The Desires of a Countess (12 page)

His earlier anger somehow bled away
and Simon knew he couldn’t leave Westdale. Not yet.

***

Ginny turned a page in her book as she
spun a lock of hair around her finger. She didn’t often take her
tresses down from the confines of pins and ribbons, but the feel of
it around her shoulders now was freeing and satisfying.

The clock on the library mantel
quietly gonged out one in the morning. Ginny let out a sigh as she
shut her book. She’d never been a solid sleeper, but her bouts of
insomnia had increased in the years since her marriage.

Once Henry had died, she’d finally
begun to get more rest, but the last two weeks since Simon had
arrived had once again stolen her sleep. When she did close her
eyes, she invariably thought of his hands on her, of his kiss that
burned and branded her like fire on ice.

With a shiver, she stood up to lean
closer to the fire. Why couldn’t she control these thoughts, these
scandalous desires that had haunted her since the first day she’d
seen Simon in Henry’s office? She barely knew the man, and she
wasn’t the kind to feel passion and desire at first sight. She’d
suffered for such foolishness in the past. But the moment she’d
looked into Simon’s eyes, she’d somehow forgotten all
that.

Since then, her feelings for him had
only grown. All day she’d watched him. His teasing with Harriet had
made her jealous. His true friendship with Adam made her smile. He
was kind to her protective servants, even Ingram liked him, and
Ingram hadn’t liked anyone in years. And then there was
Jack.

She sank back into her chair. Jack
adored Simon. Every night he’d ask her about their guest and
whether he still slept in the stables. Each time her son saw Simon,
it was as if a light blinked on in both of them.

She covered her eyes with a sigh. It
hurt to try to block people out of her life, though she had no
other choice. She wanted so much to let Simon in, to feel the
warmth and tenderness he offered her, even if it were just for one
night.

To feel alive again.

Suddenly Ginny sensed eyes on her. She
looked up to the doorway. Simon leaned against the doorjamb
starting at her. His blue-green gaze devoured her from head to toe.
His crisp, white shirt was unfastened at the collar and he wore no
jacket. He was sinful and luscious and everything she wanted and
couldn’t have.

He straightened up as he cleared his
throat. “I’m sorry, Ginny, I didn’t realize you’d be up so
late.”

She rose to her shaky feet, suddenly
painfully aware that she was garbed only in a night rail and
dressing gown. “S-Simon was there something you wanted?”

His eyes darkened a shade as he
muttered something under his breath in a language she didn’t
understand. Then he motioned his dark head to the hallway. “I
couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d go through some more of Henry’s
papers.”

“
Oh.” As their eyes met, she
took a step closer. She didn’t want him to leave her alone. She
didn’t want him to leave at all. “Pe-perhaps I could accompany you?
You may have questions I could answer. And since I’m awake, as
well, it seems only natural that we could be…” She shut her eyes
before she corrected herself. “That we could work
together.”

The muscle in his jaw flexed as he let
his eyes move over her again. Then he nodded slowly and motioned to
the hallway for her to lead. All the way down to the office, she
felt his eyes on her back, burning through her to a secret place
she’d forgotten existed.

By the time they reached the office,
she could hardly concentrate, she trembled so much. Simon motioned
for her to take the large captain’s chair at the desk. She did so
and watched him drag over another. He placed it behind her and sat
down. When he leaned forward to look at the paperwork over her
shoulder, his warm breath lingered on her neck. It took all her
willpower not to lean back into him.

With trembling hands, she opened the
ledger. The lines of numbers blurred together as his scent wafted
around her. Simon smelled like heat and the sea and a tang of
something masculine and good. Her breath came shorter each time he
moved, and despite her denials and refusals she was more and more
aware of how much she wanted him.

Her voice cracked as she said, “Most
of this is standard, isn’t it?”

“
Aside from Henry’s braggart
descriptions of his activities, yes.” Simon leaned forward. Again
his breath caressed her ear and the world started to spin. “Looking
at these things must make you unhappy.”

“
No.” She shrugged as she
tried to remember how to breathe. “Henry can’t hurt me
anymore.”

She briefly thought of Robert and his
investigation, but shoved that aside.

“
But he hurt you so much
before.”

Simon’s hand inched toward hers. She
watched it move closer and closer until his palm engulfed her
fingers. She spread them and allowed his fingertips to tangle with
her own.

“
I know your marriage was
more unhappy than you’ve admitted,” he whispered.

She winced, but didn’t draw her hand
away. It seemed he may have found out about Henry’s abuse. Perhaps
he’d heard servant’s gossip or even from Harriet.

“
Perhaps no marriage is
happy,” she whispered as the strange tingle of tears pricked her
eyes.

She hadn’t actually allowed tears to
fall for months. There had been so many times she’d felt their
sting but kept them at bay with pure willpower. But now… now with
this man beside her, she felt safe enough to allow one to trail
down her cheek.

“
No.” He rubbed his thumb
along her palm and little tingles shot through her body. Like waves
they grew from the source until her whole body sang with pleasure.
“My own parents couldn’t even stay together.”

She leaned her head back until it
rested on his shoulder. Simon had shared a painful part of his
past. He’d trusted her enough to let her see a glimpse of his soul.
Perhaps it wouldn’t do any harm to return that offer. To let him
near her just for one night.

With a sigh, she turned her head and
looked up into his eyes. They were dark with desire and every
muscle in his face was taught with the self-control he exercised.
Leaning up, she captured his lips with her own and ended the
resistance both had tried to keep up.

He pulled his hand from hers and slid
it deep into her hair, massaging her scalp as he traced his tongue
along the curves of her mouth. She returned his passion in kind,
tasting him, nipping at his lips.

