in warning.
He dropped her coat to the carpet, and Phoebe stared at him wordlessly when he came back around, lowered to his knees, and removed her boots. Shock jerked through her as she realized he was undressing her. Her gaze jumped to the bed and then to the top of his head. “Hugh…I…”
He glanced up, and her words strangled at the intensity in his gaze. Show me, she had urged wickedly, and now the moment was upon her, a fine trembling cascaded through her body.
“I have been waiting for this…for you,” she breathed.
His eyes darkened, and his fingers lifted from her shin. “Every day I have hungered for you, Phoebe. Every day it was a torture not to take you.”
The tension thickened, and her heart jerked so fiercely, she felt weak. He resumed his duties and removed her boots fully. His fingers coasted up her shin to the garters holding up her stockings. He rolled them off, one by one.
He stood and shrugged from his jacket then his waistcoat. With a sense of shock, Phoebe realized he would remove all his clothes here…right now.
She curled her toes into the carpet. “I…I have never seen a naked man before,” she blurted.
His gaze sharpened and glittered with fierce triumph, and the fingers untying his neckcloth paused briefly. How silly it all sounded considering she had birthed a child. Now she wished she had told him the details of how she had lost her virtue. But she had been too grateful he hadn’t demanded a great explanation. But what if he now had expectations of her experience as a lover? Phoebe felt woefully unprepared for this level of intimacy and boldness.
She cast her mind to the past and recalled that before she had even dared to kiss George that night, she had consumed at least five glasses of sherry, and everything had been hazy and warm. Though she did not think she needed the liquid courage to be warm, for she was already burning with a frightful heat.
“Have you…have you done this before?”
A crooked half smile curved his lips, and he nodded once.
The neckcloth dropped to the floor, and his shirt was dragged from his trousers, the buttons undone. How fiercely her heart shook, and a sweet, mystifying ache trembled low in her belly when he pushed the shirt from his body.
Oh! The body he was revealing was lithe and beautifully muscled, showing not an ounce of fat. His hands went to his trousers, and she couldn’t bear to look anymore. She heard when they fell to the floor, imagined she heard when he removed his stockings from his feet. Phoebe could feel his stare on her face and fighting the blush, she faced him. He was…splendidly formed, corded with smooth muscle, full of power and elegance. Tight buttocks flowed into lean, strong legs.
She colored fiercely as she glanced at his manhood. He jutted proudly, and to her mind he seemed significantly larger than all the wicked paintings and sculptures she had seen. He padded over to her, and his male beauty stole her breath. Her heart pounded, and her hands trembled as she reached out and touched him, trailing her fingertips over his chest.
He was so beautiful.
The stark lines of his face were heightened by desire. Hugh cupped her cheek and took her mouth with his. Phoebe clutched at his arms and tipped slightly onto her toes. His kiss offered no mercy, but she didn’t want that tender consideration, responding to the ravishing force of his kiss with artless wonder.
It was over too soon, and a soft sigh of need escaped from her. In complete silence, he removed her chemise and stays, stockings, and drawers. Phoebe stood naked before her husband, the curtain of her hair covering her breasts and shoulders. A wave of shyness engulfed her, but she lifted her chin and returned his stare. He seemed awe-struck, and the awareness of it filled her with a sense of wonder. His regard was slow and pointedly bold as he perused her body. Desire lit the beautiful depths of his eyes as they moved over her face and then down the length of her.
“You are stunning, my wife.”
The warm admiration in his eyes as they stroked over her was pleasing.
She closed the distance between them by taking two small tentative steps toward him. His thumb brushed her cheek tenderly before he signed. “Are you scared?”
Unexpected yearning rose to choke her like thick smoke. “I want you too much to be afraid,” she