The Matter of a Marquess - Jess Michaels Page 0,61
him. “Come, lie down on the bed. Let me help.”
His brow wrinkled as he stared at her. She thought he might refuse. Thought he might deny her that desire to help if she could. Perhaps he didn’t yet trust her enough. But finally he nodded and eased his way up on her bed. She tugged off his boots and as he pulled his jacket and shirt off, she unfastened his trousers.
He was half-hard, despite the exchange at the door, and she smiled as she drew a finger along his length. It jolted to full attention as he growled above her. “That’s one way to distract me.”
She laughed as she tugged his trousers down, discarding them over her shoulder so he was naked once more. She could see the muscles in his leg twitching slightly and her ardor faded. “Ooch,” she murmured. “It was too rough a day.”
He shrugged. “It is what it is.”
“I saw you rubbing the muscle,” she said. “Would that help?”
“I mean, help, yes. I might grouse about it regardless. You’ll have to ignore that.”
She smiled and placed her hands on the muscle. She stroked gently at first, and he hissed out a sound before he eased back on the pillows and flopped a hand over his eyes. He didn’t want her to see his face. His pain. That was still too private in some ways.
But she didn’t do this for herself, after all. She was doing it for him. She increased the pressure of her hands and he jerked slightly. “Too much?” she asked.
“It’s doing what it needs to do,” he said, the tension high in his voice. “But I much prefer literally any other way you touch me.”
“And that will be your reward when you get through this,” she promised, and repeated the kneading motion, watching him react as she loosened a few of the knots beneath his skin. After a little while, the muscle stopped twitching and he let out a ragged sigh.
“I think that’s enough for now,” he said. “Not only because I’m at my limit, but also because I didn’t come here to be babied.”
She tapped on his forearm, still flopped over his face, and he slowly slid it away to meet her stare. His brown eyes were dilated, but not with pleasure—with lingering pain.
She cupped his chin and leaned in closer. “Taking care of you doesn’t mean you’re being babied,” she said softly. “I like taking care of you. The way I just did or…” She lowered her hand and traced his cock again with her fingers. He went half-hard again almost instantly. “Or that way.”
“I prefer the second,” he grunted as he cupped her backside and pulled her closer by one staggering step. She was pressed to the edge of the mattress now and laughed as she kissed him at last.
He lifted up on one elbow while he held her firm against him with his other hand. His kiss deepened, his tongue swirling against hers, sucking her until her knees shook with growing desire.
“I can’t take my time,” he whispered as he trailed his hand down her body, found her breast, squeezed the fullness, stroked a thumb over her already hard nipple.
“Don’t,” she mumbled around his tongue. “Hurry, hurry.”
He nodded against her lips. His hands found their way to the back of her silky gown and parted the buttons with a few flicks of the wrist. She giggled at the ease with which he’d done it.
“You’d think you were a libertine,” she whispered.
He laughed, low and rough. “I’ve never been so happy to have Roseford blood rushing through my veins. Although I think what truly makes me a libertine is you, and the fact that I can’t wait to touch you.”
As he said it, he peeled her dress over her shoulders. She stepped away from him and tugged it off the rest of the way. It pooled at her feet, leaving her in her flimsy chemise. He cursed beneath his breath, and she smiled. “Is that a compliment?”
“Always,” he groaned. “Come up here. I need you up here next to me.”
She pulled the chemise off and moved to the bottom of the bed. She took a place at his good side, so that when he rolled he wouldn’t have to lie on the injury. He shook his head as he drew his fingers along her bare shoulder. “You’re always thinking, aren’t you?”
“I’m barely functional, I assure you,” she gasped as he leaned in and dragged his bristled cheek against her breast.