A Lady's Revenge (24 page)

Her attention dipped lower for a fraction of a second. “Nor do I desire to be ordered about.”

Stepping forward, he unfastened the top button on his waistband. “You mentioned something about dishonesty, I believe.”

“W-what?”

Another button popped free. “When you were trying to distract me from telling you how much my body burns for yours, you suggested some deceit on your part.”

“Not deceit exactly.” She unfolded her long legs and slid her feet to the ground, her pretty shawl slithering off her shoulders. “More like withholding unnecessary information, or so it seemed at the time.”

His fingers moved to one of the three horizontal buttons securing the narrow fall of his breeches. “And now?”

She swallowed, riveted on his progress. “Crucially important.”

He stopped a foot away. “Perhaps we should discuss it, then.”

“Yes.” Cora lost the thread of their conversation. Everything but the opening to Guy’s breeches faded into the background. The left side of his fall drooped toward the center, giving her a glimpse of… nothing. She stared at the center button with something akin to hatred until his fingers blocked her view.

“What is it you’re withholding from me, Cora?” His voice, low and dangerous, slid down her spine with tingling warmth.

“Are you going to free that button, my lord,” she breathed, catching his eye, “or toy with it all evening?”

His hand fell to his side, making her heart lurch and her mouth go dry.

He moved closer, his pulsing erection within her reach. “Perhaps you could do better.”

The compulsion to do just that was strong. Incredibly strong. She dug her nails into the seat cushion, where she hung on with a strange mixture of trepidation and passion.

“No?” He made to close his open fall. “Ah, I see you are more interested in discussing your misdeed.”

“Wait.” She placed her hand over his to halt his action. Her heart hammered against her chest like a relentless battering ram. Each thump seemed to shake her whole body, as if to say “Wake up!” Her fingers tightened their hold. “Wait.”

Frozen with indecision, she sat immobile for long seconds, staring at their hands. For a brief spell, her thoughts had centered around a basic driving need to feel the scorching heat of Guy’s staff in her hands.
She
wanted to toy with it. She wanted to grasp his length, feel the glide of his hardness beneath her palm, and glory in his response to her touch.

She wanted to know him in the most intimate way. Her mouth watered with the inexplicable desire to close her lips over the soft head of his erection and to run her tongue along the pearling slit.

In that moment, she had not thought of danger or failure or what was best for others. She had thought only of herself and, God forgive her, it felt good.

Guy eased his hand from beneath hers and switched their positions, placing gentle pressure on top of her hand while at the same time flexing his hips. “What are you withholding from me, Cora?” he asked again in a low, guttural voice.

She molded her fingers around his length. Guy’s harsh breaths above her increased her own excitement, but a nagging voice inside her head warned her of how such intimacies complicated matters between them. How they made her yearn for a life he could not deliver. With the vengeance of a jilted bride, the voice persisted until it dampened her desire.

His finger smoothed over the middle button. “Change your mind, Cora?”

Heat spread into her loins, fiery and wet. She stared at the beguiling button. Sweat gathered beneath her arms and beaded at her temples. She was melting in a pool of lust, and the only thing stopping her was a damned button. Was it a gateway to heaven? Or hell?

The buckskin-covered fastening sprang free easier than she would have believed, what with the material below being stretched so tight. As the front fall gave way, inches of pure masculinity was revealed. Before her eyes, he elongated and throbbed. His stomach muscles clenched into deep valleys and hard ridges. Emboldened, she released the final barrier.

The narrow front fall dropped from sight, leaving behind an indecent amount of flesh and curly black hair. An anticipatory silence beat through the chamber. It was as if all life suspended in those seconds of admiration. “Guy, may I?” Her gazed remained locked on that part of him that would bring her so much pleasure.

“If you don’t,” he said with gritted teeth, “I might have to finish it myself.”

A very feminine gratification stirred between her legs, prickling her insides and infusing determination into her veins.

His thumb caressed one corner of her mouth, which unbeknownst to her had turned up into a knowing smile. “Why am I all of a sudden afraid?” he asked.

