He slid his finger from her aching cleft, and she whimpered at the sudden loss. Her complaint was swiftly addressed, however, when he moved atop her, nestling between her thighs. She had to spread her legs wide to accommodate his hips—an act which drew her feminine mound snug against his hardness. He rocked against her in just the right place, and pure, bright pleasure shimmered through her veins.
He framed her face in his big hands. His gaze was dark and hungry as a wolf’s. “Do you want me, Susanna?”
She couldn’t dissemble. Her body made an answer of its own, as her hips tilted and arched, rubbing sinuously against his arousal. “Yes.”
He didn’t move. “Yes?”
Another man would have taken her at her first answer, if he’d bothered to ask at all. But he wanted to be absolutely certain she wanted this, too. If she’d harbored any lingering reluctance, his thoughtful concern dissolved it.
Yes, she wanted this. Not just this. She wanted him. Perhaps she would never marry. Perhaps she would never know true, lasting love with a man. But she wanted to explore passion and pleasure, and she wanted it to be with Bram. In all her five-and-twenty years, no man had ever made her feel this way. She might be waiting another five-and-twenty to experience this wonderful yearning again.
“Yes,” she said again.
Still, he hesitated. “We shouldn’t. Not tonight. Your first time really should be in a bed. What’s more, that bed should be a marriage bed, for a girl like you.”
“I never planned to marry at all. And as for beds . . .” She looked up at the willow branches sheltering them, and the scattered stars twinkling through. A more romantic setting couldn’t exist. “Everyone has beds. I’ll take this. So long as—” She cleared her throat. “You will be careful, won’t you? At the end. I shouldn’t want to get with child.”
“I can be careful. But you should know, there’s always a chance.”
“I know. I’m willing to take the risk, if you are.”
“To be with you?” He kissed her lips. “I’d risk a firing squad.”
Her heart turned over in her chest. “Then yes. To all of it.”
This time, he took her at her word. With one hand he impatiently pushed her shift higher, baring her abdomen and her left breast. He paused a moment, just looking.
“So beautiful.”
The words rushed over her skin on a hot, ragged breath, drawing her nipple to a tight pucker. He bent his head and suckled her, drawing the aroused peak deep into his mouth and swirling his tongue around the sensitive tip. As he sucked and licked, the rough fringe of his whiskers scraped over her tender skin. Her every nerve attenuated, drawing tense and thin with the mounting pleasure.
“Touch me,” he urged, between swipes of his tongue. “I want to feel your hands on me.”
Susanna had never been happier to take his direction. She reached down, yanking his shirt free of his waistband and sliding both palms beneath it, exploring the smooth, muscled planes of his back. Then she wiggled a hand between their bodies, searching for the closures of his trousers. With an eager tilt of his hips, he aided her search. She undid the buttons on one side of the flap, working her fingers inside.
Oh. My.
Her senses were overwhelmed. The heat and weight of him, filling her grip. His needy groan of encouragement, buzzing around her nipple.
She stroked gently, as much as the cramped circumstances would allow, skimming her palm along his length and marveling at the texture. Like ridged velvet over heated iron. So smooth and so strong.
This belongs inside me. Her intimate muscles clenched at the thought.
“I can’t wait,” he said, abandoning her breast. “I can’t wait any longer.”
She released her grip on him as he pushed her shift higher, bunching the fabric under her arms. His erection wedged hot and eager between their bodies. He thrust against her bared sex, teasing up and down her cleft. The intense pleasure left her breathless, mindless.
“Last chance,” he said through gritted teeth, changing his angle and tilting her hips. “If you don’t want this, Susanna . . .”
The feral snarl of his lips gave her a heartbeat’s pause. He was right, this was the most vital, undeniable force in nature. Her whole body craved release, possession. The power of the moment was almost too much.
“I want this,” she managed. “I want you.”
Seventeen
“Then I’m yours,” Bram whispered, nudging into her heat, just an inch. Rapture chased along the surface of his skin. “Take me. Take me in.”
He worked into her slowly, in steady, deepening thrusts, putting most of his weight on his good knee and forcing himself to be patient as her body learned to accommodate his. She looked up at him with eyes so wide and unguarded, he could read her every emotion. He saw anxiety, trepidation. Understandable, as this was her first time. But there was trust as well, overwhelming her fear.
Overwhelming him.
With each exquisite, incremental advance, he offered words of encouragement and praise. “Yes, love . . . You feel so good . . . So good . . . Just like that . . . Just a bit more . . .”
As he sheathed himself fully with one last, unfettered thrust, she gave a pained gasp. His heart twisted in his chest. He hated to hurt her.
“Is the pain too much?”
She bit her lip bravely and shook her head no.
“Can—” Her body clenched around his, and he released a helpless groan of pleasure. “Can you bear it if I move?”
“Is moving necessary?”
He struggled valiantly not to laugh. “I think so, love. I . . . I have to move, or I’ll go mad.”
He slid out of her just a bit before plunging back in, even deeper than before. She was so warm and soft, and so damned tight. The pleasure had a keen, sweet edge. Balancing his weight on his elbows to keep from crushing her flat, he worked his hips back and forth, gently. For what seemed like ages, he restrained himself to only the most easy, gliding, undemanding of motions. All the while, the need for fast, furious, pumping release clamored in his veins. He fought it back through sheer force of will. She deserved better than an animalistic humping. This was a precious gift she’d bestowed on him, and he didn’t want her to regret it. Not tonight. Not forty years from now.
“Is it better?” he asked.
“A little.”
A little. A little wasn’t enough. With a silent curse, he lowered his body to cover hers. “I want to make this good for you.”