To Capture a Duke's Heart (26 page)

She met his gaze unflinchingly.  “Yes.”

The simple, one word response struck Gabriel with the force of a lightning bolt.  Rational thought abruptly fled, as did any semblance of caution, his good sense giving way to the sudden and overwhelming surge of white-hot desire coursing through his veins.  And with little thought to the consequence of his actions, he dragged Penelope up against his chest and bent his head, crushing his lips against hers in a wild, uncontrolled kiss that seemed to emanate from the very depths of his soul.

Penny’s response was immediate; her reaction to the sudden pressure of his mouth upon hers, a soft little mewl of encouragement, an unmistakable combination of both pleasure and satisfaction as their lips melded together. And then, seconds later and with only the slightest urging on his part, she parted her lips, surrendering her mouth to the gentle, yet determined invasion of his tongue as he moved to explore the sweet recesses of her mouth.  But it was when he felt the first, tentative brush of her tongue against his that he lost himself completely.

Releasing his hold upon her upper arms, Gabriel dropped his hands and wrapped his arms around her back, grasping her bottom to pull her more tightly against him, crushing her pelvis against the rising swell within his snug-fitting breeches as he continued to kiss her with a masterful determination, delighting as she grew bolder and her tongue began to parry with his.

Lifting her arms, Penny wound them around Gabriel’s neck, reveling in her victory, for she could feel his manhood growing hard and thick against the woolen fabric of his trousers, an irrefutable indication that he wanted
her
just as much as she wanted
him
.

Gabriel groaned, a low, guttural sound that seemed to emerge from his very core as Penny arched against him.  He wanted her; and God help him he would have her.  Unbridled lust superseded rational thinking as the last remaining vestige of his affronted pride gave up its intrepid battle.  “Is
this
what you want?” he murmured against her parted lips, undulating his hips ever so slowly as he kneaded the soft flesh of her buttocks through the thin fabric of her dressing gown.

Yes, oh yes
.  This was most definitely what she wanted, the moment she’d dreamed about time and time again.  “Yes,” she breathed, her tone shamelessly unabashed.

Lifting his head, Gabriel looked down upon her through ravenous eyes and then dropped his hands, taking a step backward.  “Take it off,” he commanded in a low, throaty tone.

Penny hesitated for only a second before reaching for the tie at her waist and slipping the narrow band of emerald-green satin from its knot, allowing the two sides of her dressing gown to part down the middle.  She waited, thinking he might reach out to slide it from her shoulders, but he remained still, his arms motionless at his sides as he watched her. 
Don’t lose your nerve now, Penny
, she silently cautioned herself.  And so, lifting her hands, she pushed it from her shoulders, allowing the silky-smooth fabric to slide slowly down her arms and back before pooling at her feet.

Standing there with nothing but the feel of the cool night air against her skin, Penny watched with bated breath as Gabriel’s eyes drifted ever so slowly down the length of her body, her heart beating frantically within her chest.  It felt like an eternity as she stood before him, naked and exposed as he surveyed her body from beneath the dark fringe of his lashes, though surely it was only a matter of seconds.  Anxiously she wondered what he was thinking, and then she had her answer in the very next moment.

“Perfect,” he breathed, as his admiring gaze slowly returned to hers.

Staring into his vivid green eyes, she could see the unmistakable flame of desire burning hot within their fathomless depths.  To know that she pleased him, that her
body
pleased him, was a heady feeling and she felt her anxiety melting away like the last bit of snow giving way to spring, her apprehension replaced by a rapidly-building heat that seemed to radiate throughout her entire body. 

Holding Penny’s gaze, Gabriel raised his hand and cupped one of her breasts in his palm, lightly flicking his thumb across her peaked nipple.  She gasped, her mouth falling open as she drew in a sudden, ragged breath.  Snaking his arm around her waist he pulled her toward him, watching her reaction as he circled the rigid peak with his thumb, while his fingers deftly massaged the lush, perfectly-formed mound, smiling to himself when her head fell back a few seconds later, a soft, breathy moan escaping her lips.

