If this was a dream, she never wanted to wake. The sensual pleasure was so very real… Nicholas at her back, her buttocks nestled in the cradle of his thighs… his heat and hardness searing her through the thin cambric of her nightdress. His hand had delved inside her bodice to fondle her naked breasts, and she could feel her pouting flesh tightening, swelling, thrusting out to seek his touch.
Aurora moaned, yet he relentlessly continued caressing her, kneading softly, his palm rubbing over the sensitive peaks. When she arched instinctively, pressing with wanton eagerness against his stroking palm, his fingers deliberately closed over one nipple, plucking the taut bud. Her throbbing breasts tightened in an aching rush, while a flaming spark of pleasure flared between her thighs.
The shivery desire inside her built higher as he tormented the swollen crest, and she moved restlessly against him, yearning for release from the mounting tension.
As if knowing what she needed, he withdrew his hand from her bodice and swept it lower, over her rib cage, stroking her belly, his breath hot and moist against her cheek as he whispered soft encouragements in her ear. Drawing up the hem of her nightdress then, he slid his hard, warm palm along her thigh, tantalizing on her bare skin.
When his fingers slid into the tangled curls between her legs, Aurora gasped, incredibly aroused by his erotic caresses. His fingertips moved over her with shocking intimacy, parting the feminine folds. Her body grew moist as his expert touch rasped over her most sensitive flesh, finding the exquisite pressure points, stroking her slick bud of pleasure with tantalizing skill. The fever inside her intensified, and the ragged sound she made was one of savage excitement.
Desperately wanting him to assuage the throbbing ache, she thrust her hips back helplessly against his muscular loins, grinding into him.
She heard his rough whisper in her ear, coaxing her to release. "Yes, siren… surrender to the pleasure."
On the verge of ecstasy, she began to writhe, straining toward a mounting, burning frenzy. When his fingers slowly thrust inside her, her deep inner muscles clutched around them. He only increased the rhythm. Frantic with need, she surged against his hand, shuddering and crying out with the powerful, pulsating climax.
Her own sobs woke her. Awash in trembling sensation, Aurora lay dazed and unmoving, her breathing harsh and shallow. For a bewildering moment she was unable to gain her bearings. This was her bedchamber, she could tell in the gray morning light coming through the open curtains. The heat at her back was also very real… and very male, as were the warm lips nuzzling her nape…
Nicholas. She went rigid. His hard, muscular forearm was draped across her body, his hand nestled erotically between her thighs, his rigid arousal still throbbing against her buttocks.
Dear heaven, she hadn't dreamed him. He was in her bed, as if he had every right to be there. He had stolen into her room while she slept, brazenly aroused her to ecstasy…
Her cheeks flamed with mortification as she tried to gather her scattered senses. Almost leaping from the bed, Aurora spun around to face him, totally flustered.
Nicholas was lying on top of the sheet, wearing breeches but nothing else. His cloak and shirt and saber were piled on a chair, she realized, his boots on the floor. His ebony hair was tousled from sleep, while the shadow of stubble on his strong jaw made him look very much a disreputable pirate. More discomfiting, his dark gaze was fixed on the swell of her breasts, partially exposed by the open bodice of her nightdress.
With a muttered oath, Aurora straightened her disheveled bodice and began fastening the buttons, appalled not only by the forbidden liberties Nicholas had taken with her, but by her own unwitting, sensual response.
"How did you get in here?" she demanded, not knowing whether she was angrier at him for his devious seduction or at herself for succumbing to it. She had planned to remain coolly indifferent when they next met, maintaining a strict control over her responses. Yet once again he had thrown her equilibrium totally off balance, casting her emotions into chaos.
Casually Nicholas propped himself up on one elbow and nodded toward the open window. "I apprenticed on my father's ships from the time I was ten and learned to negotiate a rigging. I can certainly climb a tree."
Aurora glanced briefly at the window, then shook her head, unnerved. "Well, you can just leave the same way you came."
When he made no move to go, she snatched up the robe lying on the foot of her bed and put it on, buttoning up the high collar.
"I cannot believe your temerity, coming here and…" She faltered, unwilling to contemplate how he'd kindled her to passion in her sleep, entirely against her will. It was deceitful, taking advantage of her vulnerability when she was helpless to defend herself. She hated being so vulnerable…
Lifting her chin, Aurora made a supreme effort to regain her composure. "You are making," she said, "quite an annoying habit of startling me to death, appearing suddenly and uninvited."
In response, Nicholas sat up and propped the pillows against the headboard, relaxing back among them. "You left your mask in the carriage when you ran away, so I thought I would return it to you. Like Cinderella's slipper."
Aurora couldn't help but stare at him, unwillingly admiring his bronzed skin and naked, muscled shoulders. She clenched her teeth, vexed at the way his physical attributes made her breathless. His knowing gaze irked her even more. He understood quite well the effect his near nudity had on her.
It was all she could do to keep her tone cool. "That hardly excuses your gall in sneaking into my room like a thief. You seem determined to cause a scandal – "
"I'm only determined to talk to you, love. We never finished our discussion about our future relationship."
"Well, my bedchamber is not the place to do it!"
"I'm not sure I agree with that," he murmured in a velvet undervoice laced with humor. "I can think of few places more enjoyable."
"Nicholas, you have to leave. Now, at once! Before I have you thrown out."
His expression turned thoughtful. "I must confess, I expected a more cordial reception than this from my wife. On our wedding night you were much warmer."
"On our wedding night, I thought you were about to die. We both thought so."
"You can't deny the fire we both felt that night."