Tempting the Footman (House of Devon #5) - Lauren Smith Page 0,34

not sure of what to do. Perhaps you could take the lead?” She asked him this so sweetly that it almost killed him.

“I would be happy to. But you must promise to tell me to stop if you change your mind. Do you understand?”

Venetia nodded.

Adrian stood and pulled back the covers, exposing her to him. Her nightgown reached her shins, but it was thin enough that he could see her curves generously hinted at beneath the cloth. Adrian removed his boots, stockings, and shirt, laying them carefully on one of the chairs before he returned to the bed. Venetia had moved, sitting so that her lovely legs and dainty feet were draped over the edge. He stopped just in front of her and captured her hands, lifting them to his chest.

“First, you touch me,” he said. He knew it would make it harder to focus, but he wanted her to feel like she had some control in this. Adrian believed that lovemaking was an act shared between two people, not one simply taking pleasure of another. And if this ended up being his only night with Venetia, he wanted it to be special.

Venetia was hesitant to touch Adrian’s bare chest. He was so excruciatingly beautiful, like the Adonis she’d first named him. Her palms slid up his chest, his warm skin enticing. She leaned in and rubbed her cheek against his chest. A light smattering of dark hair trailed from his upper chest and down below his navel, vanishing beneath the line of his trousers. She explored him, her body flushing with heat as she responded to him.

Adrian’s fingers rubbed lightly over her skin as he stood there, letting her explore him. Then after a moment, he raised her chin and bent his head to capture her mouth. The kiss was languid, decadent. It was like biting into ripe strawberries and savoring their sugary sweetness. He gently bit her lower lip and flicked his tongue against hers in a playful rhythm that reminded her of what he had done with his fingers in the hidden passageway.

She was barely aware of him pulling at the edges of her loosened nightgown, slipping it down over her shoulders until it pooled around her waist. She gasped as one of his hands cupped her bare breast. He squeezed and rolled her sensitive nipple between his thumb and forefinger, causing a zing of harsh pleasure to shoot from the tip of her breast to her womb. She clutched at the strands of his dark hair, tangling her fingers in it as he continued to kiss her. A wetness pooled between her thighs, and she rubbed against him, trying to ease the growing need within her.

He broke the kiss, panting. Then he pushed her flat on the bed—not roughly, but with a possessive command that thrilled her. He gripped her nightgown, and she lifted her hips to allow him to remove it. Then he spread her thighs and leaned over her on the bed.

The cool night air drifted across her skin, cooling her just as his touch set her on fire all over again. Adrian kissed down her throat to her breasts, sucking at both nipples until she was hungry to feel his mouth in other wicked places. His hands were slightly rough to the touch, hands that had lived a life of work, hands that filled her with excitement and arousal. The thought of his strength and how he might overpower her with seduction was a fantasy she’d never indulged in until now.

She was suddenly shy, yet it was almost impossible to focus on the part of herself that wanted to conceal her nakedness. He ran his tongue inside her navel, then kissed down to her mound. She panted and trembled now as he parted her legs wider and covered her sensitive bud with his lips. She nearly screeched and bowed off the bed in shock at the violent yet pleasurable sensations his mouth caused between her legs. He chuckled against her in a wicked rumbling sound that was so utterly masculine and dominant that it made her head spin. He knew exactly what to do to drive a woman wild.

When he flicked his tongue against her folds, she had to cover her mouth with a balled fist to silence another scream. It was too much. The climax hit her hard, leaving her limp and breathless. She closed her eyes, feeling as though she were melting into the mattress beneath her. Then something nudged her