taking her gaze from his stroking hand.
“What a demanding taskmaster you are.” Jago forced the words through his gritted teeth, determined not to embarrass himself. Who would have imagined that pleasuring himself in front of a woman could be so bloody arousing?
With the coat gone she wore only her loose working man’s shirt and a blanket. As calm as she appeared, the throbbing pulse at the base of her throat gave away the tumult inside her.
She took the hem of her shirt, lifted it over her head, and tossed it aside. Strips of fabric covered her from her waist to just below her collar bones. She tugged out the end, which was tucked under at her waist.
“Let me.” Jago released himself and stepped forward, taking the strip from her fingers. He passed the fabric behind her, his arms encircling her body, but not touching her.
As cool as the room was her skin was sheened and she smelled of sweat, and horse, and rain. No perfume had ever smelled so erotic.
There were three layers and the last was thin, her body limned beneath the flimsy cloth.
He could see the half-moon shadows beneath her small, firm breasts and the dark circles of her areolae. His hand shook as he pulled away the remaining muslin and let it flutter to the floor.
“Good God,” he muttered.
He slid his hands around her narrow waist and felt her shudder. Her pink nipples were already tight, like the bud of a rose.
She whimpered when Jago lowered his mouth over her breast, her hands clutching his shoulders in a punishing grasp. Something about the unexpected strength in her elegant limbs made him smile as he teased first one peak and then the other, until her breathing was ragged and raw.
He pushed his fingers beneath the blanket encircling her waist and felt the muscles of her stomach flutter as he gave a slight tug and the blanket joined the bindings on the floor.
Jago stood back to admire her. She was tall and sleek with only the slightest curve to her narrow hips. Her pubic hair, he couldn’t help noticing, was lighter than the hair on her head.
When he looked up, he saw that she was watching him with an expression that was both aloof and challenging.
Jago slid his arms around her again and squeezed her tight. Already her lithe, slender body felt familiar and beloved.
“You’re magnificent,” he whispered against her temple. “I know you promised me a seduction, but I need to be inside you, Benna.”
She nodded. “There’s just one more thing.”
“Oh?”
Her hands glided over his shoulders, down his back, and came to rest on his buttocks. And then she squeezed both his cheeks, her fingers digging into the muscle.
Jago laughed and pulled away so he could see her face.
She gave him an uncharacteristically shy smile. “I needed to do that.”
“I think it needed doing,” he said, no doubt grinning like a fool. He kissed the tip of her nose and then scooped up the discarded blanket and spread it out in front of the fire.
He took her hand. “Lie down with me.”
Once they were side by side and hip to hip he kissed her. “Touch me, Benna,” he whispered against her mouth. “Everywhere.”
Her hand, calloused and strong, caressed from his waist to his chest, dropping lower with each stroke, until her palm again rested on one of his buttocks.
When she squeezed him again, he groaned. “That feels delicious. Do it harder.”
She chuckled and dug her fingers into the hard globes of flesh while Jago trailed kisses down her throat and chest, pausing to suck a nipple into his mouth. He teased both her breasts until the tips were hard and pebbled.
“Benna,” he whispered against the thin, sensitive skin before resuming his journey, nipping and licking and kissing his way down to the source of her pleasure.
***
The muscular globes of his bottom slipped away from Benna’s greedy hand.
“Roll over,” Jago muttered against her belly, giving her a gentle push.
Once she was on her back, he nudged her thighs apart and settled between them, his hair silky soft as it slid over the quivering muscles of her stomach.
Warm slightly rough fingers brushed against her lower lips and she shivered as he parted her folds.
“So pretty,” he praised.
Benna watched through slitted eyes as he lowered himself between her spread thighs. His lips were parted in an expression of anticipation, the light from the fire reflected on his spectacles.
His spectacles.
“You are still wearing your glasses,” she said.
He looked up at her, a