Lowering his head, he pressed his mouth against the enticing curve of her neck, trailing his tongue along the slender column as he placed his hands at the backs of her knees and then scooped her up into his arms.  Striding to the bed he laid her atop the soft, linen sheets as her long, auburn curls streamed behind her, the thick strands splaying out like brilliant flames across the pristine white pillowcase beneath her head.

Penny might have felt embarrassed lying there naked whilst Gabriel stood almost fully clothed, gazing down upon her as his eyes roamed unhurriedly across every last inch of her body, but surprisingly she didn’t.  Instead, she felt… beautiful; for the way he was looking at her, with an intensity that she could only think to describe as reverential and even a bit awed, effectively wiped out whatever inhibitions she might have had.  It made her feel… like a woman. 

Penelope’s body was even more exquisitely lovely than Gabriel had imagined it would be; her each and every curve like a finely-sculpted work of art.  From her smooth, ivory-colored skin, and full, luscious breasts, perfectly-proportioned to fit his hand, to the gentle flare of her rounded hips and the small, tantalizing cluster of curls nestled between legs the ideal length to wrap tightly around his back, her entire form appeared to have been crafted with the sole purpose of inflaming a man’s desire,
his
desire.

Reaching for the buttons of his shirt, he wrenched them free without thought or care, sending several of the small pearl discs skittering across the carpet as he divested himself of the garment.  Then reaching for the waistband of his trousers, he swiftly undid the gold, metal fastenings and shoved the woolen fabric over his hips and down his legs, kicking it free as it crumpled around his ankles.

Penny watched in shameless fascination as Gabriel shed the remainder of his clothing, her wide eyes taking in every inch of his masculine splendor as it was revealed to her rapt gaze, from the taut, muscled-planes of his broad chest to the length of his manhood jutting boldly from between his thick, muscular thighs, her eyes widening even further as she noted the length and width of his rigid staff, feeling a momentary twinge of unease at the sheer size of it.  Fortunately she had little time to dwell upon it, however, as he joined her on the bed a second later, his hands reaching for her as he lowered his head, his warm lips descending upon hers once again.

Time gradually ceased to have meaning for Penny as Gabriel kissed her into a state of near mindlessness, ravaging first her lips and then eventually moving to place a series of enticing little kisses along the line of her jaw and the length of her throat, hesitating for a moment to trace his tongue over the spot where her pulse seemed to throb in a rapidly increasing rhythm beneath her skin, before trailing his lips in an unerring path to her breasts, where his hands and fingers had already begun a tantalizing exploration of their own.  Then, as he caught one, delicate pink nipple between his lips, swirling his tongue around the sensitive bud before slowly drawing it into the warm recess of his mouth, she reached up, clutching his shoulders with a tiny whimper as a sudden, delicious tingle shot from her breast to her belly.

Lost to all but sensation, hours rather than minutes could have easily passed as Gabriel lavished attention on her aching breasts, her breathing becoming ever more ragged as he used both his hand and his mouth with astonishing expertise to send rolling waves of pleasure throughout the length of her body.  But then, when she felt his hand move slowly from her breast to skim lightly across her ribs, along her belly and then down to the top of her pelvis where it hovered for a moment just above her triangle of downy curls, her breathing seemed to stop altogether.

“Spread your legs,” Gabriel murmured against the side of Penny’s neck, his breath hot against her already warm skin.  She did as he said, inching her legs apart as she slowly released the breath she’d been holding within her lungs, and a second later felt the first gentle touch of his hand against the most private, intimate part of her body.

As Gabriel trailed his fingers over Penelope’s narrow thatch of curls and then down to her soft, feminine folds, he was inordinately pleased to discover that her flesh was already slick and damp, irrefutable proof that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her.  Deftly stroking her moist cleft, he waited patiently until he felt the subtle arch of her hips against his hand before gently sliding one slender finger into her hot, damp sheath. 