She cradled the base of his staff in the palm of one hand, as one would hold a pistol, while her other hand enveloped the girth of his erection. Using the pad of her thumb, she applied enough pressure against the smooth skin of his erection to create an exquisite friction beneath. Then she began to move her hand, slowly, methodically, sensuously. His hips picked up the pace.

She chanced a glance up at Guy and found his impassioned gaze fastened on her face. His long black hair was loose, flowing around his chiseled jaw. He looked like a mythical Greek god—powerful, handsome, and more than a bit dangerous to human females. She saw him swallow hard and then close his eyes. He looked to be caught in a terrible struggle for control.

His big hands clasped her head. For stability or encouragement, she didn’t know. Didn’t care. She knew what she wanted. Had known it from the moment she tapped on his door, escaping memories and vicious nightmares that would not allow her rest. She needed him in the most selfish of ways, and she couldn’t bring herself to feel shame. That would come later.

Right now, her passions guided her. They lured her down a forbidden path that not even Valère, at his most insistent, could force her down. No one was compelling her in that moment, only her own curiosity and unshakable need.

Her mouth closed around Guy’s satiny tip, and her tongue removed the salty moisture weeping from the small slit. Pleasure drenched her body as she tasted him and explored his length. When she hit on a particularly special spot, Guy would let her know with a low groan or a tighter grip. His response fueled her desire to please him, because somewhere along the way her focus shifted to satisfying his cravings rather than hers.

And that’s when everything exploded out of control.

“Cora… sweetheart,” he panted, his fingers grasping her head more strongly, “remove your mouth. I’m about to spend.”

She ignored his plea. Instead, she tightened her hold and slid her hand almost to the apex, and with her mouth, she drew from him what he tried to deny her.

“Bloody—” His head tipped back, and he cried out her name while his body bucked with release.

Soon, Cora eased away, her muscles trembling. She bent her head and used the back of her forefinger to wipe away the moisture. Although her body still vibrated with unspent desire, she felt an unbearable shyness overcome her.

Guy did not give her long to dwell on the matter. He dropped his breeches and scooped her up into his arms and then carried her to his massive, curtained bed. She slipped her arms around his neck and felt the dampness coating his skin. When he released her legs, she turned into his embrace and stretched her body along his to reach the hollow of his neck, his throat, his ear.

He found her greedy lips and delivered a bone-melting, all-consuming kiss. Her mind blanked, and she was engulfed in sweet darkness. Tonight, his unique musky scent was stronger, more pronounced, allowing only a trace of sandalwood to break through.

“Quid pro quo,” he said with a devilish slant to his lips that made her burn with excitement. Bending, he seized the hem of her nightdress and drew it up her body until her arms slid free.

At the inn, she had flinched at the thought of him seeing the ugly marks left behind from her captivity. But he had inspected each injury with a keen eye and had never once recoiled in disgust. Fury, yes. Disgust, no.

The backs of his fingers smoothed down her arm and then up again. They skimmed over her collarbone before curving toward the outer rim of her breast. There, he lingered, caressing every available inch until she thought she would scream.

“Cora.” The word whispered across her eyelashes. “Do you
feel
this?”

She nodded, unable to speak.
I
feel, I taste, I want…
He finally took pity on her and cupped both of her breasts, plumping them high to meet his warm tongue.

Her back arched into his mouth, and she hugged his head to her bosom, rubbing her cheek against the silky skeins of his hair. She inhaled deeply of his distinctive fragrance and suppressed a shudder when he drew her nipple farther into his mouth. An unholy thrill pulsed through her, leaving her feeling raw with excitement. She pressed into him, wanting to meld their bodies into one, so that maybe the ache deep in her womb would be appeased.

His arms clamped around her bottom, raising her up for a more complete taste. Once he had his fill, he laid her over the soft counterpane.

She swept her arms above her head and elevated one knee in invitation. The position made her feel decadent and luxurious, beautiful and desirable. He stood at the side of the bed, devouring her with his black eyes. His chest expanded with each harsh breath, and his shaft, flaccid a few minutes ago, arced toward his navel again.

