Griff nodded politelyto Rebecca who emerged from the drawing room, hastening up the staircase to his chamber before she engaged him in conversation. The earl’s widowed mother would immediately recognize a man’s arousal when she saw it. He hoped she wouldn’t detain Susan too long. He was ready to burst after the intimacy in the carriage. He dithered about removing his clothing while he waited for Susan to arrive. If the imminent tryst had been with a mistress, he’d have disrobed without hesitation. Susan was a lady, and his betrothed—a woman he respected. However, if he didn’t soon remove his breeches…
Throwing caution to the winds, he tore off his outer clothing, deciding at the last moment to leave on his smalls. No use frightening the woman, although she must have some inkling of his size after…
He reached for the bedpost, leaning his forehead against the cool wood when the memory of her touch made him dizzy with need.
He swiveled his head to the door at the sound of a soft click. Susan stared for only a second or two before hurrying toward him, her gray eyes full of lust and longing. He’d been concerned she may have begun to regret the intimacy in the carriage. His fears melted away when she put both hands on his chest, stood on tiptoe and licked a nipple.
He no longer needed the bedpost as his anchor. Susan was his rock, the woman who would keep him afloat when life’s challenges threatened to swamp him, the Lancashire lass who would defend her man against all comers. “Susan,” he growled, taking her hands in his. “Let me undress you.”
*
Susan turned herback to Griff lest he detect her hesitation. “There are tapes and hooks,” she explained, suddenly feeling silly. As if she were the first woman he’d undressed.
Apparently sensing her concerns, he put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. “You and I are embarking on a long journey together, Susan,” he said. “It’s important we have trust. I admit I’ve bedded other women, but I’ve never felt for any of them what I feel for you.”
“I’m just nervous,” she admitted. “It’s ironic I consider myself an expert in all things, but I don’t know the first thing about pleasing a man.”
He took her hand and curled it around his arousal. “Does it appear to you I am not pleased? Your touch sets me alight.”
Fascinated by the dusting of dark hair on his chest, and the warm fullness in her hand, she found it difficult to be rational. “I agree we must be honest with each other. I confess my original intent was to make you think I was smitten with you.”
She wished she could take back the words. Now, he would doubt her sincerity.
He gathered her into his embrace, threw back his head and laughed heartily, which wasn’t the reaction she expected. “You’re not angry?”
“Well, I’m curious as to your ultimate goal.”
“To alarm you into rushing back to London and forgetting all about Orion.”
“And my plan was to make you think I was enamored with you in order to persuade you to part with Orion.”
“My plan went awry,” she murmured.
“As did mine,” he echoed, easing her away and peeling her bodice down to her hips.
“You’re an expert at this,” she allowed. “I didn’t even know you’d begun undoing the fastenings.”
She held on to his shoulders, eyes closed while he efficiently completed the task of stripping her. Finally, standing naked under his perusal, she prayed he would like what he saw.
“You are incredibly beautiful,” he rasped. “I can’t wait to make you mine.”
Drawn by insatiable curiosity she took hold of the waistband of his smalls. “I want to see all of you,” she whispered, peeling down the undergarment when he nodded.
She gasped when his manhood sprang free, a thick lance jutting from his body. A whole host of theories about male and female relationships suddenly made sense. She and Griff were made to fit together. “I want you,” she confessed.
Again, his chuckle wasn’t the response she expected. “I was afraid you’d be intimidated. I’m not a small man.”
“But, you’re so…”
Intoxicated by the sight and scent of an aroused male, she had difficulty finding the right word, finally remembering Orion. “So magnificent,” she exclaimed, falling to her knees. She licked the swollen tip, then took him into her mouth and suckled. It was an act of submission Susan the Bluestocking would never have agreed to.
Groaning, Griff gripped her shoulders.
The taste, the texture, the intimacy—all new, all heart-stoppingly wonderful. But it struck her with blinding clarity this joining wasn’t an act of submission at all. It was one of trust.
*
Griff hardly recognizedthe highly aroused man who stood naked, gripping the shoulders of an equally naked woman while she suckled.