Hold Your Breath 01 - Stone Devil Duke (21 page)

Her eyes flew to Devin. “Truly?”

“My own arrogance got us into trouble the other day. This is my way of apology. If carrying this will set your mind at ease, then my pride needs to step out of the way. I know how good you are with a pistol, and I would be stupid to deny you extra defense.”

Wondering smile on her lips, Aggie closed the box. She looked up at him. “Devin, it—all of this—it is perfect. Thank you so much.”

She
walked over to the bed, her hand trailing on the soft silk covering. “And the bed looks so comfortable.”

She gazed at
her husband, not bothering to veil her wanton hint.

Devin
laughed. “Do not even think that you will get a chance to try it out.”

“No?” Aggie’s eyebrow arched
.

“No.”
Devin walked to her, his arms enveloping her, and he lifted her far off her feet. She laughed as she wrapped her legs around his waist and he walked across the room.

“Because
you will never have need to lie in it.” He opened the connecting door between her rooms and his. “There is only one bed that you will sleep in from now on.”

She moved her right arm around his neck
, her face close to his as she kicked off her silk slippers. “I hope you mean yours, or this will be dreadfully disappointing for me.”

Devin
’s rogue smile was all the answer needed. And he rarely looked rogue. He was a man that knew what he wanted, and took it, so she was flattered to see that he had the ability produce charm for her. Lascivious charm, but she would take it.

“I do
not plan on disappointing you.” He stopped in the middle of his room, holding her, mouth almost touching her lips. “But I am not taking another step until I verify something. You seemed to have plenty of energy on the tour, but you also like to hide things from me. I am praying you are not overly fatigued.”

“Why?”

“Frankly, you have been driving me to madness.”

Aggie leaned back as much as his grip allowed. “What?
I have? How is that?”

He pulled her tighter, his mouth near hers again. “
Night after night, breathing you in. Touching you, but not touching you. Watching your chest rise and fall. I have been damning that wound more than you have. But I will not touch you until you can handle me. Until you can handle all that I want—need to do to your body. Handle every gasp, every tremor, every scream I elicit.”

His words settled into her chest, tightening it. Breath slowed.
The tightness of her legs around him should have been answer enough, but Aggie wisped her lips onto his, holding back, letting their air mingle. “I am ready. Scream. Tremble. Gasp. Whatever. I can handle it.”

Devin
started walking before the words finished, cocooning her as they crashed onto the bed. His lips came down on her hard, hungry, demanding all that had been denied him the past week.

He wasted no time in slipping his thumb under the top of her dress and chemise, pushing the fabric down, fingers finding her nipple, teasing it between the pads of his fingers.

Devin’s mouth left hers, then snaked downward along her neck, onto her chest, onto her breasts. He caressed the nipple with his tongue, gently at first, then with increasing intensity until it peaked with ripeness.

Aggie arched up into him, her body catching on fire and begging him to take her deeper into his mouth. He chuckled at her response and crossed to her other nipple. He sucked
harshly and with greed, as if to drive her to a breaking point. Aggie didn’t break, her hands instead diving into the back of his hair, holding him to her, giving him no chance to interrupt the gasps he provoked.

Her
core started to ache as the fire spread to her entire body. Reveling in the pleasure he produced, she realized she needed more. Much more. She dragged his head from her nipple, bringing herself up to kiss him.

Her tongue slipped through his lips, skimming his teeth, playing with his warring tongue. She could feel his smile as he bit her lip, taking the swollen skin and making it his own. Every touch on her body was meant
to make her his, and she welcomed it.

Devin
pushed their bodies back down, burying her deep into the bed. She could tell he still held back, gentle around her wound, but that didn’t stop him from thrusting his tongue repeatedly, deeply, into her mouth. At first, she let him overwhelm her with the waves, but she was soon matching his kisses with as much intensity, even more.

The hardness of him pushed into Aggie, straining a
gainst his pants and jutting into her thighs. Aggie’s hand went down, grabbing him through the fabric, her fingers sliding up and down, pulling him along her thigh.

He lifted from
her mouth. “Blasted, Aggs, that is bloody exquisite.”

“It would be be
tter without clothes, and I cannot move my left arm enough yet to get you out of yours.”

Devin
laughed and pulled up, yanking off his shirt and pants. Aggie couldn’t hold in the gasp that came at having his naked body over her. Every beautiful morsel of his skin pulsated, muscles tight, ready for her. All of it was hers. She sat up.

“I don’t care how you get me out of these layers, just do it now.”

The dress was easy. The muslin tore without effort. But after getting a look at her short stays and chemise, he flipped her onto her stomach.

“Damn that I don’t have a knife handy.” His muttering didn’t slow his fingers from w
orking down the laced ribbon, untying the stays, and sliding the chemise up her body. He left the silk stockings, and Aggie could have cared less. She was naked enough.

He slipped his right arm under her waist, pulling
her up onto her knees. He kept his arm around her waist, his hand cupping her breast as he held her above the bed. His left hand went down past her belly, fingers slipping deep into the folds, searching and finding the hard nubbin that shocked Aggie out of her skin. He prodded and caressed, teasing her body into a pitching tremble.

“Oh
, hell.” Her words came jagged between smoldering breaths. “Devin, you need to be in me now. Now.”

His hand pulled from her for a moment, and Aggie almost doubled over
in torture from his fingers leaving her. But just as quick, he shoved her inner thigh outward, spreading her legs. His fingers were back in her, plunging, reaching deep nerves that exploded at touch. Her body convulsed, near collapsing at the pleasure, but Devin held her upright.

