Yes, she was all right. But she could have not been. Those bruises could have been on her face if someone in the crowd had given in to their rage....
“Cass!”
He jerked out of the dark hole he’d descended into as one warm hand settled on his and another settled on his face.
“Are you okay?”
Briony’s face came into focus, her eyes concerned, her brows drawn together in a worried frown.
“Yes.” He started to push her away, but when he laid his hand on top of hers, his fingers slid across her skin. God help him, he couldn’t pull away.
He wasn’t sure who moved first. He didn’t really care. All he knew was that one moment they were staring at each other and the next their lips were fused together in the most incredible kiss he’d ever experienced. He stood and pulled Briony to her feet, their mouths never parting as he gently unwound the towel from her hair and sank his hands into the damp tresses. She moaned, her lips parting beneath his as her hands slid under his jacket, her fingers splaying across his chest and burning through the material of his shirt.
His hand drifted down her neck, eliciting a sigh that filled him with an ecstasy he couldn’t even begin to describe. His fingers drifted over the softness of her robe, grazed the base of her throat, then went lower still...until he paused. He wanted to feel her, all of her, finally claim what he had been dreaming about for weeks. But did he deserve it? She may have forgiven him for his deception, but she had one of the most innocent natures he’d ever encountered, despite the hardship life had dealt her. If he touched her, claimed her body after what he’d done, would that make him like the other monsters who had taken advantage of her?
Her back arched. One corner of her robe slid off her shoulder, and his fingers fell onto the full swell of her breast. He groaned as he cupped her in his hand, a finger sliding gently over her nipple and savoring the tightening as her hips thrust against his. Torn between wanting to relish the moment and wanting to see her naked, he wrenched his lips from hers. Her frustrated growl slid into a satisfied sigh as he pressed his mouth to her cheekbone, trailed his way down her neck and then captured one taut nipple in his mouth. Each suck, each delicate nibble, each moan made his blood burn so hot he was amazed they didn’t both burst into flames.
As he turned his attention to her other breast, her own hands made quick work of the buttons on his shirt. He nearly came undone when her fingers found his bare chest.
“You feel so good,” she murmured into his hair as she struggled to tug his jacket, then his shirt off.
He lifted his head, ripped the clothes off his torso, then yanked the robe completely off her shoulders before he captured her in his arms once more. As her naked breasts pressed against his chest, he kissed her. Each press of his lips to hers spoke what he couldn’t admit to himself...
You are mine.
When her hand drifted lower and slid down the growing bulge in his trousers, he groaned. Somehow, he summoned enough will to pull back.
“Briony...are you sure?”
She surged forward, throwing her arms around his neck as she kissed him again. He leaned down, slid his arms beneath her thighs and picked her up. He nearly lost it when she wrapped her long legs around his waist and pressed her body against his. They moved to the bed, tongues dueling, hands caressing, hearts pounding.
His legs hit the edge of the bed. He knelt down, slowly easing her back onto the mattress. Finally, she let go of her hold around his waist. He pulled back slightly, smoothed the hair back from her forehead. Emerald eyes glowed at him with a lust so intense he could barely stand the hardness between his thighs. He wanted to take her—now—but he would not rush. Not the first time he made his future wife truly his. He would erase every memory of any other man she’d ever been with. Regardless of the business nature of their arrangement, he would ensure that the intimate nature of their marriage would be more than satisfactory.
When he fully straightened, Briony let out a mewl of protest that quickly descended into a sigh of appreciation as he unzipped his pants and shoved them down his hips. Her eyes flared as he bared his body to his gaze.
At last, he was naked. Her appreciative smile made him feel like a god.
“You’re beautiful.” She winced. “I mean, handsome.”
He chuckled as he knelt on the bed once more.
“Thank you. So are you.” He slid one hand along the folds of her robe still tied about her waist. “Your turn.”
Briony swallowed hard. Was she ready for this? Did she truly want tonight to be her first time? Just hours ago, she had been reminding herself to keep her distance from Cass, to not let herself get too involved.
As she looked up at Cass’s magnificent body looming over hers, she knew with a certainty that yes, she wanted this. Needed this.
She smiled and nodded. Cass reached down, undid the belt of her robe and slowly parted the material. Her hands fisted in the silky sheets of the bed as she waited with bated breath.
“Stunning.”
Her entire body warmed as Cass breathed out the one word. And then he moved with lightning speed to lean down, caging her between his arms as he sucked her nipple into his mouth. She arched off the bed with a little shriek as he made love to her breasts, sucking and nipping and kissing.
“Cass, please,” she whispered as a tension started to build inside her, somewhere deep that made her ache.
He chuckled against her skin.
“Soon,belle.”