Even though the light in this room was naught but candles flickering, he saw her eyes darken, smoldering with the knowledge of what he would offer.

“I want your clothes removed.”

“Let me pleasure you first.”

Slowly she shook her head. “My passions are certain to be heightened by the sight of you.”

He couldn’t refuse so earnest a request. Still, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to the heart of her sex and whispered a fervent promise, “Soon.”

Straightening, he stood before her, holding out his arms in supplication. “I’m all yours.”

She took a small step forward before helping him out of his jacket. Then her fingers ran the length of his waistcoat, pushing buttons free, her movements not as smooth or sure as his had been.

“Have you ever removed a man’s clothing before?”

Her fingers stilled, and she lifted her gaze to his. “No. My husband always came to me already in his nightshirt. Am I doing it incorrectly?”

With one hand, he cradled her cheek. “No, sweetheart. When it comes to lovemaking, nothing is incorrect as long as it’s what we both want.”

Placing her hand over his, she held it in place as she turned her face into his palm and pressed a kiss there. “Everything with you is a new experience, Aiden.”

The knowledge both delighted and saddened him. He never wanted her to have done without, but at the same time, he knew what he delivered would not pale in comparison to another’s. “Finish the chore. Much is still awaiting you.”

She gave him a saucy, but shy smile. “It’s no chore.”

He shrugged off the waistcoat. As she went to work unknotting his neck cloth, he touched all the soft areas of her that were within easy reach, skimming his fingers over the silk of her skin. With the neck cloth gone, she began freeing the buttons on his shirt, but his impatience was beginning to make itself known. He loosened his cuffs and as soon as she finished with the buttons, he dragged his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. He dropped onto the bed and tugged off his boots and stockings. Then he stood and waited, watched as she licked her lips.

“I’ve never actually seen . . . we were very proper in our bedding.”

“You are going to find I am very improper.” He dropped his hand to the fall of his trousers, slid it down to the base, brought it back up. Again. Again. Saw her swallow.

Tentatively her fingers neared his. He moved his aside. The length of her hand, from fingertips to wrist, landed against the fall of his trousers, against the bulge housed there. His groan was an entreaty that she answered with a long slow stroke. Down. Up. Then she was loosening buttons, parting cloth, and his cock sprang free.

“My goodness. It’s larger than I thought.”