Heart in Hiding (The Six Pearls of Baron Ridlington Book 6)

by Sahara Kelly

  He pulled a chair close to the fire and hung her shawl over it, and she realised he was warming it.

  “My Gran did this years ago when my Grandad hurt his back. I do remember thinking what a good idea it was and sometimes she’d warm a bit of cloth for me too, just so I could be like Grandad.”

  He smiled as he told her the story and she smiled back. Given all the bad memories he’d been hit with, at least this was a good one.

  Within moments he was beside the bed. “Turn over. Lie on your stomach, Hecate. This will help you feel better.”

  Carefully, she did as she was told.

  Then screeched as he pulled up her nightgown on one side and bared one entire leg and half her backside to his gaze.

  “Finn…”

  *~~*~~*

  “Hush,” said Finn, placing the hot wool on her leg and buttock. Her very lovely, curvaceous, white buttock. The one he’d like to sink his teeth into, and one of a matched set he could almost feel filling his hands as he sank himself into the heat between her legs.

  He gulped. This might not have been a good idea. He wanted to help, but it might well be at the cost of his control.

  “Finn…” Hecate groaned. “That feels sooo good.”

  All right then. It’s eased her pain. I can die a happy man—a victim of unfulfilled lust.

  Her body relaxed, visibly, and he could see the lingering remnants of criss crossing scars down the outside of her thigh. Gently he brushed his fingertip over them. “It was bad, wasn’t it?”

  She took a breath. “Yes, yes it was.”

  “A carriage accident, I believe you said?” He continued to stroke the soft marred skin.

  “Yes.” Her body moved a little and she turned her head toward him on the pillow. He couldn’t meet her gaze, but her eyes were open.

  “I’m sorry.” What else was there to say?

  “It was my fault.” She swallowed. “I was a fool to believe a man whose words were lies. I’d plead youth and naïveté, and those played a role, but of all people, I should have known better.”

  “Your instincts failed you?”

  “I never asked them,” she replied, a dry note in her voice. “I persuaded myself I was in love. That all his whispered promises and endearments were true. I wanted to believe it…I wanted to have the same things my family were finding at last. The right person, the right mate. A love for life.”

  Finn eased his hip down on the bed beside her, liking that she wriggled a little and made room for him. It was so natural, so easy to talk with her. This time it was her turn to talk, and his to listen.

  “Can you tell me what happened, Hecate?” It wasn’t just curiosity on his part, although a good measure of it was lurking in his brain. Finn genuinely wanted to know how she’d been so badly hurt. And how she’d survived.

  “It was at a ball,” she began. “London affairs are somewhat complex and chaotic, as you know, especially if it’s a crush. This one was. He…he asked me to marry him under the stars in the garden, as romantic a site as you could imagine.”

  She laughed, a harsh sound of self-loathing. “And I believed him. Believed all of it. He said his overwhelming love for me could not be contained; he hadn’t even bought a ring yet, but seeing me there, in the moonlight, just precipitated his emotional declaration.”

  “It must have been quite an experience for you.” Finn kept his voice noncommittal.

  “It was,” she nodded. “Of course I was swept away. He had a carriage at his disposal, he said. And before I knew it, we were away on the road North.” She made an odd sound, between a grunt and a groan. “How could I have been so stupid?”

  “Stop, sweetheart.” The endearment slipped out without Finn realising it. “Stop. The past is over. Gone. If telling it is bringing it back, then don’t go on. Let’s speak of other things.”

  “No, it’s all right.” She sighed. “And you’re correct. The past is indeed gone. Truly, there is little more to tell. Our carriage wasn’t as reliable as he’d thought. In fact, it had been sabotaged, on the orders of the very man who sat next to me. Just another example of his utter stupidity. So when the horses picked up speed, we rattled around an awful lot. He was angry because he had just begun to kiss me.”

  She shivered.

  Finn clenched his teeth.

