It Takes a Spy...: A Secrets and Seduction book (17 page)

Cecilia blushed. “Thank you.”

She turned her back to Devin, suddenly embarrassed as she unbuttoned the bodice of her traveling dress. She shrugged out of it and then loosened the buttons holding her skirts in place.

She trembled at the intimate sensation of Devin’s hands tugging at the laces of her corset. It was a relief to have them undone. He tugged at them until the strings were loose enough to allow her to undo the metal clasps in the front.

Cecilia blushed as she turned to enter the tiny lavatory. She suddenly realized her wide skirts would entirely fill the small space leaving her little room to move about. Her face felt hot as she took a step backward, undid the laces of her petticoats and hoops, and allowed them, and her skirts, to fall to the floor.

She couldn’t bear to look at Devin as she scampered into the lavatory, so she kept her back to him. She hated having him see her in her bloomers and corset. But then she lifted her chin. After all, he’d seen her bare legs when she’d ridden Kenning’s horse. Why should she worry if he saw her in her bloomers? As she turned to close the door, she glanced back over her shoulder. Devin stared at her, looking for all the world as though someone had just hit him in the head with a fire poker.

She smiled to herself as she closed the door.

Poor man.

She quickly washed her face and hands, brushed her teeth, and changed into the chemise from her traveling bag. She also removed all the pins from her hair and brushed it out. She braided it neatly into a side plait that hung down the front of her shoulder and brushed the top of her breast.

Just before she opened the door, she remembered the small vial of perfume her mother had given her. She opened it now and dabbed a bit behind each ear and between her breasts. The spicy scent filled the tiny room. She hoped she hadn’t used too much.

This was it. Time to face her husband.

When she finally stepped back into the couchette, Devin had already removed his jacket and shoes. He stood before her in his white shirt and trousers. His dark hair stood on end, as though he’d been raking his fingers through it. His full lips looked pensive.

Seeing him rattled this way settled her nerves.

“I’ll only be a moment,” he said, and slipped past her into the lavatory without meeting her gaze.

That made things easier. She lifted her chemise to her knees and crawled into the bed, finding it awkward to enter it from the foot rather than the side. She struggled to tug down the covers while perched on top of them, thankful that Devin wasn’t watching her as she clumsily yanked the sheets out from under her knees. Finally, she climbed under the duvet, propped the pillows behind her, snuggled beneath the covers, and waited for Devin.

When he stepped from the lavatory he was shirtless, and his chest gleamed with water. His face was damp, too. In fact, it appeared that he had shaved.

Is that what men did? Shave at bedtime? How curious.

She’d never before stopped to consider it, but she was certain that Father’s valet shaved him in the morning. She’d enjoy learning more of these quirks and details about her husband.

Devin seemed tense at first, but as soon as he saw her in bed, his shoulders relaxed as the tension eased from them.

This was the first time she’d ever seen him bare-chested, and she liked what she saw. He had a triangle of hair below his neck that trailed down to a line that disappeared beneath the waistband of his drawers.

As he placed one knee on the foot of the bed, he reminded her of a prowling cat creeping up on its prey. She shivered with of anticipation. His muscles shifted beneath his skin as he moved. Her own muscles weren’t so well defined, and this novel play of skin and sinew transfixed her.

In the dim light of the couchette, she noticed that his pupils were dilated, like dark pools of midnight rimmed in a shadowy blue. A slow, sensual smile curved his full lips, and Cecilia’s heart beat harder in her chest.

“Are you nervous?” he asked in a soft voice.

“A little. Perhaps if you were to kiss me…”

In a swift movement, he was over her, pinning her in place under the duvet as he knelt above her. He braced a hand on either side of her head and leaned down, claiming her mouth with his.

His cheeks were cool and damp against hers. And quite smooth. He smelled spicy and clean. She parted her lips to taste him and their tongues touched, sending an electrifying jolt all the way to her toes. She wanted to lift her hands to touch him, but they, too, were pinned beneath the duvet.

He must have felt her struggle to move, because he shifted his knees back, releasing her hands. She quickly pulled them free and then wrapped them around Devin’s shoulders, pulling him closer. His skin was hot beneath her touch— like velvet. She slid her fingers over the rounded muscles and into the sculpted grooves of his upper arm, reveling in the feel of him.

He let her hold him there for a moment, but then pulled back again. He grabbed the edge of the duvet and peeled it back, uncovering her down to her bare toes. Her chemise had ridden up to her hips when she’d crawled beneath the covers, and now he gazed down at her body like a starving man gazing upon a banquet.

Tremors of excitement shot through her. Being wanted by this man was intoxicating.

He rolled to one side, lowering himself onto the bed so that he was stretched out next to her.

“I won’t rush this,” he said, his voice sounding husky. “I want you to enjoy tonight.” He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand as he gazed into her eyes. “There’s so much I want to do with you. So much pleasure I want to share.”

Pleasure?

“Do you know what will happen? Has anyone…”

Cecilia blushed as she nodded. “Of course, I had an idea already, but Mother explained things rather well.”

“Then you know that the first time some women have pain?”

She swallowed and nodded again. “But Mother says it passes quickly.”

“So I’ve been told.”

That must mean he’d never been with a virgin. That was good to know.

“I want to be honest with you. I’ve been with other women.”

She flushed more deeply, keenly aware of a rising sense of jealousy. “I’d surmised as much. I trust that it won’t happen again.” She met his eyes, wanting to see him when he responded.

