The Knickerbocker Bride: A Gilded Age Romance

Part Twelve

"Are you certain—"

Cora placed a finger across Harry's lips as she closed his bedroom door with her other hand. "Shh."

"My parents won't hear us," he murmured behind her digit. "They're in the other wing of the house."

"Oh." In all the times she'd been in his house she had remained on the first floor or outside. His bedroom was unchartered territory. "Then we don't need to be quiet. With any of it."

Color bloomed on his cheeks in the most adorable fashion. Who would've guessed that a man who could discuss plant and animal reproduction with such ease would blush so easily when it came to himself?

"The noise is the least of our concerns," he said, dryly. "Should we discuss preventing conception? Or what you like and don't like? Perhaps we should save those conversations for another day and just lie on the bed and kiss."

He was nervous. Which she understood; she was nervous as well. However, she was ready—more than ready, actually—to take this leap with him. They would be married. She would become his wife. Half the society couples who married anticipated their vows before the ceremony. There was no reason to wait.

She put a palm on his chest. His heart thundered beneath her hand, the frantic beat matching her own. "Harry, let us figure this out together. Tonight. I feel as though we've been having conversations and discussions our whole lives. Let's live instead."

He nodded once, his expression determined. She'd seen this look many times after he'd decided on a course of action. Harry could be quite intense when focused on a goal. Tonight, she wished for their mutual pleasure to be the goal.

He wore only shirtsleeves so she began working the buttons free. When the garment was loose enough she pushed his suspenders off his shoulders and dragged the cotton shirt over his head. His undergarment remained—a thin linen that hugged his chest and ribs. Beneath it, his chest was lean but sturdy, with a small patch of hair covering his sternum. She traced his collarbones with her fingertips.

When she reached for his trouser fastenings, he stilled her hand. "I want to make this good for you. If you touch me this will be over too soon."

She let her arms fall to her sides. For an inexperienced man, Harry certainly made short work of her clothing. His clever fingers deftly loosened ties and tapes, slid buttons free of their holes, and unclasped tiny hooks. She watched him, loving the awe on his face each time another piece of clothing was removed. Soon she was in just her shift, the points of her nipples poking through the thin fabric. Her entire body vibrated with the need to be touched, caressed, her skin both hot and cold.

He traced the lace edge of her shift with his blunt finger. "So delicate. You're beautiful, Cora."

At that moment, seeing the heat reflected in his eyes, she believed it.

"Thank you." Clutching his waistband, she tugged him toward the bed. "And you haven't even seen the best parts." At least, the parts most men always talked about when they thought women weren't around.

"Oh, God," he murmured as she fell back on the mattress. "That may cause me heart failure, but please, yes. Show me."

He paused by the side of the bed so she took this as her cue. Pressing her heels into the mattress, she rose up and began dragging the shift up past her thighs, her hips. His eyes were hooded as they watched the fabric disappear over her stomach. Once at her breasts, she brought the garment over her head and threw it on the floor.

He slowly took in the length of her, his intense stare missing nothing, while his breath rasped in harsh pants. Most women might have felt awkward, getting naked in front of a man for the first time in her life, but Cora was surprised at how comfortable she felt with Harry. He wanted her. Desperately. Even if she couldn't see the large bulge in his trousers, there was the heat and reverence in his gaze, as if he were discovering an ancient artifact or viewing a priceless piece of art for the first time.

"May I?" He said, his hand lifting toward her leg.

"Please."

Gentle fingers swept over the downy hair on her legs, higher, toward her knee. "You're so soft." He tested the skin, stroking and brushing, along her thighs and around her hipbones. It seemed he purposely avoided the spot she craved him most.

Then he went higher. He caressed her slightly rounded stomach and the angles of her ribs. Desire raced through her, wetness pooling between her thighs. She felt both exposed and cherished, a wanton creature powerful in her femininity.

He leaned over to rub his knuckles on the underside of her breast. "I want to do everything at once. I hardly know where to begin."

She crooked her finger, beckoning him down on the bed. "Just begin. I feel as though I am burning alive."

"Me, too." He put a knee on the bed and stretched out beside her. "I want you so badly, Cora. I've imagined this a hundred times, maybe more. And already you've exceeded my wildest dreams."

"Kiss me, Harry. Put your hands on me." She didn't wait. Her hands found his shoulders and she pulled until his mouth was close enough to kiss her. This kiss was urgent, messy, not as sweet as the ones from before. She could taste his longing, which she tried to return to him in equal measure.

"Stop me if I do something you don't like," he said against her mouth. A large palm covered her breast, molding the shape as if to memorize it. Harry was the most careful, thorough man she knew, curious about almost everything, and he'd turned all that focus on her.

She could hardly wait.

He rolled the tip of her breast between his thumb and forefinger, pinching slightly, causing her to gasp. "I am going to suckle you now." His head dipped and he lifted her breast higher, toward his mouth. Wet heat enveloped the nipple just before he sucked deep. She cried out, her fingers threading his hair, the sharp pull like nothing she'd ever experienced before. The pleasure caused her womb to contract, bliss racing to her toes.

The reaction must have pleased him because he continued, only stopping to switch to the other breast. Each flick of his tongue and draw of his lips wound her tighter, like a spring coiling in readiness. She was just about to beg him for more when his fingers probed between her thighs. He circled her entrance and found the moisture gathered there.

She bucked her hips, desperate, uncaring how it appeared. Her body knew what it wanted from instinct, an animal craving to feel him deep inside her.

He rose up and moved down the bed until his face was staring down her sex. She frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know." He studied the folds surrounding her clitoris. "I've seen pictures, though . . . Just let me try something. If you hate it, I'll stop."

Leaning in, he opened his mouth and licked her. She sucked in a breath as her legs shook. "What—What did you do?"

"I'm going to eat you. Just lie back."

Eat her?

With his mouth? Down there? "But the taste . . . "

"Is the most arousing thing I've ever tasted. Stop worrying and trust me."

"Oh, that is amusing coming from you—"

The sound was abruptly cut off as he licked her again, more forcefully this time, like he was lapping up her juices. She heard him groan deep in his chest before he did it again, exploring with his tongue. He kept at it, pausing for her reaction and doubling his efforts on the areas she enjoyed best. That ended up with his tongue and lips working her clitoris, sucking and laving until she began trembling. Every bit of feeling was concentrated there as if all the nerve endings in her body had come alive in that one spot.

It soon became too much. He slipped a finger inside her, creating a delicious fullness that sent her soaring. A climax, fierce and swift, caused her to shatter and break apart, her limbs convulsing as she was dragged under. When she could catch her breath, he was nuzzling her, gently licking as if he couldn't get enough.

"My God," she wheezed. "I think we may consider that a success."

"That is where my research ends, however." He pressed a final kiss to her clitoris, causing her to shiver. "Everything else may be a failure."

She pushed up on her elbows. "Then why not let me take over?"