Once an Heiress (19 page)

Her tongue flicked over her lips; then she drew the bottom one between her teeth and worried it while her eyes settled on the middle distance. Ethan could practically hear the gears turning in her head.

Her smile was nearly a cringe. “A guest room, then?”

“Afraid not.”

He set the candlestick down on a bedside table. He shrugged out of his coat and turned his back to hide the devious smile he couldn’t contain. If she’d explored the house earlier, she’d have discovered that there was, in fact, a furnished guest room just down the hall. There were no linens on the mattress, and it was as dusty as the rest of the house, but if she wanted to take herself off to sleep elsewhere, she could have.
Not that she needs to know.
No, tonight, her place was with him, in his bed.

A startled squeak drew his attention. Lily’s back was to him, her shoulders hunched up around her ears. Ethan frowned. “What’s amiss?”

Her chestnut coif moved side to side as she shook her head. “It’s your, ah, state of undress, my — Ethan.”

He glanced down at himself. Yes, he’d begun disrobing, but he’d only gotten as far as removing his waistcoat. There wasn’t another inch of skin showing yet, and she was already turning maidenly.

This timidity on her part did not mesh with his vision of the passionate hellcat he’d come to expect in Lily Bachman — Helling, he amended. He was certain she would come to enjoy this aspect of their marriage, but it seemed the going would be a little slower than he’d anticipated.

He put his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around. Her eyes remained downcast, her arms folded across her middle. Ethan squeezed her shoulders and worked his way down her upper arms, easing the tension in her muscles. His hands glided down the ivory silk of her ill-treated wedding dress.

“Lily,” he murmured, “do you know what happens between a man and a woman … in bed?”

Color stained her cheeks and her eyes flashed annoyance, a glimpse of the woman he was familiar with. She cleared her throat. “Though I don’t have all the particulars sorted out, I understand the gist of connubial relations. I’m not ignorant.”

He gave her a lopsided smile. “I never dreamed you were.” While her eyes flashed defiance, her posture suggested she would fall to the floor and curl in a ball if he released her.

Ethan considered the best tack to take. What did he know about his new bride? He knew she was fiery and vivacious when her temper flared. He remembered, too, the chance meeting they’d had in the park. She had been trying to choose a headmistress for her charity school and had page after page of neat, organized notes in which she’d tried to distill the selection down to a comparison of facts.

Ah, yes, that was it.

Trusting intuition to steer him in the right direction, he took her by the hand and led her to the large bed. Lily’s arm stiffened. He sat on the edge of the mattress and drew her closer. “Don’t be alarmed — we’re just going to talk a bit.”

She sat beside him, careful to maintain a polite distance. Her hands folded into a tight ball in her lap; her eyes remained trained on them.

“Unless I’m off my mark,” Ethan began, “I believe you are an eminently capable woman, prepared to undertake any task, so long as you have all the facts at your disposal. Am I correct?”

Her startled gaze flew to his face. He didn’t need any further confirmation.

“If you need information, if you have questions, just ask. Sexual intimacy will not be an unspeakable taboo in this house. There is nothing you cannot say to me, Lily — there’s to be no shame or embarrassment between us. I’m an open book, at your disposal.”

She scoffed. “I just bet you are.” Her lips twisted as she turned hard eyes upon him. “It hurts,” she stated bluntly. “Doesn’t it? How can you … how can
men
enjoy doing something that hurts women?”

“It often does hurt the lady a bit, the first time. But after that, it can be just as pleasurable for women as it is for men.” He smiled wryly. “There wouldn’t be nearly so many babies born if women howled in pain every time men touched them. There would be no delight in that, I assure you.”

Her eyes slid over his shoulder as she seemed to consider his words. She nodded slowly, accepting.

He slipped an arm around her waist. She was resistant, but he did not detect the panic that had been there earlier. Before she could bombard him with more questions, Ethan took her face in his hands and brushed his lips over her lush mouth.

She exhaled a shuddering breath, then brought a tentative hand to his shoulder. He deepened the kiss, slanting his mouth and parting his lips. She responded freely; their tongues dueled and darted.

