FIVE

HE STOPPED when he reached where she leaned on a log that was beaten down by a storm a long time ago but survived and grew, except the ordeal left it with the shape of an old man bowing low. He then leaned hands on both sides of her, securing her between them, and between the log and his body. She already knew how solid that body was, so she had no intention of even pushing him away. But she was tensed, and she knew it wasn’t because she was afraid. She realized it was from the excitement of being so near him.

His face was so near hers that she could see the pores on his smooth skin, but it didn’t tarnish the handsomeness of him. The only danger she could see was her getting cross-eyed. Besides, he was right. It was only a kiss. She had seen no one of her friends dying of a kiss. In fact, they found it to be so thrilling they’d kissed several of their suitors-and as many times not suitors-before they committed to just one and got married to him.

Even so, kissing remained thrilling that it threw water on many marriage quarrels that seemed very serious until... yes, the kiss. So it must be a good thing. Right?

He frowned. “I can see you. You’re thinking. I can almost hear your brain working inside that head.”

“I’m debating whether I should close my eyes because it’s getting harder to open them with you so close.”

His shoulders shook as he laughed under his breath. “Close your eyes because I’m about to get closer.”

She did so obediently.

When she felt his lips softly cover her lips, she tensed harder, but then her senses snapped alert, as she found herself actually curious about what would happen and how it really felt. The kiss. This famous, so famous... oh.

His lips were actually soft. That surprised her, because she thought a man’s lips would be, maybe not as hard, but near hard as his body, especially this body that supported her on the horse ride. When those lips moved over hers, she had another surprise, because it did not feel intrusive at all. In fact, it felt very pleasant, so much so that she moved her own lips against his strokes, following his rhythm easily, much like a dance, she realized. As the kiss kept on, her senses focused on that contact, making everything else unimportant but that moment. His lips. Oh, his lips.

She gasped when he opened his mouth and his teeth gently nipped at her lower lip. She opened her mouth, too, and a small sound escaped her again when the tip of his tongue flicked at her, playfully, that she would have smiled if she wasn’t waiting for his next move. He then traced the line of her teeth with his tongue before delving in deeper. Again, she did not find this offensive like she would have thought. Instead, she liked that his mouth felt wet and pliant and gentle, and that he was kissing her more intensely now. When his tongue darted out of his mouth to touch her tongue, she mimicked him. It became a game of tongue fighting until they both groaned in each other’s embrace. And Adalene hadn’t even been aware she had her arms around neck and her fingers in his hair, while his arms had gone around her body, holding her tightly to him, until then.

The kiss had turned to insistent sucking and pulling, lips entangled and tongues challenging, and something else. In fact, she found it hard to think for the first time in her life. Her heart was racing like it had never done before. She felt faint again, but his embrace didn’t give her any chance to worry she might fall. When he raised his head, they were both breathing hard, the noise they made swelling up the heat she felt on her face, neck and body. She felt very light, in a way that felt good.

“Ma bichette...” he gasped, the vibration in his chest reverberating against her suddenly tingling breasts. Before she could get ready, his mouth had landed against her mouth again and they were kissing-again-like hungry animals. If she had known it would be this thrilling... wait, she already knew because she was told. They’d been telling her. But... to be honest, she didn’t think it would be like this, because she never had been interested in kissing a man until this day.

Oh, she could kiss the Baron forever like this.

His body moved as his kiss got hungrier. It was obvious he found all these as thrilling as she did, and it strangely reassured her. He turned them around, and she was on top of him now as he leaned backwards on the log she’d just left. He pushed her face a little away, and tenderly held her cheek with a hand as his eyes feverishly watched her, before tips of his fingers slid down her neck to her throat, leaving only pleasure on her skin, until it had reached a breast. She gasped when she felt it cup and cradle the soft mound against the cloth of her bodice.

