His hands went to her hair first. Plucking the cap from her head, he sent the hat spinning into the corner. She tried not to laugh. All right, perhaps she was a touch foxed. He pushed his hands through her hair, letting the locks fall over her shoulders. She tossed her head back to shake it out.
“Do you know how long I’ve wanted to run my fingers through your hair?” he asked against her mouth.
“As long as I’ve wanted to run my fingers through yours?” She pulled his head down to hers and let her fingers tug at the strands of hair at his nape.
He kissed her temple, her cheek, the side of her lips, before returning his attention to her mouth. He cradled her face in his palms while his lips brushed against her, his tongue plunging, then another brush, and another plunge in a rhythm that slowly drove Danielle mad. She pressed both palms to his shirtfront, feeling his muscled chest through the cloth.
“Do you know how long I’ve wanted to touch you here?” she asked between kisses.
“Are you certain you’re not foxed?” he asked, with a smile against her lips.
“Mmm hmm,” she murmured. “When I saw you without your shirt last night, I nearly climbed into bed with you.”
“Why didn’t you?” He stepped back, quickly unwound his cravat, and used both hands to pull his shirt over his head. He tossed the garment on the floor. Instinctively, she reached for it.
“Leave it.”
She turned back to stare at the gloriousness that was his chest. She ran her fingers over it, marveling, watching the muscles jump and flex in reaction to her touch. “You look like you’re made from stone.”
“Is that a good thing?” He kissed her again and her legs felt wobbly.
“Like you’re unreal. A statue.”
“A statue wouldn’t be able to take off his boots,” he murmured. “Help me?”
She nodded.
He sat on the edge of the bed and she promptly slid onto his lap. Hmm. She was feeling the whiskeys she’d had earlier after all. She might not be foxed but she was deliciously light-headed and sitting on Cade’s hard lap, feeling the length of his arousal and the warmth coming off his bare chest. Heat pooled between her legs and an ache began to spread there, too. She leaned down to tug at his boot, just like she had the night they’d met. The first boot came off without incident. The second one came off with a pop and she flew backward on top of him.
“Another boot trick to get me into bed with you?”
He quickly changed their positions and pushed her beneath him. He slid down her body and pulled off her boots, too.
“Yes,” he said. “Your shirt next.”
She nodded again. This heady feeling spreading through her veins was pure elation. She was no virgin. She’d had an awful time the first and only time she’d ever given herself to a man, well, a boy really. Robert. Since her first kiss had been entirely different from the one Cade had given her, she knew making love with him would be an experience she would never forget. First she had to make certain they both understood what this was … and what it wasn’t. She didn’t want a repeat of the last time she’d done this.
“Wait.”
His hand arrested at the top of her shirt. “What? Are you all right?”
“Yes, it’s just that … I must tell you something.”
“What’s that, love?” He kissed her neck. She couldn’t think when he kissed her neck, let alone speak. She forced herself to push him to arm’s length.
He stopped and searched her face. “What is it?”
“I need you to listen to me.”
He braced his arms behind him on the mattress. “I’m listening.”
She brushed a swath of her hair over her shoulder. “Before we do this, I need you to agree to two things.”
“Sweetheart, right now I’d agree with you if you told me to move to Russia.”
She laughed at that. “Nothing that drastic.”
“Good, because I don’t speak the language. Though Daphne does.”
“She does?”
“Love, I need you to focus.”
“Right. The first thing you must agree to is that we’ll … you’ll … take precautions. I do not want a child to result from this.”
He nodded. “I understand. I know what to do. I don’t have any bastards to my knowledge.”
That made her feel much better. “Thank you.”
“And the second thing?”
“We must both agree that … this doesn’t mean anything.”
“Doesn’t mean anything?” He frowned at her. “I’m afraid I’m not following.”
“I mean that we both need to understand that this is … just for fun. We’re not making any promises to each other. This is not a commitment.”
“If you insist,” he said with nonchalance, but his countenance betrayed a hint of disgruntlement. “Now may I get back to the business of removing your shirt?”