So willing and passionate … the idea of bedding her was fast becoming irresistible. He envisioned Lily pliant in his arms, responsive to his touch. His tongue thrust deep and steadily in a rhythm mimicking the pace that would follow, once he shed them both of their layers of clothes.

He broke away from her mouth to tease at her earlobe. Lily let out a little gasp, part pleasure, part surprise. “Tell me what you want, Lily,” he whispered, his voice a dark invitation.

She panted as he trailed his way down the creamy column of her neck. “I don’t know,” she whimpered.

Ethan lifted his head to catch her in a challenging, smoldering look. “Yes, you do.” He quirked a brow. “I refuse to believe you have no imagination, princess. You’ve lain awake in the dark hours of night, playing something out in your mind, and you wonder what it would be like in truth.”

Color flooded her cheeks.

“No embarrassment, sweetheart, not with me. Everyone has fantasies. It’s only too bad females are made to feel they’re wrong for having them.”

His wife’s brow puckered as he withdrew the combs ornamenting her coif, enameled butterflies with wings embellished by tiny gemstones. He reclined against the pillows and pulled her down to lie facing him.

Working his fingers into her thick, long hair, he unhurriedly pulled loose the remaining pins. When they had been deposited on the nightstand beside the combs, he propped up on an elbow and looked down at his bride.

Lily’s eyes roved his face. She bit her bottom lip, leaving the flesh red and inviting.

“What is it you want to say?” he asked.

She drew a breath, lifting her breasts into tantalizing proximity to his mouth.
Not yet.
There would be time for that soon, but not yet.

“These fantasies you mentioned — ” She spoke haltingly, still struggling against the shackles of propriety. “Maybe if you offered an example first, I would know what you mean.” She lowered her eyes, her lashes sooty crescents against her cheeks.

Ethan chuckled low in his throat. “You want an example? All right. I’ve got a dozen fantasies about you, princess.” Her eyes widened. He kissed her hand and nodded. “It’s true. I imagine what you look like with no clothes on.” At her shocked expression he clicked his tongue and nodded. “I
think
you must have very long legs.” His gaze roamed down her length, over her shapely hips and down to where her skirts bunched around her legs, offering a tantalizing view of her ankle. “I should like very much to run my hands up and down those legs, to feel your soft skin and explore every curve and crook.”

His eyes skipped back to her face. Lily’s lips were slightly parted. “Oh,” she breathed.

He nuzzled against her cheek and drank in her warm scent before resting his forehead on hers. “Now you.”

Lily’s eyelids fluttered. He watched her eyes move beneath the delicate skin. Ethan wondered what erotic images she was concocting. She drew in a stuttering breath and spoke, her voice low and her words tumbling out in a rush. “After we danced and you took me to the garden, I was astonished by how your arms felt, and I wondered what they looked like, and what it would feel like to touch them … ” Her voice trailed away as the blush deepened on her cheeks.

He smiled at the tameness of her words, but was touched that she’d had the courage to say them at all. Ethan straightened. His eyes never left her as he untied his starched cravat and tossed it aside. Pulling the shirttail free of his trousers, he grinned. “Lily.”

Her eyes blinked open.

“We’re going to explore your fantasies, princess.” Her eyes roamed his torso as he removed his shirt and tossed it beside the discarded neck cloth. Then he leaned over, his hands sinking into the mattress on either side of her. “Go ahead.”

Uncertainty shadowed her eyes. Ethan lowered his face and took her in a hot, scorching kiss. As they kissed, he felt a shy tickling on his forearms. He groaned his approval, and soon her hands swept up his arms. Her fingers clung, testing the resilience of his flesh. Her palms flattened against his biceps, traveling up to his shoulders. He felt himself rising to attention at her touch, and they’d only just begun exploring one another. It was going to be a long night.

Ethan lifted his head. “How was that?”

Lily gave him a coy smile. “Very agreeable,” she demurred.

His eyebrows shot up. “Just agreeable?” he teased. “Now, then, princess, I want you to do a little more thinking for me.”

Her fingers brushed back down his arms, tracing the contours of his biceps. Ethan shuddered low in his back. “Think about what?” she asked.

“Of something else you might enjoy.”

She tugged her lower lip between her teeth. “May I … touch you? More?”

