'No,' she denied, a little too quickly.
'Well, I am.'
Her eyes widened. 'You are?'
'Of course I am. You're the last woman I'll ever make love to, and you're a virgin. What if I bungle the first time, and you never want me to touch you again?' He shuddered in horror at the thought.
Julienne's mouth hung open for a moment, and then she fell over laughing. 'Oh, heavens, Lucien. That's ridiculous.'
She saw the heartbreaking tenderness in his gaze, which was all the more poignant blended with the devilish curve of his smile.
'Feel better now?' he asked gently.
And then she understood. 'You were teasing me,' she accused without heat, her heart racing madly that this resplendently wicked man was now hers. Forever.
'Relaxing you a bit,' he corrected. 'You looked tense when I came in.' Lucien strolled toward the bed, untying his cravat. The rest of his clothing was hastily discarded. Then he was pressing her into the bed, his body hard and beautifully built.
'We must set some ground rules here, my lady.' His kissed the tip of her nose. 'First of all, I do all of the touching.' He covered her protest with his hand. 'I've needed you too long; I won't last if you touch me. For the rest of our lives, you can touch me all you want, whenever you want, but not this first time.'
He waited until she nodded her acquiesce and then removed his hand, sliding it downward between her breasts, before letting it come to rest on her hip. 'Second, it may be painful. You're very small, and I'm fairly large.' He bit back a smile at her choked laugh. 'But I'll pleasure you, my love. I promise you that.'
'I know you will,' she said, loving him even more for his reverent approach to her first time.
'And last but not least, I love you, my wife.' He rested his forehead against hers. 'With every fiber of my being, I adore you. I intend to cherish you and worship you forever.' He brushed kisses against her mouth. Slow, sweet kisses that skillfully stoked her ardor. 'I thank you for becoming my wife.'
'Oh, Lucien,' she sighed, and tugged his mouth back down to hers.
With a chastising murmur Lucien disengaged her hands from behind his neck and laced their fingers together. He concentrated long moments on exploring her mouth, his kisses lazy and drugging, until she writhed against him, begging for his touch.
'Please…'
He smiled, and her heart stopped.
His mouth moved to the slim column of her throat, licking and nipping the sensitive skin. He began to undulate his body against hers, slow, sinuous movements of his powerful frame, awakening every nerve, making her moan with the torment. Lucien made love to her with his mouth, with his hands, with the gentle friction of his body, murmuring praise and encouragement so sweet she wanted to cry.
'These, my love, are perfection.' He lavished long licks of his tongue across her nipples and then blew on them, grinning as they puckered. 'There is no greater pleasure than having these in my mouth.' Bending his head, he suckled her, the rhythmic tugging pulling at places deep inside, driving her to madness. She began to writhe, yanking at his hands, needing to touch him. Burning, aching, her skin was too hot… too tight…
'Darling,' she pleaded. But he wouldn't cease, wouldn't release her.
Julienne could feel the pull of his mouth everywhere, the sensation making her squirm as her arousal pooled between her legs. She begged him to hurry, desperate to hold him, kiss him, but Lucien paid her no heed as his mouth teased across her stomach with wet, openmouthed kisses. Moving lower, he spread her thighs wide with the broad expanse of his shoulders. She moaned in relief as his tongue finally delved between her legs.
'Yes,' she cried hoarsely, her hips lifting, pressing into his mouth, as her nails dug into the backs of his hands.
'You taste so sweet,' he murmured passionately, before he thrust his tongue into her, groaning his pleasure. Julienne moved with him, arching and twisting. He worked urgently, building her desire quickly, brutally, until
Lucien pulled away quickly.
'Damn you!' she cried, her eyes squeezed shut as her body trembled with the force of her need.
He laughed softly. 'Now is that any way to speak to your husband?'
She opened her eyes as he covered her with his body. 'I need you badly,' she whispered. 'I'll die if you don't take me.' Her entire body shuddered, poised on the brink of release and denied.
'I love you,' he breathed. And then he was there, the hot tip of him just inside her, stretching her, warning her of what was to come.
Julienne opened her legs wide, her hips arching impatiently, and without further ado he thrust inside, deep and deeper still, until there was no farther he could go. Then he clenched his buttocks and went farther still, filling her, until there was no doubt she belonged to him.
Her breath held in wonder, she felt little of the pain she expected. She merely felt full and hot, her skin covered in a fine sheen of perspiration, her body throbbing around the hard cock that filled her.
Sweat dripped from his brow onto her breasts. Lucien clenched his teeth as he pulled out, despite her protests, and pressed forward again. He rocked his hips against her thighs, slowly working in and out, loosening her.
'Jesus, Julienne,' he gasped. 'You feel so good…'
She shifted slightly, trying to get more comfortable, and he cursed. Startled, she stilled, and he positioned her as he wanted, lifting her leg, opening her, and then he withdrew, only to return with a powerful lunge that made her cry out.
There was no more gentleness after that; Lucien simply wasn't capable of it. As he pounded into her, pinning her hips when she struggled beneath him, Julienne realized why he'd taken such care to arouse her. He'd known, as only an expert lover could, that he would not be able to coddle her through this. He needed her too desperately, had reined in his appetites for too long. Moaning, sobbing, she could only follow his lead, holding still for his pleasure as he stroked his cock deeply within her, almost animalistic in his frenzy.
And it felt so good, she thought she would die of it.
'You're mine,' Lucien growled, and he gloried in the knowledge. From the moment he'd first seen her, he'd wanted her just like this. Beneath him, filled with him, completely his in every way.
He plunged into her, gritting his teeth at the overwhelming pleasure of it. She was so hot, so tight, writhing beneath him, mewling, and sobbing his name in a way that made it impossible to slow down or show her a moment's consideration. But she wasn't frightened or timid. Not his sweet Julienne. Her hips met him thrust for thrust, her cream so plentiful his cock was bathed in it, scalded by it.
'That's it,' he encouraged, in a voice he barely recognized as his own. He thrust faster, harder, until he was pistoning into her, shoving her up the bed.
And then she tensed, her back bowing beneath him, her cunt gripping him so tightly it slowed his fevered pace. Her eyes flew open and locked with his. 'I love you!' she gasped, and then she came, her orgasm milking his cock, luring his seed, until he spilled into her, flooding her, branding her in a way far more primitive than the ring she wore. He threw back his head and growled her name, certain he had never felt such joy in his life.
When he could move again, Lucien rolled, taking his wife with him, draping her limp, sated form over his body. His hands stroked her back, stilling her trembling. He murmured his love, his longing, told her all the things he'd never thought he'd have the opportunity to say. How he loved the smell of her hair and the beauty of her smiles. How he'd dreamed of her and wanted her with a soul-deep desire. How he'd give her the world, because she gave up the one she knew to be with him…
'Darling?' Her voice was a breathless whisper that made his cock swell, the sound of a woman well- pleasured.
Lucien smiled at her endearment, pure contentment pumping through his veins. Had he almost given this up? He thought of the infernal list of marriage prospects and acknowledged what a fool he was. Thank God, Julienne had never given up on him. 'Yes, my love?'
He was hard again, the sensual heat of her body over his making him lustful. But Julienne was likely sore and tired. He could wait. She belonged to him now. He had a lifetime ahead with her. A lifetime to love her.
She raised her head from his chest, and her mouth curved seductively. 'You're so sweet, my love, with your beautiful words. I would never have guessed you could be so romantic.'
