Just One Kiss (12 page)

Edward rounded the corner that he had just watched Daphne turn, and almost bumped into her.  She had stopped.  Obviously.  And was sta
nding face to face with Mrs. Bu
tterworth.

“My goodness!” exclaimed their hostess.  “Is something the matter?” Mrs. Butterworth demanded.  Her beady little eyes darted all over the couple, undoubtedly taking in Daphne’s distressed face and Edward’s enraged one.

“My wife is feeling a little under the weather,” Edward lied evenly.  “I think it best if I take her home.”

Oh but-!” Mrs. Butterworth’s face crumpled for an instant, no doubt mourning the imminent loss of her most esteemed guest. 

However, she brightened a second later, thinking this time, undoubtedly, about the fact that
she
could be the one to inform everyone that Lord and Lady Coventry had been forced to leave early because… well, she probably hadn’t exactly decided the details yet.

“What seems to be the matter, Daphne?” Mrs. Butterworth probed.

“Nothing that won’t be cured by a few days in bed I’m sure,” Edward said calmly. 

He couldn’t help the flare of satisfaction he felt when Mrs. Butterworth’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.  He’d see how Daphne felt about Beckham when that piece of gossip got around the
ton!
  He also seemed to have achieved what few before him had managed – silencing Mrs. Butterworth.  It took only a few minutes for them to say their goodbyes and give their thanks, and then they were stepping outside into the brisk night air, walking down to the waiting carriage.

Chapter 12

Breathe.  Just breathe.
  Daphne instructed herself firmly. 
You’re going to be all right.  You’re going to be fine.

She didn’t feel fine!  And she didn’t seem to be able to put one foot in front of the other as Edward led her to
wards their carriage.  She stumbl
ed twice on the steps, so that her husband finally slowed his pace and shot her an irritated glare.  Perhaps she shouldn’t have provoked him, but he’d been so unfair!  And now… now he was going to punish her.

Daphne was bundled into the carriage, where she sat staring at her lap, waiting for Edward to make his next move.  It just wasn’t fair! 
All
of the moves were his!

“God Daphne,” Edward swore, which only made her jumpy and even more nervous.  “You don’t have to look quite so terrified.”

“I’m not terrified!” she hissed, but her voice was shaking and it belied her.  She started when Edward’s fingers curled under her chin and forced her head up, making her look him in the eye.

“You’re not a very good liar you know,” he snorted, his lips curving into a mirthless smile.

“Well then you should be able to tell that I’m telling the truth when I say that I’ve never touched Mr Beckham!” she railed.  Edward recoiled.

“It's bloody obvious what he wants from you,” he growled jealously.

“That doesn’t mean I’ve given it to him!” Daphne cried.  He needed to believe her!  “Just because you’ve never wanted me doesn’t mean that no man could!” she sobbed.

“Silly girl,” Edward breathed softly.  His voice was now a rumbling purr, and he was suddenly too close, too male, and Daphne couldn’t breathe.  “Is that what you think?” he murmured enfolding her in his arms.  “That I don’t want you?”

“Y-you went away,” she whimpered, and then gasped as she was eased down onto the carriage seat. 

He laid her on her back, and then moved to cover her body with his own.  She felt so small, so vulnerable pinned beneath the weight of his large frame, but there was something else, something darkly thrilling about being so completely at his mercy.

“You were a child, Daphne,” Edward breathed roughly, grimacing at the memory.  “And I didn’t trust myself to be with you.”  Daphne stared back up into his face, her mouth parted in a little, tempting ‘O’ of confusion and surprise, and maybe just a touch of indignation.  “Let me give you back the wedding night I stole?” he panted, dipping his lips.

He was going to kiss her.  Daphne felt her skin sizzle in anticipation of the touch that was to come.  She shivered when it arrived.  Edward wasn’t gentle this time, he was persistent and possessive, and fairly
demanded
a reaction.  Daphne couldn’t help but give one.  Her tongue flicked timidly against his own, and she felt Edward shudder.  Her body clenched in response, and she felt a dizzying surge of power.

Perhaps he did want her?  Desired her at any rate?

“Oh Daphne,” he groaned, deepening his kiss, thrusting his tongue between her lips and devouring her.  “
My
Daphne,” he hissed, and his wife felt all kinds of wicked sensations in the unmentionable places of her body.  “Do you know what you do to me?” he grunted, pressing his hips down against hers as his hands scooted underneath her bottom and held her close, forcing her to feel the steely proof of his arousal.  “Do you even understand?” he chuckled dryly.

“Edward?” she panted, forgetting her inhibitions as her hands raked up the lapels of his jacket. 

She wanted to strip it away.  She wanted to be able to touch him skin to skin.  But she couldn’t, or she shouldn’t- so Daphne allowed her fingers to instead coil themselves
in
Edward’s hair, mussing the thick locks into glorious disarray as her husband continued to masterfully enslave her mouth.  She writhed beneath him, wanting- no needing, to wriggle closer. 

He was so good at this,
too
good at it almost, Daphne couldn’t even think, sure that her very bones were melting.  Her husband was consuming her as his hands stroked up and down her body, kindling fires that burned beneath her skin.  However… then the carriage rolled to a stop, and Daphne squealed and started.

