His heartwaspounding at her nearness, at her touch, and he marveled at the inexplicable jumble of emotions that lodged in his chest even as he attempted to identify them: Triumph? Yes. Satisfaction? Definitely.
Infatuation?
Quite possibly.
He could barely believe that this was real, that she was here, warm and naked in his bed. He’d fantasized about this situation so often that his brain almost refused to believe it was anything other than a dream.
But her skin was smooth and soft beneath his, her gorgeous lipsright thereto be kissed, and he smoothed his thumb over the lower one with a sense of wonder.
She might like to pretend to be a virgin, but he was the one who felt as if he were discovering things for the first time.
He’d lost his own virginity to a flirtatious dairymaid when he was seventeen, and his subsequent lovers had all been women of equal experience. He should have found Tess’s “innocence” annoying, a calculated act to rouse his interest, but there was something so refreshing about her, a playfulness and curiosity that made him uncharacteristically lighthearted. He’d allowed himself to be drawn into her illusion willingly.
Making love with her once wasn’t nearly enough. He was greedy for all of her secrets, for knowledge no other man possessed. He wanted to know how she liked to be touched, how hard she liked to be kissed. What made her eyelids flutter and her pulse pound in her throat. How her breathing changed when she dreamed.
He wanted all of her.
And tonight was only the beginning.
Chapter Twenty-Six
When Tess awoke, she was alone, but the sheets beside her were still warm, as if Thornton had only just left. She was naked, and her skin heated as she recalled everything that had happened during the night.
The second time he’d made love to her he’d been slower, more methodical. As if he’d been determined to take her to the very edge of madness. He’d kissed every inch of her, both through the silken nightgown, and without. He’d trailed his fingers over her curves, lingering with absolute focus on the areas that made her writhe and buck and sigh.
Tess had joked that if he paid his account books the same close attention as he paid her, then it was no wonder he was so successful. His answering smile had made her glow.
He’d extinguished the light by the bed, and she’d dozed in his arms, luxuriating in a half-waking dream of warmth and lazy caresses.
Dawn had just begun to lighten the edges of the curtains the last time he’d woken her. Tess had been fuzzy-headed, but his rough voice by her ear had brought herback to full wakefulness. He was behind her, close against her back, his hand lazily cupping her breast. His hardness pressed against her bottom.
She should have been shocked, but it seemed so natural, so completelyrightto be there with him that she couldn’t summon an ounce of outrage. Her body was perfectly attuned to his embrace.
“Are you sore?” he whispered.
His hand skimmed her hip and a shiver of excitement trickled down her spine.
“A little,” Tess answered truthfully, but when he started to draw back, she caught his arm. “But not enough to tell you to stop.”
His answer was a low rumble. “Excellent wife.”
He pressed a soft kiss to her temple even as his cock slid between her thighs.
Tess let out a little gasp of surprise. “Like this?”
He smiled against her neck. “Are we still playing the virgin game? Or have you never done it this way with anyone else?”
Tess bit her lip. “Never done it.”
True. She’d never evenimaginedpeople made love this way. She really should have stolen more of those erotic drawings from Case’s—
Her train of thought dissolved as he slid into her.
“God, you’re so sweet. So tight.”
His impassioned growl made her body clench around him and she arched her back, instinctively searching for a better angle. He caught her hip and pressed forward. “Don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.”
