Chapter 139

“It is time for me to redeem myself,” Jate said as Kit entered her chambers. The ladies had already cleared out since they knew Kit would be entertaining in her private room that night, and he was sitting on the edge of the bed, awaiting her arrival.

Dressed in his breeches and a white tunic and nothing more, he stood to meet her at the door as soon as she entered. Kit took the time to lock it and then hurried toward his open arms. “You have no need to redeem yourself,” she said, leaning up to find his lips, but she knew what he was referring to. The last time they’d been together, he hadn’t quite satisfied her before he finished for himself. She was secretly hopeful things would turn out differently this time.

Jate’s hands tugged at the pins that held her hair, and Kit released him only long enough to help remove them. Her dark curls tumbled around her shoulders as his lips devoured her neck, one hand moving back to her waist as the other gripped her chin. He was much more confident this time than he had been the first time, and when he turned her around to unhook her dress, his tongue continued to taste her throat and earlobe, slipping lower as the dress fell to the ground until he’d kissed the entire length of her shoulders.

She didn’t bother to turn around without removing her stay and chemise, which he helped her with. When she spun back to face him, his hands cupped her breasts, and he took a step backward to marvel at them. She remembered how fascinated he’d been with them the first time and let him take a moment to admire the soft mounds of flesh before he leaned in and took one in his mouth, thumbing the other. Kit reached up and ran her fingers through his sandy brown hair, moaning as his tongue flicked against her nipple. Whether it was due to an increased level of confidence or discussions amongst the other men, she didn’t know, but he definitely knew what he was doing this time. A pool began to form in Kit’s knickers, and she needed to get them off sooner rather than later.

He shifted to the other breast, seeming not to want to give all of his attention to only one. Instantly, her nipple hardened within his mouth, and he tugged lightly on the sensitive flesh with his lips before ravishing her with his tongue. Kit’s hands combed down his back until she had his tunic free of his waistband and was able to pull it up enough to feel the warmth of his back beneath her fingers. She dragged her nails along his flesh as he continued to suck harder until her head felt light with sheer pleasure.

Jate found her mouth again as he pulled her knickers down so that they fell to the floor, and Kit lifted her feet out of them, her shoes having been left inside of her gown. She moved to his breeches, tugging them down, and Jate came up for air long enough to pull his tunic off. Soon, they were both completely naked, and he wrapped his strong arms around her waist, lifting her onto the bed.

His mouth was busy; it seemed to be everywhere. He kissed a line across her shoulder, down to her breasts and lower, coaxing her to spread her legs apart with one hand as he went, which she gladly did. No longer unaware of what she liked, Jate immediately began to lick and suck at her most sensitive area, and Kit arched her back into him, one hand tangled in his hair, the other clawing at the bed as his tongue flicked inside of her once, then twice, before he plunged deep inside and she found herself shouting his name.

The feel of his tongue lapping against her had Kit’s breath catching in her throat, and she wanted more. Her thoughts went back to earlier in the day when she’d needed someone to be her champion, and Jate had been there. He was such a kindhearted soul. He was soft and tender when he needed to be, and clearly an animal when that’s what she wanted as it seemed he might devour her now. When he glanced up at her, Kit couldn’t help but smile. Jate grinned at her, kissed the mound of dark curls between her legs and slid his tongue up her flat stomach, stopping to flicker across a nipple before he found her lips.

Kit opened her mouth wide, inviting him in and searching for a taste of him past the flavor from her own sex. He balanced on one elbow as he found the sheath he’d already laid out and managed to slide it on. She relished each moment his mouth was on hers, breathing him in, and trying to slow down her own heart rate as he gently began to probe inside of her.

Her eyes were closed and her knees were wrapped solidly around his waist as he came into her deeper and deeper, slowly, his fingertips grazing her hips as he worked his way in. Kit’s arms were around his shoulders, and all she could think about was Jate—his warmth, his kindness, his compassion for others. With each stroke, she felt herself needing him more. In his arms, she felt completely safe, like nothing else in the world mattered. He was her shelter, a soft place to fall.

He continued to take his time, stopping to stare into her eyes for a few moments now and again, and Kit found herself lost in his hazel orbs, smiling up at him in rapture. His kisses were sweet and full of the endearment she felt for him. When they finally came, it was together in one rapturous burst, and as Jate’s body relaxed on top of hers, Kit refused to release the hold she had on his waist for fear the outside world would somehow manage to find its way in.

Jate gazed down at her, smoothing a lose curl away from her cheek. “Was that better?” he asked quietly.

“That was... perfection.” She meant it, too. In all of the experiences she’d had, nothing had ever felt as monumentally complete as this.

He continued to smile at her as if Kit were the most beautiful creature to ever walk the earth, and then, with one more sweet kiss, he rolled off of her, but his arms never left her, and Kit snuggled into his chest. Listening to the pitter patter of his heart beat, she fell asleep wondering how anything in the world could ever be more fulfilling than this.