Free A Whisper of Desire by Bronwen Evans Page A

and she swayed on her feet as her eyes closed to better experience the onslaught.
    “Beautiful,” he whispered, when he reached her ear. At his words her eyes flew open. Many men had called her beautiful, but none with such unfettered sincerity.
    He stepped back and she tried to focus as his robe fell from his body. His chest was even more impressive than she remembered. He was broad and intricately sculptured, the smattering of hair the only thing hinting that he wasn’t made of marble, but that he was, in fact, flesh and blood.
    He was confident and assured, unlike Marisa, who felt exposed, standing naked before him. His green eyes were no longer caressing her face but were focused on her breasts. They seemed to swell even more under his perusal, the tips protruding as if begging for his attention.
    She lowered her eyes and saw he also had a body part protruding from the placard of his breeches.
    He quickly removed his trousers and his erection stood tall and proud, with a bead of liquid glistening in the firelight.
    “Look what you do to me.” He gripped his shaft and worked his hand upon it. “Lie on the bed for me. I don’t trust myself to touch you yet, I’m so close to losing control…”
    She did as he requested. She wasn’t sure how she should lie for him, but as if reading her mind, he directed her again from where he stood at the end of the bed, stroking his manhood.
    “Bring your knees up so your feet are flat on the bed and then drop your legs open.”
    Her body trembled with trepidation and excitement. Embarrassment and heat flooded every inch of her body as she acquiesced to his request. Beatrice told her to forget whatever she’d heard about how a lady was supposed to simply lie still, think of England, and wait for it to be over. Her advice was to give everything of herself in bed, do anything she felt comfortable doing and that she enjoyed. So far, she was enjoying what he’d asked her to do, and the way he ordered her to comply made her insides coil in delicious need. Funny, she’d never been much for taking orders from anyone, but the sensual promise overrode her natural rebelliousness. She enjoyed seeing how her body affected him.
    She understood very well why Maitland groaned as she revealed her womanhood to his gaze. He found her desirable, and the power that thought gave her was aphrodisiacal.
    His groans made her want what she’d never had. She wanted sex, and she wanted it with a man she barely new. What did that make her?
    A bad, bad girl?
    Beatrice would say it made her a hot-blooded woman.
    —
    For a man who valued control, lived his life within strict, rigid, self-imposed rules, he was about to lose his mind. There was no denying that he found Marisa attractive, but God Almighty, if Adam had been faced with an Eve who looked like this, then Maitland understood why Adam had given in to temptation.
    His heart hammered in his chest and he was having difficulty breathing.
    Well, he damn well had better get himself under control. She was a virgin and he didn’t want to hurt her any more than he needed to in order to make her his.
    His hand, still wrapped around his cock, continued to stroke. The sight of her open and waiting for him meant that unless he took care of the pressure first he would not last long enough to make her first time pleasurable or memorable. It had been weeks since he’d lain with a woman.
    A light flush covered her breasts, sweeping up her neck and settling in her cheeks. From the look in her eyes, she knew exactly what the sight of her nude body was doing to him.
    He commanded, “Open your legs wider for me.” There was no hesitation on her part, merely a smile he imagined seeing on a fallen Madonna. As usual, Marisa was throwing herself into a new experience.
    She was wet and glistening, obviously aroused by his display.
    He briefly closed his eyes, wishing to prolong the sensations roaring through his body. He’d never been this on edge with a woman. It