The Duke and the Virgin (3 page)

“Don’t get scared now.” His voice, oh, that voice, did strange and wonderful things to her insides.

“I’m not scared.”

“Good, because I want to see what is hiding under all these layers.” Warm lips touched the hollow spot under her jaw, distracting her and, until he eased her gown over her shoulder and it fell to the floor, she’d been unaware he’d undone her lacings.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited. She stood in front of a man in her undergarments for the first time, and the nerves had begun. Not enough to have her running for the door, but enough to worry he would be less than pleased with what he saw.

“Have you ever seen Russian nesting dolls?”

Thrown by the questions, she opened her eyes. Why would he suddenly speak about a child’s toy? “I own a few of them.”

“Then you must understand that undressing you is like playing with one of those dolls. I open one to find another beneath it. I took away your gown to find you are still as clothed as you were a moment ago and I wonder how many more layers I will have to work through to get down to you—the doll I’m searching for.”

“Two.”

He smiled and her stomach did somersaults. “Just two?”

“Well, three, if you count the corset.”

“Oh, then we must count the corset as a layer.” He spun her and shivers ran the length of her spine as the ties holding her stays relaxed. “What is going on deep within you now?”

“Anxiety.”

“Fair enough,” he whispered near her ear.

“Giddy.”

The corset fell to the floor and he rested his hands on her hips. “And now?”

What did she feel? She shuddered while she considered it. Heat built between her legs as fast as her anxiety. She should leave before the carnal sensations consumed her, but her body wanted, nay, craved more.

“Now I want something, but I am not entirely sure of what that is.”

He chuckled. “As it happens, I think I know exactly what that may be.”

Seconds later, her petticoat puddled around her slippered feet. Wolfe found the ties holding her bloomers up and she placed her hand over his, stopping him from divesting her of the final barrier to her most private parts. “Wait. I am not ready,” she choked. “I don’t think I can do this.”

“Why do you think you can’t?”

Fear engulfed her as all the negative words she had ever heard about her weight flooded her. Mean words from mean girls. Hurtful words from her uncaring father and siblings. Should Wolfe turn away from her, even masked as she was, she doubted she could show her face in public again. It would be the final blow to her fragile ego. “What if once I am naked you don’t want what you see?”

He laid his palms on her shoulders. “Trust me, Llysa.”

“I do.” She looked at him over her shoulder, heat spreading over her cheeks. “I mean, I want to.”

“I can’t help you with your virginity if you keep these on.”

Clutching at straws, she asked, “Can we blow out the candles?”

“If that’s what you really want. But I would prefer to see you in the light. If you are only going to allow me this one night, I want to get my fill of you with all of my senses.” Turning her again, he kissed her until she relaxed. With her knees threatening to buckle, she had no choice but to reach up and wind her arms around his neck.

She suspected he knew exactly what he was doing, soothing her into a relaxed state, which allowed him the freedom to untie her bloomers without her protest. The fabric fell, joining the petticoat around her ankles. As cold air hit the back of her legs, she fully comprehended that, with the exception of her chemise, stockings and shoes, she stood bare.

“Lift your arms.” His voice, deep and soft, fluttered through her like a warm summer breeze.

I can do this
. She had come there for one purpose and had known getting naked would be a part of it. But knowing and doing were two different things. Hesitant at first, she lifted her arms to just above her head. She needed to stop being silly and get on with it. More determined then, she raised them fully. Closing her eyes, she waited until the soft, silky chemise lifted over her head. Only then did she open her eyes and lower her hands, placing them on her full hips. It took every bit of self control not to cover her bare body.

“You are gorgeous.” His voice held so much awe, it forced her to look at him. “Now that I have seen you, I want to taste you.”

He walked her backward until the edge of the bed hit the back of her thighs and he gripped her waist, helping her up onto the high mattress. Nudging her legs apart, he said, “This bed is the perfect height.”

“Perfect?” she murmured as he stood between her thighs.