This would have normally alarmed her, but no. Instead, pleasure she had never known had her gasping again. A tingle of heated pleasure coursed through her as his hand rubbed at her, the point of it felt in the nipple of that breast. She was suddenly curious about how it would feel if she wasn’t clothed and he was touching skin, like their lips kissing. Her breasts were suddenly heavy, nipples hard, pushing against the confinement that made her thought impossible. Like they wanted to be touched by his bare hand, skin to skin.

She ached. She wanted his hand on her bare skin. It felt like she had contacted fever because she wanted too much. She had heard stories of coupling whispered in the subtle light of candles, mixed with giggles and gasps. She didn’t believe this could feel so pleasurable, as they had said. Never.

He caught her lips again and she kissed him hotly, feverishly. His hand had traveled lower between them. As he sucked her tongue, she felt him pulling at her skirts until he was touching skin. She gasped, feeling his rough palm against the skin of her inner thigh, because his knee had pushed at her knee to open them. Just as she’d thought, the contact only had her more agitated, but not in a bad way. She wanted more. She wanted what he wanted to do to her, whatever it was. He could do whatever he wanted if it felt this wonderful.

His hand caressed her naked thigh. She shivered at the warm tickle this created right in the apex where her thighs met. She was so sensitive that she felt the heat of his other palm through her the cloth at the small of her back where he held her securely against him, his thighs anchoring her on both sides. This allowed her to open her thighs further when the hand there skimmed the skin inside, going inner bound, until it found the center of the heat that pulsed in her.

“Ahh...!” she gasped. Then she gasped again as his hand cupped her sex, surprised at the sensation of slick pleasure when his fingers rubbed at her there. Her eyes rolled over and her head was thrown back, releasing his lips, when a finger dipped somewhere in there that brought it inside her body... in a pocket of flesh she never even knew existed, but felt very, very good.

“How do you feel, ma bichette?” she heard him whisper to her, his voice rough and yet tender, crooning at her like she was someone special.

“My Lord... it feels... it feels... oh! Don’t stop!”

But he had, only to move them until she was leaning on the edge of the shaved log. Both his hands dived under her skirt and she heard tearing, then he pushed her down until she was laying on her back at the surface of the table, then he pushed up a knee that opened her throughly to him.

Before she could protest at being exposed so, the other hand had gone back to that pleasurable area and he rubbed that soaked spot, two fingers sliding between her folds, exploring, causing such pure and unexplainable pleasure that her protests instantly turned into moans. Her breath caught again and again as his fingers thrust, as his thumb stroked and rubbed. She couldn’t even stop the writhing of her body, her back constantly leaving the surface of the wood. He watched her face as he did this, and she held his gaze boldly, not knowing why, only that she felt better with the contact. She was going insane with the intense wanting of something she didn’t know to name, but she felt was coming.

“What... are you...” she began to ask, but couldn’t continue as her eyes rolled over again. Something was teasing at her, coming and going, about to crash, too powerful that she held her breath each time her body bucked, then withdrew. She peeked at him again and he was watching her with wonder.

“You’ve never really been touched like this before...” he said, like he couldn’t believe it.

“What is this?” she asked, breathless. “I feel so hot inside. What... ahhhh!”

She threw her head back as that which had been teasing her finally imploded, crashing inside her like a giant wave that spread and consumed her. His fingers anchored her to him, stroking just the right amount of pressure until her back, which she hadn’t realized was arched as much as it could, fell back on the wood. She felt the Baron crawl up to her to kiss her cheek and her neck tenderly before he took her lips in his mouth and kissed her slowly, until her breathing slowed as well as the beating of her awed heart.

He raised his head and she opened her eyes. He was smiling, eyes tender as he watched her face indulgently.

“What did just happen?” she asked, her voice a little rough after all the moaning and little screams she’d done just a moment ago.

“Ma bichette,” he replied, smiling. “You just had a taste of what we’ll do together on your first night with me in the manor.” He lowered his head and rubbed the tip of his nose to hers. “Are you hungry? Let me help you get up so you can eat.”