She didn’t want restraint. She wanted abandon. She arched her back, urging him on, and he groaned deep in his throat, an animal sound of pure pleasure. And then he began to move within her. He slid his hand under her bottom and lifted her hips, and the change of angle sparked a familiar curl of pleasure. She dug her heels into the mattress and reached for it, jerking in awkward counterpoint to his thrusts until she found the rhythm, and suddenly they were moving together in perfect synchronicity. He caught her thigh and urged her leg around his hip, and she was climbing higher, higher toward that glorious point of light.

“Come for me, Georgie,” he breathed in her ear, and her body convulsed, fracturing in endless joyous beats. Flashes of light exploded behind her eyelids as she dissolved in mindless bliss.

He cursed as her body clenched around him. He gave one last thrust, withdrew from her body, and pressed himself hard against her stomach, holding her tightly in his arms with an incoherent groan. Jets of warm wetness coated her skin as every muscle in his body went rigid. He collapsed in shuddering exhaustion, his body heavy on hers, and Georgie closed her eyes as a wonderful, drugging lethargy claimed her limbs.

So that was the “more.”

She smiled sleepily. It was certainly worth the wait.

Chapter 31.

Benedict returned to earth with his heart hammering against his ribs as if he’d faced a squadron of French dragoons. His entire being was suffused with an overwhelming feeling of contentment.

When awareness returned more fully, he realized he was squashing Georgie beneath him. With a murmured apology, he rolled to one side, relieving her of his weight but keeping one arm slung over her body, reluctant to sever contact with her entirely. The scents of their lovemaking filled his nose, and he experienced a surge of primitive triumph.

He let out a rueful laugh. “I meant to go slower than that, you know. In respect for your first time. But things got a little … out of control.”

He’d meant to be gentler, to rein himself in. He hadn’t wanted to frighten her with the full depths of his desire. But her untutored caresses had inflamed him so much that he’d forgotten every intention for a leisurely seduction. He’d been lost in mindless instinct. Lost in the wonder of her.

She gave a sated sigh. “Well, I thought it was perfect.”

He almost purred with satisfaction but couldn’t resist teasing her. “What do you know? That was your one and only experience. You don’t qualify for an opinion until you’ve tried it at least ten times. It’s like eating a strawberry bonbon and then declaring it’s positively the best flavor in the world, when you haven’t ever tried lemon or sherbet or cherry.”