His mouth went to her neck, sucking, just as fingers, sl
ick, moved out of her. He rammed into her, deep, full. Aggie curled over at the bittersweet ferocity, scream escaping as he filled her. His arm latched solid around her body, and he moved her upward, just as he pulled out, only to plunge deep into her again, his grip keeping her solid against the onslaught.

F
ingers stroking her pulsating folds, he squeezed and prodded in unison with his thrusts. Aggie’s feet wrapped up behind her, locking onto his backside, giving him no chance to escape her body. Frantic, her right arm went up and behind Devin’s neck, nails clawing into his skin, demanding satisfaction.

He responded instantly, speeding his thrusts into a
pace that notched her closer to the desperate satisfaction she needed. Begging, incoherent screams ripped from her body, and he slammed into her, forcing her body to his fingers as she writhed. Control lost, she hit blinding white light and crashed back into him, her body releasing in core-crushing agony.

She wasn’t conscious of his final throes, her body convulsing around him, but
the guttural roar in her ear told her he joined her.

Staying in her,
Devin collapsed forward, landing half on her body, leaving her wounded shoulder untouched. Chests heaved as both of their bodies continued to spasm. Devin caught his breath first.

“God, Aggs,” h
e said, his warm breath behind her ear. “I never could have waited this full week had I known that was coming.”

Aggie laughed, and turned to kiss his bicep that was in front of her face. Salty. “So I was not crazy to want to rush
my rest along. I thought as much.”

“Maybe, but this means that I am, apparently, the only one that can be trusted to have
self-restraint. You needed to heal.”

“I did.”

Devin jerked up from her body, looking down at her face, sudden worry in his grey eyes. “Tell me I did not hurt you. And if I did—hell—tell me I didn’t anyway.”

“You did
not.” Aggie spun in the bed to her back, looking up at him, smile curving her swollen lips. “I think the only hurting you did to me was the exact same hurting I was doing to you.”

He chuckled
and flopped down onto the bed next to her. “I don’t think you know the half of my pain.”

“Can we stay like this the rest of the night?”

“Naked?”

“Yes.”

“No. You need nourishment for my next ravaging of you. Plus, I am looking forward to finally dining with you at an actual table, as charming as eating in my bedroom has been. Not to mention you will need lots of energy for when we start our grounds tour tomorrow, per your request.”

Aggie sat up. “Fine. But let us dress and eat in has
te.” Her hand slipped across the ridges along his stomach. “I want you back up here, just like this, as quickly as possible.”

“That, I can arrange.”
Devin smiled, grabbing her hand and bringing it to his lips. “I am not about to deny your salaciousness, my dear Aggs.”

~~~

In the darkness, the rain came. And it came with thunder and lightning. It only took a few short minutes for Devin to wake up and leave the bed.

In the library,
facing the west window, he had only made it a fourth of the way down the decanter of brandy before he heard soft footsteps padding into the room, the rustle echoing in the cavernous space.

Devin
closed his eyes. He hadn’t heard her scream. Or had he?

“
Did I say something?” Aggie’s raspy voice came gently into the room. “Devin, I do not know what I do in my sleep. I know I yell. I cannot control it. If I said something to drive you away, I am sorry. I do not want to bother you, I just came in here…”

“Why? Why did you find me?”

He hadn’t looked up at her, and almost thought he scared her off. But then she stepped close to him, her chemise brushing his elbow that rested on the arm of the leather chair.

“Sleep with me. Please.”

“What?”

“I was sleeping peacefully, but it…changed. And I woke up and you were gone. I sleep
. When you are with me, I sleep. Real sleep. It is amazing. No dreams. No nightmares. Please.”

Her hand went to his bare shoulder, her fingers cool on his skin.
Devin stared at the glass in his hand, trying to ignore the rain pelting the window in front of him. She really did trust him to keep her safe. Too bad he wasn’t worthy of her trust.

Her hand stayed still on him.

No force to ignore her patience, he looked up at her. The one lantern he had lit by the door flickered dim behind her, setting her loose blond hair to ethereal glow.

“On one condition.”

“What?”

“You tell me what makes you scream in your sleep.”

Her hand jerked
off of his skin and she stumbled backward, bending at the waist as though he punched her.

It was a power
move he wasn’t going to apologize for. He needed to know. And if he had to blackmail her into telling, he would.

Aggie continued her backward shuffle, holding her stomach, shaking her head. “No. I…it is not worth it. I will leave you alone.”

Devin shot up, reaching her in two strides and grabbing her wrist, stopping her escape. “You need to tell me, Aggie. Whatever you bear in your sleep, you should not have to do it alone.”

“No.”

She looked up at him, and the pain in her eyes jolted him. Pain that weighed her soul. Kept her in fear. It burned Devin’s determination that she tell him even brighter.

“Aggie, whatever it is. It is time
to tell me. I need to know what dreams I am fighting.”

He pulled on her wrist, and surprisingly, her feet moved. He led her back to the chair he was sitting in, and nudged her downward. He went to his knees in front of her, hands on her thighs.

He forced his voice soft as he rubbed her legs. “Tell me.”

She didn’t meet his gaze, and h
er right hand went to the scar running up her left arm. Devin saw the motion, and his gut hardened.

Of course.

She had never hidden the scar, but she had always hidden how she got the scar.

“Tell me.”

“Six months ago…” Her voice caught, and she cleared her throat. “Six months ago, I had gone into town to meet with our solicitor. He is old, so I did not want him to have to make the trip to Clapinshire.” Her head stayed down, eyes closed, but her voice held solid. “It took longer than I would have liked, and when we were done, it was dusk when I stepped into the street. My driver had moved my carriage about a block away; the street is narrow there, so that was normal. But my driver was also facing away from me, so he had no chance to see what happened.”