“Yes, perfect. Perfect to enter you with. If you were more experienced, I would show you how much, with you at the right height, your legs spread wide.” He ran his fingers up and down the inside of her thighs, finally stopping on the pink ribbons holding up her stockings. Slowly he untied them, rolling down one stocking and then the other. “What I wouldn’t give to have a thousand nights to show you everything I would like to do to your delicious body.”

Forcing down the almost overwhelming desire to tell him she wanted that, too, she threw back her head and focused on the wanton sensations he created when he bent over her and savored the skin at her neck. Focusing on them prevented her from dwelling on the fact that at the end of the night there could be no future between them. The most she could hope for was a position as his mistress. She would rather be alone and celibate than spend the rest of her days wanted only for her abilities in bed. Without a doubt, he could teach her everything she needed to know, but what would those lessons do to her?

“Stop thinking,” he grumbled, kissing his way across her collarbone. “Every time you do, you tense.”

“Sorry.”

He raised his head and locked his sparkling blue eyes on hers. “Just don’t think.”

“I always think.” She sniffed.

“I feared you would say that.”

“Excuse me?”

He gave her a smug grin. “I am going to have to ensure you are so senseless with lust you will only think of me making love to you all night long.”

“All night?”

“Oh, yes”

She gulped. “Is that even possible?

“In so many different ways.” Punctuating each word with a kiss, he moved lower until level with her taut nipple. When he took it into his mouth, all thought of words or even how to form them disappeared. Chills that had nothing to do with the cool air shot down her spine. No wonder so many women talked about getting His Grace, Wolfe Thane, into their bedchamber. She suspected not as many were visited by him as claimed. If so, then the man never slept. But who needed sleep when she could do something as amazing as this?

“I adore the little noises you make,” he said against the underside of her breast.

Boldly, she ran her fingers through his hair and admitted, “I adore how you help create them.”

“Just wait.” Never taking his eyes off hers he eased down her body, forcing her legs farther apart. Kneeling, he gave her another devilish smile before lifting each of her legs over his shoulders. “Listen carefully, Llysa. Do. Not. Think.”

He commanded the way he’d been born to do and she knew she would follow him wherever he commanded. Yet as his mouth brushed her inner thighs, she hesitated, not because she thought about not thinking, but because she had never imagined any man putting his lips there. He nibbled, a slight bite, but enough to tell her not to think.

As she worked hard to obey his order, his tongue touched her in the one place she had read about but hadn’t believed actually happened. Wolfe licked the most private part of her body. With one stroke of his tongue across skin she never dared to touch except when necessary, small explosions burst through her. Her fingers tightened in his hair and she arched. If enjoying this made her wanton, she wanted to be wanton.

He circled her sensitive flesh and when she couldn’t possibly bear any more, he sucked. Shaking with unexplainable need and desire, she nevertheless couldn’t imagine there could be more than this. His hands rested on her hips and tugged her closer. Without warning, every muscle in her body tightened and, from the pit of her stomach, a detonation rocketed through her. Her world fractured and she screamed, fear mixing with insane desire, and he never ceased his ministrations until the last shiver rocked her body.

Standing, he took her into his arms, allowing her to recover. She opened her eyes slowly, for surely the world would look different. On fire, perhaps. Because she had been raised to believe pleasure like that would send her straight to the depths of Hell. But the room appeared the same. Hunger still burned in Wolfe’s eyes. The only change that had occurred had been within her.

“Are you all right?” The concern in his voice broke down the last wall around her heart. So determined had she been to keep her emotions out of the evening, yet how had she believed that possible? She’d experienced more in the last five minutes than she had in her entire life.

Nodding, she bit her lip. “Was that…?”

“An orgasm? Yes, and one of the most beautiful I have ever seen or tasted. And now that you know a woman’s pleasure, I can’t wait to help you become a woman in every other sense.” He arched a brow. “Tell me, have you ever seen a man naked?”

She swallowed hard. “Only in art at the museum, and then only when I could sneak a peek.”

“Well, that is something, at least.” His fingers paused at his waistband. “Do you want to undress me or watch?”

