She was lost in a maelstrom of emotions as his mouth continued to devour hers, even as his large hands restlessly caressed the length of her spine before settling on her bottom as he pulled Bea in even closer. The rhythmic stroking of his arousal now sent heated pleasure through the whole of her body; her nipples were full and aching, and between her thighs was swollen and warm.
Reckless fool or not, Bea didn’t want Griffin to stop. She wanted this pleasure to go on and on. To lose herself utterly, in both Griffin’s arms and his unmistakeable passion.
Griffin wanted all Bea had to give. His hands cupped beneath the weight of her breasts and the soft pad of his thumbs caressed the swollen and sensitive tips. Bea’s passion, Bea’s pleasure, every inch of Bea’s body.
Her kisses revealed the first, her groans, as he caressed her breasts showed the second, and the third—
Griffin pulled back abruptly to draw ragged breath into his starved lungs as he looked down at her with heated eyes. ‘You should go back to your bedchamber, Bea. Now!’
Her hair was tousled, her eyes heavy with passion, cheeks flushed and feverish, her lips swollen from their kisses. ‘I would rather stay here, with you.’
‘It will very shortly be too late for me to stop, Bea.’
She looked up at him searchingly. ‘Do you want to stop?’
What he wanted was this woman’s body spread naked before him, so that he could kiss and taste every inch of her, from her head to her toes!
He clenched his jaw. ‘No, I do not want to stop.’
‘Then neither do I,’ she assured him gently, her gaze continuing to hold his as her fingers moved purposefully to unfasten the two remaining buttons of his shirt.
His breath caught in his throat as she pulled his shirt free of his pantaloons before sliding it slowly up his chest. ‘You really are playing with fire, Bea,’ he gave her one last, growled warning.
She smiled up at him impishly. ‘Then at least I shall be kept warm!’ She pulled his shirt up, removing it completely. Her eyes were hot and devouring as she gazed at the muscled bareness of his chest before tentatively touching. ‘You truly are magnificent, Griffin!’ she breathed wonderingly as she smoothed her hands across his chest and over his nipples.
Her words, and her touch, caused Griffin’s desire for her to rage out of control.
He had no memory of when a woman had last desired him for himself, and not because of his title or because she was being paid to want him. A sad state of affairs, indeed, but he had felt too raw after Felicity—
No!
He would not think of Felicity now.
Why should he think of her when there had been such an impenetrable coldness to his wife? A coolness he already knew Bea did not share.
Bea was warm—so very warm. She was responsive. Even now the hard berries of her nipples throbbed heatedly against the soft pads of his thumbs. And the scent of her arousal teased and tempted his senses, a mixture of honey and earthy, desirable woman.
Perhaps he should spare a thought for the man Michael, the man she had called for in her sleep.
Griffin saw no reason why he should consider him when Bea seemed bound and determined not to!
‘Are you sure this is what you really want?’ Griffin knew he was the one who had to be sure; he had to know that Bea wanted him as much as he desired to make love to her.
‘Very sure,’ she answered without hesitation.
He gave her one last searching glance, seeing only sincerity in her expression, before taking her hand and drawing her over to the warmth of the fireplace. He came to a halt and turned to face her, his gaze deliberately holding hers as he unfastened the robe at her waist before slipping it from her shoulders and allowing it to drop onto the rug on which they both stood.
She wore only her nightrail now, a diaphanous garment easily penetrated by the flickering firelight, and revealing every dip and curve of Bea’s body as Griffin gazed down at her hungrily. Her breasts were full and tipped by ruby red and swollen berries, her waist slender above the womanly flare of her hips. Dark curls nestled temptingly between her thighs, and her legs were smooth and shapely above slender bare feet.
Bea sensed that Griffin hesitated still, not because he did not want her—the evidence of that was all too apparent in the tenting of his pantaloons—but because he was, after all, a gentleman, even in his desire for her.
How lucky his wife had been to have such a considerate husband. To have such a wonderful man in love with her. To be so privileged as to possess the care and devotion of such a man.
The desire Griffin now felt for her might only be a shadow of the emotions he had once felt for his dead wife, but surely it was enough?
Bea would make it be enough!
She continued to look into his eyes rather than down at her own body as her hands moved down to take hold of her nightgown. She slowly drew the material up to reveal her calves, then her thighs. The blush deepened in her cheeks as she raised the garment to her waist and saw Griffin’s eyes darken, his heated gaze fixed on the V of silky ebony curls between her thighs.