Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

T houghts of the future vanished from Xenia's head as Ethan took her to his bed. There was only now, this moment she'd been waiting for. Truth be told, she felt nervy and bashful, which she told herself was ridiculous. This was what she wanted. She was finally going to experience lovemaking with the lover of her dreams.

And it was as she'd said: she was a virgin in body only. She had a light-skirt's knowledge of sex, which, combined with her imagination and lusty nature, meant she'd entertained detailed fantasies about Ethan. There was no need for her to feel shy and uncertain. What she was about to do she'd done in her head countless times before.

Yet nothing prepared her for the desire carved on Ethan's elegant visage. He made her feel beautiful and special, heightening her arousal. Her nipples were tight buds, her knees quivering as they stopped by the side of his massive bed.

When he reached for her, she trembled in anticipation. He slid his fingers into her hair, and as he plucked out her pins, the faint pings as they hit the ground built her tension. She couldn't have imagined how intimate this felt: a man letting down her hair for the first time. The heavy strands tumbled, falling over her shoulders and down to her waist. Her breath quickened as he captured a tress between his long, elegant fingers.

"This isn't your real color, is it?" he said.

"No," she admitted. "It's a more brazen shade, I'm afraid."

Hunger flared in his eyes. "I want to see you in your natural state."

Even desire couldn't stop the pulse of worry. Her bright red hair made her more recognizable...and amplified her resemblance to her mother. Whenever the papers wrote about Mama, they mentioned her delicate features and "hair as red as flames," characteristics that were incongruous with her occupation as a cutthroat.

"Perhaps one day," Xenia said cautiously.

"There is no perhaps about it." His nostrils flared. "You cannot hide from me, minx. One day, I shall see all of you."

Their intimate banter reminded her of their exchange at the Nunnery, and she felt another anxious stab at her sin of omission. However, she'd promised not to lie from now on , and she'd been forthright, telling him she would not discuss her past. Revealing that she was Sirena would open the Pandora's box of her past, and she wasn't willing to risk exposing Ethan to her demons. She couldn't bear the thought of his rejection—or, even worse, of him coming to harm because of her.

Besides, she was willing to lay Sirena to rest for the duration of her affair with Ethan. The instant he had taken her hand, she'd known that she would do anything to be his lover…and that included retiring her money-making persona. While it wasn't the most sensible decision, she didn't want to sell fantasies to other men while being with Ethan.

She resolved to inform the Abbess of her decision and return the ten-pound note. When her liaison with Ethan ended—and she knew that it would—she could resurrect Sirena elsewhere. For now, however, she'd earned her dream, and she was going to savor it for as long as it lasted.

"Turn around, pet," he said.

Shivering, she did. When he started undoing her buttons, she felt a moment's concern for his limited dexterity. She needn't have, she realized dryly. The man had a talent for undressing women, even one-handed. She trembled as he stripped her layer by layer. Soon she stood in only her stockings and garters, discarded garments pooled at her feet. Being naked in front of a fellow was a first for her, and she instinctively folded her arms over her chest.

"Don't hide your loveliness," he murmured. "Let me see you."

Slowly, she let her arms fall.

Firelight flickered over his sinfully handsome features, his male admiration making her heart hammer against her ribs. No man had ever looked at her thus. As if she were the only thing worth looking at in the world. As if she belonged to him. As if, standing exposed in her own skin before him, she was the safest she'd ever been.

His eyes locked on hers, he cupped her cheek, and she shuddered at the contact. He touched her as if she were a fine instrument he was playing for the first time. His caress was not tentative but exploring. He stroked his fingertips over her lips, her chin, the leap of her throat as she swallowed.

"Sit on the edge of the bed for me," he said. "Up you go."

When she perched on the mattress, her legs dangled above the ground. He stood between them, spreading her further. He took his time, looking his fill before he touched her again. Her pulse quickened as he traced the slope of her collarbone, brushing his knuckles against the swell of her breast. When he drew his thumb over one throbbing nipple, she couldn't hold back a needy whimper.

"Beautiful."

His approval melted her insides.

"Touch me," she whispered. "Please."

His eyes holding hers, he brought his thumb to his mouth and moistened it.

I might lick my thumb, so it feels like a tongue working over your engorged little bud.

Then he was doing it, rubbing his damp thumb over her nipple, sending sizzles of bliss through her veins. He smothered her moan with his mouth, kissing her as he played with her breasts. He cupped and molded them, teasing the tender tips. She'd talked about this with strangers, even done this to herself…but it had never felt like this. This was no fantasy but the real thing.

With Ethan, the pleasure was more than physical. The sense of belonging she felt was intoxicating and unraveled her inhibitions. She squirmed against the mattress, desperate for relief. He wedged his thigh deeper, pressing against her throbbing pussy.

"Go ahead, Xenia," he said thickly. "Rub yourself against me."

Shamelessly, she took him up on his offer, sliding her mound against his sinewy limb. The friction sent heat blazing through her limbs. She was so slick that she made embarrassing sounds, but he urged her on with hot eyes and even hotter words.

"Such a lovely wet pussy," he crooned. "Come on my leg, there's my good girl."

He pinched her nipple, twisting it. The sensation pushed her over the edge, and she came with a gasp, the pleasure intense and bone-meltingly sweet. Breathlessly, she sank onto the bed and watched dreamily as he shed his clothes. In her line of work, she'd seen naked men, but Lord Ethan Harrington was in a class of his own.

