She licked her lips, her teeth denting the plump flesh. “It’s just that I . . . I feel so very nak*d.”
Daniel grinned, and to his relief she smiled in return, though there was still a measure of uncertainty to it. “Perhaps that’s because you are nak*d,” he said, allowing his fingers to glide along the length of her leg. She gasped when he reached her bottom, and then again when he circled around to trace the edge of her inner thigh. “I like you best like this though.”
She was looking directly at him now, her eyes widening as she followed the movement of his hands, her breath growing raspy as she realized his intent. Easing her legs slowly apart, Daniel knelt between them, opening her up to his perusal. God, how he wanted her!
Heart throbbing in his chest, he took a moment to admire his efforts. With one leg on either side of him, Rebecca had been spread completely wide, a hint of moisture beckoning from between her tender flesh—an invitation for him to bury himself in her depths. Raising his gaze, he followed the sweep of her pelvis up over her belly button until he reached her br**sts and finally her face. Her eyes appeared glazed. “Would you like me to touch you?” he asked, his voice a coaxing whisper.
Rebecca nodded. “Yes.”
Daniel reached for her left breast and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Here?” he asked.
She shook her head with obvious frustration, bringing out in full force the cheeky devil within him. “How about here?” he asked as he gave his attention to her other breast.
“No, not there,” she said, restlessly wriggling her bottom as if to draw his attention toward her pelvis.
Daniel allowed both hands to trail down the length of her abdomen, stopping at her hips, where he proceeded to massage her. Was she holding her breath? He was starting to pity the state of torment she was in and decided to meet her need. “Then perhaps here,” he said as he brushed his fingers along the seam of Rebecca’s womanhood.
“Yes,” she sighed, her h*ps rising in response to his touch while she threw her head backward, eyes closed with a look of complete and utter satisfaction capturing her features.
Daniel stroked her again, parting the slick folds of her flesh so his expert fingers could seek the pleasure point hidden beneath. He rubbed it gently with his thumb, pleased with the groan that she made as she pushed herself against his touch, her every move increasing his own want until he feared he might go blind from the carnal need that she stirred in him. He’d always prided himself on his restraint and ability to remain in complete control, but this woman was making it nearly impossible for him to do so.
Desperate for more closeness, he paused in his ministrations so he could finish undressing. With a few quick movements that spoke of his urgent desire, he tugged off his breeches and climbed back onto the bed. “Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said as he lowered his head and kissed her inner thigh, ending the caress with a light nibble.
“I’m thinking that this is wonderful,” she murmured, “and that I must be incredibly wicked to like it as much as I do.”
“Hmm . . . and it gets so much better,” he promised.
“Really?” She sounded incredulous, so he decided to show her just how much better it could be as he sank down between her outstretched limbs and licked the place where his thumb had been just moments earlier.
“Oh dear God,” she panted. He loved her openness, how unashamed she was of letting him know that she liked what he was doing. He fleetingly wondered if he might one day convince her to pleasure him in a similar way. He pushed the thought aside, his restraint already dangling from a fragile thread, and with one more lick, he rose so he could look her in the eye as he pushed one finger inside her.
Her lips parted on a gasp and he was there in an instant, kissing her wildly as he added another finger. “You like that, don’t you?” he asked, taking immeasurable gratification in her whispered yes. He wanted to be there with her though when her pleasure peaked, so he pulled away, unable to stop a smile when she whimpered at the loss of him. “I’ve been told that the first time can hurt for a woman, but I’ll do my best to make it good for you. I promise,” he said as he settled himself between her thighs, his hand caressing the side of her face.
“If what you’ve done so far is any indication of what is to come,” she said, gazing up at him with needy hunger brimming in her eyes, “then I give you my full approval.”
“I’ll try to go slow,” he said as he found her entrance, braced himself on his elbows and started easing himself inside. They both sighed with contentment at exactly the same time, leading to a shared burst of laughter immediately after. It quickly faded when Daniel reached between them and started to stroke her again, her h*ps rising, accepting more of him until he reached the proof of her innocence. Crushing his mouth over hers, he pushed forward, burying himself deep within her welcoming warmth, her gasp of surprise swallowed by their kiss.
With a supreme effort born from the determination to cause her as little discomfort as possible, Daniel stilled and waited for Rebecca to recover. He took the time to savor the wonderful feeling of being inside her as he bit back the instinct to thrust again. But when she finally moved beneath him, he pulled out a little, then pushed himself carefully back inside while his thumb remained devoted to bringing her pleasure. “How do you feel?” he asked, concerned that the pain she must have felt when he’d taken her innocence might have lingered.
She gazed up at him from beneath the sweep of her lashes and smiled a seductive smile that any temptress should have envied the ability to deliver. “Wonderful,” she sighed as she pulled him down for a long kiss. “And completely . . . oh God, Daniel!”
