“Mm,” she mumbled, pushing into his touch. “I do. Evan...” Her voice was reedy, heavy with need, and something in him responded to that call as if his soul finally recognized its reason for being. With his thumb he pushed down the lace covering her. When he revealed the dark brown tip of her breast he bent down and sucked it into his mouth, familiar already with the taste of the cocoa butter she used on her skin. He swirled his tongue around the nipple, flicked it until she cried out, spine arching. He played with her, pulling skin into his mouth until it reddened, then doing it again. He wanted to mark her, he wanted to inhale her, devour her.
You make me yearn to be known, and I don’t know how to do that.
He went to kiss her, but his bride was faster, capturing his bottom lip between her teeth and licking into his mouth. She took as much as she gave, and he reveled in all of it. All he could do was fall to his knees.
He pushed up her skirts until they were a cloud of tulle around her waist. He glanced up and found her gazing down at him eagerly. With his eyes locked with hers, he ran his thumb along the seam of her, feeling the wetness of her arousal.
“My bride,” he breathed, making her gasp. “What do you want, mo cridhe?” He wanted to hear her say it. Wanted to, if only here in this place, in this way, uncompromisingly give her exactly what she asked for.
“What you did before,” she said, eyes closed now. He clicked his tongue, lapping the tight nub of nerves, and she bucked as if shocked.
“Eyes open.” She looked at him through slits, unamused by his demands. “Ask for what you want, Luz Alana.”
“Your mouth...” She trailed off as he rubbed gentle circles on her clitoris, just a caress. “What you do...to make me climax.”
He pressed up so his shoulders kept her open to him, and he descended on her like a ravenous beast. She gripped the back of his head as he feasted on her, the sounds he made echoing in the room. He slurped her up, drinking everything she gave him—always parched for her. He grazed his teeth against sensitive skin there, and she moaned, a deep guttural sound. When he pulled up the hood to expose that bundle of nerves and sucked her roughly, she screamed his name, her legs trembling against him, until her climax crested.
“I need to,” he said, voice low and rough, “I have to be inside you.”
He moved up her body, pushing down his trousers without caring if he tore them to pieces in the process. Their mouths were locked together, tongues wrestling. She wrapped her legs around his waist and canted her hips as he pressed inside. They both gasped as he sought to seat himself, deep, deeper inside her.
“This is...” he muttered, unable to voice what was urging to leave his lips.
This is what I needed. The only thing that matters. The only place things make sense.
“The way you take me in. Perfect.” Evan drove into her body with barely restrained desperation. “I can’t get enough.” He punctuated every word with a hard thrust.
“I need more,” she begged, her head thrown back as she moved to meet him, mindlessly reaching for her climax again.
“Take what you need,” he grunted as he walked them to the bed, still buried inside her. He only made it to the edge, and then she was astride him. “Use me, love,” he said as he gripped her hips. She leaned forward, planting her palms on his chest, and rocked into him. She was glorious, her breasts swaying as she chased her pleasure. He reached to pinch a nipple, and her mouth fell open in a silent cry.
“You love this,” he said as his hands worked her.
“Evan,” she yelled hoarsely as she stiffened on top of him, her channel spasming around him. Soon he was sinking into his own orgasm, limbs aflame as blinding pleasure exploded inside him. He heard himself cry out as her fingers dug into his skin.
Every time with this woman he felt made anew. Like every sin had been atoned for. Washed clean of everything that had been. He knew better than to believe that, but how he wished it were true.
“I think you tore my new favorite corset,” she muttered testily against his mouth, and he throbbed with contentment. They’d managed to clean up somewhat and were now lying in bed together.
Dinner, in the end, had been brought to them on trays which were discreetly delivered to his bedchamber while Luz Alana hid under the covers. They ate and talked, sharing a plate of cold chicken, fruit, cheese and bread. Not exactly a wedding feast, but once again a simple meal with this woman proved to be more gratifying than any he could think of.
“I’ll buy you a dozen,” he told her between kisses.
“But I liked this one.”
“I’ll buy every single one Madame Cadolle has in her shop,” he said, handing her the bottle of champagne they’d been sharing, drinking straight from the bottle. Luz raised it to her mouth and shot him a sideways glance before drinking deeply.
“If you think I’m going to say you shouldn’t indulge me, you’re very mistaken,” she enlightened him between sips, making him chuckle. A new thing he did, thanks to Luz Alana.
Once she was finished with the champagne, she moved and sat between his legs, pressed as tightly against him as she could.
“This is not how I envisioned my wedding night, but I don’t know if I’d change any of it. It’s been oddly perfect.” She handed him the bottle, looking up at him with a rueful expression, not knowing she’d just ripped his heart right out of his chest. He obliged by taking a drink before placing it on the wide edge of the headboard.
“You are well loved here,” she said, still looking at him, a bit curiously now. Searching for his reaction to her words. It wasn’t a question, exactly, but he was certain there was a very particular answer she was after.
“I stay away for weeks, sometimes months at a time, and the only way I can ensure that the distillery and the land are well cared for is by caring for the people that look after it.”
She shot him a disbelieving look, then settled back against his chest.