Muscles rippled as he tossed aside his shirt. The taut skin of his broad shoulders gleamed, and his chest was a stack of chiseled blocks with a sprinkling of dark hair. Pushing down his trousers, he revealed narrow hips topped with a sinewy vee, long, muscular legs, and…

Oh, my.

His cock was big. As magnificent as the rest of him. Long and girded with veins, the thick shaft jutted from a dense black nest, the rosy swell of his stones visible beneath.

"You are beautiful," she said wistfully.

He swept a possessive gaze over her, lingering unabashedly between her legs.

"And you," he said with a wicked smile, "are a true redhead."

The mattress dipped as he put a knee on the bed. Then he was on top of her, and they both inhaled sharply at the feel of skin against skin. She couldn't have guessed how much this would arouse her, the sensation of a lover's body against her own. Since he was supporting himself on one arm, she wasn't taking all his weight, yet the feel of him pressing her into the mattress thrilled her. He kissed her mouth, her ear, her neck. His hard chest abraded her nipples, setting off sparks of pleasure.

She couldn't believe that this glorious man was her lover. She felt as if she were in a sweets shop and didn't know what to sample first. She ran her palms over his wide shoulders, the flexing expanse of his back, marveling at his honed strength. When she reached the high, hard swell of his arse, she gave him a greedy squeeze, trailing her fingertips along the tight crevice between.

"If you are done playing," he muttered, "it's my turn."

He closed his mouth over her nipple. The things he did with his tongue made her gasp and arch her spine. He flicked and teased and sucked on her aching bud. She felt a corresponding pull between her legs as he drew on her nipple. The pulsing ache in her pussy grew and grew.

"Oh, please," she begged. "I need you to touch me."

"Where, pet? You know the word for it."

Truth be told, she knew a great many words for it. But she gave him the one he'd used.

"My pussy," she said obediently. "Please touch my pussy."

She didn't know what was more wicked: the glint in his indigo eyes or the curve of his smile.

"Actually," he said. "I have another idea."

"Odds bodkins," Xenia gasped as she spent yet again.

Odds bodkins, indeed.

Raising his head, Ethan found himself smiling as he licked her cream from his lips. He didn't know which was the better view: her glistening slit framed by fire-red curls, or her heaving breasts topped with ripe, plump berries. What he did know was that Xenia, in her crisis, was the prettiest sight he'd ever seen. She tasted like a treat too, her wanton flavor making him harder than a pike.

Her responsiveness astounded him. While he'd been with randy women, she was unique. Sweetly voracious. With her, he felt a connection that went beyond lust…beyond anything he'd felt before. She was both wicked and adorable, allowing him anything and wanting it all.

The things I am going to show her…

He nipped her silky thigh. "I knew you would like it."

"I more than liked it. Oh, Ethan, I never knew…" She lifted her head, gazing at him with rapturous eyes. "Is it always this splendid?"

He crawled over her so that they were face-to-face.

"Only with me," he said sternly. "Don't get ideas about anyone else."

To his surprise, he wasn't teasing. This strange proprietary urge still confounded him. Since nothing was normal around Xenia, however, he supposed he would have to get used to it.

"Why would I even think of anyone else when you are my fantasy?" she asked.

Her sincerity expanded his chest and his cock. His erection jammed into her soft belly. He'd played the gentleman and made sure she came first (three times, actually, but who was counting?). Now his own hunger was demanding to be satiated, and he could wait no longer.

Adjusting their bodies, he slid his shaft against her pussy. He groaned as her plump folds enveloped him, slick and satiny-soft. He drove against her plush flesh, and when his thick head butted against her pearl, she moaned.

"Do you like my cock rubbing against your pussy?" he rasped.

"You feel so fine," she panted. "Don't stop."

He thrust harder. Pleasure sizzled down his spine as her dew coated his shaft and balls. The urge to hilt his cock inside her was nearly overwhelming…but his honor wouldn't allow him to take her virginity. Luckily, there were many paths to pleasure. Leaning on his left forearm, he used his good hand to grip her bottom, pulling her tighter against him. He rocked against her, driving his cock against her cleft, the slippery friction making him grunt.

"Wrap your legs around my hips," he instructed.

When she did, they both moaned at the improved angle. He drove his rod against her engorged pearl, mashing his stones over her tender lips. She dug her heels into his flexing arse and then she stiffened, her cry shattering his restraint. He arched his neck as bliss erupted from him and left him shuddering.

When he leaned down to kiss her, her mouth curved.

He lifted his head. "What is so amusing?"

"I am not amused. I'm happy. Thanks to you."

Xenia's flushed cheeks and tangled hair supported her claim. Only she could manage to look thoroughly debauched and cute. It was a look he could get used to.

"Your happiness is my reward," he said gallantly.

"I think you had your own reward."

Reaching down, she touched a finger to the sticky mess he'd made on her belly. When she twirled her finger in his seed and giggled, renewed heat flickered in his loins.

Devil and damn, that was a quick recovery. Even for him.

He lifted his brows. "Allow me to fetch you a towel, then I'll make you happy again."

"So soon?"

At the lusty sparkle in her eyes, he made an easy decision.

"To hell with the towel," he muttered.

He closed his mouth over hers.