  “I didn’t like that. Nor did I like the way he thrust his hands beneath my skirts. At that point I could smell the brandy on his breath, and the realisation set in that I was in trouble.” She paused. “A bit late, I’ll grant you, but at least I came to my senses. And then lost them when the wheel hit a rock, shattered, and the carriage ended up God knows where. I don’t remember anything else.”

  “And the man? Killed, I believe?”

  “Yes.”

  The room fell silent other than a few cracks and pops from the log on the fire.

  “It’s funny,” said Hecate after a moment or two. “I can barely remember his face. And I do feel sorry for him, because his death was mostly the result of his own greed. And his lust for me.”

  “Lusting for a beautiful woman should never lead to one’s death, love,” soothed Finn. “If it did, you’d be walking over corpses every time you took a stroll down Bond Street.”

  She laughed, a genuine and warm chuckle that made him smile. “You’re quite right.”

  “And now you’re walking here and there sometimes without your cane. Have you noticed?” Finn went back to stroking her leg, this time rubbing her calf from her ankle to her knee.

  “I didn’t at first,” she admitted. “It wasn’t until I realised that I had moved without bringing my cane with me, that it dawned on me. So much has been happening…I suppose my focus had been shifted to other matters, and I simply forgot. It turned out to be a good thing.”

  “All your visitors disturbing your tranquillity…” He allowed his hand to slide a little higher on the inside of her thigh.

  “Yes,” she gulped. “Um…Finn?”

  “Yes?”

  “Can I tell you something?”

  “Of course, love.”

  “I like what you’re doing.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “That’s good to hear, Hecate.” Finn’s voice was husky. “Because touching you is the most wonderful thing I could ever have imagined.”

  “It is?”

  “Oh yes.”

  She heard the smile in his tone and wanted to turn over and look at his face, but she was afraid to. Afraid that she wouldn’t see what she hoped might be there in his eyes.

  Desire.

  It ran through her like a river of fire, lighting up her nerves, ignited by the gentle touch of his hand on her skin. The way he’d talked to her, listened to her, asked honest questions and still sat with her…this time she trusted her instincts. They were all saying the same thing.

  Tonight. This is the night. This is the man.

  Gathering her courage, she rolled over, knowing she was revealing so much more than she should. But one look at his face reassured her.

  Even though the room was in shadows, she could see the glow in his eyes, the warmth radiating from him, and colours drifting around the bed. Reds and purples—the colours of desire.

  “Finn,” she whispered, holding out her hand. “Come to me.”

  He dragged his gaze away from her legs, even as his hand rose to cup the feminine curls. “I want to. So very much, Hecate.”

  His hand wrapped around her, searing her sex, making her quiver and dampen. “Then come.”

  “Are you sure?” He breathed the words, meeting her gaze with his own, eyelids lowered a little, his cheeks heating as he held her more tightly.

  “Oh God,” she moaned as the heel of his hand pressed into tender flesh. “Oh God, Finn, yes.”

  That was all it took.

  Even though she could feel the sensual excitement surrounding his body, he rose carefully, easing himself up beside her on the bed as she moved to give him room.

  “Hecate,” he whispered
. “I want you so much.”

  She reached for his face. “I know. I can feel how much…”

  Since his rock hard masculinity was pushing into her flesh, her comment was doubly accurate. She could indeed feel the tingles of his need as it washed over her, and the physical evidence of that need was probably going to leave a bruise.

  He kissed her then, allowing her to draw him to her.

  Softly at first, and then—as they parted their lips in mutual invitation—more forcefully, a hunger building in each of them that not even the deepest and most passionate of kisses could assuage.

  He raised himself on one elbow and struggled from his night garments. “I like the way you taste. Stardust and roses.”

  Hecate stretched out her hand and laid her palm on his chest. “I like the way you feel. Strong, warm—hard…”

  He chuckled, a rough sound that made her smile. “Sweetheart, I’m all of those. And you’re the reason why…”

  He straddled her and lifted her nightrail away from her in next to no time, leaving it tangled above her as she raised her arms. She was caught, and he pinned her with one hand at her wrists.

