Just Another Lady (Xcite Romance) Read Online Free

herself was excitement as much as embarrassment. As he unfastened the final button, she wriggled impatiently and the dress fell in a pool at her feet. The petticoat she could divest herself; the corset, however, needed Lucius’s aid to remove. Elinor could feel his breath warm against her neck as he teasingly took his time to undo the strings. When at last it expanded around her, Elinor took what felt like the first decent breath since that morning, almost moaning her relief.
    ‘You looked beautiful in it,’ her husband (her husband!) murmured in her ear, ‘but even more so out of it.’
    He pushed it off her shoulders, so that she stood dressed only in the light cotton shift in front of him. As he turned her to face him, Elinor was suddenly made all too aware of her semi-nude state compared to Lucius’s full dress. She could feel her nipples peaking against the cloth, almost begging for Lucius’s touch.
    ‘It’s a little cold,’ she said, taking a hasty step backwards and looking towards the huge bed. ‘Um ... I think I’ll ...’
    ‘You want me to come to bed?’ asked Lucius, smiling.
    Do not show fear. Do not show fear. ‘When you are ready to do so,’ she said coolly.
    ‘I am tempted to request that you perform the same task for me as I did for you,’ Lucius said, ‘and assist me with the removal of my clothing. But perhaps that can wait for another day.’
    Another day. Elinor was reminded once more that this was life now; she was married to Lucius Crozier for the rest of her days. Up until that moment, she had been just thinking about getting through the wedding itself, and now the wedding night. But there would be tomorrow – and tomorrow – and tomorrow. Was it better or worse that she desired the man?
    With that thought, she slipped towards the large double bed, shivering as her heated body came into contact with the cold sheets. Lucius had begun to strip, and Elinor was torn between shyness and a desperate wish to watch. Her eyes apparently discreetly lowered, she yet managed to gaze as he removed the first few layers of clothing. Suddenly she was finding it hard to breathe again. This time, she had no corset to blame for her state; but somehow the sight of Lucius’s slim, muscular body was having a similarly constricting effect on her lungs. And then ...
    ‘Oh,’ she whispered, as Lucius stood naked before her, his manhood standing tall and proud and – ‘It’s so big.’ Elinor couldn’t drag her eyes away from it; it captured all of her attention. Were all men so – so well endowed, or was it just Lucius?
    He strolled towards the bed. ‘Do you like what you see?’
    Elinor had no mind for anything but the truth. ‘Yes.’ Her fingers trembled as she reached out her hand towards his erection. ‘May I?’
    He had a half-smile on his face as he nodded. Elinor wasn’t sure whether he was laughing at her, or merely pleased by her response. Almost she didn’t care. She stroked his manhood with the very tips of her fingers, scared to damage him, to make something change, to make that beautiful jutting erection fade away in front of her.
    He laughed. ‘A little harder, Elinor; you tickle.’
    She looked up at him from the bed. He looked happy, uncomplicatedly so. ‘Like this?’ She ran her fingers harder down his erection.
    ‘Close your hand around me,’ Lucius encouraged. He reached down and touched her breasts through the light shift she still wore. ‘Like so.’ He grasped one of her breasts from beneath, curling his fingers and thumb around it.
    ‘Oh,’ said Elinor again, wondering what magical connection there was between her breasts and the secret place between her thighs, as lightning-like shivers ran from one to the other and back again, making her feel as if a fire had been lit within her. She slid her fingers around his manhood, and ran her hand up and down tentatively.
    ‘Mmm, like that,’ he said approvingly.
    ‘You’re beautiful.’ Elinor hadn’t intended to say