The Devil Rogue (23 page)

He
collapsed
atop her
,
his cock still nestled deep inside, and
rest
ed
his weight on his elbows
.
He dropped his head into the curve of her shoulder, trying to catch his breath
.

A long moment passed before he could finally speak.
“My God,” he rasped
against her damp skin
. “You’ve bewitched me.”
He r
ais
ed
his head
so he could
look into
her face
.
“Are you all right?”
When she shivered, he realized t
he bed linens were
bunched at their feet
, so he r
each
ed
down,
covering them against the chill air.

Angela wondered if this
i
s the way it was with everyone
. She
wondered if this was what her parents had felt, or the couple strolling down a park path
,
or
anyone who engaged in
this sort of activity
.
It couldn’t possibly
be
true
that absolutely everyone experienced the
same
intense pleasure she just had
, for if they did, the world would be a much happier place
.

She remembered how her
hips
had
instinctively
risen
to meet
his, matching his fevered pace as she
’d
approached the crescendo of something
that until now had been
beyond her comprehension.

Deep within her, every nerve ending
had
screamed with pleasure as the tension mounted.
She’d
clawed his back, fel
t
his hot breath against the side of her neck, hear
d
his deep groans with every thrust.
She
’d
clung to him with her arms and her legs, mating with him like some wild creature
. T
heir bodies
had been
slick with the heat of their joining.

She
’d
no longer
been
the proper Miss Hopkins, but someone else
. . .
something
else
. . .
something primitive
. . .
something free and uninhibited.

She cleared her throat.
“Yes, I’m fine
– better than fine, actually,” she said, and then smiled.
“Can we do it again?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ian’s golden eyes turned dark, his expression intensely focused. She felt his member swell inside her.

“I think that can be arranged,” he said huskily.

As he began to move, slowly thrusting in and out, she
asked between breaths, “Is
it
. . .
always
. . . oh! –
like
this
?
”

“No, angel, it is not
.”

Angela could
feel
nothing but him, hear nothing but the sounds of his labored breathing, smell nothing else, other than his intoxicating male scent, and taste nothing except the nectar of his mouth as it claimed hers
.

While their bodies were joined, she felt as though his soul entwined with hers, that fate had somehow brought him to her
. S
he
could
so
easily fall in
love
with
him
.
Nothing in her existence could have prepared her for the powerful sensations she experienced in his arms, nor could it have forewarned her of the mix of emotions such
a revelation
would trigger.

Her lips brushed the curve where his neck met his shoulder, her tongue flicking out to taste his warm, salty flesh
.
As he plunged and withdrew, she fitted herself against him in a timeless rhythm as old as the stars
. H
er hands roam
ed
over his sleek, muscular back, a distant corner of her mind registering the smooth suppleness of his skin, and the steely strength beneath it
.
He groaned as she
explored every inch of his body within her reach,
just as
a blind person might memorize an object through touch.

Ian
became
lost in the lushness of her body
and
her sweet fragrance
.
He was held captive by the intense need to
stake his claim on her
, to make her his indelibly
.

When she’d asked if they could do it again, h
is cock
had
instantly
hard
ened
,
bathed in
her
hot, slick
sheath.
It wa
s a rare occurrence
for him
to become so aroused so soon after climax, and yet, it was as if he had not just engaged in the most intense coupling session of his life.

Already, he was about to burst, helpless against the animal forces driving him onward as he thrust into her with powerful strokes. Her arms and legs gripped him with a strength borne from the fierceness of her own need.

He could feel the tension building in her body as she neared
her peak
.
Reaching between them, his fingers found
her
sensitive
little clitoris
,
and
toyed with it
while he continued
shoving his cock into her
with long, smooth strokes
.
H
is mouth captur
ed
her impassioned cry as she catapulted into that moment which transce
nded time and space and reality, his
breath mingl
ing
with hers as he reached
his own powerful release.

He
fell
in a heap on top of her,
barely avoiding crushing her. U
tterly spent, his chest heav
ed
with the effort to draw air into his lungs
.
Had
there ever a time when he
’
d felt so satisfied
–
so complete
?
His answer to himself was unequivocally no
.

Suddenly, the image of her surrounded by
a
circle of children – his children – flashed in his mind, and it was nothing short of terrifying
.
Ian had always known he would marry someday and
beget heirs, but the vague idea of carrying out that plan was far different than the reality of one Miss Angela Hopkins, flesh and blood woman, lying naked and pleasured in his arms.

But he was bound by a moral obligation to marry her, to secure her future
.
It
would
, without a doubt,
irrevocably change his life forever,
and hers
as well.
S
ince h
is cock
-
brained scheme of revenge
had
backfi
red with
a consequence of
monumental proportions,
it
le
ft
him no choice but to make an honest woman of her
.

That didn’t mean he had to involve his emotions, however
.
After all, being in lust did not equate to being in love, which he definitely was not
.
There was no mistaking the fact that he desired her physically, enjoyed her passion, experienced the most intense sexual pleasure with her, but that was
as far as he’d allow it to go.

