Page 49 of Watching the Earl

Immediately, he pulled her against him as he deepened the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, tasting the port on his tongue. His kiss became more demanding, sending shocking excitement through her. A strong need began to build inside her.

Suddenly, he broke the kiss.

She looked at him confused until he turned his head. “Leave us.”

How could she have forgotten there were servants in the room? She felt heat filling her cheeks and looked down, wishing she could sink underneath the table. Philip must think her wanton.

The doors to the dining room closed loudly.

“Georgina, look at me.”

She lifted her gaze, not sure what to expect.

“I cannot help myself. I must have you now, here.”

He didn’t ask her a question, but his eyes clearly looked for her acceptance. She could no more resist him than a goldfinch could resist a seed. She nodded.

Relief flashed on his face before his mouth came down on hers again.

She held on to him as his tongue dominated her mouth. The feeling from last night coursed through her, but more intensely and faster. Then his mouth moved to her neck as his hand slipped beneath her neckline, which had magically loosened. As he cupped her breast, she leaned into him, wanting to feel his fingers on her nipple.

When he pulled his hand from her body without touching her hardening nub, she moaned her disappointment.

“One moment.”

He moved his now-free arm across the table next to him, pushing empty dishes and a flower arrangement farther down. Then he rose, pulling her up with him, locking his mouth on to hers once more.

She could feel the difference in his actions. He was anxious, as if he couldn’t wait to take her. The thought didn’t cool her in the least. Instead, she wanted it as much as he.

Philip pulled the skirts of her dress up to her waist before he backed her against the table. Her bare behind touched the white cloth at the same time his pelvis pressed against her and she felt his hardness. A sharp spike of excitement ran straight through her core. Without a thought, she reached one hand down and felt him.

He broke the kiss and stepped away.

At first, she thought he was appalled, but that slow smile lifted his lips yet again.

Without a word, he pulled the top of her dress to her waist, and her soft shift came down too. All that covered her was her stays. His hands glided over her neck to her shoulders, then across her chest to dip beneath her stays and lift her breasts above them. “I cannot resist.”

Before she could breathe in, his mouth came down on one breast and laved her nipple then he moved to the other. She set her hands behind her on the table to keep standing as cool air brushed her wet nipple while he sucked the other. In the back of her mind, she thought she should be embarrassed to be so exposed to him in the dining room of all places, but she couldn’t focus on that when he moved his mouth back to give her other breast equal attention.

When he started to nibble, her knees almost gave out and he pulled away. “Sit.”

She thought he meant on a chair, but then he lifted her onto the table, her bare behind sitting upon the cloth that had so recently held a dinner plate. That realization alone had her need growing.

As he returned his attention to her breasts, she grasped his shoulders, holding him to her, but letting him do as he wished. What he wished seemed to be to eat her, as his teeth nipped and grazed upon each nipple, causing moisture to gather in her folds. She squirmed on the table, wanting the ecstasy he’d given her before.

His head came up at her movement and his mouth took hers once more. He thrust his tongue inside, full of the same passion she felt, and she wrapped her arms around him to push her tongue against his. She felt as if she were falling, then stopped as he laid her back on the table, before moving his mouth once more to her breasts. With her skirt bunched beneath her waist, it forced her to arch, which she found to be a perfect position. She looked to her right to find the apricot marmalade not a foot away.

As if he sensed the movement of her head, he lifted his lips from her and reached over to the marmalade to smear it on both breasts. The marmalade was cold, and her nipples hardened even more before he began to lick and suck it all off.

He lifted his head. “This isn’t orange marmalade.”

She almost laughed at his confusion. “No, it’s not, but you should know it.”

A sly grin lifted his lips and he smeared more of the marmalade onto her. He savored it on each breast, licking and sucking before he spoke against her areola. “Apricot.”

She couldn’t even answer, her heart beating so hard with her excitement. Then, as if he couldn’t get enough of her, he sucked practically her whole breast into his mouth, and she arched more as pleasure flew through her. “I want…” She couldn’t finish her thought as he did the same to the other breast. “Take me.”

He stilled, and for one brief moment his gaze locked with hers as he swallowed hard. “I will.” He stood and unbuttoned his fall.