“I simply wanted to be more active in our lovemaking.”
“If you are any more active, I might never survive to take your maidenhead.”
“We can’t have that.” Lowering her hands, she stood stiffly and faced forward like one of his footmen. “Will this help?”
“You. Are. A. Minx.”
She stole a peek at her husband and said, “You’ve said that already.”
“If you have no care for your safety, I will have to take it in hand.”
“Please do.” She never imagined that lovemaking could be so playful. One second, her feet were firmly on the expensive silk carpet, the next she lay flat on her back on the plush bed.
“Don’t move.”
By the sound of his voice, she didn’t venture to shift an inch.
Other than a stout curse as his foot hit the bedpost, the only sound she heard was the remainder of his clothing hitting the floor. And, finally, the bed lowered from his weight as he climbed over her. He pulled her petticoat up over her thighs and gathered it at her hips until his hands found her apex. Spreading her folds, he eased a finger inside. Throwing her head back, she groaned. His touch soothed the fire deep within, not putting it out, but tapering it so it didn’t consume her.
“You are so wet.”
“I have been wet for hours.” She lifted her head to kiss his lips.
The thin hold on his self-control broke and he returned the kiss feverishly, his fingers working her into the same passion he had aroused in her before. She should tell him to slow down, but worried if he didn’t claim her, she would burst into flames. Sliding her palms over his chest, she moved them up to his shoulders and pulled him closer. She ached to get closer.
“You have to slow down,” he mumbled against her lips. “Trust me on this, please.”
“I can’t stop.” She whimpered, needing him more than the air she breathed. “Please help me.”
“I will, but trust me when I tell you if you want this to be good, you have to slow down.”
She gripped his shoulders tightly, believing him. He had the experience to make their union pleasurable. Nothing she’d read in the naughty books her aunt had given her talked about virgins and their experience. Everything she had read dealt with woman who wanted to improve the sex life they had in new and varied positions. Her aunt had advised the first time would hurt, but she’d also echoed Andrew’s words to trust him. Miranda took a deep breath and released her thighs from around his hips, not realizing she had wound them around him.
“We need to slow down a bit. I had the whole evening planned to make this special for you.”
She looked into his eyes. “Haven’t you figured out yet that everything with you is special? I never imagined you could be so kind and romantic. You have made up tenfold for my years of sadness with weeks of joy.”
“With you, it’s simple. Miranda, I love you. A thousand times I’ve thought to tell you that. But this—now, seemed like the very best time. So I waited.”
Tears blurred her vision. “You have shown me in everything you do that you care for me. It’s why I met you at the altar today. If, for one second, I’d thought my feelings for you weren’t reciprocated, I wouldn’t have come.”
“You love me?”
“Yes, and before you worry. I didn’t love the earl. You were right; you are two different men. I admire the earl very much, but I love you, Andrew.”
He caught her lips with his again, but softer, less frantic. Caressing her breast with one hand, he worked her thighs open with the other then slid it under her hip to lift her. He rubbed his hard cock against her once, twice, before positioning it at her opening and slipping in. He stopped at her maidenhead. She met his eyes and breathed deeply in preparation. Fear filled her. Yet, he waited, merely holding still above her. Unable to form a word, she nodded, and murmuring words of love against her mouth. He flexed his hips and surged.
A gasp caught in her throat. Pain filled her, tears formed, and, for a moment, she considered pushing him away.
Cupping her cheek, he caught her tears with the pad of his thumb and held her tight. “I am sorry—breathe with me, my love.”
As he filled his lungs, so did she, and, together, they worked through the sharp hurt. Slowly, the pain faded, not completely, but enough to allow her to experience a strange, but not unpleasant, sensation of fullness.
“I am all right.”
“That’s all, no more pain. I promise.” He slid out then back in.
Fear turned to marvel as what little pain remained lessened, to be replaced by the sensations of being full and part of more than simply herself. He eased up from her, never breaking eye contact, but brought his cock to the very entrance of her womanhood.