The Redemption of a Rogue, стр. 37

And she wanted to offer him the same respite as he had for her.

She heard him coming after her. His breath was harsh in the quiet room, his footfalls heavy. His arms came around her from behind, dragging her back against his chest as his mouth found the side of her throat, and he pushed her to bend over the bed.

It was dizzying, his drive and passion. Intoxicating to feel how much this man who could have any woman wanted her. Needed her.

His fingers jerked against the buttons along the back of her dress. He fumbled as he parted her gown and then clenched his hands against the chemise beneath. “Fuck.”

The word was said so quietly, she wasn’t certain he realized he’d said it. But she’d heard it. She heard the feeling beneath it, too. He’d been vulnerable with her in the carriage, and now he desperately wanted to be hard again. To keep those walls up between them. Perhaps to even chase her away so she wouldn’t see anything more than she’d already seen.

Only that wasn’t his choice. She could see his drive and what was behind it, and just…refused to let it separate them the way he was hoping. She could embrace this side of him, accept it as she accepted the others she’d seen. Give him what he needed without allowing him to deny her what she wanted, too.

She softened beneath him, settling her head against the mattress, gripping the coverlet with both hands, lifting her backside in offering. If he needed to use her, at least they were both going to enjoy it.

“Imogen,” he murmured, his voice sharp in the quiet. He pushed her skirt up, bunching it around her hips along with her chemise. Her backside was bared to him, and he cupped it with one hand, smoothing his fingers along the flesh.

It was so easy for him to make her want. The warmth and weight of his fingers against her bottom, stroking her skin, and all the nerve endings in her body felt like they fired at once. She pushed back against him, seeking his heat, and expected him to grind forward to meet her.

Instead he slapped her bare bottom with the flat of his palm. She jolted to attention and looked over her shoulder to stare at him in shock. He was watching her, reading her reaction as his hand returned to the place he’d slapped, and he stroked there again, gently.

“Did you just spank me?” she asked, incredulous and intrigued all at once. The initial swat had surprised her, but now her flesh tingled all the more where he was touching her.

“I did.” His voice was a low rumble. “There’s a line between pleasure and pain, Imogen. A little pain with the pleasure is…intoxicating. Even now…”

He smoothed his fingers and glided them into the cleft between her cheeks, skimming down as she writhed until he found her sex. He gently probed there, ignoring her as she tried to force him to press himself inside.

“Even now you’re wet. But if you don’t like it, I won’t do it.”

She wrinkled her brow. This man could take what he wanted. She would let him. She would very likely enjoy it. And yet as much control as he exerted, as much dark and dangerous energy as he exuded from every pore of his body…he still sought her consent. He still let her control the method in which he gained his pleasure.

That was the real power. That was full control. And a thrill worked through her body at the idea she held anything close to that over this man.

She licked her lips, and his pupils dilated to an impossible darkness. “Are you punishing me for anything in particular?”

His mouth twitched, another hint of a smile that never went further. “You pushed up into me when I wasn’t ready to grind against you. I suppose that is reason enough to teach you how to behave. But mostly I slapped that delicious arse because you are irresistible. I like the way it sounds as my flesh meets yours. I like that little pinkness your flesh gets. The bite makes the lick a little more…soothing.”

She shivered. “I like the lick, I’ve probably made that clear to you. I don’t mind the bite. But perhaps just…ease me into it?”

“Of course. Maybe someday I’ll spank you raw so you’ll feel my handprint on your arse the next day and it will remind you of me fucking you until you were weak.” He leaned over her, curling his body around her, drawing her back and grinding against her from behind until her fingers tangled in the coverlet for purchase. “But for now, we’ll go slow.”

He pulled away, leaving her cold where his warmth had been. He caught the back of her gown, tugging her to a standing position. Her skirt slipped back into place around her legs and she frowned. One slap was all she got after all that discussion?

“Don’t make that sound,” he said as his hands slid into the gap he’d created when he unbuttoned her dress a moment ago.

“What sound?” she asked, lolling her head back against his shoulder because his fingers were like magic against her skin.

“That disappointed little grunt,” he said. “I’m going to make sure you are very satisfied, Imogen.”

She laughed, but it faded as he tugged the dress down, baring her from the waist up. He cupped her breasts from behind as he flattened his still-clothed chest against her back. His thumbs strummed her nipples, he squeezed her breasts, a little roughly even, and she felt her knees starting to go weak as sensation rippled through her.

“I believe you,” she gasped.

He kissed the side of her neck, sucking hard enough to give that little flash of pain he’d been describing earlier, then licked gently to soothe. Her sex twitched, and she understood. And she wanted more as he ground against her, trapping her between the bed and his