Reassured in some measure, she tentatively did as she was bid, removing first his cravat, then his coat and waistcoat and linen shirt. His boots and stockings he removed himself. When she hesitated, he followed with his breeches and drawers.
When he stood before her, his tall, nude body lean and hard and well-muscled, she stared spellbound.
"I am your husband, Aurora," he said, his voice a velvet murmur. "You needn't fear me. I am just a man, flesh and blood like you."
He was not at all like her, she thought skeptically, viewing his naked, sun-bronzed flesh and taut sinews. He possessed a broad chest and narrow hips and powerful thighs, like the statues of Greek gods she'd seen. And the alien hardness springing from the curling, dark gold hair at his groin made her heart beat erratically. She didn't fear him exactly, but neither was she in the least at ease.
"Now your turn," he murmured. When she hesitated, he smiled. "Of course you are accustomed to a lady's maid. Would you like my assistance?"
"Yes."
"It will be my pleasure."
He began with her hair, pulling out the pins and letting the pale gold mass cascade down her back.
"You have beautiful hair," he murmured, his fingers gliding through the silken tresses. "Like spun gold."
After a moment, his hands slid beneath her hair to the fastenings at the back of her gown. Well-bred and shy about her body, Aurora stood silently as he dispensed with her gown and corset and stockings. Her chemise was the last to go. Feeling the cool night air caress her nakedness, Aurora shivered.
"Your body is exquisitely lovely as well," he said, turning her to face him. "I intend to show you all the pleasures it was made for."
When instinctively she moved her arms in front of her body to hide from him, he gently pushed them aside.
"No shyness between us, siren." He ran a finger along her throat to the tip of her breast, the erotic feel making her draw a sharp breath. "What does it matter if I see your charms? Whatever secrets you share will be safe with me."
Her vision clouded at the reminder. Come tomorrow, he would be gone. Whatever intimacy they shared would go to his grave. But tonight was what mattered now. Tonight he was her husband, her lover. She could give herself to him without fear or shame. She could abandon her inhibitions, her natural reserve.
She reached up to touch his sensual mouth with her fingertips. "You said you wanted to forget," she reminded him, her voice soft. "Nothing exists, before or after this moment."
"So I did." Tender flames warmed the depths of his eyes.
He had beautiful eyes. Eyes that took possession of her wherever they touched.
He took a step closer then, bringing their skin in contact. The heat from his body leapt into hers, shocking, scalding.
Aurora trembled at the erotic sensation, feeling her breasts graze his chest, and below, the hot, throbbing maleness of him press against her stomach.
"Have you never wondered what it would be like to lie with a man? To feel his hard flesh deep within you?" Nicholas bent his head, his lips kissing a path along her cheekbone.
Yes, she had wondered, Aurora reflected dizzily. In the most secret corners of her heart, she had dreamed about a nameless lover who could rouse her to passion -
"But if you had," he answered his own question, "you could not properly admit it."
That brought a faint smile to her lips. "No. A lady would never admit to such things."
"No, never. But if you ever have wondered… now is the time to indulge your curiosity." Capturing her trembling hand, he enfolded it around the throbbing shaft of his manhood. "Touch me, love. Feel my flesh…"
Holding her breath at the alarming size of him, she accepted his bold guidance, learning the unique feel of him. The smooth velvet skin of his phallus. The granite hardness. The swollen marble head. The soft curling hair and heavy sacs beneath. He really was not so frightening. Not any longer. If she were honest, she would admit she found the differences in their bodies thrilling. His sheer masculinity called out to everything feminine in her.
His hands rose to her breasts then, cupping their lush swells. Aurora closed her eyes and sighed. How expert he was, she thought dazedly. His hands were a murmur against her body, his fingertips gliding over her flesh, fanning over her breasts in deepening strokes.
"You are enchanting."
He was the one who was enchanting, Aurora thought, unable to resist the exquisite languor that had stolen through her limbs. He had bewitched her.
Voluntarily her mouth sought his while she moved closer, straining to feel his flesh against her. A gratified murmur sounded deep in his throat.
He kissed her for the space of a dozen heartbeats, his lips at once soothing and arousing. After a while, though, he lifted her in his arms and settled her on the bed, then followed her down to lie beside her.