and then slipped off his jacket. She moved away to place the jacket on a chair next to the fire to dry.
“Do they know we are sharing a room?” she whispered.
“No,” he lied only to spare her feelings.
“Was Ainsley angry with me for stealing his carriage?” She walked back to him and worked on the buttons on his shirt.
Simon chuckled. “You didn’t pilfer Ainsley’s carriage.”
Her hands faltered on the last button. She glanced up at him from under her lashes. “I didn’t? Then whose did I steal?”
He lowered his head to hers and stole a quick kiss. “Mine.”
“Yours? I wasn’t certain you would be there. How could I have picked your carriage out from the five that were there? Ainsley came around the horses, so I assumed the carriage was his.”
“Mine. He was admiring the horses.” He cupped her cheeks and kissed her until she responded with the passion he knew she concealed from everyone, save him. She tasted sweet and heady like wine on an empty stomach. And he wanted the entire bottle. All of her.
She tugged on his shirt until it finally loosened from his trousers. Breaking the kiss, she lifted the offending garment until he took over and yanked it over his head. He tossed it across the room.
“We should put it by fire to dry,” she said, looking over to the far corner where the shirt had landed.
“Later.” Simon pulled her into his arms and slanted his lips over hers again and again. He trembled with the light touch of her fingers on his chest.
“What are you doing to me?” he whispered.
Emma smiled as she stared at his chest in wonder. She focused on his chest, skimming her fingers up to his nipples. His skin felt warm under her fingers, but there was such strength in him. She brushed her fingernails across his skin.
“Emma,” he groaned.
“Do you like that?” She had no idea what he might or might not like, but believing men and women couldn’t be that different, she assumed his nipples would be sensitive too.
“Yes, I like that,” he rasped as his breathing increased. “Ever so much.”
“What else would you like?”
“So much, but first, will you remove my boots?”
“Of course.” She waited for him to sit in the chair nearest the fire.
He sat down without a word.
She clasped the heel with both hands and tugged. A slight movement meant progress but not the complete removal as she expected. Looking up at him, she asked, “Am I doing this wrong?”
“Try straddling my leg and pulling.”
She did as he suggested and bent over to yank the boot again. Just as the boot slid off his foot, she heard him groan.
“Dear God,” he muttered.
She glanced back at him. “Did I hurt you?”
“God, no.”
He’d been staring at her derrière. Did men like to look at women that way? Based on his reaction, she had to believe they did. And if that were the case, she would give him something to gaze at. She straddled his other leg and bent over him again. Only this time, she wiggled her hips as she tugged at the boot.
“You little minx,” he rasped.
Once the boots and stockings were off, she pulled his hands to stand up so she could remove his trousers and satisfy her curiosity once and for all. Before she could reach for his trousers, he drew up against him and kissed her passionately. She matched the sensual rasp of his tongue with hers until her knees nearly gave out.
“Do you know how much I want you?” he asked.
Emboldened by his passion, she drew her finger up the wool-covered length of his shaft. “I believe I do.”
“Take these damned things off.”
“Yes, sir.”
She found the buttons under his trousers' falls and quickly slid the cloth over his slim hips. A gasp escaped her when his thick shaft escaped the restraints of his trousers. He took her hand and brought it to his hard cock. It was not at all what she expected. Hard, yet the skin there was soft like velvet. He showed her how to touch him, skim her fingers over him, and rub the top of him until a small bead of liquid seeped out.
“If you do much more than that, you will unman me,” he whispered. “Besides, it is your turn.”
“My turn?”
“For pleasure.”
“Oh,” she whispered. Memories of the day in his bedroom flooded her. With Simon, she felt no fear that he would mistreat her. She doubted she could have picked a better man for her first time.