She looked up at him with a stubborn tilt to her chin. “I am not going to change my mind, so stop treating me like a delicate flower.”
He groaned. “You are entirely missing the point of this kiss. Of course I am going to treat you delicately and with loving respect. But I am also going to put heat and passion into the kiss, to have you so hot that you’ll want to take your clothes off for me.”
She gasped. “That is ridiculous.”
“I’ll have you so hot, you’ll be ripping them off because you cannot work the ties and hooks fast enough.” Yet throughout, he would remain watchful and know immediately if she had changed her mind and wanted him to release her. The point was to show her how good a true marriage with all its intimacy could be for them.
She was staring at his lips as he spoke, looking doubtful but not at all scared.
Good, for this meant she trusted him. “Close your eyes, Syd.”
She let out a kittenish purr as she closed them.
This immediately raised the temperature within his own body, but he tried not to think of that. The kiss was for her sake, not for his. “Put your arms around my neck.”
She made another little purring sound that might have been a soft grumble, but she did as he asked. “You are spouting rules again, Octavian.”
“They are merely instructions to allow for a more fulfilling experience. I am not giving you rules about this kiss. In fact, there are no rules. Do as you please, respond as you please. Encourage me as you please.”
“That sounds rather daring.”
He smiled. “But that is you, Syd. A risk taker. A firebrand. An independent thinker. Shall we forget it? Do you want me to let you go?”
Her eyes popped wide so that all he saw were two big, beautifully green pools. “No.”
“I thought not. Close your eyes and let me take the lead in this until you feel ready to take over.”
It amazed him that every curve of hers felt so right pressed against him. Up close, her features appeared quite delicate. Softest pink lips and big, lively eyes that had so much going on behind them. Her skin was as smooth as porcelain and a slight blush stained her cheeks, reminding him that she was still innocent and he needed to take it slow with her.
But she was ready for more of a kiss than that first one he had given her on the night she tossed him off the roof. He angled his head so that his mouth could cover hers completely because he did not want her to talk or ask questions while he was seducing her.
He approached it as he would a naval battle, but he was not going in for the kill. He merely wanted her to surrender to him.
No halfway measures either.
Full surrender because it suddenly felt vitally important that Syd remain with him always. Yes, he might regret it by tomorrow.
He would worry about it then.
In truth, he knew there would be no regrets.
Syd was who he wanted as his wife.
He dipped his head and brought his lips down on the plump softness of hers with a determination that turned into something raw and possessive the moment she opened to allow him entrance.
He took her with his mouth in every way possible.
He would teach her tonight what other things he could do with his mouth and tongue.
Cad that he was, he wanted Syd howling with pleasure if she still wanted him to teach her about the act of love. But what he truly wanted was to teach her about actual love, about giving her heart to him and trusting that he would never break it.
His tongue now probed and tangled with hers, teasing and promising.
Syd responded with innocent vigor, not in the least hesitant to give back as good as she got. He should have known the impudent hoyden was never one to back down from a challenge. She clutched his shoulders and pushed her body more firmly against his, squirming against him as though she wanted to get inside of him…or allow him inside of her.
Blessed saints.
Was this not a good thing? She was never going to worry about anything naughty they did together because she trusted him with her heart.
