He made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded suspiciously like a growl. “No one else can have you.” He reached out and lifted her into his arms. “You’re mine.”
As he strode across the chamber to her bed, she wound her arms around him with a smile. “I always have been, from the moment you won that bid.”
Chapter Five
Hunter knew that he was condemning everything that he’d promised himself from more than five years of dedicated celibacy, but there was a part of him that knew this was… right. Not because he was about to break his vow to abstain from sex, but because Persephone was absolutely correct. He couldn’t, in all good conscience, send her back to her mother’s house intact.
The very image of some other man touching her didn’t set well, but other than retaining her as his mistress forever, the moment he relinquished his tie to her, there was nothing he could say if someone else wished to stake a claim. Even if that man was someone like Darwood, whom he trusted implicitly, his teeth ground at the idea of anyone being her next protector.
But what else could Hunter do to keep her at his side, other than—
Marriage.
He shoved such permanent thoughts aside and focused on the woman in his arms. No doubt his performance wouldn’t last long, since it had been years since he’d allowed himself this sort of pleasure, so he had to make sure her needs came first.
He picked her up and carried her over to the bed. He laid her down gently and tossed the counterpane toward the foot. They would be making enough heat that they wouldn’t need the extra warmth.
Hunter kicked off the shoes he still wore and straddled her upper thighs on the bed. She was looking at him expectantly, curious as to what he might do next, although her blue eyes were filled with sensual promises of her own.
Slowly, he reached down and untied her dressing gown. As it gaped open, he pushed the edges aside, brushing his thumbs across her erect nipples as he did so. She sucked in a breath and bit her bottom lip. His throat instantly went dry.
With his focus on her lovely face, he slowly went to work removing his jacket, cravat and waistcoat. Had it really only been a few hours ago that he’d been walking among the jaded members of society at Vauxhall, watching as they drank their fill and allowing themselves to be consumed by the lust around them?
And now, he was doing the same.
As he pulled his shirt free from the waistband of his trousers, he hesitated.
“Do it,” she commanded.
He yanked the material over his head and bared the top half of his body to her.
Her gaze roamed over his naked chest, the admiration he saw there causing his cock to harden to the point of near pain. It pulsed with unspent desire, but he tamped down his need and waited patiently for her to look her fill.
But when she reached out and ran her fingernails lightly through the dusting of dark curly hair, steadily heading toward the bulge in his trousers, that’s where he had to stop her. “Not that far, love. Or I fear you’ll be terribly disappointed.”
With that, he brushed her hands aside and decided it was his turn to play the seducer. She might have been raised in the ways of a harlot, but he had enjoyed the lifestyle far longer.
His mouth clamped over the tip of her breast through the thin cotton of her night rail. She sighed and lifted her chest to give him better access. “More.”
He complied by lifting his hands and molding the full mounds of flesh in his hands. Laving one nipple, and then the other, he gently kneaded the one he wasn’t feasting on at the time.
It didn’t take long before her legs were moving restlessly beneath him. “Hunter…” She moaned his name when he started to move away from her, but as he lifted the hem of her garment, her eyes brightened with renewed interest. Obviously, her mother had instructed her in more than just the joining of bodies, for when he bent her knees and bent down to lap at the juncture between her legs, she clutched the sheets on either side of her and threw her head back in ecstasy. The sight was so erotic that Hunter nearly spilled his seed right then.
He continued his careful ministrations until the moment of climax struck her and she shuddered beneath him. He knew the first taste of her on his tongue was something he would savor for the rest of his days.
As her tremors subsided, he lifted his head to see her smiling.
“That was… meravigliosa.”
He lifted a brow as he moved to stand beside the bed. “You know Italian?”
She rose onto her elbow, allowing that magnificent hair to fall over her shoulder. It caught the light from the lamp by the bed and shone with the brilliance of golden fire. “I know many things.” Her grin widened. “Although most of them are probably too delicate for your ears.”
He laughed at that. “We will see about that.” He unbuttoned the flap of his trousers and allowed them to fall to the floor.
Her eyes widened slightly when his pulsing manhood was on full display. “Impressive,” she murmured.
He hated to admit it, but he stood a little taller after that single word. “And how many male members have you seen?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “Enough to know when one will satisfy a woman. Although—” She moved to the edge of the bed and stood, allowing her night rail to fall to her feet in the same manner his trousers had been discarded, leaving her blessedly nude. “It’s not always the size, but how you use it.”
With that, she dropped to her knees and took him fully into her mouth.
He abruptly forgot how to breathe. And when she began to suck him as eagerly
