Page 72 of An Inconvenient Vow

“That’s good,” Sabina assured him, arranging her long braids on either side of her head. “There. How is that?”

Jeffree’s gaze roamed over her face and hair at once, his blue eyes heating. He cleared his throat. “Good,” he admitted. “Pleasing.”

Sabina nodded and made no move to grab the sheet that was fast slipping down and exposing her cleavage. Jeffree’s startled gaze dipped, then returned hurriedly to her face. He cleared his throat.

Strange to say, she liked the fact he had no polished phrases to trot out at this point. Miles’s repertoire, she was now convinced, was most likely spouted to all his conquests. “You can touch them,” she offered lightly.

Jeffree’s face turned even redder. “And by them, you mean…?”

Sabina gave a faint splutter. “Well, I meant my braids, but… whatever you will.” He shifted closer, one hand reaching and clasping her left braid where it started behind her ear. Sabina watched his face as he lightly squeezed and ran his thumb over the woven sections of her hair. He looked so absorbed in his task, it quite took her breath away.

Really, she thought, the Duke of Bethencourt’s heir must not have been allowed to mix with any young girls in his youth. And did old Sir Hereward never have a daughter to throw smiles Jeffree’s way? All she recalled was Jeffree saying he was a drunkard who passed out face-first in a wineskin of an evening. Was Jeffree raised like a monk, deprived of all female company? It was a puzzle to be sure.

Impulsively, she reached over and ran her hand tentatively down the intriguing blond fuzz covering his chest. Jeffree caught his breath, his eyes seeking her own. She gave him an encouraging half-smile and he exhaled noisily, his other hand mirroring hers by reaching for her almost bared bosom.

When it hovered there uncertainly, Sabina reached out and captured it, pressing it to the softness of her breast. Jeffree froze, one hand wrapped around her braid, the other resting on her bosom. For a minute she thought he had forgotten to breathe.

Sabina cleared her throat. “Perhaps we should kiss?” she suggested quietly, and his eyes widened as though she had asked some impossible feat of him. “Or not,” she said quickly, interpreting his silence as disinclination.

“I want to,” he said at once, licking his lips. “It’s just… can you permit me a moment to savor this much?” She felt his hand tighten convulsively on her braid.

“Yes, of course. I did not mean to rush you.” Slowly she moved her hand to stroke gently through the blond hair on his chest. Even that careful movement made him hiss through his teeth. He was not relaxed at all. Mayhap they just needed to get this over with, Sabina thought suddenly.

After all, her mother had warned her the first time was not pleasurable and she had been right. Likely, however hard she tried, Jeffree would find it a strange and embarrassing experience. Swiftly, Sabina slid her hand down his stomach, wincing when he sucked in his breath. “You should tell me if I do anything you do not like,” she said striving for a confident tone.

She let her hand rest a moment on his muscular stomach, and when he pointedly said nothing, she slid her fingers down further. He uttered a faint sound and she halted at once.

“I did not say to stop,” he said quickly.

Sabina gave a short nod before reaching down to tentatively cup his manhood.

“Oh gods,” Jeffree groaned, biting his lip.

As she had suspected from her previous brushes with his appendage, it was of a surprising size and girth. Sabina’s eyes widened as she made out its substantial shape. “Oh my,” she murmured feeling slightly alarmed at the way it was hardening and lengthening in her grasp. “Does it always—um—” Words failed her. Was it always so big?

Pushing the sheet out of the way, she glanced down in some apprehension to see how eagerly it was spilling out of her clasp. “Oh.” Mayhap it was because she had always been far too embarrassed to really take a look at Miles down there, but she found she could barely tear her eyes away from the fat tip of Jeffree’s cockhead. It looked so rosy red and glistening, as though it was on the point of exploding.

When she could do no more than gape, Jeffree made an impatient huffing sound, straining toward her. Why was it so slippery? She pressed a curious thumb to the slit at the top where it seemed to be leaking a copious fluid. Jeffree let out a surprised yelp. “Sorry!” she said guiltily. She was making far too free with his body, she thought distractedly, even as her fingers closed gently about the head. Was it only a product of her fevered imaginings or did the thing practically have its own heartbeat by this point?

Jeffree’s eyes closed and he moaned. When she felt his full body shiver, she knew she must be doing something right at least. Grasping her courage along with his cock, she slid her hand firmly down the shaft to his ballocks. “Unnngh!” Jeffree grunted, thrusting into her grasp. “Fuck, madam, have a care!”

“Sorry!” Sabina blurted, drawing back her hand in alarm.

Jeffree looked pained. “That is not what I—” He broke off with a huff. “I do not think I can take much more of this. “Can you not simply…” He glanced away, refusing to meet her eye. “Put me out of my misery.”

“You mean…” Sabina stared at him, her mind a jumble of confusion. Then she realized, of course, he meant for her just to roll onto her back and part her legs for him. The thought brought her up short, but after all, that had been what Miles had expected on their wedding night. However, the thought of Jeffree’s large appendage forcing its way between her legs made her wince.

She took a steadying breath. “You are a large man, Jeffree,” she forced herself to explain. “’Tis a good thing I’m not a nervous virgin or I would be hiding under the bed. Your size is… daunting. We need to—” She broke off frustratedly. Oh, my gods, why did men think everything was about them when it came to beddings?

“What?” he demanded.

“It is not all about you! We need to do those other things for me!”

His brows snapped together. “What other things?”

“The kissing! The touching!” she burst out frustratedly. Her cheeks were hot as flames by this point. “In order to—to ready me for you.”

“Oh.” To give him credit, Jeffree did look somewhat shamefaced. He drew up the sheet, concealing his rampant manhood and eased himself back against the headboard. “I am not used to”—he made a rolling gesture with his hand—“spinning it out. Usually, I try to get it over with as quickly as possible.”