by Stacy Reid
“Why did you draw me in here…and who did you think I was?” she snapped, painfully aware of how close they stood, of his heat against her body. It took all of her willpower to not melt into his firm body.
“Lady Olivia?” The shock in his voice was profound.
“Yes,” she answered a bit smugly, pleased to have rattled his constitution, albeit unintentionally.
Her pleasure was swiftly stifled under the virulent curses that sprang from his lips. Her cheeks burned and unwanted tears pricked behind her lids. She knew he did not like her, but not that much.
“Let’s go,” he muttered roughly and opened the door.
He stepped into the hallway, dragging her behind him, and then froze. Loud voices carried from the corridor, and with another harsh curse he pushed her back in the closet and closed the door.
“Release me,” she muttered, thoroughly vexed with his reaction. He had planned to meet someone else in the closet. So it wasn’t the situation he was averse to…but her! The swift pain that pinched her heart, angered her even more. She made to leave, but strong arms gripped her hips, effectively halting her.
“What are you doing?” he growled.
“I am leaving. I certainly do not wish to pain you further with my unwanted presence. Not that I invited myself to this…this…tryst!”
He stiffened, and Livvie wished she were able to make out his features. She could only smell his warm masculine fragrance, feel his vitality, and she resented the curious hunger it roused.
“I did not plan a tryst,” he said stiffly.
As if she would believe such an assertion. “Then why are you skulking inside the closet?”
“In the event it had escaped your notice, I am in my home.”
“And?”
“One cannot skulk in their own house.” His voice was exasperated.
“If you are hiding in the closet, and not partaking in a tryst, you are indeed skulking.”
She narrowed her eyes at the soft amused laugh that puffed from him. First she had horrified him and now she was the butt of his amusement? “Unhand me, Lord Blade.”
“You cannot leave, there are guests in the corridor.”
“And I suppose the worst thing that could happen would be for you to be caught with me?” she enquired scathingly.
“Hell’s teeth, most assuredly.”
The icy disdain in his tone made her want to lash out and kick his shin. The insufferable man. It was not as if she were ill formed. Many had remarked upon her pleasing features, especially her light green eyes. She would not remain inside with him a moment longer. “I am sure they are gone by now.”
A loud laughter pulsed, mocking her assertions, and they both froze.
“Be damned quiet,” he snapped.
The soft growl that slipped from her throat surprised her with its ferocity. “You, my lord, have no gentlemanly qualities.”
“Are you scolding me for bad behavior?” he clipped quite icily.
It seemed as if the tentative peace they’d formed in the ballroom had dissolved. “Yes!”
“You wouldn’t know refined sensibilities if they bit you in the posterior.”
“Oh! You…you…”
“Christ, will you lower your voice?”
She gritted her teeth until her jaw ached.
“What are you doing here?”
She ignored him.
“I will not ask again,” he said in a dangerously soft tone.
Livvie swallowed, heat burning her cheeks. “I saw you, and I only meant to enquire whether you were well. Very silly of me and now I am exceedingly embarrassed I acted on the thought.”
“Ah…once again you were acting recklessly.”
“Of course not. I had no notion you would drag me in here.” She took a calming breath. “Why are you here?”
“That is none of your business,” he said cuttingly.
“I take it back,” she whispered. “I do not want to be forgiven, you are an—”
“Good God, have we reverted to the insufferable buffoon? And here I thought I had detected some growth.”
Before she could whisper a furious rebuttal, warm lips pressed on her, silencing her and alarming her, sending a shock of desire to her system, and stripping her of her defenses. She went absolutely still, her heart a pounding roar in her ears. Tobias was kissing her! Livvie dimly realized he was just as frozen, and she could feel the thud of his heart. She raised her hand and pressed it against his chest.
Thud.
