She would have protested, but his tongue swirled around her navel, and she promptly forgot all but his sinful mouth. But when he dragged his tongue even lower, she raised her head in alarm.

When he looked up at her, his eyes glittered, reminding her of a predator about to charge his prey. She shivered at the sheer intensity in his gaze. And the promise.

Slowly he lowered his head as his fingers gripped her thighs. He spread her, gently, but with enough force that she was helpless in his grasp. He pressed a tender kiss just above the thatch of curls and her entire belly quivered in reaction.

Her mind was afire with naughty, delicious thoughts of him touching her even more intimately with his tongue. She tingled from head to toe, and the room was so hazy around her that it felt as though she were swimming in waters heated by the sun.

“Oh,” she gasped when his fingers gently parted the delicate folds between her legs.

His thumb brushed over the sensitive little nub, and he trailed a single fingertip to her opening where he continued to tease.

When he touched his tongue to where his thumb had rested, the most peculiar, spectacular sensation thrilled through her pelvis and into her limbs. Her belly tightened with unbearable pleasure. It flooded her, tightening every muscle until her body quivered with the strain.

He continued a slow, decadent dance over feminine flesh, lapping and licking like she was a sweet treat. Her legs shook uncontrollably. Her senses spiraled out of control.

She reached down and thrust her fingers into his hair. Her breaths came in ragged, painful bursts, burning a path up her throat before exploding into the quiet.

“Alaric!”

He continued to nuzzle between her legs, kissing and tonguing her until she begged him to stop, not to stop, for more. And more.

She had no inkling of what was happening or what she should do. So she put herself into his care, gave her trust to him, and she let go of her fears and reservations.

Never had she imagined such a beautiful, physical manifestation of loving between a man and a woman. She knew the mechanics. She knew what had to occur, but somehow she’d thought it would be baser and faster. A quick penetration and maybe a cuddle afterward.

His hands explored her body, every inch, every secret was revealed to him. He kissed and caressed until she was near sobbing, desperate for something just out of her reach.

“Shh, lass,” he murmured as he rose up to position himself between her thighs once more. “I’ve got you. Trust me now. ’Twill hurt a bit at first, but stay with me. ’Tis a fleeting pain, I’m told. And I’ll take care with you.”