Page 78 of A Perilous Passion

The feel of him was intoxicating, the smooth skin like velvet over the hard muscle of his rib cage. He was powerfully, overwhelmingly, enticingly male.

She gasped in shock as his head went down to lave warm, wet heat over one aching nipple. His teeth clamped gently over its erect peak and tugged. Her fingers clawed at his back as arousal surged through her. He began to suck, and she was washed away by a storm surge of delight that left her breathless.

Moments later, he raised his head and looked into her eyes, wicked triumph written on his face, but there was also vulnerability in their heated depths. He was clearly pleased with the effect he was having on her, yet beneath his proud mastery lay an uncertainty she’d never expected to find in such a man. How could such a skilled practitioner be subject to doubts?

The vulnerability vanished in a flashing smile as he reached across to fondle her other breast. Less gently now, he squeezed the pebbled nipple between thumb and forefinger, then tugged at it, sending lightning bolts of sensation flashing down to her very core while darts of pleasure tingled between her thighs.

Unable to speak, she squeezed her legs together and found the pressure pleasing. She looked up at him and knew that he knew, and she blushed.

He grinned—a primitive, feral grin. “No need to blush, my darling. There’s no place for modesty in bed. Here, we’re on another level, where the rules between men and women are very different. In fact, there are no rules at all, no borders, no boundaries other than between what feels exquisite and what does not.”

A dark cloud briefly covered the sun of her pleasure. Rafe’s knowledge was a stark reminder this was definitely not the first time he’d been with a woman. How many had there been before her? Doubtless, a fair few. After all, he was the Earl of Beckport, a wealthy peer. That, coupled with his rugged good looks, would make him a magnet for women. No doubt, he’d had plenty of opportunity to practice the art of seduction.

She really should be trying harder to resist him, before she lost her virtue entirely.

But his impassioned kiss, the delightful abrasion of his cheek, and the soft sweep of his hair against her face dispelled her thoughts of rebellion and withdrawal. She might not be able to resist him now, but she’d learn fast, she silently vowed, and one day she would have him begging…

He broke the kiss and eased back onto an elbow while his free hand stroked her cheek and brushed her hair back from her brow. “Did that arrogant boy ever tell you how beautiful you are?” he murmured. Before she could reply, he shook his head. “No, I don’t want to think about him. I hate him for finding you before I did. I’m jealous of the kisses he stole from you.”

Jealous? That sounded promising. Maybe she was a cut above her predecessors, after all.

She suddenly noticed he was unbuttoning the front flap of his breeches. Was he going to undress completely? Heavens! This, she needed to see.

Taking her hand, he brought it to rest between their stomachs. “Don’t be shy,” he urged. “You need to know what you’ve done to me.”

He guided her hand lower, until it brushed against his engorged member, sending shivers of amazement flooding through her. As he withdrew his hand to stroke her breasts again, she touched his erection, stunned at the sheer hardness of the shaft, thrilled by the softness of the taut skin and the heat that pulsed through him.

She stroked him, and a bone-deep shudder shook his sturdy frame. “Yes,” he hissed. “Yes!”

So, she had found her power. Sooner than she might have imagined.

Fascinated, she stroked the unbelievably silky flesh of him, the creases and throbbing veins. She grasped him and gave an experimental squeeze.

He made a choking noise and pulled her hand away. “No more, my love, I beg you. You’re too good at touching me. You push me almost beyond bearing. Give me a moment to recover, and I’ll gift you payment in kind.”

Enthralled, she waited, her whole body thrumming with excitement and desire.

He reached down and thrust two fingers deep inside her, and she almost fainted with shock.

“No, wait,” he murmured in her ear as she tried to wriggle free of him. “Don’t be embarrassed. Trust me.”

His fingers had slid so easily into the mysterious core of her femininity, she knew she must be wet down there. But how?

His thumb connected with a secret nub beneath the folds of her flesh, and he rubbed it gently. Her heart ceased to beat.

All her senses focused on the exquisite sensation he was creating, his thumb gently massaging and teasing that special spot while his fingers moved in and out of the slick well of her femininity. Such an intense feeling, she could hardly cope with it. The fires began to spread from her core all over her body, consuming her, drenching her with desire, making her lift her hips and push at his hand, hungry for more pressure, hungry for more delight.

She bucked and writhed uncontrollably as a climax of sensation swamped over her. She cried out, jabbing her hands into Rafe’s hair. He’d taken her to a place so close to paradise she could barely comprehend what was happening. In a blast of pure, unadulterated ecstasy, her body exploded and she flew, suspended in a torrent of bliss.

At last, she fell back, panting, onto the rumpled sheets.

Rafe pulled her into his arms and held her until the shuddering stopped, whispering words of comfort and love into her ear. As her senses gradually returned, he said, “You should probably go, before you are missed.”

“No.” She mewed her disappointment. She felt too deliciously lazy and satisfied to worry about such mundane things. Her body felt as if it had been through a rite of purification—free, cleansed, more aware of itself than it had ever been before. Now her body knew how to wield its power, and how to accept its pleasure.

She would never feel the same again. This rite of passage had taken her to a level beyond womanhood.

And…it had also brought her to total ruin.