Free Lost in a Royal Kiss by Vanessa Kelly

overwhelming tenderness. She moved a hand to his cheek, cradling his face, keeping his eyes on her.
    “Now, Anthony,” she whispered. “I want everything.”
    Emerald light gleamed in the depth of his gaze. His hand withdrew from her, leaving her empty and throbbing with frustration.
    “You shall have it, love,” he said in a husky, unsteady voice as he fumbled with his breeches. “Everything I have.”
    He tugged and his staff thrust itself from the fall of his breeches.
    Good Lord.
    “Well, it would appear you have quite a lot,” she blurted out, unable to help herself.
    He gave his head a small shake and then slipped his hands under her bottom. She jumped a bit as he pulled her to the edge of the divan, carefully positioning her. Linnet passed her tongue over her suddenly dry lips, fighting a spike of anxiety.
    But then Anthony grasped himself and leaned into her, rubbing his shocking hardness against her. She moaned as tiny convulsions of pleasure rippled through her channel. She began to move against him, desperate to increase the delicious sense of pressure.
    He let her do that for a bit, then he wrapped her legs around the backs of his thighs. While she rubbed against him, needy and hungry, his hands came up to her breasts, tugging and massaging with gentle friction. The storm built into a cresting wave. Linnet threw her head back and let out a strangled cry as shudders began to wrack her body.
    Anthony’s hands moved swiftly to her hips. He angled her body, then thrust into her with a slow but relentless drive. Her drenched flesh gripped then yielded to the thick staff as it breached her maidenhead. A stab of pain lanced through her, but the delicious shudders deep in her womb flowed through her, easing the shock.
    Linnet clutched at his back, resting her face against his shoulder. His thrusts grew long and powerful, his staff rubbing up against the knot above her cleft, wringing the last ounce of pleasure from her body. His muscles clenched tight under her hands and his back arched. A long, harsh moan broke from his mouth as he climaxed, shuddering against her.
    Then his arms cradled her with a tenderness that splintered Linnet’s control forever.

Chapter 5
    Breathless, Linnet collapsed on Anthony’s heaving chest. They were plastered together, Anthony still buried inside her, their bodies slicked with perspiration. It was sticky, awkward, and glorious. She’d never thought relations between a man and a woman could be so all-consuming, but she shouldn’t have expected anything less. When Sir Anthony Tait set out to do something, he always performed to the highest standards.
    When he shifted, carefully pulling out of her, Linnet hissed. Anthony was a large man in every way. As much as she reveled in what had just happened, her untried body registered a protest.
    With an apologetic murmur, he steadied her with one hand while she regained her balance. With the other, he put himself to rights, and Linnet couldn’t help blushing when he rearranged himself and buttoned up the fall of his breeches.
    Then she registered her nakedness. Fortunately, the room was dim and Anthony was the consummate gentleman. He retrieved her night rail, then discreetly turned away to pull his shirt over his head while she wrestled the garment onto her damp body. Only when she had it back on did he come to her with the wrapper, tucking her into it then gently swinging her legs up on the divan. Once he had seen to her comfort, he lowered himself beside her, lifting her so that she lay sprawled on top of him.
    As Linnet snuggled close, she tried to sort through her emotions. She supposed she should say something, but it seemed so much easier to rest in Anthony’s arms, enjoying the soothing movement of his hand up and down her spine. The moment seemed too big for words. She’d imagined them together a thousand times, but she’d never thought her dreams would come to pass. Had never for a moment thought he felt the same way about