The thought of her hands roaming his body brought his cock to full erection. “Lily,” he said solemnly, “I’m your husband. I’m your lover. Touch me as much as you’d like, whenever the fancy strikes you. Consider yourself in possession of a
carte blanche
.”

She inhaled deeply.

He groaned at the irresistible pull of those magnificent mounds of flesh — once again brought into temptingly close proximity by her respiration — his self-restraint testing the tight leash he kept it on. In so many ways, this night was new for him, too. Had she been any other woman, she’d have been naked an hour ago. He would have already plumbed her depths, taking his pleasure and fulfilling hers.

There would be plenty of nights like that to come, he reminded himself. Tonight was an introductory course in sexual pleasure. Finding himself in the role of teacher was both novel and trying.

She took her time exploring his bare torso, testing with her palm the springiness of the hair on his chest. “So different,” she murmured. Her gaze followed the scatter of chest hair down the path to his flat stomach, and then skidded to a halt at the trail disappearing into his breeches.

“What do you mean?”

“Your body’s so different from mine.” Her eyes lit with the delight of discovery mingled simmering arousal. “I don’t have hair like this.” Her fingers fluttered over her own chest and stomach before returning to her tactile exploration.

He raised a brow. “How can I be sure? I’ve not been afforded the opportunity to compare.” He inhaled sharply as her nails raked across his nipples.

“I’m sorry,” she cried. “Did I hurt you?”

“Quite the opposite, actually.”

His stiff arousal strained against the constraint of his clothes. His hips rocked against her. Ethan tamped down on his lust.
Not yet, you randy bastard.
“That’s two for you.” His voice rasped, gravelly with need. “I believe my turn’s come ’round.”

Fear flashed across Lily’s features. Then she huffed a breath and nodded. “That’s fair.”

Ethan smirked. This was the first time he’d brought equity into bedplay. His rational brain was presently sluggish, but he’d long since cataloged the myriad things he’d like to do with his new wife’s delectable body. His baser mind had no problem taking charge.

One desire refused to be shuffled aside. And she
did
seem concerned with keeping the score even.

“Why are you grinning?” Lily asked, suspicious.

Ethan struggled to repress his smile. “I’m without covering up top. It would be fair if you joined me in that state.”

She sat bolt upright. Her hands flew to her throat and she swallowed. “That’s your desire?” she whispered.

“The fairness bit wasn’t part of
my
imagination.” He took her hands, pulling them from her chest. “But, yes, Lily, I have wanted to see and touch your breasts since the moment I met you.”

Her brow furrowed and she shook her head as though she didn’t believe him. At last, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood.

Ethan rose and squeezed her shoulders as he gazed into her face. Emotions warred there — her own fledgling desire struggling against fear.

“There’s nothing to be frightened of. You enjoy my kisses, yes?”

She nodded.

“You’ll like this, too.” He dipped his head as he pulled her into his embrace, his turgid erection twitched as it pressed into her belly. He kissed her with abandon, channeling his pent-up lust through his mouth. Lily whimpered in response, tilting her head back to give him full access to her depths.

Ethan’s hands tangled in her hair, securing her face to his. Then he twisted her hair into a rope, which he pulled over her shoulder. He spun her around to unbutton her gown; tiny fasteners separated from their loops as rapidly as his nimble fingers came to them.

Offering a supporting hand, he helped her step out of the gown. Next went the corset, leaving her in her stockings and thin chemise. Dark hair fell in a tumble down her back almost to her narrow waist, drawing his eyes to the round globes of her derrière — and those legs. He was nearly overcome by the desire to fall to his knees and lick them.

Not yet. Not yet. Not yet.

He turned her to face him again, keeping his eyes on the ribbons at the neckline of her chemise as he untied them. Having pulled them loose, Ethan’s fingers slid under the shoulder straps, pushing the fabric down to pool around her waist.

“Oh, my God,” he whispered hoarsely. They were perfection. Abundant mounds of creamy flesh, tipped by rosy nipples rising in the chilly air. “Oh, my God,” he repeated reverently. Once more, he considered dropping to his knees, this time in a prayer of thanksgiving for the twin gifts from above that were Lily Bachman’s magnificent breasts.