“I’m not sure I can move my muscles yet.”

Leaning in, he claimed her lips. “You are so good for my ego.” His body reminded her of the replica she’d seen of Michelangelo’s
David
. She wanted to touch him, wanted to feel his warmth.

Standing between her parted legs again, he placed her hands on his bare chest. In awe, she roamed her palms over the hard muscles. So in awe, in fact, she wasn’t aware he had kicked his pants off until he led her curious fingers to his erect manhood, holding her against him.

Hesitant, she began to pull away, but he tightened his hold, insisting her hand remain. As her nervousness eased, curiosity roared to the surface. She wrapped her hand around him and he hissed. Startled and afraid she’d hurt him, she began to retreat again, but he shook his head then taught her the stroking rhythm he enjoyed until she did it willingly and without fear.

He groaned. “That’s it.”

Staring at his remarkable girth, she asked, “How is that going to fit inside of me?”

“I will fit, but we will take it slow. Your body is created to take my cock.” He eased her back on the bed until they lay side by side. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

“Then, please, will you get rid of the mask so I may see the whole of you?”

For a brief second, she hesitated. She wanted to take it off. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember the reasons she wore the disguise. In the morning, she would be no more than an addition to the number of women whose beds he had graced. As much as she would have liked to believe differently, the only option for her to continue with him after this evening would be to become his mistress, and only if he asked. No. Better to be in the same room and never have him know they had shared an evening together. Shaking her head, she prepared to roll away.

“Be still.” His fingers brushed the soft lace of her mask. “Although I would love to see the face of the woman I am making love to, I will respect your desire.”

“I’m sorry I just….”

“Shhh. I don’t want any regrets tonight.” His lips captured hers, silencing anything else she might have said.

Disappointment wracked Wolfe, which, like his nervousness earlier, wasn’t a familiar emotion for him. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been truly disappointed in something. Of course, there were things he wished were better or different, but true disappointment was something else entirely. Not showing him her face told him she didn’t want more with him after their one evening together. And he already knew he wanted to know Llysa much longer than a few hours.

When she sat on the edge of the bed, it would be so easy to open the buttons of his breeches and release his cock from its confines. Sheathing himself deep within her would be exquisite, but her virgin body would be unable to take him, much less enjoy him at that angle. And he wanted her to enjoy every second of what he planned.

And afterward, after their liaison had ended, he wanted her to desire him from across the room at every ball. To want him so much she would cross the dance floor and tell him so. Drawing back in shock at the realization of how far under his skin she’d gotten, he shook his head.

“What’s wrong?” Confusion filled her eyes—green eyes he could spend hours staring into.

He smiled. “Nothing, my lady.” When he put his mind to something, he could do anything, and if he wanted her crossing a crowded ballroom to get to him at a later date, he must do everything in his power now to compel her to do so. She would forget everything ever taught her about the ton, about the rules and proprieties of society.

Rolling over her, he held himself up enough that he didn’t cover her. She must understand his power, and desire more of it. He loved the way her breath caught in surprise and her hands hesitated, unsure where she should place them. Trailing kisses over her neck, he tasted every inch she allotted him. Feathery brushes of his fingers began at her shoulder and downward, giving her only enough to entice but never enough to soothe. She needed to burn for him.

When his hand finally finished its journey down her breasts, over her full hips, and to the apex of her thighs, he found her wet and ready. He dipped one finger inside and she was as tight as he expected. Her inner walls clenched around him and he nearly came. Every ounce of willpower he’d spent his adult life cultivating prevented him from taking her.

“Breathe, Llysa.”

“Trying to.” She whimpered, shifting against his hand.

“Do you think you can you take more?”

Popping her head off the pillow, she squeaked, “More?”

Chuckling, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed foreplay as much. He rubbed her clit and when her head fell back, he eased a second finger inside. Working her into another impassioned frenzy, he prepared for the right moment to take her. The telltale signs of her shallow breathing, her death grip on his arms, and her body working his fingers told him she was nearly there. “That’s it, Llysa.”