“No,” he said, stepping closer to her. “But if you’re a lady, I’ll do the honorable thing and leave you in peace.” He slipped a finger under the strap of her nightrail. If one could even call it that. He didn’t ask how she acquired it. He was just thankful she had it. He pressed a kiss to her neck, remembering that she liked that option.
Her hands slowly came up to his neck, and her eyes closed as she tilted her head to grant him better access. “I don’t think I’m a lady tonight. You make me feel too much a woman.”
He growled in response and bit her neck softly. His cock was already aching, wanting to press against her, slide through her, and into her if she wanted it.
“You lead. I already know what I would have us do tonight. But I know this is new for you.”
“I don’t know what there is to do. As much as it chagrins me to admit it, it’s better if you lead. I’ll follow.”
“The mighty Boudicca,” he whispered into her ear, “will follow my lead?” He was teasing her, of course. But there were layers of truth laced into his jest. He was a man with incredibly high standards. He commanded people to act and they did. He could have any woman he wanted, if he wanted any woman. Yet here he was, stupefied, falling for the most challenging woman he had ever met.
She had her own standards. And though they clashed against his, they didn’t undermine him. Not only that, she had her own set of rules by which she lived her life. Ever the perfect face in public, she broke rules when it was important to her. The woman was a master fencer and no one knew. God, she was brilliant.
And he was…
“I’m humbled, Boudicca. That you would follow me.”
“I trust you. In this.”
The words that had the potential to soar him to the highest heights stung. She trusted him. In this. Yet it was all accurate. She should only trust him in this. Yet, he wanted her to trust him in more. Maybe.
Maybe the bet wasn’t silly. Maybe fate had intervened when he was most cocky, thinking he could simply gallivant through another bet and win. Maybe it was fate that he had bumped into her.
At the very least, she trusted him in this. So he would devote himself to making this the best experience for her.
“I’ll give you your options then.”
Her soft smile pierced his heart. She could be vulnerable. She could be sweet. He had seen it. Yet she could be fierce. She was everything he needed but didn’t know he wanted in a woman. And she was here, trusting him with her body. Possibly more.
“If I give you two options, there’s always a third. Any time you want to stop, just say it.”
She nodded.
“First option,” he said, pointing toward the fireplace, “chaise or bed?”
“Chaise.”
He led her by the hand and sunk into the chaise. The tent in his breeches already jutting upward to greet her.
“Come,” he tugged her wrist and positioned her to straddle him. As she did, what little fabric she had pooled around her hips, and he could see her bare thighs. His hands stroked her smooth skin and squeezed. “God, you’re beautiful. The most beautiful warrior queen I’ve ever seen.”
She chuckled. “You’ve seen many then?”
“None. You’re the only one.”
She leaned forward and took his lips for ransom. It was not gentle. It was not the quiet calm she had been emitting. It was voracious. Her body was plied to his and then sinking down onto him. And the friction he craved soon started.
This was not at all the pace he had in mind, but if she was setting it, he was in it.
His hands dove up her back caressing her, feeling her. The closeness was heady. She was everything soft and fierce, and he couldn’t stop himself from wanting more.
And then she was up on her knees, pressing her breasts against his chest, and he wanted to be wearing far fewer layers. None to be precise.
His heart was on fire. His cock was on fire. The whole house could be on fire and he wouldn’t care. He needed her like he had never needed a woman before.
He pulled back. “Let me kiss you,” he whispered.
“Yes,” she answered and he knew she didn’t understand what she was agreeing to.