He pulled her over onto his lap to
continue their embrace and she tensed as she waited for fear and
even pain. But neither came. Simon’s hands trailed over her back,
leaving only pleasant heat in their wake. She arched against his
chest as his hand moved to her thigh, massaging the muscle beneath
the two thin layers of her nightclothes.

She’d almost forgotten what it was
like to be touched in a way that wasn’t meant to hurt or control.
Like Simon had said what seemed like so long ago, she’d forgotten
what it was like to feel like a woman. Or perhaps she had not ever
known that feeling until now. She wanted more. More than his mere
kiss. She wanted
him
even if
she was afraid of joining herself to him.

She clawed at his buttons. Her fingers
were clumsy as she managed to open the top three, but it was enough
to glide her hand inside where his body heat was trapped. She
hissed out her pleasure as her fingertips tangled through his wiry
chest hair and smoothed along muscles earned by hard days at
work.

“
Ginny,” he groaned against
her mouth. “We-”

“
Don’t stop,” she whispered
as she pulled back to her feet. “Don’t tell me to stop.”

With trembling fingers, she untied her
robe and slipped her gown straps over her shoulders. Both fell to
the ground around her feet. “I want this. I want you.”

He shut his eyes with a low moan.
“Tomorrow-”

“
I don’t want to talk about
tomorrow.”

She shook her head as she reached out
and found his hand. She hesitated, uncertain of what to do. He had
no such confusion. Slowly, he guided his hand to her flesh and
splayed his fingers across her belly. The chair slid back as he
surged to his feet.

By the sparkle in his eyes, she knew
his last protest was over. To her surprise, she felt no fear at
that prospect, but an aching anxiousness that throbbed like a drum
in every nerve of her being. There would be no turning
back.

Not until both of them had what they
wanted.

Simon slid his fingers through the long strands of
Ginny’s silky hair and tilted her face up to his. How many times
had he imagined this moment? Her naked and magnificent before him
with her hair down like fire around both their shoulders. It had to
be a dozen or more in just the short time since his arrival.

Sometimes the images were hot dreams that woke him
up heavy and full of need. Sometimes he found himself daydreaming
about making love to her while he went over ledgers or worked on
renovating the cottage.

But this was no dream. One touch of
his hot hands against her smooth skin told him reality was this
moment, and there was no turning back for either of
them.

“
Aren’t you going to kiss
me?” she asked, almost as a whimper.

He obliged happily, kissing her hard
and hot and deep. Her anticipation and desire laced with his own to
make a potent cocktail.

Slowly, taking his time for sweet
torture, he slid his hands down the curved column of her throat. He
teased along her collarbone with just his fingertips, then around
the soft curves of her shoulders. She gripped around his back
tighter, pulling him closer, but he purposefully tugged back from
her. He was in no hurry.

Yes, he wanted to take her right then,
but it had been a long time since he’d felt a woman beneath him. He
was going to take his time and enjoy every sweet moment of this
seduction. He was going to enjoy making her wait, making her
beg.

“
Please,” she murmured as
she kissed fire along his neck up to his ear. “Please!”

“
What’s the hurry?” he
teased as he lifted her hips against his and rubbed against her in
slow, suggestive circles. “We’ve got all night.”

She shut her eyes with a long, low
groan. He grinned even though this fiery need was almost unbearable
in its pleasure, but he knew that before the night was over, the
flames would be extinguished. Until then, he wanted to play games
with her first. To seduce her. To make her so hot that she
combusted before she found release from the honeyed
torture.

Ginny eyes to fluttered open slowly
and in her gaze, he saw a new and dangerous control. One he hadn’t
seen from her before and his erection throbbed harder.

“
You’re right, Simon. We do
have all night, don’t we?”

She pushed him back and returned her
attention to the remainder of his buttons. One by one she popped
them from their buttonholes without breaking their gaze. When his
shirt hung from his shoulders and his chest was bare to her eyes
and touch, she stepped back into his embrace.

As he shivered, she slowly slid the
hard peaks of her nipples back and forth against his chest. The
motion created an exquisite friction that affected her as much as
it did him. Her head tilted back and she stifled a moan as she
gripped his arms with all her strength.

She rose up to her tiptoes and pressed
a soft, wet kiss on the hollow of his throat. His pulse leapt under
her tongue and his body gave a rough jerk as the thin wire of
control in him snapped.

With a guttural grunt, he swept the
desk clear. Ginny watched the papers and ornaments fly across the
room, then her gaze came back to him, heated, needful and perhaps a
touch fearful. With a kiss, he backed her up until she was half
sitting on the desktop. He was thrilled by how much passion she
returned. There was no simpering or pretending as if she didn’t
know what was about to happen between them. No, she urged him on
with every reaction, from the throaty moans she let loose, to the
way she guided his lips to her throat. He followed her silent order
with relish, tasting her skin like a man starved. He supposed he
was, in a way. Ginny had been temptation embodied from the first
moment he’d laid eyes on her.

He pushed her back lower and lower,
until she leaned at an angle and he had access to the soft curves
of her breasts. He brushed a thumb across one tight nipple and she
gasped in response. He repeated the action on the other and smiled
when her reaction was the same. He leaned down and blew a puff of
hot, humid air over her breast, but didn’t taste. Not
yet.

Ginny gripped the desk edge with a
soft sigh. Her back arched higher and Simon finally gave into
temptation. He drew one pebbled nipple between his lips and
suckled. Immediately, she cried out as she curled one hand into his
hair.

Simon continued to suckle at her
breast as he brushed just the tips of his fingers along the smooth
curve of her stomach. Had any woman he’d touched before been so
soft? Were there even any women before her?