  “Ah, Hecate, love. This is how I dreamed you’d be…” He gazed at her nakedness, then swept his other hand from her cheek down over her breast to her hipbone. “Soft, smooth, like the finest silk a man could ever hope to touch…”

  “I want you, Finn. And I know now is the time. This is right, between you and me. It’s fate, destiny…call it what you will. Just know that I have no doubts. I’m sure.” She let her body relax underneath him. “I’ve seen us, Finn. Seen you as you push inside me, and seen myself taking you and wanting more.”

  He groaned at her words. “You can’t know what you’re doing to me, woman…”

  “I’m wanting you. That’s all.”

  “That’s everything,” he answered, and released her wrists.

  She arched her back as his lips found her breasts, sucking, teasing and toying with the ripe buds. His moves sent bolts of sizzling lightning to places low in her belly, making her gasp and writhe as he cupped her to tease a nipple more fully.

  A moan erupted from her throat as he slid down, keeping his thumbs flicking at the sensitive mounds but his mouth on her navel. She could never have imagined the wickedly wonderful sensation of a tongue ringing it and sending goose-bumps over her flesh.

  When he slid even further, releasing her breasts and sliding his hands beneath her bottom, she froze…waiting…waiting…knowing the next touch would be extraordinary.

  As he lifted her to his mouth, she whimpered and when he slid his tongue over damp and fragrant folds of flesh—she cried out, a soft sound of surprise and pleasure.

  There were no words for this, just sensation after sensation rippling through her body.

  He refused to let her go, but continued, faster now, lapping at places that made her writhe and sigh and want to howl for the joy of it all. His fingers held tight, his face stayed buried in her sex and at last he pushed her the last few lengths into her release.

  Her world exploded.

  *~~*~~*

  His world had narrowed down to blonde curls, honey sweet juices and the tang of something that was uniquely Hecate. He could have stayed where he was, tucked between her legs, for hours, just exploring the taste of her and the uniqueness of her body.

  He knew she was near and decided to start with her first release like this, courtesy of his tongue, right up against his face. He felt the spasms begin, but wasn’t prepared for the explosions of light that popped into the air around him. Quick sparkles, flashes of colours for which he had no name—it was as if all her magic also fell into the erotic vortex at the same time.

  Stunned, he moved back, watching it all fade way as Hecate’s journey to the peak of pleasure ended. “Hecate,” he murmured. “You are amazing…”

  “I want you inside me, Finn.” She breathed the words, her voice husky with passion. “Inside me. Filling me. Please…”

  He shared her desire. Her first release had loosened her, moistened her and would ease his way. But he’d be careful. She was a small woman, and he a fair-sized man.

  He touched her again as he settled himself over her. Her breasts were full, swollen, the nipples ruched and deep pink. Ringing them with his tongue, he felt her shudder. They were tender, he guessed, both from his mouth and from her release.

  Lifting himself up on his arms, he stared down at her. “You are so beautiful, love. But there is still time to change your mind…”

  Her eyes glowed at him, teal pools of mystery lit with a wondrous golden light. “I don’t need time and I won’t change my mind, Finn. It’s you. Since the moment I met you, it’s been you.”

  He nodded. “Lift your legs a little, then, sweetheart.” He nudged her with the head of his cock, fighting against a groan as her hot juices seared him. He might just die when he got inside. But by God he’d die happy.

  Pressing forward, her body opened for him. She was tight and it was a snug fit and when he reached the thin barrier, he paused. “This might hurt a bit, sweetheart. I’m sorry…”

  “Hush,” she whispered. “It will be all right. I couldn’t want you more than I do at this moment.”

  “I…” The words tapered away as he pressed further into her heat, finding the inner fire of her silken darkness robbing him of his breath. His heart spoke to her silently. “I love you, Hecate. Let me inside so I can show you how much…”

  Almost as if she’d heard, her lips parted on wide smile and she lifted to meet his thrust. With barely a murmur he was past her maidenhead and fully seated in her body.