He
slid to her side,
tuck
ing his hands
behind
his head
.
Neither one of them spoke a word
.
It seemed
neither
one
cared to break the magical spell linger
ing between them, silent, wordless, unbreakable
.
They lay quietly naked, side by side in
a mutually satiated state of exhaustion, their skin cooling by slow degrees.

Angela’s thoughts were anything but silent
, however
.
They were loudly clanging around in her brain like a cup full of rattling dice
.
Who was this man
laying
next to her
?
How was it that
he had her so enthralled, so beside herself with want,
filled
with
the
need to have him as a woman has a man
?
She was in unexplored territory
–
well, not completely unexplored at this point, but
it was
a novel experience,
nonetheless
.
H
er body still tingled with the aftereffects of said experience.

She was now
faced with a complete and utter mystery
–
a man
–
and all the aspects involved with such a creature
.
What was it about this particular man
that compelled her to give herself
to him
so freely?
Out of the string of
her
previous admirers, Ian Moreland, the Viscount Blackridge, seemed to be the
only
one
who held the key to some
hidden, inner part of her that
had
been otherwise unknown.

She could hear his steady breathing, feel the heat from his body, so close
to hers
.
She wondered w
hat he
was
thinking
, w
hat he
was
feeling
.
What was
she
feeling
?
How would they go on
and
how would
she
go on, knowing that somehow he had captured a
significant portion of her heart
?

Angela
wasn’t sure she was willing to
surrender such a precious commodity to anyone at all, most especially a man
.
She’d tried that once, with her father, and that had turned out abominably
.
But then,
T
he
B
aron
may not be her real father a
t
all, and this man, right here, right now
, elicited sensations and emotions she wished
–
desired
–
to explore more fully.

5

Villarreal / The Devil Rogue
                                     

Chapter
1
3

“
YOU’VE DECIDED WE
should do
what
?”

The following morning had brought about a most disturbing conversation with
Ian
.
Angela ha
d aw
akened
feeling wonderfully light-spirited
in addition to being
sore in the most delightful places
.
Her thoughts had turned to the man beside her
, and
the pleasurable possibilities his presence might offer
.
But almost as soon as he
’d
opened his eyes, his focus had been on one
particular
subject
:
marriage.

“
I think marriage is the best solution
,” he said. “I know it’s very sudden, but you have to consider
your situation here
, and
your recent loss
of – er – well, your innocence.” At least he had the decency to look abashed.

Angela
ignored his adorable lopsided grin and
drew herself up as best she could,
despite
her current state of undress
.
Grasping the silk sheet to her chest with clenched fingers, she
said
, “You’re forgetting the fact that our original bargain was for me to be your mistress for three months
.
Doesn’t
that
mean sleeping with you and all that
it
implies
?
Why the sudden inclination to marry me?”

He cleared his throat.
“After much deliberation, I’ve realized that I’ve done you a tremendous disservice by coercing you into the role of my mistress.
As a gently reared young woman, I feel you deserve the respectability of marriage, and all the rights and privileges that go along with
it.

“You would be gaining far more by becoming my wife – Lady Blackridge – than you would if you were to remain my mistress
.
You would be under my protection, thereby afforded the respect
due a woman of your rank
.
Society, in general, would see you in a much different light.
”

“I hadn’t really planned on remaining in society, so I see no need to marry.”
It was almost impossible for Angela to think clearly, as she was naked in a rumpled bed with such a handsome, virile man, who also happened to be naked
.
Why was he insisting on marriage
?
What had brought him to th
at
conclusion
?
Something was not right here, and she was going to find out what it was.

“What exactly was it you were planning
to do
,” he said sharply, “
slip unnoticed into the obscurity of the country, hiding yourself from the realities of life, only to whittle away your youth in a lonely existence?”

That put her on the defensive.
“
Well
,
yes – at least in part
.
And
I wouldn’t be wasting my life
. Y
ou, my lord, have no say in the matter
of w
hat I do
or
don’t do with my
future
.
I have had enough of being under the thumb of a man, and
will not subject myself to such a condition ever again.”

Angela yanked
on
the sheet and
slipp
ed
out of the bed
.
Twisting her body around, she wrapped herself in a cocoon of silk, still warm from his heat
.
Too late, she realized her action had left him laying prone in full naked glory.

His golden eyes glittered with something altogether too primal
for her peace of mind,
causing
her breasts
to
swell and her nipples tingle
.
Her gaze
involuntarily
flicked to the lower half of his body, and she gasp
ed.
He was fully aroused, his member
proudly
risin
g, thick and long,
from
the nest of
dark
curls
.
Between her thighs, she was moist, her nether lips plump and sensitive in response to his blatant display.

