Page 136 of Kathryn

It suddenly struck her that Dulverton, with his raw sensuality and complex personality was a man for an adult woman. Jasper, with his unthreatening angelic beauty, flirtatious manner, and frivolous self-indulgence, was the sort of man a young girl would find attractive.

“Come here.” Dulverton pointed to a spot beside the bed.

Katie tried for a sophisticated saunter but was so eager that she doubtless resembled an exuberant puppy.

But if her husband was amused by her enthusiasm, there was no sign of it on his stern face or in his darkened gaze.

“Take off your clothes—slowly.”

She swallowed hard and lowered her eyes to his thickly muscled forearms and broad-palmed hands which rested on the blankets covering him to his hips. “Um—”

“Look at me, Kathryn.”

Her eyes jerkily skittered up his taut abdomen with its narrow trail of pale, downy hair, to his broad chest, her breathing roughening when she finally met his eyes.

The muscles in his jaws were even more pronounced than usual, as if he was gritting his teeth. So, Katie was not the only one finding this encounter stirring.

Once she’d removed her dressing gown, she set it neatly over the bench at the foot of his bed.

“That is a lovely nightgown,” he rumbled. “Turn around.”

She turned in a clumsy circle, her face continuing to flame.

“Is that a new gown?” he asked, the bedding around his hips shifting and drawing her gaze to the thick ridge.

His hand curled around his erection and her eyes jumped to meet his.

“Answer my question.”

“Er, no, it is not new. It is part of my wedding trousseau.”

His arm moved slowly, his thick biceps bulging as he grasped himself over the blanket. “You look lovely in it. But you look even lovelier wearing nothing. Remove your gown.”

Katie’s fingers trembled so badly that it was a challenge to unfasten the tiny buttons at her throat. He had seen her naked before, of course, but usually it was in the throes of passion rather than blatantly disrobing before him.

She reached the last button far sooner than she would have liked. When she hesitated, he cocked one eyebrow.

Katie was grateful for the very-Dulverton reaction, which sent a jolt of defiance through her and made her want to wipe that smug look off his face. She pulled the gown over her head, stopping to stare challengingly at him before letting it fall to the floor.

His chest rose and fell faster; his stunning irises were mere slices of silvery gray. He pointed to the bed. “Up here. Now.”

Katie climbed the steps up to the high mattress with as much grace as possible.

“No,” he said when she would have laid down beside him. “Here”—he patted the bed by his hips, one hand on each side. “Straddle me.”

She considered the view she’d be affording him. “But—”

“Yes?”

She huffed a sigh, firmed her jaw, and shuffled from his ankles to his calves slowly.

He pulled the blanket off his hips, exposing his thick erection. “Right here,” he said, his eyes hooded.

Heart pounding, Katie inched forward, stopping only when she was above his bobbing member. She sucked in a harsh breath when his warm palms closed over her breasts and stroked lightly, her thighs trembling as she lowered herself onto his hard shaft, which nudged between her nether lips.

“You’re so wet,” he hissed as he rolled his hips, his slick crown rubbing her in exactly the right place.

“Yes, please,” she murmured, grinding against him as he took her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers and pinched and tugged until she was half-mad with sensation. And when his hips lifted to pulse against her cleft a bolt of raw sensation shot from her breasts to her womb, and—shockingly—she climaxed.