Desired by a Lord (Regency Unlaced 5) by Carole Mortimer Page A

boy—Xander…?” she questioned warily as he moved to stand behind her and began to unfasten the buttons on her gown.
    “I believe I am going to enjoy it far more as an adult.” He finished unfastening the buttons. “You are wearing only your camisole today.”
    She glanced at him over her shoulder. “I thought it would be easier…”
    “Oh, much.” He traced light fingertips down the length of her spine. “You have such soft and silky skin,” he murmured admiringly before turning her to face him. “Would you like to undress me?” He lowered his arms to his sides.
    Emily had occasionally helped Edmund on with his jacket. She did not recall ever helping him out of it. Or out of any of his clothing, come to that. She was not sure she knew where to start.
    “My neckcloth.” Xander answered the question she had obviously asked out loud without realizing it. “Then my jacket. Followed by my shirt.”
    Emily’s hands trembled as she removed the diamond pin and handed it to him. He was so much taller than her, she had to tilt her head back to see what she was doing, as she tackled the intricate knot of his neckcloth.
    “Leave it,” Xander instructed hoarsely as Emily would have straightened her gown. He was thoroughly enjoying the sight of her naked breasts visible down the front of her gaping gown, his cock already standing at attention.
    An engorged and throbbing cock he fully intended should receive its fair share of attention today.
    He had to help Emily remove his tightly tailored jacket before once again standing unmoving in front of her as she unfastened the buttons of his shirt and then pulled it from the waistband of his black pantaloons.
    Her earlier admission had led him to believe this would be the first time Emily had helped a gentleman to remove his clothes. Her hesitancy and the blush to her cheeks confirmed it.
    Which further added to Xander’s disgust with her late husband. He was more sure than ever Marsden had been one of those gentlemen who visited his wife’s bedchamber in the dark and remained dressed in his nightshirt while silently taking his pleasure.
    Xander intended to see every inch of Emily naked today, as he intended she should see every inch of him.
    Emily drew her breath in sharply as she pulled Xander’s shirt over his head and then off completely before gazing at his naked torso. She had not realized, in those perfectly tailored clothes he wore, that Xander was as muscular as this. He had immensely wide shoulders, chest, and back; his waist was tapered and firmly muscled. A dusting of fine, dark hair encircled copper-colored nipples before veeing down to disappear beneath the waistband of his black pantaloons.
    She quickly averted her gaze when she clearly saw the bulge tenting the front of those pantaloons. A bulge that looked in complete proportion to the rest of him. Such a monster would surely never fit inside her—
    “We are exploring today, Emily.” Xander immediately put her mind at rest in that regard. “You will explore me, and I will explore you. Much as you no doubt did with the boys from the village when you were a— No?” he teased when she looked at him in alarm.
    “No.” Emily had no trouble denying ever having done such a thing.
    “Then perhaps a male cousin? Or two?”
    “No.” As an adult, Emily knew the form and dimensions of the male body, but she had certainly never seen or touched one when she was growing up.
    Xander gave a grin. “Then I must presume I was a very precocious young man, because I did both. With a female cousin, of course.”
    “Oh, of course,” she echoed faintly.
    “I was already more than familiar with my own body.” He nodded. “I pleasured myself so many times from the age of twelve to sixteen, I believe I was in danger of having my cock fall off from all that hard pumping.”
    Emily was unsure whether she was embarrassed by the frankness of the conversation or relieved at knowing Xander had pleasured himself in the