The Bluestocking’s Absolutely Brilliant Betrothal (The Notorious Briarwoods #6)

Chapter 14

A s soon as those words had slipped past his lips, nothing could keep them apart. They raced to each other, their arms entwining. He pulled her against him. She reveled in the feel of his hard body against her soft one. There was no thought, no reasoning, no wondering if she should or if she shouldn’t.

Something magical had happened in the moment just before. There was something transformative about throwing all the rules away. It was remarkable how it felt when someone said that they would take you exactly as you are.

She stroked her hands over the hard sinew of his arms, letting her fingers trail up to his broad, beautiful shoulders. The warm feel of him transformed her. The sensation of his body underneath her palms ignited her blood. She longed to give in to him. And now she knew that she could and she would. She wanted to trace every sinew of him, every line, every bone, and every bit of skin.

His hands worked over her back, sliding to her hips, then taking her bum into his palms. He pulled her upward, rocking her hips into his body. She let out a gasp as the feel of his hard length pressed against her belly.

He smiled down at her. “That’s for you,” he rumbled. “You drive me mad with desire.”

“I?” she asked. “Drive you mad?”

A low hum of a laugh slipped from his sensual lips. “You have no idea. You have haunted my dreams every night. I have laid in bed and thought of nothing but you.”

Her heart skipped at that. “Show me,” she whispered. “Show me what you have thought about.”

His eyes darkened, turning into twin pools of hunger. “First I must ask…”

She tilted her head to the side, wondering how he could think at a time like this.

“You will marry me?” he teased. “I will take care so that you do not need to worry about a child.”

“Yes,” she whispered, “I will marry you.”

The words were out before she could give them more consideration, before she could make arguments in her head, because all she wanted was the feel of his lips upon hers.

As if he could read her mind, he lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss seared her. It seared her soul. It seared her heart. It seared her body.

Heat danced through her, melting her body into his embrace. His mouth worked over hers, seducing her. At last, she parted her lips and opened to him. He slipped his tongue into her mouth.

Their tongues tangled as he tasted and teased. She could not believe what was transpiring. Oh, she had read many a book. But this was new to her. Not the kissing, for he had kissed her once before. But the promise of what was to come. The promise of what this temptation would lead her to. That undid any logic, any reasoning, any last thought.

His hands worked at her gown. With ease, he found the pins and ties. He slipped the fabric from her shoulders. Then, slowly and almost reverently, he whispered the fabric down her body until she stood in nothing but her stays and her chemise.

She wasn’t afraid. Oh no, she was eager. Her body was made for this. She was a creature of nature, after all. A creature of nature that had been transformed by society to deny its most basic needs and wants. But she was made for him, and he was made for her.

He straightened and then deliberately unlaced the ribbons of her stays so that he could take it from her body and drop it to the floor with a thud. Then, locking gazes with her, he took the ribbon of her chemise and pulled the bow. Gently, he tugged at the ribbon until the neck widened.

Achilles guided it to the floor. She stood before him completely naked. In the daylight, she felt alive and not at all ashamed. She did not try to cover herself. No, she stood proudly before him, and he let out a low moan of approval.

He tilted her head back, gazing down at her with wonder. He kissed her again, languorously. Her skin, exposed to the air whilst he kissed her, awakened her. Her nipples hardened, and the place between her legs grew wet with desire.

It was an ache. An all-consuming ache that needed attending, and she knew that he was the only one who could make it go away, who could make it blossom.

His hands slipped down her neck and trailed over her collarbones. He explored his way over her bare skin. Achilles hovered over her breast, then paid homage to it, kissing, massaging, teasing it, and he then turned to the other.

Aurelia thrust her hands into his hair, reveling in his adulation.

Achilles kissed his way downward, lingering over her soft belly. He kissed the lines of her hips, and then he splayed his hands over her thighs.

Kneeling right before her, he growled, “So damned beautiful. I want to devour you.”

She did not know what to say, and so she let him guide her down to the floor.

He eased her back and parted her legs. He gazed at her core, and then he kissed her. He teased her with his tongue, circling, finding a spot she barely knew existed. And as he kept circling, he placed a finger at her opening.

She arched, marveling at the feel of it.

She was aware of him suddenly taking off his clothes, slipping his shirt free and tugging his breeches down.

She expected him to take her quickly, but he did not.

Much to her astonishment, he returned to her core, driving her wild with his lips, with his mouth, with his fingers, until suddenly she could no longer think.

She did not even feel herself. She felt remade as she was sent into an abyss, not of darkness but of pure wonder.

Ripples of it traveled through her body, and she cried out.

A low growl of pure male pride came from him, and then he laid down beside her, pulling her against him. Achilles stared at her, his face a mask of desire.

Then he took her hand and guided it to his sex. Her eyes flared at the feel of him. He was hot and hard and large.

“Touch me,” he urged.

Swallowing, she allowed herself to explore as she never imagined she would be able to do.

She slipped her fingers over him, tracing the ridges, the velvet tip. She was stunned by the little bit of liquid there. She smoothed that drop over the head, and he tensed against her, drawing in a short, rasping breath.

She smiled at how she obviously made him feel.

Then he took her hand into his big one and taught her how to wrap her fingers around his sex and slide up and down, slowly and deliberately.

He dropped his head back, groaning, and she felt so powerful in that moment, so completely and totally alive. She loved watching his face. She loved watching him experience so much pleasure. She was doing that. She had that ability.

And then carefully, his body humming with need, he lowered her back to the rug.

“This is what I want,” he said. “Do you want it too?”

She licked her lips, gazing up at him. They were both on the precipice of something. Something grand and more than she’d ever experienced.

“I think you already know that I do,” she whispered.

He nodded, and Achilles parted her thighs gently.

He braced himself on his arms, and then he rocked his sex against her opening.

She felt herself preparing to take him fully. It was no easy thing! He was large and she was tight. She strained and panted to adjust.

Achilles took his time, trying to ease forward bit by bit.

She could see the muscles in his throat tense as he tried to be careful, and then she reached forward and grabbed him by the hips.

“Do not wait,” she urged, for she felt that all this taking care was making it worse.

His eyes widened, and then he wound their hands together and did as she asked.

Achilles thrust forward.

A cry burst past her lips. For a single moment, the pain was intense. She wanted to scramble back, to run away, but she did not.

And then the pain dissolved, replaced by an incredible bliss as he stroked her body’s innermost place with his hard sex.

He increased the rhythm and their bodies began to move together, working as one to sing a song as old as humanity itself.

She grabbed hold of him, marveling at her own transformation and the way she was becoming one with him.

The pleasure became so intense that she could no longer resist it, and she allowed herself to be taken into a sea of light. A light so vast it swallowed her up and filled her with joy.

Just as his entire body seemed to radiate with his own pleasure, he pulled out of her and she saw his seed spill against his linen shirt. He was taking care of her.

Just as he had promised he would.

Her heart soared at how much he cared for her and how he was willing to make certain that they were safe.

Achilles laid down beside her and pulled her into his arms, holding her close. “Here’s to the start of our lives,” he whispered.

She nodded. For she could think of no one else she would rather begin her life with.