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He reached to the edge of her skirt and slowly, very slowly, pulled it up, his hand caressing her thin stocking over her leg. Heat spread through her, her breath accelerating, as he moved higher and higher. Past her knee. And higher, past the garter, and now his hot palm was scalding the bare skin of her thigh. She clenched strongly, unable to breathe as his hand reached the crease between her thigh and her private area.

Oh goodness gracious, now he was moving his hand lower, right where her hair was. His intense, dark eyes never leaving hers, his full lips parted, he murmured, “Is this the first time anyone has touched you like this?”

She nodded, unable to say a single word.

“Good. I want to see your face when I touch you…” His finger moved to the very center of her, causing her sex to swell and ache, but she was still pressing her thighs together, her muscles burning. “Open up for me, love. Open your legs.”

As if enthralled, she did. Her thighs fell open, and his fingers went between her folds, dipping into her most intimate place. Pleasure burst through her body at his touch, and she circled her hips.

He gave a deep growl, closing his eyes for a moment. “How good you feel, Jane… You’re drenched. So ready for me.”

She was. She wasn’t sure what exactly she was ready for—anything with him. More of this touch that made pure sunlight pour straight into her veins.

“Let me undress you, love,” he said. “Turn around.”

He removed his hand, and she was left hungry for more, panting, achingly empty. She turned on her side and felt the fabric of her dress tug as he unhooked it and pulled the sides, and then unlaced the corset. She wondered why she did not protest, not feel ashamed or afraid he wouldn’t like the way she looked. He pulled her dress down and then the corset, and she was left in only her petticoats and her chemise.

“These need to go, too,” he proclaimed.

With shaking hands, she pulled her petticoats down, and with his deep blue eyes on hers, Richard lifted the two laces that tied her chemise over her chest and pulled at them. She bit her lip as cool air touched her skin.

“Off,” he said.

Still shaking, she looked him over. “In that case, you, too, my lord.”

A slow chuckle escaped one side of his lips. He lifted himself to kneel on the bed by her side, pulling his coat off and throwing it to the floor. “As you wish, madam.”

She pushed the sleeves of her chemise off her shoulders as she watched him undo the hooks of his waistcoat. He watched her with a burning gaze as she pushed her chemise all the way down to her breasts, and his eyes widened as she lowered it to her waist. He froze with the waistcoat around his shoulders, the powerful muscles of his chest visible under his white shirt.

“Jane…” he croaked out, his throat tight.

He looked at her with so much anguish, as though he’d die if he looked away. At that moment, she realized she was in control. She had power over him, although for the life of her she didn’t know why. And that power was her body.

For the first time, she felt seen. Truly, truly seen. Truly important. Truly significant.

She slid her chemise all the way down and flung it away with the tip of her foot, and now she was truly and completely naked in front of him.

His gaze crawled from her breasts down to her waist, to her hips. He bit his lower lip and growled again as his eyes lingered at the apex of her thighs.

“Goodness gracious, Jane,” he murmured as he proceeded to remove his waistcoat. “You will be the death of me. Breathtaking.”

He pulled his shirt over his head, and her breath caught. His body was corded with muscle, from his broad shoulders to his beautiful biceps to his lean waist that narrowed into his hips. The muscles made hills and valleys on his stomach. The wound she’d treated was still a dark line on his chest; the stitches were gone, perhaps removed by his proper physician. Soft auburn hair was sprinkled over his upper torso and the bottom of his hard stomach, and as he pushed down his trousers, Jane saw exactly where that hair led…

From between two thick, muscular thighs, his long, hard member pointed right at her. As he removed his trousers and moved to her, stretching by her side, she wondered briefly how a man’s sex organ could look so beautiful, and how it could make her insides suddenly heat up and ache even more…for what?

Her breath caught as this magnificent man leaned over to her and kissed her, his hand traveling down her body. He cupped one of her breasts again while his mouth leisurely explored hers, his tongue gliding and teasing. The need between her legs intensified to the point of ache, and his hand went down her stomach and found her sex again.

She moaned as he dipped his fingers between her folds. He circled with his fingers, teased, rubbed, explored. He found one spot that had her curling her toes and crying out from the intense sweetness. And somewhere in the middle of her, something was growing, tensing, building higher and higher… She moved her hips chasing it, shamelessly using his fingers to pleasure herself.

“Yes. Like so, love,” he kept murmuring to her. “Just like so.”

She reached out and clasped his hard, hot length gently in her fist. His skin there felt surprisingly like velvet. And, oh heavens, how hard he was, like hot marble.

“I want you to feel this pleasure, too,” she said, looking into his hooded eyes. “I want to share this with you.”

“Oh, Jane…” he murmured, his jaw tightening. “Oh, Jane…”

As he kept pleasuring her, she stroked him up and down, and he gave a long, deep moan.