The Reluctant Bride (Regency Undone) Read Online Free PDF Page B

wrong - she should be feeling angered by what he was doing - embarrassed at being touched so intimately, but … these sensations.  They were consuming her. 
    Slowly she softened against him, her arms creeping up around his neck of their own accord as his lips reclaimed hers and she returned his embrace with wonder. 
    So lost in the moment was she in fact that she was unaware of his hand inching lower ...  barely noticed it easing up her gown. 
    It was only when she felt his touch warm on the creamy softness of her thigh … inching its way higher … that she stiffened..
    ‘N… no...’ she protested half-heartedly.
    ‘I don’t think you really mean that,’ he whispered huskily, his teasing fingers causing her protests to die in her mouth as they finally worked their way beneath her undergarments andcame to rest with gentle pressure on the soft downy warmth of her mound.  She gasped as the heat flooded through her. She wanted to be touched ... there .   
    And he seemed to know exactly where there was as his fingers homed in unerringly; stoking her arousal as they circled the juicy little peak.
     He seemed to enjoy taking his time, kissing her unhurriedly; withdrawing his fingers periodically to cup and squeeze, until the whole area between her legs felt as if it was on fire.  She pushed wantonly into his hand, muttering incoherently. She did not know what had come over her.  She couldn’t believe that she was here pressing herself shamelessly   into her husband’s hands,  knowing she was on the brink of something wonderful; wishing he would ... he would ...
    ‘Oh!’  She jerked wildly as his fingers suddenly dipped back into that secret place and started to rhythmically stoke the sensitive wet flesh.  Back and forth they rocked ... steady, persistent, relentless; until her hands clutched like claws at his shoulders and breathless moans escaped her lips.
    She threw back her head and gasped.  She was climbing higher and higher towards some elusive pinnacle that even now she could only begin to imagine as the pleasure fanned out between her legs in a rush of heat.  She held her breath feeling the sensation soar, waiting for the sweetness about to explode within her. 
    Then suddenly his fingers stopped. 
    She could not believe it.  She felt bereft . 
    ‘I think that is probably enough for today...’ 
    His voice was gruff as he slowly withdrew his hand.  ‘We mustn’t offend your sensibilities too much, my dear.’
    Sophia was stunned.  She stood there quivering; yearning for him to finish what he had started yet unable to utter the words she knew would bring her the relief her body so craved.  She had been close to something truly exquisite, she knew it, and her sense of frustration was so strong that she could barely refrain from groaning out loud.
    Aware that her husband’s eyes were still hungrily devouring the sight of her breasts on display, she drew the corners of her robe together in mortification.  All it would take was one sentence and he would finish what he had started she knew, but she simply couldn’t utter the words.  She was confused, shocked by her own behaviour, quite sure in her mind that true ladies would never succumb to such wanton wickedness .   And with Ralph of all people.  The one man who had curtailed her freedom, who already controlled every aspect of her life.  She would not let him control her emotions too.
    ‘P ... please leave me,’ she whispered.  ‘I ... I wish to change my dress.  Perhaps you could send my maid in to help me?’
    ‘Of course.’  He took a step back from her, his expression dark and unfathomable as he studied her.  It was almost as if he was seeing her for the first time, so intense was his stare.  Then, with an abrupt bow and no other words, he turned and left the room.
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    After he had left her Sophia sat in front of her dressing table and reviewed her image in the mirror.  The eyes that stared back at