“Shh,” Edward hushed her as he might a skittish horse.  Daphne’s eyes flew open and she glared at him accusingly.

“You did that on purpose!” she gasped.  Edward looked honestly confused, confusion one of the shadows in his eyes, accompanied by a dark, heavy lust and longing  swirling in their depths. 

“Daphne-”

“You knew we’d have to get out!  That we’d be seen!  Oh!  How do I look?” she demanded breathlessly.  The decidedly masculine curve of Edward’s
mouth
did absolutely nothing to slow the frantic pounding of Daphne’s pulse.  If anything her heart skipped a beat. 

“You look like a woman in desperate need of being pleasured by her husband,” Edward purred wickedly.

“Oh- you- you shouldn’t say such things,” Daphne stammered, all the heat in her body rushing to her face, well, almost all to her face…

“Daphne,” Edward sighed, stealing one last kiss before the footman opened the door for them.  “You have a lot to learn, darling,” he chuckled, helping her down from the carriage, which was a very good thing indeed, because she fell- straight into his arms. 

Daphne’s legs were wobbly enough as it was, and then he had to go and call her darling, and she seemed not to be in control of any of her faculties
anymore
!  She tried to disentangle herself a little, but Edward wouldn’t stand for it.  He clamped her to his side and almost dragged her up the steps to their door.

Daphne couldn’t look Wilkins in the face as he took her things from her in the front hall.  Lord knows what he had to be thinking!  She knew that her hair was an absolute mess, and her lips had to be red and swollen from the voracious hunger of her husband’s kisses.  If that wasn’t all bad enough, the way Edward was looking at her… Daphne trembled.  The heat of his gaze was scorching!

As for Edward, he really didn’t give a damn what Wilkins was thinking… well, that wasn’t entirely true.  A part of him wanted the pretentious, overprotective butler to know exactly what was about to happen to his mistress, wanted him to be in absolutely no doubt of who was master of the house and everything and every
one
in it. 

God
, Edward took a moment to wonder at his
behavior
, he was acting like some sort of wild animal set to mark and claim his territory!  His eyes raked shamelessly over the low cut of Daphne’s gown.  Her territory really was rather exquisite.

“My lord?” 

It wasn’t until Daphne spoke that Edward
realize
d she was looking up at him from under lowered lashes.  She looked nervous, and maybe a little afraid, but he could also read her curiosity, sense her desire.  He was slowly wakening the soul of her femininity, and the
realization
of that fact sent a very masculine surge of power pulsing through his groin.

“Upstairs,” he rasped, hardly
recognizing
the low, husky voice as his own. 

Daphne licked her lips hesitantly, and Edward had to cover a groan.  It was humbling in a way, how badly he needed this woman.  His lips curved into a dark smile, but by the end of the night he was going to have ensured that Daphne knew she needed him too.  Edward intended to work her into such a frenzy that she wouldn’t be able to live without him once he’d had his way with her.

“Where?” she squeaked, a breathless note in her voice betraying her.

“Your room,” Edward whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist once they had climbed the stairs.  He wanted to be surrounded by everything of hers when he finally took her, her scent, her things.   And he never wanted Daphne to be able to sleep in her bed again without remembering
this night.

The mere thought caused Edward’s already straining body to harden another degree, and suddenly he couldn’t bear it a second longer.  With a strangled grunt of Daphne’s name he spun her around, crushing her against the full length of his body as he ravished her mouth.

“You shouldn’t do this to me,” he moaned accusingly against her lips, lips that had parted enthusiastically under his onslaught. 

Daphne might like to think that she didn’t want this- that she didn’t want
him
, but her body knew better, and it was betraying her at every turn.  She was breathy and pliant in his arms, barely able to keep on her feet, so that Edward had to support almost her full, if insubstantial, weight.

He wedged a leg in between her thighs, rubbing up against her, as he pressed her back against the wall.  He had never wanted a woman so badly!  It was more
than desire though that pounded
through Edward’s veins.  He hadn’t forgotten the men that evening gawping Daphne, nor had he forgotten Beckham’s hands on his wife. 

Edward growled, and nipped the tender skin of Daphne’s neck, hard enough to leave a mark.  She squealed in surprise, and planted her hands against his chest.

“No,” he said roughly, and then he moved to sweep her up into his arms.

“Edward!” she gasped, making only a token effort to fight him.  Whether that was because she knew it was futile to resist, or because she still thought that she was required to play the role of
the
demure little wife, Edward didn’t know, he did however intend to find out.

“As you keep pointing out,” he rasped, kicking open the door to Daphne’s bedroom and carrying her inside.  “I’ve neglected you for six long years, I think I have some lost time to make up don’t you?” he smirked, tossing her down onto the bed.

“B-but,” Daphne stammered, gasping as Edward kicked off his boots and crawled onto the bed on top of her.  “Not like this?” she whimpered, shuddered as she felt the male, threatening weight of his body bearing down on top of her much smaller frame.

“Why not like this?” Edward panted, lips quirking as he dipped his mouth to her neck, lavishing the graceful curve of her throat in heavy kisses.  “Don’t you like this?” he whispered, giving in to temptation and raising a hand to cradle one of her breasts through the silk of her ball gown.  Daphne shuddered involuntarily, and arched into his touch.  “Don’t you?” he taunted.