Read Royal Affair for Free Online

the memories for the long
months when she’d have to exist without human intimacy. And now,
she had this miracle, and she’d memorize every moment.
    “ Liebling ?” he whispered.
    She glanced up to find him staring at her,
his brows creased with concern. “Is something wrong?”
    “Something is very right.”
    His smile warmed her from the inside, and
she would have wrapped her arms around his shoulders, but he bent,
cupping her breast in his palm to bring the peak to his mouth. The
gentle tug of his lips set off fireworks inside her—a shower of
sparks along her nerves to every corner of her body. No more
thoughts of tears. Only sexual awareness. She would couple with
this man she’d wanted for so long, and the joining would be
heavenly as well as purely carnal.
    Digging her fingers into his hair, she held
him against her as he moved to the other breast. Her mind drifted
into a haze of arousal that blotted out any unpleasant reality—that
she was old and he might find her body unappealing, that the world
wouldn’t approve. To hell with all of that. His loving would make
her a complete woman again.
    Of course, they couldn’t do much more
standing in the middle of her bedroom. She still wore stockings and
panties, and he hadn’t removed a stitch of his own clothing. So,
she lifted his head, kissed him briefly, and pushed his jacket over
his shoulders. When he shrugged out of it, she walked around him to
hang it on the back of the chair of her dressing table. He started
in on his tie, but she stopped him.
    “My turn,” she said as she undid the knot.
“I’ve always enjoyed doing this.”
    “I’m afraid I’m not the treasure you are,”
he said.
    “Don’t be so sure about that.” When she had
the thing undone, she tossed it in the general direction of his
jacket. “Men claim to hate ties, but they wear them, anyway.”
    “Habit.”
    “Let’s create some new habits.” Taking his
hand again, she led him to the bed. The time had come to put aside
her last fear and take the plunge. Time to make herself completely
naked. She wouldn’t hide in the dark or skulk under the covers. She
was going to accept—no, love—him no matter the signs of age on his
body. He’d have to do the same for her.
    She bent and pushed off her nylons and
panties together, stepped out of them, and kicked them aside. Now
he’d see every inch of her.
    He stood for a heartbeat, simply staring
her. His dark gaze softened, turning a deep brown. Then, he sighed.
“What an ass I was to take so long when this was waiting for
me.”
    Of all the things he could have said, he’d
selected the most perfect. She laughed as relief washed through
her. He hadn’t flinched and then tried to cover it with a smile. He
hadn’t said something flowery she’d know he didn’t mean. He’d only
spoken the truth.
    She held out her arms to him. “Come here,
you darling ass.”
    He did, of course, and in a second, they
were kissing again. This time, her breasts pressed against the
starched fabric of his shirt and her pelvis the wool of his pants.
Unless she was very much mistaken—and it had been a long time—the
outline of an erect male member pushed against her belly. Another
fear evaporated. This afternoon could very well fulfill all the
dreams she’d had over the years about making this man her
lover.
    They kissed for a long moment, his hands
roaming over her naked back. After a bit, he released her mouth
and, holding her face between his palms, pressed his lips to her
forehead, then to each eyelid, and finally the tip of her nose.
    They’d waited long enough, and though she
could spend the rest of the day and into the night, touching him,
looking at him, tasting him, he did have other duties. And
eventually, her staff would return. So, she eased herself out of
his arms and lay on the bed, her arms and heart open to him.
    He smiled again as he unbuttoned his shirt,
removed it, and placed it over his jacket on the chair. He wore
nothing beneath