He shuddered. Then he parted his lips and rimmed his tongue against the seam of her mouth. Her knees buckled and his arms came around her and hauled her even closer to him. His hand moved in a slow soothing stroke over her back. A soft moan slipped from her, and she parted her lips to him, curious as to what would happen. Pleasure. What happened was a shock of undiluted delight, pulsing through her veins as he thrust his tongue into her mouth and conquered.
He squeezed her body tightly to his, moving his lips over hers with sensual force.
She pulled from him, breathless. “Tobias.”
“Good God, you taste even better than I imagined,” he said gruffly.
Livvie was speechless, never in her wildest fancy could she have imagined such pleasure or the soft sensual tones he used. He disliked her, didn’t he? “You’ve…thought of kissing me?”
“Every night since I’ve met you, utter madness.”
“That was my very first kiss,” she admitted shyly. What were they doing? Confusion clouded her mind and a protest welled against her lips, which was smothered by another kiss. He drowned all her thoughts under the sweetest bliss she had ever felt.
He dragged his lips along the curve of her throat. “I cannot stop tasting you.” He sounded half strangled.
He excited her and made her nervous in the same breath. Tobias took another step forward, crowding her back against the linen shelves. He lowered his head to recapture her mouth. It was incredibly wonderful. In between hot kisses, he whispered sensual promises and praise, and kept up his tender assault on her senses. There was a tug on her dress and then her breasts filled his palms. Her nipples puckered painfully as pleasure sharp and sweet stirred in her blood. One of his hands left her aching breast, and she trembled as he slid his palm up to her knee, past her garter, up to where she was aching and damp.
Shock echoed along her body and she went completely rigid on him.
“You are so damn sweet and perfect. How I’ve craved you, Olivia, day and night. Open for me.” His soothing, sensual tone was irresistible.
Her legs parted under his mastery and his decadent touch became even more wicked. Her body was filled with sudden exquisite tension and she desperately wanted a firmer touch. “Tobias,” she moaned, shivering. “I need…”
“What do you need?”
“I do not know…but I crave.”
The heavy length of his arousal pressed against her stomach, shocking and rousing her senses. He touched her with exquisite gentleness as the tip of his fingers parted her womanly flesh. She jerked in shock as arousal jolted through her body. Then his wicked, sinful fingers stroked inside.
It was indecent, the way he was holding her, touching her, kissing her…and Livvie never wanted him to stop.
…
Olivia’s passion perfumed the air as slick, wet heat greeted his fingers.
She was beguiling, infuriating, and he couldn’t help kissing her, tasting her, inhaling her moans and desire that flowed over his fingers. Tobias had told himself his curiosity would be appeased with a kiss. He’d been sure he knew what she would taste like, and it would be ordinary and normal. How wrong he had been. The scent of her had already soaked into his lungs, deep where he knew he’d never eradicate her. What a fool he was.
She is…incredible.
He could feel the wild tempo of her heartbeat underneath his thumb pressed into the curve of her throat. Tobias’s discipline deserted him and he felt powerless against the attraction he felt for Olivia
. He badly wanted to ruck her dress up to her waist, open his fly, and thrust his cock into what he knew would be the tightest clasp. Without releasing her lips, he withdrew his finger and glided it over the folds of her sex until he found the knot of her pleasure and pressed. She gave a tiny moan, of protest or pleasure, he wasn’t sure which. But when he made to pull away, her hands tightened on his nape and her lips clung even more sweetly to his.
Thank Christ.
For he did not have the willpower to let her go. He lifted her and placed her on a small table. She widened her legs without his encouragement and more of his control slipped from him. A distant warning bell rang somewhere in his fevered brain, but he was too far gone to pay it any heed. He worked her clitoris until she trembled in his arms, then he slid two fingers down and thrust them deep.
She whimpered and he froze, then he groaned when she shivered. Olivia wrenched her lips from his, panting. “Tobias…”
“Yes?”
