Love Is a Rogue (Wallflowers vs. Rogues #1) - Lenora Bell Page 0,96

brings joy and freedom and endless possibilities.”

She was wiping something off his cheeks with her thumbs. He must be crying. But he never allowed himself to weep, to be vulnerable.

There was a first time for everything.

“You’ve changed me, Ford. When I showed my true self to the world at the ball, that was . . . because of you, because of the way you challenged me to live my own life. To discover myself, expose myself, my true self, without fear of rejection when the inevitable laughter arrived. It took courage. And what I’m doing right now, uncovering myself for you . . .”

She sat up and slipped one sleeve of her blue gown off her shoulder. “Exposing myself for you . . .” The other sleeve fell. Her hands moved to the top of her bodice and she slid it down her body.

It was nearly unbearable, the tension of that last half inch, the fabric clinging to her nipples, ready to fall and show him everything he craved so badly. His cock hardened and his mouth went dry.

She looked down at her exposed breasts, and then she looked at him and smiled. She was a highly intelligent woman. She didn’t make this offering easily or glibly.

This was Beatrice at the height of her power and Ford was in awe of her—absolutely in awe of this woman.

“Beatrice,” he moaned. He drew her into his embrace, sliding the gown off her small, perfect breasts and lowering his mouth, taking her nipple between his lips, tonguing it with swirling strokes.

“This takes courage, Ford,” she said, curving her body to meet his tongue. “Are you brave enough to meet me halfway?”

She was everything he desired.

He could no longer picture leaving her, resuming the life he’d left behind when he agreed to renovate her bookshop.

That life didn’t exist anymore. It didn’t fit anymore.

When their bodies coupled, he knew that it would change him. This was a journey into the unknown.

She smelled like fresh night air and apple blossoms.

He rubbed her neck muscles, wanting to ease her tension.

Why did she have to be so very beautiful? Hair like flame. Skin smooth as silk. Trusting eyes. He kissed the base of her neck and flicked his tongue over the pulse beating wildly there.

She sighed, fitting herself more firmly against him.

Too much fabric between them. Remove skirts and petticoats. She flung her spectacles onto the bedside table, eagerly returning to his embrace.

Linger on the silken ribbons of her garters. Trail his fingers along her inner thighs and listen to her breath catch. Watch her eyes close as firelight flickered across her face.

Touch her sex with the tip of his finger, gently opening her, reveling in her wet heat. Sinking his finger inside to the knuckle.

He could deny her nothing. He would give her everything.

Including his heart.

He removed all of her clothing, and his, until they were naked together. He stroked his hands all over her, everywhere he wanted to roam.

No area forbidden. No signposts warning him away. They would find their way together through this uncharted territory.

The curve of her belly, and the soft hair between her legs, a mahogany reddish color, not as fiery as her head.

Holding her gaze as he dipped his fingers inside her wet heat.

He built kiss upon kiss, guiding her toward ecstasy.

He loved the halo of coppery curls spread against the white sheets. Those rosy-tipped nipples begging for his lips again, cheeks flushed and eyes lit by desire.

Take. Drink deep. Give.

Starry sky over the prow of a ship. Journey into the unknown.

He kept his fingers inside her as he kissed her breasts, and moved lower, shifting down the bed until he could taste her again.

She held still, tensing, as he lapped at her sex softly and slowly. He used his free hand to stroke her belly, quieting the muscles there.

She relaxed against the bed, giving herself to the pleasure.

Hearing her soft moans and feeling her clench around him as she climaxed gave him an intense pleasure. After her crisis she lay limply against the bed. His cock throbbed.

She opened her eyes.

“Still want ravishing?” he asked.

“Very much so.”

Tongue to tongue, hot blood now, fire in his veins. He shifted his weight onto his hands. He pushed forward gently, pausing to give her time to adjust, listening intently for any cry of displeasure, of pain.

When he was fully buried inside her, he began to move, rocking deeper. It was everything he’d imagined.

“Beatrice, it feels so good. I never want to leave.” He splayed her