“And pray tell what is that reason?” Jude asked. She couldn’t think straight. All she could pay attention to was how much higher Jude’s hand was drifting up her leg. “Because if me actions earlier were nae clear of me intentions, I can make it clearer for ye.”
Gasping for air, Cleo lost her voice. She found her body aching for him. She licked her parched lips hoping to find her voice, but as Jude began bunching the fabric of her dress to her thigh, she lost her train of thought completely.
“I’m sorry,” she panted trying to keep her voice steady. “What did you ask me?”
Jude’s grin stretched as he scooted closer to her. “Ye were tellin’ me all the reasons ye wanted to stay.”
“Oh,” Cleopatra said nodding absentmindedly. “Well, hmmm… Hugh seems to be a wonderful boy.”
“Aye, ye said that,” he said tilting his head as she felt his fingertips against her bare thigh. A cool draft kissed her legs making her shiver. There was a spark that flashed across Jude’s face as she clutched at the tablecloth.
“You have something to do with it too,” she finally managed to say.
“Do I now?” Jude asked as Cleopatra swallowed hard. Inching ever deeper between her inner thighs, she allowed her eyes to flutter closed. It took all she had to concentrate on sitting upright and not letting a single moan escape her lips.
“Ye’re lookin’ a bit flushed,” Jude said. “Perhaps a stroll in the moonlight will help?”
“Yes,” Cleo said as her eyes popped open. Her heart raced as Jude pulled his hand slowly away from her.
“Shall we?” Throwing his napkin down on the table, he stood and extended his hand to her. She took it without hesitation.
As she slipped her hand into Jude’s hands, she felt butterflies in her stomach. He led her out of the sitting room and through the double doors. The stars twinkled high above their heads as the moon drifted over the stone wall that surrounded the gardens. Sweet smells drifted to Cleopatra as Jude brought her to the stone bench.
“This is a beautiful place,” Cleopatra said as she looked at all the lovely flowers surrounding them. Each flower seemed to have a silver tint to them due to the light of the moon. Jude slipped down beside her and took her hand into his.
“Ye’re beautiful,” he said as Cleopatra’s heart pounded in her chest and Jude’s fingers traced the lines in her knuckles before he drew her hand to his lips. She paused a moment, allowing him to linger a bit before her passion consumed her. Jude flashed a crooked grin and she couldn’t resist him any longer.
Curling her arm around his neck, she drew him closer refusing to let him go. She had read about such things in books, but never thought they could ever happen to her.
To her surprise, she felt his hands slip from her face and drift down her neck. His fingertips tickled her until they reached her chest. She knew the dress would draw his attention to her plump breasts now that they weren’t flatted by the tighter corset she had been wearing before.
“I never really liked these things,” Jude said as he slipped his finger into the knot that held her corset together. Tugging on the loop, the string slipped allowing Cleopatra’s breast the escape they longed for. But even with her corset loosened, she felt the air growing thinner by the minute.
“Jude,” Cleopatra gasped as Jude’s fingers continued traveling down to her torso and eventually ended on her legs.
“Do ye want me to stop?” he asked as he inched her skirt higher. She shook her head as she pulled in quick ragged breaths.
Although she had no clue what he was doing, she trusted him. After all, he had led her through the wilderness and back to his home. He had showed her nothing but kindness and respect. Two qualities she knew he wouldn’t toss aside now that they were completely alone.
Licking her lips, she kept her eyes on him as he glanced down to her breasts that appeared crushed in the corset she wore. As her skirt rose from her ankle to her calf, the chilly night air swirled around her legs. Cleopatra shivered a bit as Jude’s lips curled at the corners.
He leaned closer to her. His hot breath seemed to sear her neck with every breath he took. Her grip on him only tightened as she felt his fingers on her inner thighs.
Cleopatra began chewing on her lower lip as the anticipation consumed her. She was in new territory now. Though she didn’t want him to stop, she wondered what this meant for him.
“Relax a bit,” he said as his teeth grazed her earlobes. Cleopatra tried to let her body go limp as she felt his fingertips grazed over the soft bulb of skin between her legs.
“Aye, that’s it,” Jude said rubbing the most tender part of her body. Cleopatra’s lips parted the moment she felt his fingers open her.
“Oh my,” she said breathlessly. Jude’s soft moan as he laid his head on her shoulder confused her.
How is it that he is touching the very core of my being?
“Do ye ken how warm this feels?” he asked as his pushed a bit deeper into Cleopatra’s body. Her grip tightened as her lips clamped shut. There was an unexplainable pressure that rose from between her legs that only seemed to let up the longer he remained still.
“What are you doing to me?” she asked as she tried to force the words to come out of her. Her ears rang as Jude lifted his head up.
“Do ye nae like it?” he asked holding his hand in place. By the look in his eyes, he wasn’t going to release her just yet. The gleam that she noticed was one of testing.
Cleopatra didn’t know what to think at first. Her mind raced as her body adjusted to his fingers in her. Slowly,