“Yes,” she said, relieved that he’d so readily agreed to both of her requests. Perhaps this might be pleasurable and simple after all. Perhaps they wouldn’t have to worry about working together (if indeed that was Grimaldi’s plan) after having had a naked romp in bed. Perhaps it really was possible to keep the two things separate. All she knew was she had to try.
Men left after sex. They were no longer interested. She didn’t want that inevitability to keep Cade from helping Grimaldi. By establishing this boundary, she was ensuring there would be no awkwardness later. It would simply be business after this. She settled back into the mattress and let out a sigh. Now she could enjoy herself.
Cade took his time unbuttoning her shirt. There was no frantic pushing or tugging like last time. No sweaty grabbing or stale ale breath, only the spicy scent of Cade’s cologne near her ear and the slight shake of his hand going from button to button of her shirt. Knowing that his hand was shaking made her heady with power. Did she do that to him? Well, she was shaking, too. Would he find her naked body beautiful? He’d said she was beautiful, but would he truly think so when she was fully bared to his discerning eye? The man had been with ladies as gorgeous as the tall, ethereal Amanda Jones. There was no way Danielle’s short, hardly buxom body could compare.
“You’re gorgeous,” he whispered into her hair as if he’d read her mind.
The last button gave way and he pushed off her shirt first from one shoulder and then the other. The tunic she wore beneath to conceal her small breasts was next to go. He pulled it over her head and tossed it onto the floor with the rest of the clothing. He stared at her breasts with pure reverence in his eyes.
“Are they…?” She bit her lip. “Acceptable?”
“Acceptable?” He looked horrified by the question, then gave her a wolfish grin. “Sweetheart, they’re magnificent.”
She couldn’t help but smile at that.
His hand went to her waist to begin unbuttoning her breeches but she stopped him. “You first.”
“With pleasure.” He winked at her. She shook her head. She should have known he’d be fine with showing off his—ahem—assets first. The man was pure confidence. From what she’d seen so far, he had a lot to be confident about. Apparently, when you were built like Michelangelo’s David, embarrassment wasn’t a word in your vocabulary. Even his feet were perfect. She’d dared a glance at them. They were arched and long with beautifully shaped toes. It was entirely unfair. Her own toes could be described as positively plain.
He rolled over onto his back, unbuttoned his breeches, and pushed them down his hips and legs. The garment became a ball in the corner with the rest of the clothing. Danielle was in awe of how quickly he’d done it. She swallowed.
Ooh la la. The sight of an entirely nude Cade was something for which she was simplement not prepared. Narrow hips; lean, muscled legs; and a cock that would make other sailors jealous. The size of their members was exceedingly important to men. Cade’s was thick and strong and long, jutting out from a patch of dark golden hair between his muscular thighs. She stared at it, mesmerized. She wanted to touch it. She reached out, but snatched her hand away.
“Go ahead,” he prompted. He lay on his back and crossed his hands beneath his head, proud and calm at the notion that his naked body was on full display.
Still wearing her breeches and nothing else, she crawled toward him and lay at his side. She reached out and stroked his member. Cade groaned. She turned to watch his face. His eyes were closed. His face was pinched in pleasure. His mouth slightly open, panting. She reveled in the power she had over him. With every flick of her wrist, his hips arched and the look of ecstasy mixed with pain on his face intensified.
“I could give you pleasure,” she said. “With my hand. I’ve heard of that.” She’d heard of a lot of things on ships in the middle of the night.
“You could,” Cade said, his breathing heavy. He opened his eyes and rolled on his side to face her. “But I want to take you and when I take you it’s going to be unbelievable, and I’m not about to do that until you’ve experienced pleasure that will make you half mad.”
“Half mad?” she whispered, a thrill shooting down between her legs.
He was already looming above her, on his knees. He pushed her onto her back and his gaze held hers in its sultry embrace while he unbuttoned her breeches with excruciating slowness. “I believe a man shouldn’t take his pleasure until his woman is fully satisfied.”