Feeling a bit like a rabbit
caught
in a snare, Angela moved to take a step back
.
After all, wasn’t self-preservation the better part of valor
–
or was it
,
the
better part of valor is discretion
; in the which better part I have saved my life
?
Her addled wits didn’t allow
much room
for recalling
S
hakespeare at the moment
. T
here was that blasted sheet, which was tangled around her legs, causing her to tumble and fall in a heap on the floor next to the bed
.
Before she had time to recover from her undignified
sprawl
, a heavy weight settled over her
.

A deep
voice growl
ed
into her ear
,
“Having some trouble, princess?”

He turned her so she lay on her back,
forcing her
to
look up into those
fiery
eyes
.
Her arms were trapped by her own stupidity when she’d wound the damned sheet around her
self
.
She was at his mercy
–
helpless against anything he might decide to do to her
.

T
hat was a bad thing, right?

Wrong.

His heat burned through the thin layer of silk
, his hard erection pressing against the
cradle
of her thighs
.
He surrounded her like a summer storm
,
sending lightening strikes to her most sensitive places, his deep voice like thunder rumbling through her center
.
“My name is Ian
.
Say it,” he commanded.

“
Ian
,” she breathed
.

H
e kissed her, his mouth devouring hers with a deep, hot intensity
.
S
he couldn’t move her arms, couldn’t pull him closer, couldn’t open her legs to invite him in
, and
that
made her want to weep from frustration
.

Oh, how easily she succumbed to his seductive spell
!
B
ut she didn’t care
.
All she wanted right now was to feel his skin against hers
.
Breaking away from his mouth, she pleaded, “Ian, let me loose, please!”

“When I’ve got you right where I want you
?
” he rasped. “
I think not, princess.”

H
is mouth
crashed
back down
on
hers, tast
ing
her lips, licking and sucking, and then
he
dr
ove
his tongue deep inside
.
She was completely under his control
. S
he
didn’t care.

The ear-splitting sound of dishes, plus a heavy s
il
ver tray
hitting
the floor
,
broke them apart
.

“Oh, dear God almighty!” Rosemary screeched from the doorway
.
“
Begging your
pardon
, my lord
.” She hesitated. “Miss Angela . . .
is that you under the, ah, never mind
.
I’ll just leave you two be.”
She backed out
, her
gaze
darting to the
smoothly muscled buttocks of the Viscount Blackridge
.
Pieces of broken crockery crunched
as the door
closed with a slam.

“If I hadn’t already ruined you last night, my dear, you are well and truly ruined now,” Ian said with a sensuous grin
.
“I’ll leave you to dress, and,” glancing at the mess on the floor,
he
continued, “eat, if you can find your breakfast
.
I will be expecting you in my study in one hour
.
We need to finish our discussion.”

He rose gracefully, and walked with the sinewy
grace
of a satisfied jungle cat over to a chair that held his clothes from yesterday
.
From her position on the floor,
Angela
r
aised herself up on her elbows to get a better look
as he
began to
dress
,
lov
ing
the way his muscles bunched
when
he moved
.
She’d never had such an unimpeded view of a male body
before
, so she seized this moment of opportunity to look her fill
.
His member, she noticed, was much smaller than it had been only minutes ago, and softer, less threatening
.
It swung gently with his movements, fascinating her
.
The idea that it had
so recently
been inside her, his flesh connecting with hers so intimately
,
sent a sizzle of excitement up her spine.

H
e
dragg
ed his breeches up over his narrow hips, effectively concealing his tight buttocks from her view
.
But then he turned
around
, displaying
his
front
, the material gaping
wide
open
.
Her eyes widened when his member stirred and then began to grow and stiffen
.
Raising her gaze to his face, she realized
he
’d been
watching her watching him
. . .
down there
.
Cheeks aflame, she refused to break eye contact.

Ian could barely breathe
. He
certainly couldn’t move
as
renewed desire cours
ed hotly
through his veins
,
caused by the
fact that the proper
Miss Hopkins
had been
looking him over like a starving orphan eyeing a roast goose
.
“If you keep looking at me like that, princess,
” he said, his voice a low rumble, “
we’re never going to make it out of this room
.
I’m
attempting
to temper
the baser side of my nature and
leave you alone
– for now.
”
When she made no response
, he explained, “
I’m trying to consider your current
tender
condition.”

“
Tender
condition?” she asked,
her delicate brow furrowing in confusion.
“What do you mean?”

“You were a virgin, princess, not more than a few hours ago
.
Your body needs to recover from its
. . .
invasion, however pleasurable it might have been
.
” His eyes turning dark and troubled, he added, “
You’
re also recovering from quite a severe beating.
”

“Oh.”

“Why don’t you get back into bed while I finish dressing, and then I’ll send Rosemary to y
ou, along with
hot
water for a bath,” he offered with an indulgent smile.

When she complied, struggling to pick herself up
off
the floor, her preoccupation gave him the chance to wrestle his
cock
into his breeches
.
It wasn’t
and
easy
task, as stiff as it was
, but he managed, and then donned his shirt, stockings and shoes
.