To Bed a Beaty

straining.

“Roslyn…”

“Hush, Drew. I want to give you pleasure.”

Her hands shaped the rampant length of him, making him throb, before she set her lips to the head of his shaft.

At the searing jolt, Drew inhaled against his raging need while his erection surged even higher. She was suckling him now, her tongue gently licking, swirling, making him ravenous for her. Groaning, he sank his fingers into Roslyn’s golden hair and surrendered to the gentle sorcery that enthralled him.

In only moments, he was half out of his mind with pleasure, his heart pounding so hard he thought it might come out of his chest, his hips straining against the alluring magic of her hot mouth.

Finally unable to bear her inflaming torment any longer, Drew reached down between her thighs, cupping her slick center, intent on making her as mad with arousal as he was.

“No, be still,” she murmured between moist, tantalizing kisses.

“Roslyn…I can’t wait much longer.”

Lifting her head finally, she gazed up at him with blazing-hot eyes, while her tender smile returned. “I cannot wait, either.”

To his relief, she shifted one knee over his outspread legs. Letting her damp cleft slide up his thigh, she lay fully on top of him, her silken body covering him, her hot, feminine core brushing against his phallus, caressing him.

Then slowly, she stretched up to kiss him, sliding her tongue slowly into his mouth in a heart-stirring claiming.

Drew kissed her back fervently, drinking of her warmth, cherishing her taste, her touch. When she pressed herself harder into him, the sinuous movements of her body inflamed his blood and the intensity of his longing.

He was nearly wild for her by the time she finally broke off the kiss and sat up to straddle him. Holding his fevered gaze, Roslyn braced her palms against his chest and lowered herself onto his pulsing shaft.

Feeling desperate now, Drew raised his hips and plunged into her waiting sweetness, deep inside her sleek, wet passage, seeking the fire and solace of her. He groaned as joy and pleasure created a riotous explosion of sensation in him.

It only made him hotter when Roslyn uttered a breathy whimper as he filled her. And the flush of heat and desire on her exquisite face told him she was feeling the same ardor for him.

Embracing him with her thighs then, she rocked her hips in a more urgent rhythm, demanding more from him. Drew whispered her name on a harsh breath. He was trembling now, shaking with his need for her, holding on with the last vestiges of willpower. Rasping her name again, he arched his back and thrust upward, his penetration increasing until he was buried as deep as her soul.

His desperation kindled a fierce flame in her. Roslyn began to move on him wildly, riding him, using her hips to stoke his frenzied passion. She was a ravenous temptress, demanding and wanton. She was flame-hot in her desires.

When Drew grasped her buttocks and pulled down hard, impaling her to the hilt, she finally gave in to her need, meeting him thrust for thrust, her moans increasing with the ragged sound of his, their mating raw and primal.

His body surged upward with his powerful climax just as her breathy scream exploded in the hushed room. She fell forward, sinking her teeth into his shoulder as the convulsive waves of passion crashed over them both. The sweet pain of her lover’s bite only added to Drew’s joyful pleasure.

It was indeed joyful, making love to the woman he loved. His feelings for Roslyn made his passion more intense, more precious, more incredible.

As the feverish urgency ebbed, they lay there exhausted and panting, her cheek resting on the sweat- dampened skin of his shoulder. It wasn’t long, though, before Drew’s blissful contentment faded and his tension returned.

When the rise and fall of her breathing finally gentled, he repeated his earlier question in a low voice. “What is this all about, Roslyn? Why are you so set on pretending to be my mistress?”

Her eyelids fluttered open, and she shifted her head to look up at him solemnly, with that same vulnerable, uncertain expression as before. “Because gentlemen love their mistresses, Drew, and I want you to love me.”

Just like that, his heart began pounding violently again. His voice was uneven when he managed to rasp, “God, Roslyn, I do love you. More than I ever thought possible.”

Her blue eyes riveted on him. Her face was rapt, tense, her eyes wide with uncertainty. “You do?”

“Yes. I’ve loved you for weeks now.”

Shakily, she pushed herself up on one elbow. “You have not.”

“I have,” Drew insisted. “I just couldn’t admit it to myself.”

When her mouth parted in awe, he reached up to run his thumb over her lower lip. “Do you remember what you told me about heart love? I know now that is what I feel for you, sweet Roslyn. My passion for you is far more than physical. I want you, yes. My body trembles when I touch you and aches when I can’t. But my heart aches more. I miss you when you aren’t with me. I long for your smile. And I cannot bear the thought of losing you.”

When she continued to stare at him in stunned silence, Drew lowered his voice even further. “These past few days have been utter hell for me. Yet being without you made me realize just how much you mean to me. How much I need you. I need you to fill the emptiness inside me, Roslyn. To banish the loneliness. It’s a need that comes from here…” He took her hand, placing her palm over his heart. “Deep inside me.”

“You do love me,” she said wonderingly, searching his face.

“Yes, I do. And I want to marry you.” A ghost of a smile touched his mouth. “Until recently, the thought of spending a lifetime shackled in matrimony to one woman seemed a prison sentence. But now the thought of not spending the rest of my days with you is terrifying.” His thumb stroked her cheek. “I hope to God you will have me as your husband. I’ll grovel if necessary. I will do anything to have you back. I know I have to earn your love, but I want the chance, Roslyn. Please give me that chance.”

Her gaze softened and warmed. “You don’t have to earn my love, Drew. It is already yours.”

Drew squeezed his eyes shut in relief and gratitude; the emotion that rolled through him was so powerful, so deep, he felt weak with it.

“You truly love me?” he asked in that same awed tone.

“Yes, Drew. I tried so hard to resist loving you-because I thought my love would only be one-sided. I feared you would never be able to give me your heart. Even yesterday, when Lord Haviland said he was certain you loved me, I wouldn’t dare let myself believe him.”

Arching an eyebrow, Drew stared at her. “Haviland said that?”

“Yes, because you were determined to put my happiness before your own.”

“I do want your happiness, Roslyn.”

She smiled softly. “That is fortunate, because I want it, too. But my happiness lies only with you, Drew. I realized that when you sent Haviland to propose. And I knew that even if you didn’t love me, I couldn’t let you go without a fight.”

Roslyn smiled faintly. “That is why I invited you here tonight. I vowed I would try to make you love me. I thought that if there was any chance that my theory was right-that passion can lead to love-I had to try. So Fanny helped me formulate a plan to become your mistress for the evening.” Her blue eyes turned vulnerable again. “I am willing to settle for your passion if that is all I can have. I will be your mistress, Drew. But I would far rather be your wife.”

His sense of humor returning with the dissolution of his terror, Drew was able to flash her a rakish smile. “Your offer is tempting, sweetheart. I’ve never had a mistress as enticing and satisfying as you. But I must refuse. I don’t want you for my mistress, my lovely, precious Roslyn. I want you for my wife, and I won’t settle for less.”

“Are you certain?” she asked cautiously. “I don’t want you to feel as if I entrapped you.”

“I’m certain, Roslyn. You are my only happiness as well.” His expression sobered. “I can’t believe how barren my life was before I met you.”

He’d suffered a cold emotionless existence until Roslyn had come along to warm him. She had touched a part of him no one had ever touched, a part he’d denied existed.