Her Wicked Proposal novel Chapter 60

"Have you ever seen someone train a young gelding?"

"Yes..." Anne recalled her father's master groom spending several hours in a solitary stall stroking every inch of the gelding's body so that the horse became familiar with the groom's touch and being handled.

Cedric stepped forward, a hint of his grace and confidence echoing in the strong steps. There was nothing in this stall he could hurt himself if he fell upon it. Here, he was a master of his surroundings and he knew it.

"By experiencing the comfort and pleasure of the groom's touch, the gelding learns to trust him, and the groom is able to saddle him and ride him."

Cedric's mouth transfixed Anne so much at first that she didn't even notice he'd moved until he was kneeling at her feet. His fingers sought the laces of her slippers, undoing them. She didn't stop him. To her surprise, she lifted her foot to allow him to ease it off.

"You see, horses are like people. Their trust must be earned." Her other slipper joined the first on the floor a few feet away.

"Have you ever tamed a gelding?" Anne asked him. Her body quivered as Cedric moved around to sit behind her. His fingers slowly puzzled through the complicated hooks on the back of the gown. Her breath hitched with each gentle tug as he pulled the gown close to loosen the tension and unfasten each hook.

"I have tamed one. When he was older he turned out to be my best racer. Most men think taming a horse means breaking its spirit."

"But not you?" Anne shut her eyes, savoring the slide of Cedric's hands along her shoulders as he peeled the gown down off her body. She lifted herself up to rid her body of the now cumbersome muslin fabric.

"Taming a creature is not about ending a creature's wildness. Taming is about harnessing the spirit, so that the creature can reach its full potential."

Anne held her breath, expecting him to start removing her chemise, but instead he moved back to her front and slid a palm up her calf until he found the ties of her garter on her outer thigh. Fascinated by the dexterity and gentleness of his hands, Anne eased back into the bed of hay, content to let him undress her. Outside the whisper of rain against wood beat a steady rhythm. Her heart settled into a matching tempo as she surrendered into Cedric's slow seduction.

Cedric rolled her second stocking off, and his hands returned to her bare legs. He set them apart, merely stroking her inner thighs. His palms rasped softly over her sensitive skin, making her impossibly aware of his strength and roughness.

"You have no idea how you feel to me. Your skin is soft, like satin. I've never known that beauty could exist in the mere act of touching you." His husky purr had her legs trembling. Her reaction seemed to please him. Never had anyone touched her like this, like she was precious, delicate and desirable.

Cedric pressed on with his exploration, his hands working to clear a path through her petticoats. She shifted restlessly, uneasy with her building desire.

"Easy, darling."

Anne fought to remain calm as he pooled her skirts around her waist. A surge of panic struggled up inside her when his fingers stroked her bare hips. She was open and exposed. Even if he couldn't see her, he could still touch her.

"Someone might see us." Her words weren't meant to deter, merely caution.

"No one will. My grooms know when to stay away."

"Then they know that we are-?"

Cedric leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her mouth, silencing her. As his lips moved over hers, Anne forgot her worries and melted to that velvet heat. She moaned in protest as he broke away from her, but it was only so he could remove her chemise.

Before she could stop him he had settled atop her, one leg sliding between hers to press down on the sensitive, aching apex of her thighs. He swallowed her moan of shock with another kiss. She was completely nude and vulnerable beneath him, and yet he was still fully clothed. There was something sinfully wanton about this, but Anne couldn't summon the will to care.

The smooth fabric of his waistcoat and the rough cloth of his trousers teased her senses and spread heat throughout her body. Cedric's hands were everywhere, guiding over her hips, sweeping possessively over her bottom, exploring the dark triangle of curls between her legs, and kneading the heavy mounds of her breasts. The constant petting and stroking was taming her, the way he'd no doubt meant to do.

"I wish I could see you, Anne. It breaks me inside not to be able to." Cedric's voice was rough and uneven as he placed kisses on her forehead.

Anne nuzzled his throat as she began to slide his coat off his shoulders. "You see me. You always have. It's I who has been blind."

Cedric trembled. "All this time you have been right in front of me, and I couldn't see you. But you are mine now."