  “Oh Finn…”

  “Yes, oh Hecate, Jesus…”

  She was fire and slick silk, a perfect fit, and when he finally surrendered to the urge to move, she picked up his rhythm and followed him, her inner muscles clasping him, her fingertips seizing his arms. “Finn, oh yes, Finn…more…”

  Her eyes closed as her body took over, bucking beneath him, encouraging him to let go of the gentle penetration and take her as a man would take the woman he loves.

  Before Finn knew it, he was pounding into her, groaning with pleasure, riding her to his peak with every thrust. She was with him all the way, her body finding its own rhythm so naturally that mutual moments of ecstasy crept up on them both.

  “Hecate…” he cried, his balls tight and hard, his cock straining inside her.

  “Now, Finn…now…”

  It was indeed now. Finn could take no more, and choked back a yell of completion. He froze, his cock flooding Hecate with his own heat, while she answered by clutching him with the spasms of her inner muscles as they found their own moment of release.

  Once again the air around them burst into lights and colours, like Whinyates’ rockets, exploding in some other world as two lovers rode together through a whirlwind of ecstasy.

  Finn discovered he was holding Hecate’s hand tightly, and her gaze met his through the brilliant display of magical energies.

  He caught his breath as his cock softened. “Hecate, love. Did I hurt you?”

  “Oh no.” She sucked in a breath. “That was…it was magnificent, Finn.”

  He sagged, exhausted but relieved she was all right. And with regret, he let himself slide from her body on a little waterfall of their combined liquids.

  Falling to her side, he chuckled. “I’ve heard it said that good loving can be explosive. This most certainly qualifies. I just wasn’t expecting to see real stars to go with it…”

  She laughed. “Yes, that was unexpected. But given that it was all so wonderful, I can’t say I’m surprised.”

  “Will it happen every time?” He turned his face to her, watching her expression of joy and—dare he put a name to it—love?

  “Well now, I don’t know.” She appeared to give it some thought, then grinned. “I suppose we’ll have to try again and find out.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Hecate looked forward to further experimenta
tion on the matter of blissful releases and amazing light manifestations, but it wasn’t to happen that night. She had to admit, after insistent questioning from Finn, that yes, she was a little sore.

  Despite her protests that it didn’t matter that much, Finn turned her on her side, tucked himself along her back and thus, neatly spooned, told her they had all the time in the world, and she should go to sleep now.

  She wasn’t sure that she could, since her recent experiences whirled in her mind like paintings on the wall of a gallery.

  Finn’s face as he loved her, the fever in his eyes when he first entered her, the way his body rocked her and the flush of his cheeks…all imprinted forever as memories to cherish and relive whenever she wanted. And yet they’d not talked very much. And after such an important moment, she knew they probably should.

  But the warmth of him, the weight of his arm around her and the sensation of his naked thighs beneath hers as he cuddled her…all took their toll and to her surprise she found herself relaxing into sleep.

  It wasn’t until she heard a murmur that she awoke to find it was already daylight.

  “I am sorry if this is your spot.” Finn was whispering. “But now it’s mine and you have to get used to it.”

  The only response was a mild rumble.

  She turned over to see Bub, sitting next to Finn, staring at him with an expression of confused disgust on his furry face.

  “It’s all right, Bub. Finn and I are quite all right.”

  Bub’s nose twitched once, and he dropped down on his haunches, leaning onto Finn’s chest and crossing his paws elegantly on the firm male bare flesh.

  The stare remained in place.

  “Er…Hecate? Do you think he likes me? Or is he sizing me up for breakfast?”

  She giggled. “I think he is assessing your position in his household.”

  “Ah.” The look he gave the cat was a mixture of friendliness and terror. “He’s heavy, you know. A solid lad.”

  Bub glanced at Hecate and closed his eyes slowly, opening them again after a moment or two. More rumbling followed.