“That’s it, my sweet, just relax.” He licked the lobe of her ear and added a bit more pressure to his thumb, his own rhythm steady as he moved in and out of her. “Come for me, Becky, let yourself go.”
On a near scream of ecstasy, Rebecca’s muscles contracted around him, pulling him along with her on the wave of euphoria that claimed them both, until a cli**x more forceful than any Daniel had ever experienced before overcame him. He gasped, as if coming up for air after an underwater swim, then kissed Rebecca thoroughly to assure her of his gratitude before rolling off her and pulling her up against his side, her head cradled against his arm. A satisfied smile spread its way across his face as he delighted in what their coupling had just confirmed—that just as he’d thought, they would get on very well together indeed.
Chapter 14
They returned to London three days later and headed straight to Bedford Square. The three-story town house had remained uninhabited since his father’s death, but now that Daniel was married, it would be his. The brown brick façade had been unaltered in all the years that had come and gone since he’d last set foot inside, linking him to a past that invariably led to unhappy memories of abandonment. Pulling up in front, Daniel gazed up at the third-floor window furthest to the right. Beyond it lay the room that had once been his nursery, a room in which his mother had read stories and his father had battled toy soldiers with him. It was also the room in which he’d eventually found his mother’s note: Forgive me—two words that had brought his young life crashing down around him.
Burying the pain that threatened to surface, Daniel leapt down from his perch on the phaeton and reached up for Rebecca. What good would it do to revisit the past? He was better off pushing such memories and wishful thoughts of what could have been aside. But when Rebecca took the arm he offered her and they started up the front steps, Daniel couldn’t help but feel the sad eyes of his younger self gazing down at him from the nursery window.
With a deliberate effort, he focused his mind on the present, relishing the feel of Rebecca’s arm linked with his own as he led her up the front steps. Hopefully the sparse staff his uncle had kept on at the house had received the message he’d sent them informing them of his and Rebecca’s imminent arrival.
“Hawkins,” Daniel said when a young man his own age opened the door after the second knock. He was breathing a little harder than usual. “Where’s Mr. Tenant? I would have expected him to be the first to greet us.”
Hawkins looked perplexed. Avoiding an explanation, he gave his attention to Rebecca and offered her a bow. “Lady Rebecca Neville, what a pleasure it is to make your acquaintance. Welcome to Avern House.”
Daniel frowned but decided not to question his valet any further. He turned to his wife instead and made the necessary introduction. “Perhaps you’d be good enough to see to it that the phaeton is brought around to the mews,” he then said to Hawkins. “And if refreshments are available, we’d both be most appreciative.”
“Not a problem, sir,” Hawkins said. “I’ll see to it right away.”
“Shall I give you the grand tour?” Daniel asked Rebecca once Hawkins left their presence.
“I can think of nothing better,” she said, beaming up at him with her beautiful smile.
Daniel could think of lots of better things for them to do, but he chose to keep those thoughts to himself. Instead, he guided Rebecca toward the parlor and through to the music room, then onward to the study, where he was once again assaulted by the past, a vision of his father sitting at the cherrywood desk flooding him with an overwhelming sense of loss. He would have to refurnish to escape such memories, and as he hurried Rebecca along to the library and, finally, the dining room, he made a mental note to do so.
“This is perfect,” Rebecca said, trailing her fingers along the edge of the dining room table as she walked across to a bay window.
Daniel followed her and looked out. The garden that met his gaze was modest but well kept, with a flagstone terrace and a patch of grass surrounded by flowerbeds brimming with daffodils and hyacinths.
The touch of Rebecca’s hand curling around his own made him turn his head toward her. “I believe we’re going to be very happy here,” she said, the sparkle in her eyes enhanced by the rosy blush in her cheeks.
“I’m sure we will,” he said, hoping she was right. The absence of staff troubled him. He would have to ask Hawkins later, but he didn’t want to ruin the moment for Rebecca. After everything she’d been through, he was pleased with how happy she seemed to finally have a place of her own, free from the overbearing clutches of her aunt and uncle. He gave her hand a little tug. “Come along. I’ll show you the upstairs.”
Arriving at the top of the stairs, they stepped off the landing and into a neat salon with windows facing the street on one side and doors leading off to two different rooms on the other. There was a plush sofa facing two armchairs with a table between them; it was a cozy spot where Daniel’s mother had sometimes entertained her closest friends and family and where both his parents had taken their Sunday breakfast. Daniel opened the first door on his left, revealing a moderately sized bedroom with a bed draped in creamy silks, the coverlet embroidered in gold thread.
“There’s a small dressing room over there,” he said, watching as Rebecca walked over to take a closer look.