Be My Lover Read Online Free Page B

arms, she pressed herself to him and his cock hardened.
    “I wonder,” she said softly, “if your lips will taste the
same after all these years.”
    In answer, he brushed his mouth against hers before
outlining her lips with the tip of his tongue in a careful exploration, and
then lowered his mouth again.
    Her lips met his and he tasted the wine lingering there,
flooding his mouth with its heady allure, matched by her own sweetness.
    “Oh yes,” she gasped, breaking their kiss. “Just the same,
only better.”
    He stepped back to wrap an arm around her waist and lead her
into his bedroom. As if knowing they would end up there, Davis had drawn back
the coverlet and propped the pillows against the headboard. Racks of shimmering
candles pierced the darkness of the room while outside the window a pale,
silvery moonlight filtered through the gauzy drapes, casting rays across the
carpet.
    They halted by the bed and he kissed her again. “Do you want
me to undress you?” he whispered.
    She lowered her eyes. “Well…I…that is to say—”
    “There’s a dressing screen over there,” he said, pointing
toward a corner of the room. “Why don’t you use that?”
    She hesitated and he added, “Take your time, Emily.”
    “Would you unlace my gown, please?”
    Before he could answer, she turned and waited. Releasing a
long, slow sigh Anthony brushed his lips against the skin of her neck, sending
a volley of heat over her body. He moved his lips to kiss her shoulders as he
unlaced the back of her gown and she shivered as her bare skin met open air.
    “Are you cold?” he whispered. “I can build up the fire if
you like.”
    “No.” Emily turned and smiled at him. “I’m fine.”
    She hurried toward the screen and stepped behind it. Someone
had thoughtfully put a small table and a chair there. On the back of the chair,
that same someone had left a white nightgown. Gratefully, she sat as her knees
gave way. The pounding of her heart roared in her ears as she gripped the sides
of the chair, trying to remember how to breathe.
    You can always tell Anthony you’ve changed your mind. He’d
understand.
    On the other side of the screen, the soft thud of shoes
being tossed aside and the rustle of clothing suggested Anthony was preparing
for bed. Would he leave his clothing on the floor for Davis to collect or fold
it neatly and place it on the bureau? A giggle hovered behind her lips and she
slapped a hand over her mouth.
    “Emily? Is something amiss?”
    “Nothing,” she assured. “Just coming.”
    “I took the liberty of doing a little shopping for you this
afternoon after I dropped you off at Jocelyn’s,” he called. “There’s a
hairbrush and some combs on that table. I hope you don’t mind.”
    “Not at all,” she said. “Thank you.”
    Toeing off her shoes, she slid the dress from her body.
Stepping out of it, she removed her shift then her stockings. Without the
shift’s protective cover, her nipples hardened in the cool air. She reached for
the nightgown. The silken fabric spread over her hands, its weave as
translucent as starlight. She pulled it over her head, enjoying the softness
sliding down her naked body. All her other nightgowns were practical cotton.
Her trembling fingers made quick work of the pins holding her hair in place and
she dropped them on the table as her hair tumbled past her shoulders. Ignoring
the brush, she combed her curls with her fingers and stepped back into the room
where Anthony waited by the fireplace.
    He wore a dark-blue dressing gown belted at the waist. It
stretched across his chest, outlining the strong slope of shoulders, the hem
stopping just below his knees. A lock of hair fell carelessly over his
forehead, giving him a boyish appearance.
    But his glittering eyes—ones that roamed over her
body—showed him to be a man of much experience in the art of love. She shivered
again, wondering just what she would learn under his teaching.
    He held out his hand and she