“May I help you undress?” she asked, slowly unbuttoning his shirt.
“Yes.” His mouth moved against her forehead in the softest touch.
Slowly, Tilly undressed Henry, meeting his heated stare time and again until he stood before her naked as well.
Her fingers softly traced over his olive skin and the long, lean muscle of his forearms, his chest, and then the thin trail of hair down his abdomen. His body was powerful, graceful, completely unexpected, and she wished to learn all of it, to feel all of it.
Tilly grabbed his hand and led him to bed, sinking down on the mattress. Tilly peeked up at Henry before taking his erection in her hand, hard yet the skin so soft.
He groaned, tossing his head back toward the ceiling. “Wait, no.”
It had been some time since she shared a bed with a man. And that had brought about Ethan. And it had been different, greedy even. Her body had been used, even though she had participated willingly, and it hadn’t been a shared experience before. Still, she wished for Henry to enjoy this.
“I don’t understand…”
He sat down on the bed beside her, taking her hands in his, and kissed her knuckles before leaning over to cup her face in his palm. “I wish for this to be pleasurable for both of us. Sit back. If you’d like.”
Tilly reclined back on the soft mattress, and Henry sank to the floor, slowly parting her knees. He kissed her quim before parting her folds with his fingers and slowly began to kiss her, pleasuring her with his tongue.
She raked her hand through his black hair, pulling, feeling as if she too were coming apart. Never, she had never had a man be so intimate with her in this way. Pleasure flooded her body, a quick burst of fire before her limbs were heavy and sated.
“I might not have had practice, but I am a quick study,” he said between kisses. “I saw that once in an erotic text, and I always wanted to try it.”
His grin made her flush. Goodness.
“Would you like to stop there tonight?” he asked, brushing the hair back from her neck.
He kissed her again, slowly taking her apart until she whispered, “No.”
“Tell me, then, what would you like?”
Tilly reclined into the pillows, stretching out her long legs. “You, Henry.”
He bent and kissed her navel, trailed kisses up her sternum and along her jaw to her ear. “I love you, sweet. Tell me to stop if you’d like.”
She shook her head and rested it against his shoulder as Henry moved over her, his cock hard and pressing against her entrance. “No, I don’t wish for that, it’s only… the last time.” She cursed herself for allowing fear to edge into this moment. She wished to be present, fully present, and enjoy her new husband. And all she could think of was the last time she had freely given her body over to a man.
“Right…” He rested his weight on his elbows, holding his body above hers but allowing her to roll away if she wished. She didn’t. But that consideration was perhaps all she needed as he gently kissed her mouth, spinning her apart with each touch.
Pleasure.
She had never known. She had never considered this was what could be shared with one’s bed partner.
Tilly shifted her hips, opening up to Henry. Her teeth scraped against his shoulder as his erection slowly slipped inside.
“That feels…”
She nodded, almost as wordless. Henry thrust against, warmth spreading through her limbs, hungry for her. Whatever this was, Tilly wished only for him. Henry groaned with another thrust. She pulled back as his shoulder muscles tensed.
“Touch yourself,” he whispered. “Make yourself soar for me.”
She closed her eyes and slid her hand between them as he slowly stroked her. And just as suddenly, the feeling from earlier shook her body. Her muscles tensed until warmth spread through her body and her limbs shook. She opened her eyes, frustrated that Henry had stopped.
“I think that may be my favorite part,” he growled. She grinned up at him, drawing his head to her chest as he continued, “To hear you, to taste you…”
With a shuddering breath, Henry withdrew, spending his seed onto the sheets beside her. Tilly reached for him, and he rolled over, grabbing Tilly and hauling her close. He peered down with a smile.
She smiled back.
And that was enough for the moment. It was all she ever needed, and she had found that with Henry. The masked stranger.
“Do you really have to leave tonight?”
“We might still have time…”
“No,” she laughed, playfully swatting him away. “Well, yes… but I only meant must we leave one another again?”
“It would be safer if you didn’t return to London for a while. And I fear Cliffstone Manor needs some major structural work completed before I can bring you to the Isle of Wight. Though I wish… I wish for you to be with me.”
She stopped tracing circles on his chest with her fingertips.
“Henry, you may have fallen in love with me, but I have a large family who are very much a part of my life. You will welcome them all, not just Ethan?”
“I wasn’t expecting any of this, sweet. But I love you, and I am looking forward to meeting your family. Whatever they need, I will do my best to look after them.”
She couldn’t imagine a better Christmas. Still, she didn’t wish to be parted from Henry, though she was eager to return to Ethan and the others.
“My parents are still in Ireland. My father’s health is poor. I live with my twin sisters Fiona and Brigid, Maeve, and younger brother Daniel. My older brother, Patrick, is married, as well as my sister Imogen.”
