased her nipple with his tongue. Knowing how something was done was a far cry from experiencing what it felt like, and within minutes, Priya was lost in the sensations Francis gave her.
That reached a fevered pitch when he stroked a hand down her stomach and delved his fingers into the wetness between her legs. The pleasure was exquisite, and she moaned and wriggled into it, wanting more.
“You are amazing, my darling,” Francis growled, stroking her until she thought she might lose her mind. “You were made for loving, and I don’t think I will ever get enough of you.”
Priya made some sort of sultry sound in reply and moved her legs wider apart to give him everything he could possibly want from her. He hummed deep in his throat, his eyes going dark with desire, and slipped two fingers inside of her in response. Priya gasped at the invasion but bore down on him, loving the way it felt. He moved his fingers in and out, brushing his thumb against her clitoris as he did.
The effect was astounding. Priya mewled with passion and moved against his hand, grasping for everything he was giving her greedily. He must have liked her eagerness, if the sounds of enjoyment he made were any indication. But within moments, those sounds were eclipsed by her own cries as her body coiled tight, then released in wave after wave of shattering pleasure.
“Francis!” she gasped, riding the waves that overtook her.
“I’m right here, my love,” he said as he removed his hand.
He moved between her legs quickly and thrust into her before her body had finished throbbing with orgasm. It was a wise move, all things considered, because the moment of burning pain and discomfort that followed his invasion might have frightened her otherwise. She still cried out and winced, but Francis held himself firmly inside her, whispering softly against her ear.
“It’s alright, love,” he murmured. “It’ll only be a moment. Then it will all be beautiful.”
She nodded, and as it turned out, he was right. He kissed her, long and lingeringly, and when she relaxed under him, he began to move in her. The initial discomfort melted away, replaced by a unique sort of pleasure. She loved the feeling of being filled with him, of having him with her in the most intimate of ways. And as his pleasure mounted and his movements became more frantic, and his breathing heavier, she loved the feeling that she controlled his pleasure.
It was only a few more minutes of bliss before his movements reached a climax and he let out a moan of ecstasy. It was far more beautiful than Priya had ever imagined that moment would be. She embraced Francis with her arms and legs as he spent himself within her, then as his powerful body went lax and dropped to her side. She stayed with him, curling herself around him and stealing a few kisses as the intensity ebbed away, leaving only soft delight between them.
She found it charming that Francis fell asleep so swiftly, despite the way he stroked her face and kissed her and seemed to want to stay with her. She didn’t mind drifting off into slumber for a while either. She only wished she could stay with him through the whole night, through her entire life.