His fingers were seeking the buttons at the back of her gown before Hadrian caught himself. A thread of rationality made him acknowledge the danger of losing mastery of himself. Better he should focus on pleasing her.

He curled his hand around the ripe curve of her bosom and stroked her through the silk fabric, working his fingers inside the tightness of bodice and corset. She made a small sound of delight as her nipples tightened to buds and her body moved sinuously on the bed. Little did she realize, it was just a prelude to what she truly desired.

Hadrian scattered kisses over her face, reveling in her feminine scent and the satin of her skin. Only then did he reach beneath the hem of her gown. Blessedly, her skirts were not twisted, permitting him to glide his hand upward over her slim calves and past the garters that held her silk stockings. As his fingers slipped inside her lacy undergarment and parted her slick, hidden folds, she gasped, catching hold of his arm. “Oh!”

He lightly swirled his thumb over her most sensitive nub of flesh. “Let yourself feel this pleasure,” he murmured. “You’re safe with me, darling.”

A sigh of surrender eddied from her as she opened her legs to grant him access. Her lashes fluttered shut, her fingers curling into his shirt. Awed that this strong-willed woman would yield to him, he buried his own turbulent needs and focused on using his expertise to guide her up the path to ecstasy.

Any initial qualms she’d displayed vanished as he explored her honeyed secrets. She arched her head back, uttering small mewling sounds while moving her hips in wanton enjoyment, slowly at first and then with increasing desperation. He kissed her throat, murmuring sweet nothings, sensing her rising turmoil and reveling in it. She surged against his hand, seeking, searching, moaning. A moment later, she gave a keening cry as rapturous release rippled through her slender body.

Hadrian buried his face in her hair as he strove to steady his ragged breathing. His loins burned with a fierce fervor that required all of his willpower to stifle. He tugged down her skirts, his every muscle taut with restraint.

Natalie lay spent with her face tucked into the lee of his neck, her slowing breaths teasing his hot skin. Although her supple body tantalized him to the point of pain, he wouldn’t have moved for the world. It just felt too perfect to hold her in his arms.

After a time, she wriggled languidly and opened her eyes to gaze at him in blushing wonder. “Oh my,” she murmured. “I can see why we unmarried ladies are warned never to be alone with a man. That was pure bliss.”

She looked so tempting that he wrestled with the urge to kiss her again, to take their mutual desire to its natural conclusion. She was a passionate woman who would find as keen an ecstasy in their lovemaking as he would. But in the aftermath, she would regret succumbing to him. He would succeed only in confirming her worst beliefs about the lecherous habits of noblemen.