“He wouldn’t—”
“He might.” She heaved a sigh. “I’ve known him longer than you. But none of that matters one bit, Greg. Not anymore. We are eloping and I’ve thought about that afternoon we spent in Cordie’s parlor every day since you asked me to marry you. No one has ever touched me the way you did that day and—”
“I shouldn’t have—”
“And no one has ever loved me like you do. Even now.” She touched a hand to her heart. “I can’t believe you had a canvas and paints waiting for me. No one has ever done anything like that for me. I love you.” She tipped her head back slightly to better look him in the eyes. “I love you with all my heart, Gregory Avery, and I want you to touch me again, like you did that day. And I want—”
Greg claimed her mouth with his because he wanted the exact same thing and he wanted even more than that. He had, if he was honest with himself, wanted her from the very first moment he’d seen her. He finished with his buttons and dropped his jacket to the floor before starting on his waistcoat.
He lifted his head briefly and smiled down at his raven-haired temptress, clasping her dress to her chest to keep it from pooling at her feet. “Let your dress fall, Bella, and climb into bed.”
And she did, just that. Her chemise, which was slightly damp from the rain, clung to her curves and outlined her breasts, and Greg’s cock stiffened even more.
Bella slid to the middle of the bed and Greg couldn’t help but smile as he reached for one of her feet. “In the future, my dear, there’s no need to wear half-boots to bed.”
He quickly unlaced the first and then the second before discarding both over the side of the bed. Then he did, finally, pull his shirt over his head and was rather pleased when he heard her slight intake of breath at seeing his skin. He was, after all, just as mesmerized by her. It was good to know she found him as breathtaking as he found her.
Greg dropped onto the edge of the bed and tugged his Hessians from his feet before crawling across the bed until he hovered just over Bella. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” he asked as he brushed his fingers across her cheek and tucked a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. “It’s almost painful to be in the same room with you.”
“Painful?” She frowned.
“Mmm.” Greg let his fingers lightly trail from her neck to her collarbone before he finally cupped one of her perfect breasts in his hand. “I’m always wanting to do this.”
Bella sucked in a breath at his touch and Greg flicked his thumb across her peaked nipple.
“Oh, Greg.” Her pretty eyes widened.
“And this.” Greg dipped his head down and captured her other nipple, though the silk of her chemise, with his mouth.
Bella’s back arched and Greg smoothed his hand down her ribs and across her belly, tugging her chemise upward in the process. And then he tugged the ribbon on her drawers. Dear God, he wanted her like he’d never wanted anything else in his life.
He slid his hand into her drawers and parted her folds with his fingers. Then he pushed one finger into her heat, and he nearly came undone himself. Greg held her gaze and reveled in the dark passion in her eyes. Her pretty lips opened as he pressed further inside her and then retreated, over and over until she was writhing on the bed before him. He’d never seen anything so intoxicating in his life.
Bella clinched around his finger and grasped a handful of the bedclothes as a groan seemed wrenched from her.
She was so wet, so tight and his cock strained painfully in his trousers. Damn it all. He still had his trousers on. The last thing he wanted to do was pull completely from her warmth, but…
Greg pushed up to his knees and worked on the fastenings of his trousers. “Take your drawers off, Bella,” he said, barely recognizing his own voice from the huskiness.
* * *
Goodness! Bella had never felt so alive in her life. Every part of her nearly hummed, and her most private of places pulsed with need and ached for Greg’s touch once more. Nothing had ever felt so deliciously wonderful as she did right then. Wickedly, sinfully wonderful.
She took a steadying breath as she lifted her bottom from the bed and slid her drawers down her legs. Greg watched her intently as he pushed his trousers down his thighs and…
And Bella gulped. Goodness. What was he going to do with that?
“It might hurt a bit,” he said. “But only the first time.”
Yes, she’d heard that before. But there was nothing for it. Was he really going to fit? That was a much bigger concern.
Greg, however, did not seem concerned. He knelt between her legs and opened her wide for his view. And then he swept his fingers through her springy curls and brushed his thumb against her most sensitive point.
“Greg!” Bella sucked in a breath as the most delicious set of ripples washed over her.
The intensity of his green gaze held her enraptured and then…
He pressed the tip of him at her entrance and she sucked in a breath again. Oh, that did feel wonderful. And so did that, when he pressed himself in a bit further.