“Never.” His resolute expression left no doubt in her mind that he meant what he said. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

He lowered his head and kissed her again, but then his lips trailed along the edge of her mouth and down the length of her neck. When he came to the top of her chemise, he tugged on it, pulling it down as far as the stiff cotton fabric would go. He was able to bare the top of her breast, but nothing more.

“You smell so good,” he murmured. He inhaled deeply, apparently savoring her scent.

The cotton fabric proved to be no real barrier to him. His kisses continued down the outside of her chemise until he reached her nipple. He paused there, rubbing his mouth back and forth across the nub until it tightened and stood erect. He opened his mouth, encircling the bud through the fabric. His hot, wet tongue dampened the cotton as he sucked and tugged on it. His other hand slid up and began teasing her other breast until both nipples were erect.

Devin let out a groan and then slid his hand down her side. When he touched the bare skin of her thigh, she tensed.

He paused the movement of his hand and returned to nuzzling her breast. He blew gently against her damp nipple, causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. Her breathing quickened under his onslaught, and it was a moment before she realized that his hand had slipped beneath her chemise and was traveling up her waist.

He stopped and leaned up on one arm, pulling her up with him so that she was sitting in bed. Then he shifted his weight, grabbed her chemise with both hands, and pulled it up and over her head. It all happened so quickly that she automatically complied, lifting her hands above her head and allowing him to undress her.

He gazed at her for a moment and then pressed her back against the pillows. This time, as he lowered his head to her breasts, he pressed them together, deepening her cleavage as he grazed her nipples with his rough thumbs. He straddled her and then lowered his head to her breasts, burying his face between them. He turned to one side to kiss one, and then the other. “They’re both so perfect. It seems a shame to neglect one in favor of the other.”

A moment later, he let out a deep sigh as he released her breasts and then began trailing kisses downward, toward her navel. He paused there, licking and kissing it as well. She was surprised by the intense jolt of passion that shot from her navel to somewhere deep within her.

He didn't stop there for long. His lips moved back up to her breasts, but his hands continued to slide down her body, touching and caressing. All Cecilia could do was writhe on the bed. She clutched at the sheets, needing something to grab hold of. Something to dig her nails into. It was either the sheets or Devin’s shoulders, and even in her state of passionate delirium, she was able to prevent herself from drawing blood.

As his exploring hands reached the triangle of hair between her legs, he paused. He shifted his leg and nudged his knee between hers, urging them apart. She welcomed him, welcomed the weight of his hips pressing against hers. Her breath caught. This was good. Better than good. He still wore his drawers, and his erection pressed against her, his arousal apparent.

His hand slipped between her legs, and when he touched the soft flesh hidden there, she jumped in surprise.

“It’s fine,” he said in a low soothing tone. “Just relax.”

She clenched fistfuls of the sheets again, squeezing her eyes shut. Strange, tingling sensations suffused her as his fingers slid against her tender flesh, and she realized that it was now slick with something.

“You’re wet for me already,” he said. By his tone, she knew this was a good thing, so she relaxed. His finger slid inside her opening, and he moaned as he entered her. Then he slid it back out and rubbed his slickened fingers around the outside of the opening, moving up to where the intricate folds hid a nub. But now that nub felt almost electric under his touch. She jumped as he gently caressed it, every nerve in her body responding to the amazing new sensation. Cecilia let out a gasp and then groaned.

He didn’t stop, but kept swirling his finger around that sensitive spot, driving every coherent thought from her mind. She became the sensations that filled her, unable to separate herself from the waves that pulsed within her. Then, as though being capsized by an enormous surge of overwhelming passion, she cried out as wave after wave of ecstasy rolled over and through her.

Devin shifted his weight. For a moment, his hand was gone, and she was vaguely aware that he was shedding the remainder of his clothing. But then he was back. He caressed her sensitive nub again, and a fresh wave of sensation coursed through her body.

Cecilia opened her eyes and stared up at Devin, meeting his gaze, sinking into him— into his very soul. Something slipped between her legs as he pressed against her, and then into her. A slight twinge, almost a tearing, but it was over quickly. Her body closed around him, adjusting to the sensation of having him inside her.

She moaned. A deep, throaty moan of pleasure. This— this was
good
. She wanted this. Wanted him.

Her response seemed to urge him on, and he began moving rhythmically inside her. New sensations filled her— different from what she’d experienced a moment ago. Different from that sharp and electric crescendo of sensation when he’d touched her. Having him inside her was deeper. Richer. Fuller.

She began to quiver again. Her body squeezed around him, using muscles deep within her that she’d never consciously used before. She gripped him, and his movement inside her became all the more intense. She became a creature of sensation, and sensation alone. The world became only him, only her, only this intense moment.

“Now, my love,” Devin murmured. He let out a deep moan of pleasure. His movements quickened until he stiffened, throwing his head back. “Cecilia,” he cried.

Her entire body stiffened for a second time, and a bolt of pure ecstasy shot through her. Every particle of her being burst apart, shattering into a million pieces.

She floated. Mindless. Timeless.

Gradually, her consciousness coalesced, forming a shell of intimacy that surrounded them both.

After a moment, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He was still inside her, and the sensation of connection and belonging engulfed her.

She used those muscles she’d just discovered and tightened around him.

He gasped and pushed deeper, gazing into her eyes, but when she shifted, he slipped out of her.

She winced, only slightly, but he noticed.

“Are you in pain?”

“It stings a bit.”

“Wait,” he said. He crawled off the bed, entered the lavatory, and a moment later he returned carrying a damp, folded towel. He crawled back onto the bed and pressed it gently between her thighs.

The rough texture of the cloth was unpleasant at first, but then the cooling sensation eased some of the pain. She used her hand to press it in place and sighed.