as he licked along her flesh.
Beatrix clasped her head, an anchor to ground her in the coming storm. This was more than the touch of him against her, the sensations he aroused within her—there was a bone-deep desperation not just to feel, but to share, to open herself to him completely. She abandoned rational thought and surrendered.
His tongue penetrated her, and she moaned, her hips moving beneath him. He put her legs over his shoulders and replaced his tongue with his finger, pumping into her as he licked her clitoris, pushing her to limits she’d never even glimpsed before. It was more than a storm. It was an absolute overtaking of her body and mind. She was coiled and tight, utterly at his command. He owned her in that moment, his mouth and fingers driving her ever higher and hotter until she had no option but to combust.
She cried out as her release shattered her into a million pieces—all his. He was relentless, continuing his onslaught until the waves tossing her body began to slow. Then he withdrew.
Opening her eyes, she watched him strip away his smallclothes. She scrambled to her knees, legs shaking, and drew her chemise over her head, then tossed it to the floor.
He climbed onto the bed, his eyes molten silver, his lips parted, his jaw set in rigid determination. He knelt before her, his sex jutting out and grazing her belly. She reached between them and clasped the base of his shaft. His eyes slitted as he sucked in a sharp gasp.
Eyes fixed on his, she stroked him, slowly at first and then increasing her pace and the firmness of her grip. His lids fell closed, and he moaned. Moisture leaked from him, and she gathered it with her hand, using it to move faster over his velvet flesh.
On the next stroke, she reached lower and cupped his sac, her fingers massaging his balls. “Beatrix.”
Kissing her, he clasped her waist and lifted her. “Put me inside you,” he said raggedly.
She guided his cock into her sex while he held her steady. Slowly, they joined, her body sheathing his. She curled her legs around his hips as he clasped her backside and began to move.
He pierced her completely, sliding in and out of her with ruthless precision. Each stroke made her want to weep.
“Look at me,” he whispered.
She did, locking her gaze with his once more. It made the sensation even more intense.
“This is perfection,” he breathed. “Nothing will ever be this good.”
He kissed her again, his tongue tangling savagely with hers as he swept her back, pushing her to the bed beneath him. She managed to unfold her legs and not lose him. Settling between her thighs, he drove hard into her. She wrapped her legs around him and dug her fingers into his back, crying out as the ecstasy built to an almost impossible height.
He went faster, and she fell apart again, whimpering with each thrust that brought an even greater pleasure. He shouted and let out a soft curse as he pulled himself from her and spilled his seed on her thigh.
“My God, Beatrix. I’m sorry.”
She panted, trying to regain her breath. “Why would you be? That was, as you said, perfect.”
He rolled to the side and swore again. “I almost forgot to pull myself from you. Jesus.” He put his arm over his eyes, his chest heaving.
Beatrix slipped from the bed and found a cloth to clean herself. Dropping it into an empty basin, she took another cloth to him and tidied him too.
He lowered his arm and peered at her, barely lifting his head from the bed. “What are you doing?”
“Tending to you.” She smiled as she finished. “All clean now.” Then she went and threw the soiled linen atop the other one.
Returning to the bed, she curled next to him, laying her hand on his chest. “Now. Will you tell me what happened? The night we met, I mean. I think you must.”
He glanced at her, the anguish they’d banished for a short time having returned.
“Not because I want you to, but because it will help.” She rose upon her elbow and looked down at him, at the torment lining his handsome face. “You have such a burden. Will you share it with me?”
“I don’t know if I can.” His gaze met hers. “I don’t know if I can bear for you to hate me.”
She touched his jaw, gently stroking his warm flesh. “I don’t think I ever could.”
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