“Raise your other knee,” he said in a voice saturated with desire.

Cora hesitated. Until that moment, she had experienced no anxiety over the wicked things they had done to one another. But now, he wanted her open to him. Open to his inspection and laid bare to his sensual exploration. She did not know if she could give so freely of herself and then walk away later with her heart intact.

His hand skimmed the underside of her uplifted leg, making her inner folds clench when his fingers came to within mere inches of her most intimate parts. Moisture flooded her entrance, preparing for him. She shoved away her apprehension and did as he requested. She would deal with the consequences of her decision later. Much later.

The massive bed was high enough for him to bend at the waist and be able to stretch his body comfortably below hers. He hooked his arms around her hips and placed hungry, slow kisses along her inner thighs. Her legs began to quake, a tremor that became more violent with each attempt she strove for calm.

“Shhh, my sweet.” He crawled up her length to cover her lips, gentling her with his alluring kisses while his big hands kneaded her quivering muscles. “Shhh.” He coaxed her legs around his hips.

Before long, her stimulated senses overpowered the barriers of her mind. She became aware of the intimate press of their stomachs and the whisper of air separating their chests. If she arched her spine just so, the hard peaks of her breasts would tangle in the wavy dark hairs covering his chest. The resulting teasing tickle curled her toes.

“All better?” he murmured against her throat.

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Cora, never fear our passion,” he said in a thick, reassuring voice. “It is pure and true”—he brushed his lips against the tip of her breast—“and beautiful. In my arms and in my eyes, you shall never be anything but utterly perfect and entirely safe.” He caught her gaze. “Do you believe me?”

Liquid warmth spread into every pore of her body. She felt the truth of his words clamp lovingly around her heart, and the last of her doubts sifted away. Although she was far from perfect, years of friendship had enabled Guy to look beyond her faults, where others would only stare in horror. When this was all over and she had to hand him over to a proper wife, she would have to leave. Not just the city, but also the country. Even a chance meeting with the happy couple would devastate her, making the time she had spent in Valère’s dungeon seem like a holiday.

She threw off the maudlin thought and lifted her hand to cradle his cheek. “I understand very well, sir.” She sealed their accord with a kiss. However, she could not help but feel Guy’s question held a much more profound meaning than her muddled mind could comprehend.

Moving her right leg higher against his back, she nearly burst out of her skin when her slick center came in contact with his scorching length. She tested the delicious friction by rolling her pelvis, and this time Guy hissed a curse.

“I’m trying to be gentle here, woman,” he bit out.

She loved watching the myriad of emotions track across his features. In the midst of his fraying self-control hovered vulnerability, a trait not often seen in Guy or any of the other men in her life. But she also saw him struggle with the same unquenchable need that compelled her to investigate the deep expanse of his lower back. The farther down her fingers journeyed, the more force she exerted. “I have no further need of your light touch, Guy. In fact”—she laid her palms against his broad shoulders and pushed her hips upward—“I would prefer you resume your previous examination.”

An unholy grin split the hard planes of his face. Something feral entered his eyes as he slowly backed away on all fours, never releasing her gaze.

With great deliberation and male satisfaction, he lowered his mouth to her throbbing center and licked her. There was no other word for it. His tongue started at the base and slid between her plump folds until he reached a place that made her hips shoot into the air. “Oh, dear Lord.” She stared at the dark canopy above with astonished eyes.

Then she felt him tuck a pillow beneath her bottom and spread her wide for another round of carnal bliss. While easing two fingers inside her, he grazed her sensitive peak with his teeth before soothing it with his lips. He alternated between the two forces for several tormenting seconds and, at pivotal moments, replaced his fingers with his tongue.

She speared her fingers into his long hair, holding his mouth in that one spot. She did not trust him to release her from the inferno consuming her from the inside out. At least, not without further suffering on her part. Any more stimulation than what she was presently enduring would surely stop her heart.