“Hurry,” she pleaded, desperately wanting to feel him.
“No,” he teased. His face was tender. His eyes were soft. “I refuse to hurry.”
The third button came undone and his fingers brushed against the private skin beneath. She shuddered. His hand moved lower, unbuttoning the fourth button. At the fifth button she tried to do it herself, but he pushed her hands away and waved a finger at her. “Don’t try to rush me. I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
She squirmed beneath him. Mon dieu. The man was maddening.
He finally unbuttoned all of them and slid down to the end of the bed where he neatly tugged at the ankles of her breeches. They magically flew off after only a few gentle tugs. “You seem quite good at that,” she said.
He winked at her again. “I’m better with gowns, but I happen to know my way around breeches because of my own use.”
At the moment, she didn’t care what he knew about her breeches. She was much more interested in what he knew about her naked body. He took his time looking at her. His gaze started at her head and traveled down to her shoulders, her chest, her belly, pausing at the juncture between her thighs. His fingers traveled the path his eyes took and she bucked at the new sensation when he gently stroked her hip and the side of her leg. He stopped at her knee. “So beautiful,” he whispered. “Danielle.”
“Touch me,” she begged, trying to guide his hand to where she wanted it.
But he eluded her grasp. His hand moved slowly, too slowly, back up her leg until it found the juncture between her thighs. Her legs spread open of their own accord. Maddeningly, he only touched her there for barely a moment before his mouth descended to capture one of her nipples. She gasped and her fingers tangled in his hair, holding his head to her chest. “Cade!”
“Oh, darling, you can’t be calling my name yet. We’ve barely started. Let me do something to truly earn it.”
Her panting breath was her only response to that exasperating statement. He traveled down, raining kisses on her belly, and lower, lower until his mouth was positioned just above her sex. He pulled her knees apart with his strong hands and wrapped his arms beneath them, leaving her open to him.
* * *
Cade breathed in Danielle’s womanly scent. His cock was so hard it was painful. He clenched his jaw. Never in his life had he wanted a woman as badly as he wanted Danielle. Never in his life had he taken such care and time preparing a woman for his lovemaking. He wanted his partners to enjoy themselves, of course, but it had never mattered more to him. He wanted her to come so hard, she wouldn’t be the same. Why? He didn’t want to examine that question at the moment. All he knew was that tonight her pleasure was his pleasure and he was about to make her explode with it.
His tongue dipped into her cleft. She clamped her thighs against his head. He smiled and pulled them away with his hands at her knees. “Shh,” he murmured, blowing softly into her sex. She gasped. His tongue dipped a second time and she moaned. It was the most erotic sound he’d ever heard. He was dizzy with the sight and sound and smell and taste of her. He swiped his tongue along the seam of her sex. Again, he burrowed his tongue between the cleft, finding the nub of pleasure. Her feet pushed against the bed and her hips arched off the mattress.
“Shh. No.” He pulled her hips back down.
“I can’t.” Her head fell back against the sheets, tossing from side to side.
“Relax,” he murmured against her soft, wet, hot skin.
He pushed his tongue between her cleft again and nudged at the bud. Her fingers tangled in his hair. He glanced up at her. She was mindless with want, her head thrown back, her beautiful dark hair splayed out behind her, her eyes closed. She wriggled beneath him but he held her thighs tightly with both hands, not letting her slip away. All the while he kept up the pressure with his tongue, nudging at the bud between her legs, moving in small circles as her panting increased and her thighs tensed. She bit her lip so hard, it turned bloodred and still he didn’t stop, lapping at her, licking her in long strokes until she finally took a deep breath to scream his name. His hand shot up to cover her mouth and muffle her scream.
She lay panting for several moments, her eyes wide, unfocused. “Cade, did I just…? Was that what I…? I never knew my body was capable of…”
“Now, that was something to scream my name for,” he said, pleased with himself. “Though I daresay you’ll need to be more careful next time. You’ll bring the entire crew running.”