Then silence. The dark pressed in on them, cocooning them in intimacy and secrecy to just be. It shocked Tobias to acknowledge how alive she made him feel in this moment. His cock ached…painfully, a state he had never felt in all his years of life on earth. A whisper of a kiss feathered over his jaw and he closed his eyes against the sensations.
“I’ve always loved your scent.”
And I yours.
Before he could assess the startling thought, her lips settled once again on his, but without the earlier shyness. Now she kissed him like the hoyden he knew, bold, reckless, and with wet carnality.
And he responded.
He pushed her gown up to her waist and stepped between her legs. Arousal rode him hard, and with each whimper and sigh she released, he lost a bit more of himself. He dragged his mouth from her, and kissed along her neck. She arched, giving him delightful access. “We should stop,” he growled.
“Yes,” she said, sounding dazed, needy, and hungry. “In a bit…kiss me again.”
She gripped a fistful of his hair and dragged his lips back to hers. They feasted on each other in the dark, the need rioting in his blood, strong enough where he could release without even entering her. With fumbling movements he released the fly of his breeches, hooked her legs on his waist, and notched the head of his cock at her scalding entrance without releasing her lips. He slid his hand around to her buttocks, lifted her slightly so he could have a firmer purchase, and flexed his hips, driving deep inside her.
She jolted, a pained whimper escaping her lips, before she bit into his bottom lip.
She was so wonderfully tight; sweat beaded on his brows. “Shhh,” he soothed. “You are wet enough to take me.” And God, she was wet. She soaked his cock and in the same breath, resisted his invasion.
“Tobias?” Her voice was husky with arousal and uncertainty.
“Relax,” he whispered against her lips, trying to move. “You are so damn tight, Olivia.”
She pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips. “Am I supposed to be this…this…tight?”
“Oh yes,” he groaned. “Hold on to me and do not let go.”
“Never,” she assured him with a soft sigh.
The promise had his mouth drying, then she shivered, her tightness rippling over him and crumbling his control. He withdrew and surged back in, deeply but with restraint. Her flesh became even more pliant to his cock, sheathing it as if it were made specifically for his thickness and length. She flinched, and he took her lips in a tender kiss. Using one hand, Tobias combed through her curls until he found her knot of pleasure. He held himself buried deep while he flicked and caressed it, teasing and tempting her to relax more. She grew slicker, and he took her lips again with a low groan of satisfaction. He slid his hands up to cup her breasts gently, his thumb caressing her hardened nipples through her thin chemisette.
“Tobias,” she gasped, her husky wail filled with rioting need.
Claiming her lips in a mimicry of his thrusting hips, he hitched her legs higher around his waist and thrust even deeper. She convulsed, tightening even more around his length. With a soft cry, she surrendered, and with a groan, Tobias emptied his seed in her.
Their harsh breathing rasped against his skin in the darkened closet, and his heart was a war drum in his ear. He wished there was a light so he could see her face. What was she thinking? Hell, what had he been thinking? And that was the problem. He hadn’t been thinking, only feeling and experiencing the utter delight of being in her arms.
He’d completely lost his self-control and the notion froze his soul. Tobias had to marry her, but how could he marry a woman who had completely destroyed his restraint in such a regard? He had made love to her in a linen closet in his home, which currently held over a hundred guests, his mother, sister…and his mistress.
Good God.
He gently pulled himself from Olivia, fishing his handkerchief from his pocket and tenderly cleaning her.
She gasped and grabbed on to his wrists. “I can do this myself,” she muttered.
He cupped her cheek with his other hand and from the heat he surmised she was blushing. “Olivia—”
“No,” she hissed fiercely. “I know what you are thinking and I assure you it is not necessary. No one but us knows and we shall keep it that way. The world cannot know I’ve been ruined.”
He rocked back on his heels, completely stunned. He waited for relief to fill him, but only felt annoyance that she would reject his offer before he’d even made it. Anger filled his veins. She shimmied off the small table, and he winced when a sob caught in her throat.
“What was I thinking?” she whispered almost to herself. A finger jabbed his chest hard. “You don’t even like me.”
