Her fingers wove through his hair, holding him nearer. “I’m guessing you’re still dressed,” she said drily.
He lifted his head. “How do you know?”
“Merrick, your tone is too superior for it to be otherwise.”
Seconds ago, she had him wanting to fall to his knees in veneration. Now she made him want to laugh. What a bewitching mixture she was. “Jonas.”
“Blasted, importuning, lecherous, deceiving snake Jonas,” she said with saccharine sweetness.
He tumbled her onto her back in a tangle of slender limbs and floating hair. “You say the nicest things.”
Her hands clenched in his shirt when he came down over her. “I knew you hadn’t undressed.”
“In good time, la mia vita.” He braced himself on his arms to stare at her. Stretched out under him, she looked like a sulky goddess. “What’s your hurry?”
“Dawn rushes upon us.”
“Dawn doesn’t mean an end to pleasure,” he said silkily.
His sulky goddess blushed so furiously that the color seeped below the blindfold. What a darling she was. More luscious than Mrs. Bevan’s baklava. A hint of the exotic. Spice and honey that lingered on the tongue and made a man crave more. Made a man want to gorge.
Lurching to his knees, he reefed the shirt over his head, tossing it disregarded into the corner. Once more he lowered himself over her. Her soft sigh of pleasure at the brush of his naked chest against her breasts resonated through his bones. He drew away until mere inches separated them. Her strong, graceful hands were frantic as they explored his chest and grazed his hard belly. Her quick, glancing touches made more than his belly hard. His cock ached so painfully, his whole body throbbed. She skimmed a nipple and he stifled an agonized groan.
He battled for restraint. He hadn’t lingered over her last night. Tonight he meant to make up for that. Very gently he parted her legs. Candlelight flickered on glistening pink folds. He caught her heady scent.
She tried to cover herself. Her voice shook with nervousness. “You’re looking at me, aren’t you?”
“You’re beautiful.”
When she started to draw her legs together, he placed one hand on her thigh. He exerted no pressure, but his heart somersaulted when she immediately lay still. Her hand dropped away from her sex.
Inhaling a breath redolent of aroused woman, he knew himself in Elysium. He kissed her with unfettered need. She opened immediately. He sucked her tongue into his mouth, feasting on her. Trailing kisses down her slender body, he became so lost in delight, he almost abandoned his goal. She moved restlessly and her legs spread wider. She couldn’t know his intention but her body instinctively prepared itself.
Sidonie’s every muscle tightened as Jonas’s mouth settled against her most private place. “Wh… what are you doing?”
She tried to scramble up the bed. When he raised his head, she inhaled with shaky relief. She tried to close her legs, but he lay between them.
“Be adventurous, bella.” She heard his smile.
She fumbled at his shoulders, but he was immovable as a mountain. “You can’t possibly want to put your mouth… there.”
He laughed softly. “Tesoro, you taste sweeter than wine.”
Embarrassment threatened to incinerate her. She could remove the blindfold, but, curse him, she didn’t want to see his face. Jonas had looked at parts of her she’d never expected anyone to see, parts she couldn’t even name.
“I don’t—” Words wedged in her throat. She dug her hand into his thick hair, holding him still between her thighs. “Please, Jonas. Don’t make me do this.”
/> The silence lengthened. The sea’s distant thunder played counterpoint to her wayward heartbeat. A night bird called forlornly outside, lost on the ocean.
“The last thing I want is to frighten you.” His voice was as serious as she’d ever heard it. He shifted up, his body sliding along hers. He placed a nipping kiss on each breast.
Her tension eased as she realized he wouldn’t force this disturbing intimacy. Kissing her between the legs seemed outlandish to the point of perversity. “Th-thank you,” she murmured and ran her hand through his hair in gratitude.
Groaning appreciation, he rubbed against her, pressing her into the mattress. Last night, she’d been too overwhelmed to explore his body. Curiosity swelled, sharp, hungry. She possessed senses other than sight. Hearing. Smell. Taste. Touch.
Her hands slid up his chest to his shoulders. Measured by touch, he seemed larger, more formidable. Daringly she reached down to stroke him there, where he was a man. He tensed and she wondered whether he liked what she did. Then he pushed himself into her hand with an urgency that fueled arousal. She squirmed against the sheets to relieve the swelling heat between her thighs.
“Hell, Sidonie,” he groaned, and she heard his tormented pleasure.