He couldn’t draw it out for long. Not when temptation sat inches away. He needed to taste her, needed to hear her cries. Needed to introduce her to a world of pleasure she’d never experienced before.
Needed to be the first man ever to do so. He had a past, and he couldn’t be prim about a woman with one, but he also couldn’t deny loving the idea he’d be many of her firsts, like some primeval claim.
My woman. Mine.He practically wanted to beat his chest.
When he swept his tongue over her delicate flesh, her hands flew to his head. Her fingers knotted into his hair as he loved her with his tongue then added in a finger, gliding in and out.
She tasted divine. He could have stayed there for an eternity. With each stroke of his tongue, she gasped and cried out, her sounds getting bolder. Her grip on his hair grew almost painful but Cillian couldn’t bring himself to care. All that mattered was her pleasure. He brought her close to the edge, her thighs tightening around him, and he thrust his finger in harder, faster whilst circling that one sensitive spot.
Ivy stilled, every part of her tight and on the precipice, then came with a great shudder and the cry of his name.
He eased his way up slowly, allowing her time to come down from the pleasure as he tried to avoid a self-satisfied smirk at the image of flushed cheeks, limp legs, and splayed hands.
A beautiful woman, thoroughly loved.
Well, almost thoroughly.
He lay down next to her and cupped her face. Cillian braced himself against the cold sensation that would make him want to run, to hide. To be anywhere other than here.
It never came.
Pressing her lips briefly together, she met his gaze. “Do you not want to...?”
Yes. More than anything. But there was no chance he was ruining this moment. He lifted to kiss the tip of her nose. “We have plenty of time. There’s no need to rush.”
“I hope I wasn’t too noisy.”
“You were just perfect,” he told her.
Chapter Fifteen
“Iwasn’t certain about him,” Lilly mused around a mouthful of fruit cake, a plate clasped in one hand and her nose practically pressed against the window of the parlor room to view the men leaving on a shoot.
“But you two seem quite suited.” Lilly twisted and spilled several crumbs upon the floor that Mrs. Baxter would likely tut over.
Ivy remained on the sofa despite the twitch in her feet that bid her to jump to them and watch her husband stride out with the other men.
If last night was anything to go by, they were quite the match indeed.
That did not, unfortunately, mean she had forgotten these nasty rumors yet. She could ask him about them, of course, but how could she ruin their tentative marriage straight away. At this point, she was convinced they were just what they seemed to be—vicious rumors most likely put about by that awful man who had once been Cillian’s friend. If anything, she wanted to investigate this talk of murder and put it to bed entirely—for Cillian’s sake.
“I agree.” Clementine laid out on the sofa opposite, taking up the entire piece of furniture. No one minded. With her increasing belly, Clementine could take up all the space she wanted. With Aunt Sarah and Mama out in the gardens, there were enough seats for Ivy and her sisters anyway.
“I thought he was a bit old for you,” Clementine continued. “However, he seems utterly doting and the way he looks at you...” Clementine fanned her face. “It reminds me of how Roman used to look at me.”
“Roman still looks at you that way,” Violet pointed out.
“I’m a lump, Vi.” Clementine rolled onto her side. “An ungainly, tired, slightly nauseated, lump.”
“Either way, Roman adores you,” Violet said. “And you still adore him.”
“I do,” she admitted. “He is my very best friend, the silly, surly man that he is.”
Ivy shook her head, reached for a second slice of cake then stopped herself. It had been dark in her bedroom last night and whilst Cillian had not complained about the size of her thighs, she didn’t want to add anything more to her waistline. Most especially when her sister—who still had a figure to be envious of—complained of being a lump. Ivy often wondered why it was her who had to be the plump one. Could it not have been Violet who would have carried it off most beautifully with her vivacious and charming personality?
Though, one had to wonder if the shyness came along with her size and wishing she could shrink herself away or was it just something she was born with?
“Have another slice if you’re hungry.” Violet motioned to the cake.