A true enough statement. He had no defense and Tobias was almost afraid to analyze the manner in which she ensnared his desires.
“And I am quite certain you do not like me,” he rebutted softly. Then why had she given herself to him so sweetly, so wantonly? Why was he craving her touch even now, her taste?
Another soft exhalation filled the air. “Excuse me, I must get to my chamber right away,” she muttered and wrenched the door open.
Damnation. In her haste, she’d not thought to ensure the hallway was clear. He hurried after her, grateful there were no guests in the corridor. He had to make his position clear. Honor demanded they wed, and even now she could be with his child. He stumbled and the hand he scrubbed over his face shook. The vision of Olivia swollen with his child was…frightfully appealing.
“Olivia, wait,” he snapped.
She ignored him, almost running in her haste to get away from him. He felt like a heel. How in God’s name had they lost such control over their passions? How had he lost such control? He was the one with the experience…he should have been more protective and considerate with her burgeoning passion. Instead, he had stoked the flames and ruthlessly used her inexperience to satiate his lust.
He infused cold command in his voice. “Lady Olivia, wait!”
She jerked to a halt, and as he reached her he realized it was because his mother, his sister, and unluckily, Lady Peabody were frozen staring at Olivia. His mother looked back and forth between them and awareness dawned on her face. It was not the timing of them being seeing together in the corridor alone but the fact that Olivia’s hair was a mess, most of the pins having been dislodged. Her dress was obviously crumpled and her lips were red and swollen from his kisses. He had no notion of what his appearance was like, but she had gripped his hair and his jacket several times. There was no escaping the fact that they had been very intimate.
“Upon my word!” Lady Peabody exclaimed, speculation, glee, and then pity crossing her face. “Are you not the young lady whose father killed himself?”
Olivia’s eyes became shadowed and a flush of angry embarrassment colored her cheeks. “And what of it?” she demanded staunchly.
Lady Peabody narrowed her eyes. “You are very decisive, aren’t you?”
“That I am, my lady, and I will make
no apology for it.”
“How unseemly!”
Francie hurried over to Livvie’s side and gripped her hand.
Lady Peabody squared her shoulders. “Your father—”
“You will hold your tongue in all matters relating to my intended,” Tobias bit out with dangerous softness. “Or you will experience the full measure of my displeasure, Lady Peabody.”
His mother’s lips trembled and disapproval flashed in her gaze, and even Lady Peabody appeared stunned. Of course, it was expected that he would walk away, for Olivia was inferior to him in connections, wealth, and bloodlines. There was no doubt the second that Lady Peabody had her first drawing room meeting, the gossip would start to circulate. Olivia would be irrevocably ruined because of his loss of control. Scandal would touch the Blade name because of his weakness.
“There was no announcement,” Lady Peabody said primly.
“I’ve just made it,” he said flatly.
She gasped, and his mother paled.
“Tobias—”
“Mother, please,” Francie interjected. “Livvie and I will be downstairs shortly. She must freshen up.”
Olivia’s face was so pale he feared she was in danger of fainting. Without waiting for the dowager countess’s response, Olivia walked past them with her head held high, but he could see the fine trembling of her hands at her side. Regret twisted in his gut like a knife. Once again his loss of control over his passions had ruined someone’s life, and invited scandal to his family. Intolerable. He had to make it right.
“You cannot think to marry her, Tobias,” his mother gasped quite dramatically, affecting a swoon. Lady Peabody rushed to offer her shoulder as a prop.
He remained unaffected by her theatrics. “Should we take this someplace private?” he asked smoothly, strolling past them. A few minutes later, he entered the library without encountering any more guests. He should have allowed Olivia to leave the closet alone, then sought her out after he was sure the guests were abed. Though she would have still been ruined, considering her disheveled and ravished appearance. They would simply not have known the gentleman to affix the deed to. Somehow, he knew that she would never have revealed his name.
