Bound by Bliss (Bound and Determined #2)(69)
She couldn’t really blame him. From what she knew of men they did not like to think of any part of them being filled with hot air and she knew they felt more strongly about their privates than any other parts, including their brains. At least, that was true of her brothers. She’d heard enough whispered conversations between her brothers and their friends to know that they did regard the things as most valuable and to be bragged of. Perhaps her earlier thoughts of gold had not been too far off.
“Stop it.”
“What?” She blinked over at him.
“I am beginning to think you are still nervous of undressing. I have seen your breasts. I have seen your sex. Are you really still embarrassed by the in-between bits?”
Was she? She supposed she was. “It somehow feels different when you put it all together. I can see that you like the pieces, but what if you don’t like the whole?”
“I will explain this once and then you will turn around and let me unlace you or I will turn you over my knee and make your ass even redder. No, don’t look at me like that’s a pleasant thought or you will force me to think of a different threat. I am a man. And being a man, I like all the parts separate and together. I cannot say that there are no exceptions, but as a whole men like women’s bodies and are not a quarter as picky as women themselves. I am not sure that I have ever seen a breast I did not like. Even when I don’t like the woman, I tend to react well to the breast. Now, that said, I believe that you may have the prettiest breasts and other bits that I have ever seen. You really are exquisite. The last thing that you need to worry about is whether I will find you attractive. I already do and unless you are suddenly to reveal that you have a cock of your own or fifteen breasts there is no possibility that I will not regard you as one of the best things I have ever seen or will ever see. And if I think about it, fifteen breasts might not be a deterrent.”
Oh. She considered his words. He found all women, or at least almost all women, attractive, and therefore he would find her so. She actually liked that, liked that he just liked women. And he found her exquisite. That certainly had the fires in her belly rising again. It would be quite lovely to have him look at all of her the way he looked at the pieces. Just the thought of the way he stared at her breasts in the pantry was enough to make her light-headed.
And she had seen just enough of his stare at her other parts to know that he’d found them equally desirable. And he’d seemed to find them only more so after he’d warmed them with his hand. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that last. In fact…
“Bliss.” Stephan said her name with great deliberation. “You are doing it again. Turn about and let me reach your back.”
Oh dear, she supposed she was. Taking off her dress didn’t seem as strange as it had when she’d first entered the room, but she had to admit that she was delaying. Working to relax her shoulders, she rolled on her side and presented him with her back.
The sweetest, softest kiss landed upon her back just below her neck. That was unexpected; she’d never expected that Stephan had the slightest edge of romance in him and now it was beginning to seep out in the most wonderful of places. She leaned back into his kiss, even as she felt his fingers at her laces, moving with far more efficiency than she wanted to think about.
“Who chooses your undergarments?” he asked, his lips nibbling at the loose curls on her neck.
“What?” She hated questioning his every word, but he kept jumping ahead of her thoughts. It was quite unfair considering how often he seemed to just read her mind.
“Your clothing is often awful, but from what I’ve seen of your chemises and corsets they are really quite lovely.”
They were going to discuss this now? “You think my clothing is awful?”
“You do seem to be somewhat lacking an understanding of what suits you.”
“I try to choose garments that are cheerful and happy. I want to help put people in a good mood.” And what was wrong with her clothing? The colors were bright and the styles current.
“I think the only person last night’s dress put in a good mood was Miss Swilp. I rather imagine she enjoyed seeing you looking like a bumblebee in that shade of yellow.”
“I did not look like a bumblebee. I didn’t have any black.” He clearly didn’t know what he was talking about.
“That lavender lace looked quite like black stripes from a distance.” Another kiss on the nape of her neck. “Lift your hips just a second. Did you know that you are easy to distract?” One last kiss and she found herself being pushed back into the cushions as Duldon turned her to face him.
“Why would you say that?” she repeated her previous question, although with very different emphasis.
“You didn’t even notice me pulling off your dress and undergarments.”
She glanced down. How had that happened? Instantly she became self-conscious, raising her hands to cover her suddenly bare breasts.
He caught her hand. “Don’t do that. Don’t I deserve to look after all of this? I did give you a chance to examine me.”
Speaking of which…“Oh, darnation. I wanted to watch your cock swell and now it’s hard again.”
“Bliss, I do not wish to spend the rest of this night laughing. I will request that you not poke my privates, make comments about them that imply that they are less than manly, and certainly do not wish me to shrivel.”