Penny let out a soft gasp as she felt the intrusion of Gabriel’s finger into the inner most recess of her body.  It wasn’t a gasp of pain or discomfort, however, but one of utter bliss, for the welcome intrusion seemed to be exactly what her body craved.  And then, as he slowly began to move his hand, his finger sliding in and out of her sensitive folds with gradually increasing speed, she knew that she’d never felt anything so absolutely wonderful.  That is, until a short time later, when the world seemed to fade around her and the only thing she was aware of was her body’s increasingly desperate yearning, followed by a sudden burst of pleasure so intense that it seemed to explode within her body, as well as her mind. 

“Oh my,” Penny exclaimed, once she’d regained the ability to speak. 

“Enjoyed that, did you?” Gabriel murmured as he skimmed his nose upward along the side of her neck, breathing in the delicious fragrance that never ceased to stir his senses.

Good heavens, Penny thought, not even the naughty little book in her nightstand drawer had prepared her for what she’d just experienced.  “I… that was… incredible.”

“
That
,” Gabriel whispered against her ear as he shifted his body above hers, nudging her legs farther apart as he settled over her, “was only the beginning.”

With her shattered senses scarcely pieced back together, Penny eyes went wide at Gabriel’s declaration, and wider still as she felt the unmistakable probing of his shaft between her splayed thighs.

“I’ll be as gentle as I can,” Gabriel assured her as his eyes locked with hers, even though all he wanted to do at that moment was to thrust forward and bury himself within the depths of Penelope’s luscious body. But knowing that she was a virgin and would likely feel a certain measure of pain when he breached her maidenhead, he knew that he had to do what he could to minimize it. Even so, he felt her tense as he slowly eased forward, but despite her obvious discomfort she made no move to gainsay him as she lay motionless beneath him, merely inhaling a deep breath into her lungs as she adjusted to the size and feel of him, her tight cleft slowly stretching and expanding to allow him entrance as he pressed determinedly forward, inch by inch.  Surprisingly, however, it seemed only the marked tightness of her sheath that impeded his progress, for he felt no additional barrier to hinder his advance. And while it gave him a moment’s pause, he had enough knowledge and experience to know that, despite commonly held beliefs, the lack of a woman’s maidenhead didn’t necessarily indicate a lack of virtue; and so he continued to push forward, little by little, until nearly the entire length of his shaft was embedded within her heated core.

Having expected to experience at least a small degree of pain as Gabriel took her virginity, Penny was surprised to feel only a moderate sense of discomfort as her body slowly adjusted to accommodate both the unfamiliar incursion as well as his considerable size.  “That… wasn’t so bad,” she professed as Gabriel stilled, shifting slightly beneath his weight as she gradually adjusted to the feel of his rigid member seated deeply inside of her.

“I’m not hurting you?” he asked, noting her slight frown.

“No, it’s…”  She trailed off with a miniscule shake of her head.  “You’re not hurting me.”

Gazing down into Penelope’s wide blue eyes, Gabriel felt an inordinate sense of relief at her answer, for with his cock pulsing and throbbing within her moist heat it was nearly all that he could do to keep himself still.  So gradually he began to move, slowly at first and then with steadily increasing speed, lengthening his strokes until finally he settled into a rhythm that had Penelope clinging to him, her fingernails pressing into the backs of his shoulders; and then, soon after, she was raising her hips from the mattress to meet each of his deep, powerful thrusts. 

Before long they were both breathing in short little panting breaths, their skin glistening with the faint sheen of perspiration as they moved ever closer to attaining the euphoric release their bodies so desperately craved.

It was only minutes later, when Gabriel felt the first telltale contraction of Penelope’s muscles, followed by her soft, kneeing cry as a series of rippling convulsions took hold of her body, that he finally succumbed to his own release; and a few seconds later he spilled himself, flooding her with his seed as he surrendered to one of the most satisfying and remarkably-intense climaxes he’d ever experienced.

For several long moments afterward, neither of them moved, their bodies still intimately joined as their ragged breathing slowly returned to normal.