Velvet Embrace by Nicole Jordan

as he wanted her. "Are you afraid?" he asked softly, forcing himself to be patient.
    Brie found it hard to answer. When he looked at her like that, with eyes that were soft and glowing with desire, she felt like warm clay. But she wasafraid . "Yes" she said, her voice no more than a breathless whisper.
    He touched her cheek. "Don't be," he murmured tenderly. "I only want to give you pleasure." Firmly then, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. For a moment she tried to twist from his grasp. But then Dominic's mouth covered hers once more, and once again she became lost in the sensations he aroused.
    Dominic felt Brie's melting response, but her previous reticence had challenged his masculinity. He wanted more now than to have her limp and pliant in his arms. He wanted to see her lips parted in ecstasy, to have her warm body straining eagerly against him. He kissed Brie urgently, making her feel a fiery warmth that had nothing to do with the crackling fire in the hearth.
    Brie was trembling by the time his lips slid hotly across her cheek to her ear. She made no protest when Dominic's fingers found her breast again and began gently stroking. Her hands only tightened convulsively on his muscled shoulders. He trailed a path of teasing kisses down her throat and lower, letting his mouth nuzzle gently at one soft breast. Brie gasped as she felt the hot flick of his tongue against her nipple, but her head fell back in an unconscious gesture of surrender. His touch burned her, yet she could no more have stopped him than she could have commanded her heart to cease beating.
    Dominic could sense her defenses weakening. He lay back slowly, pulling Brie's unresisting body with him until she was draped across his chest. Her breasts pressed against him, making him throb, and he began to kiss her hungrily—long drugging kisses that left her weak and dazed. His tongue plundered her mouth, stealing away her breath, her will.
    She was powerless against his half-tender, half-savage assault. The feel of his hard body beneath her sent ripples of excitement racing through her, while the hands caressing her back aroused emotions she never experienced before. She was too dazed even to notice when Dominic gently rolled her over on her back.
    Supporting his weight on one elbow, he lifted his head to gaze down on her flushed face. He ached to possess her, but he forcibly curbed his impatience. Slowly, so as not to alarm her, Dominic eased Brie's robe open, baring her fully to his gaze. His breath caught at the sight.
    She had the body of a wood nymph. Her shoulders were smooth and gently sloping, her breasts high and pointed with just a hint of tantalizing fullness. Her hips were slim, her legs long and slender. The curls at the junction of her thighs were dark, but they had the same reddish hue as her glorious hair. In all his experience, Dominic thought he had never seen such an exquisite body. He wanted to run his hands over every inch of her silken skin, to feel those taut, provocative breasts burning against his chest once more. He bent his head again, letting his mouth close over hers in a hard, possessive kiss.
    Even with her senses drugged, Brie could feel the passion he held in check. She pressed closer against his hard body, wanting something more from him but unable to name what it was.
    As she arched against him, Dominic gave a groan of satisfaction. Intending to arouse her even further, he swept his hand downward possessively, claiming her breasts as his personal property. His long fingers stroked and caressed the soft peaks, lingering over each quivering nipple until it throbbed at his touch. When he heard the soft whimpers coming from Brie's throat, Dominic cupped her breasts in his hands and lowered his head. Drawing first one swollen tip into his mouth, then the other, he teased and sucked until Brie was moaning with pleasure.
    Yet she wasn't aware of making a sound. A flood of heat and desire was sweeping