back against him. She felt his mouth on the back of her neck, his lips playing through the tender wisps at her nape. He tasted the downy skin, then pressed the edge of his teeth in a sensitive spot that made her squirm against him in pleasure. Working his way to the side of her neck, he nibbled his way to the tip of her earlobe, while his hands moved over the front of her gown. The bodice parted, the sides listing to reveal the framework of the light corset beneath. His fingertips drifted to her throat, caressed the vulnerable curve, then traveled to the wing of her collarbone.
'You're beautiful, Lottie,' he whispered. 'The way you feel and taste...your skin, your hair...' He took the pins from her hair, sent them skittering to the carpet, and sank his fingers into the pale silken locks that fell over her shoulder. Bringing her hair to his face, he rubbed it against his cheek and chin. Heat played in her body, rising, intensifying, and she leaned back against the solid form behind her.
He eased her gown to her waist, helping her to extract her arms from the sleeves, his fingertips running lightly from her elbows to her underarms. Turning her to face him, Nick deftly unhooked the corset, releasing her from the wrapping of stays and laces. Her breasts, which had been propped artificially high in the boned supports, were left unconfined, the tips hardening against the thin crushed muslin of her chemise. His hand lifted, and he touched her through the sheer fabric. Sliding his fingers beneath the fullness of her breast, he drew his thumb over the shape of her nipple. His touch was very light, lingering at the tip until it burned.
Gasping, Lottie grasped his shoulders for balance. He slid a solid arm behind her back as he continued to toy gently with her body, taking the peak in his fingers, stroking softly. An ache of pleasure formed deep in her stomach as he cupped her breast in his hand, containing the roundness in his palm. Suddenly she wanted him to touch her other breast. She wanted his mouth on her, everywhere, and to slide her own lips across the heat of his skin, and to feel his unclothed body against hers. Frustrated and eager, she tugged at his coat, until his choppy laugh ruffled through her hair.
'Slowly,' he whispered. 'There's no need to hurry.' He removed his coat...waistcoat...stockings and shoes...trousers...shirt...and finally the linens that had obscured the startling sight of his erection.
Suddenly Lottie didn't know where to look. He should have appeared vulnerable in his nakedness, but he seemed more powerful now than when he'd had his clothes on. His body was hewn with brutal grace, large and muscular and superbly fit. His bronze tan ended at his waistline, fading into the paler skin of his hips. A wealth of thick dark hair covered his chest, and there was another heavy patch of it at his groin, around the dark, upthrust length of his erection.
Nick's fingertip traced the side of her scarlet cheek. 'Do you know what is going to happen?'
Lottie nodded jerkily. 'Yes, I think so.'
He stroked the underside of her chin, his fingertip leaving a trail of fire. 'Who told you about it? Your mother?'
'Oh, no. She was going to explain everything to me the night before my wedding to Lord Radnor. But of course that never transpired.' Lottie closed her eyes as he caressed the side of her neck, his hand warm and a bit raspy from callouses. 'I heard gossip at school, though. A few of the girls had...done things...and they told the rest of us about it.'
'Done what things?'
'Met in private with gentlemen friends, or cousins, and allowed them liberties.' Lottie opened her eyes and met his smiling gaze, refusing to look below the level of his collarbone.
'How far did the liberties go? As far as we went the other night?'
'Yes,' she forced herself to admit.
'Did you enjoy the way I touched you?' he asked softly.
Color blazed in her face, and she managed a jerking nod.
'You'll enjoy the rest of it, too,' he promised, reaching for the hem of her chemise.
Obeying his wordless urging, she lifted her arms and let him strip away the garment. She kicked off her slippers and stood before him in her long drawers and stockings, with her arms crossed over her bare breasts.
He stood over her, his hand trailing over her back, raising gooseflesh on every inch of her skin. 'Put your arms around me, Lottie.'
She obeyed awkwardly, bringing her body fully against his. Her nipples sank into the coarse mat of curls on his chest. His body was incredibly hot, his erection burning through the muslin drawers. It prodded against her stomach, until he slid his hand beneath her buttocks and hitched her upward. His hand slid between her buttocks to hold her compactly against him, and she felt him press against her sex. A shock of sensation went through her, followed by a surge of lust so acute that she could hardly bear it. Gripping his neck, she pushed her face against the dense muscle of his shoulder. His fingers slid farther between her thighs. The linen beneath his fingers became damp as he stroked the soft furrow in a lazy rhythm. For a long, blissful minute he held her like that, warming her with his own body until she began to strain against the ridge of his erection.
Reaching between their bodies, he pulled at the tapes of her drawers. He let the garment drop to the floor and picked her up, carrying her to the bed with astonishing ease. As Lottie reclined on the embroidered counterpane, Nick's gaze slid over her. A smile tugged at his lips. 'I've never seen anyone blush from head to toe before.'
'Well, I've never been naked in front of a man,' Lottie said, abashed. It was inconceivable that she should be conversing with someone while she wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing, except for her stockings.
His hand closed gently around her ankle. 'You're adorable,' he whispered, and climbed over her.
He tugged at one of her garters with his teeth, loosening the ribbon that fastened it. She gasped as he kissed the red marks left by the tie, and soothed them with his tongue. Unrolling the stockings from her legs, he pushed her thighs wide apart. Increasingly uncomfortable, Lottie used her hand to conceal herself from his view. His head moved over her, his hot breath fanning her skin. His thumbs swept over the pulse in the fragile crease between her thigh and groin.
'Don't cover yourself,' he coaxed.
'I can't help it,' she said, wriggling to evade the tiny flicks of his tongue, which ventured in places she had never imagined a man would want to put his mouth. Somehow she managed to dislodge the bedclothes enough to dive beneath them in search of sanctuary. She shivered at the cool slickness of the linens against her naked body.
Following with a low laugh, Nick slid beneath the bedclothes, until they tented over the broad outline of his shoulders. His head disappeared, and she felt his hands on her knees, pushing them apart once more.
Lottie stared blindly at the dark canopy overhead. 'Nick,' she asked raggedly, 'is this the usual way that people h-have relations?'
His voice was muffled. 'What is the usual way?'
She inhaled sharply as he nipped at the inner curve of her thigh. 'I'm not entirely certain. But I don't think this is it.'
His voice thickened with amusement. 'I know what I'm doing, Lottie.'
'I was not implying that you didn't...oh, please don't kiss me there!'
Then she felt him shake with suppressed laughter. 'For someone who has never done this before, you're rather opinionated. Let me make love to you the way I want, hmmn? The first time, at least.' He grasped both her wrists and pinned them at her sides. 'Lie still.'
'Nick...' She started as his mouth descended to the nest of blond curls. 'Nick...'
But he did not listen, completely absorbed in her salt-scented female flesh. His breath filled the moist cleft with steamy heat. A moan rose in her throat, and her wrists twisted in his grasp. His tongue searched through the springy curls until he reached the rosy lips hidden beneath. He licked one side of her sex, then the other, the tip of his tongue teasing delicately.
His mouth ravished her so gently, his tongue slipping over her melting flesh to find the secret entrance to her body, filling her with silky heat...withdrawing...filling. Lottie went weak all over, her sex pulsing urgently. As he nuzzled and played with her, she tried to angle her body so that he would touch the peak that throbbed so desperately. He seemed not to understand what she wanted, licking all around the sensitive spot but never quite reaching it.
'Nick,' she whispered, unable to find words for what she wanted. 'Please. Please.'
But he continued to deny her, until she realized that he was doing it deliberately. Frustrated beyond bearing, she reached down to his head, and she felt the puff of his brief laugh against her. Immediately his mouth slid away