“Next time.” Her brow furrowed. “Oh, but I said there might not be a next—”
“Of course there’s going to be a next time.” He moved up her body and covered her with his own. “Because I’m not done making you come.”
* * *
His words made Danielle wet all over again. She had no vocabulary in French or English for the pleasure she’d just experienced. It was mind-numbing, indescribable. She didn’t think her body could take it again, but when Cade began kissing her neck, she was more than willing to try. Besides, she knew he hadn’t been satisfied. After the pleasure he’d just given her, she wanted to return the faveur.
“Love?” he asked, rising up on his elbow, his finger tracing her cheekbone.
“Yes?” Her lust haze still hadn’t cleared and she felt a huge smile sitting on her face like a well-fed cat.
“Forgive me for asking, but … are you a virgin?”
This was it. The moment of truth. She’d decided long ago to refuse to be ashamed of her past choices. Besides, he’d been with other women. Well, she’d been with another man. One. One inexperienced one. She’d chosen poorly the first time. She was about to make up for it now.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Does that make a difference to you?”
“Not at all. In fact, it’s a huge relief.” An honest look of contentment covered his face.
“A relief?” she murmured against his head. His hand was making its way between her legs and touching her in that same indescribable spot again, making it difficult to think. “Why?”
“Because.” He kissed her eye, her ear. “When I slide into you there will be only pleasure. No pain.”
She shivered at those words and when one of his fingers slipped inside, her eyes fluttered back into her head. “Mon dieu,” she whispered. She hadn’t known that. She had assumed it would hurt every time. She sighed and allowed her eyes to flutter closed.
“That’s right.” He pulled out his finger and pushed it in again. “Tell me how much you want me. In French.”
“J’ai envie de toi,” she murmured.
“I want you, too. I’m going to make you come again so hard you see stars.”
“Baise-moi.”
“Oh, sweetheart, with pleasure,” he whispered. “First, touch me.”
Danielle reached down to close her hand around him.
“That’s right,” he said, his eyes closed. “Stroke me.” Then, “Show me where you want me.”
She guided him to the cradle between her legs. There was a hot pressure, a prodding for a moment, and then he slid slowly inside her.
“Mon dieu!” She shouted into the pillow to muffle the noise.
* * *
Cade stopped. He was entirely still. Sweat beaded on his brow but still he didn’t move. The unholy torture of being sheathed to the hilt inside Danielle was too much to bear. If he moved he wasn’t certain he wouldn’t spend himself like an untried lad. He bit the inside of his cheek to control himself. Danielle wasn’t helping. She was frantically kissing him, her body straining up to reach his, her hips rocking against his. She murmured French love words in his ear and that alone was enough to make him come. She’d asked him to ensure there was no baby. He had no French letters with him. The only choice was to pull out. This was going to be a bloody act of heroism.
He wanted her so badly he couldn’t see straight. His entire body shook with pent-up longing. He’d never experienced anything like it. His intense desire to make her happy. His overwhelming need to ensure she took her pleasure first. His body thrummed with unreleased passion. He forced himself to count to ten, hovering above her, his arms braced against the mattress on either side of her body. His lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her with all the pent-up desire he felt for her.
* * *
When Cade began to move, Danielle went mindless. The feel of him inside her was nearly too much to bear. It was nothing like the painful poking she’d experienced with Robert all those years ago. This time, she was filled entirely by Cade’s big cock and she was pinned beneath his gorgeous body while he pumped into her. Her knees clamped against his sides and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. Mon dieu. The man knew exactly what he was doing. He pumped into her again and again, making her take him, owning her body. She muffled her cries of pleasure against the pillow, murmuring mindless words of love and lust in her native tongue.
He reached between their bodies and touched her sex again, making her body wind up like a spring. When he finally sent her over the edge with a flick of his thumb, she bit his shoulder fiercely. He pumped into her again and again. Finally, he wrenched himself from her and spent his seed on her belly with a savage groan.