The Notorious Proposal

by Terry Long

  Fretfulness overcame her ability to think. Ally had to see Nana. The thought that Michael refused to let her leave whirled in her mind, and her head swam with nervousness and dread. “Yes, I am. I am!”

  He shrugged. “If you say so.”

  She gritted her teeth. “I am leaving right now.”

  ***

  Lord, she was getting so flustered; he had to quit goading her. His hand moved up to cover one of her fists. “If you leave, you’ll miss your grandmother once she arrives later this evening.”

  He watched all the emotions play over her face with a smile. Her eyes trained on his blinked at least half a dozen times, her mouth parted.

  Opening up her little fist, Michael placed it flat against his chest, trying to pacify her, and perhaps settle her agitated nerves a little. “I highly suggest you wait for her here.” He ran the pad of his thumb over her bottom lip. “What do you say? Will you wait here?”

  As if she couldn’t find her voice, she nodded. Confusion dominated her face.

  Michael caressed her hips in an easy motion, striving to wipe off that ridiculous look she wore as she blinked up at him. “In that case, I believe a small token of appreciation is in order.”

  She remained as still as a marble statue.

  “Aren’t you pleased?”

  For the first time, Ally favored him with a bright, genuine smile full of gratitude and warmth. It melted his heart.

  “So you’ve made the arrangements?” she asked in a faint whisper.

  “I just did a moment ago. Now,” he said holding her tighter. Excitement escalated at an astonishing rate. His muscles went hard. “My token of appreciation?”

  Ally tried to hide a smile, but failed miserably. “Can’t you simply commit an act of kindness without asking for a favor in return?”

  He grinned. “But it’s a great deal more enjoyable this way, don’t you think?”

  Without answering, Ally’s hand crept up from his chest to his shoulders and she urged him down to her. Michael waited in anticipation, and when he finally received his reward, he frowned.

  Before she could pull away from his cheek, he shook his head. “Not like that, sweetheart. Like this.”

  He covered his mouth over hers hungrily, hotly, and a scorching surge of passion overtook his senses. He twined his fingers through her hair, wrapping them in his fist and gave it a gentle tug so her face tilted up to give him more access to her sweet lips. He couldn’t get enough of her delectable taste. He murmured tantalizing words into her mouth; all the things he wanted to do to her, all the things he wanted her to do.

  Ally felt as if her legs had turn to jelly. So powerful was his kiss, so unrelenting, so utterly delicious. She wanted more, and told him so, murmuring as best she could. Michael laughed against her lips before he tore his away.

  “Easy, love,” he said, peeling away her hands that tightened around his shoulders.

  Plucking her off the ground, Michael carried her to the bed, settling over her. “I want to make love to you, Ally.” He groaned with pleasure when his fingers found her womanhood, already damp with need. “You do like this, don’t you?”

  She wanted to say yes, and so much more, but she only managed a quick nod.

  “How much do you like this?”

  “I…Michael…”

  “How much? Tell me, and I won’t take this away from you,” he said, while to her absolute vexation, showed her by slightly withdrawing his fingers.

  Her hand abruptly stilled his. “No!”

  “No?” A playful smile tugged at his lips.

  “No.”

  “Then tell me how much you like this.” Circling his fingers around her pulsing nub, he insisted with eyes full of mischief, “Say it.”

  “Michael…”

  “Do you want me to stop?”

  She shook her head.

  “Then…tell me how much.”

  Heavens, he is a scoundrel. “Very much.”

  His smile broadened. “What was that now?”

  “I like it…very much.”

  “Wicked woman,” he murmured with a snicker.

  Lavishing kisses over her heated skin, he continued to pull up her bunched up morning dress and lifted it over her head until she was clad in nothing but his warm breath. “You’re incredibly…” he murmured in between phrases of his tender kisses, “soft.” He moved lower and placed another kiss on the base of her throat. “And supple.” Moving lower to the valley of her breast, he dropped another kiss there. “And warm…so exceptionally warm,” he finished just before taking a taut nipple into his mouth.

  Ally ran her fingers through his thick hair and held him there, all the while whimpering with pleasure. Michael shifted unhurriedly from one breast to another, licking, blowing, and nipping on her scorching skin. Then, he moved lower still, to the flat planes of her abdomen and scattered what felt like a million kisses there.

  Ally blurredly reflected that he had forgotten to shave this morning, and she was thankful for it, for his prickly beard aroused her like nothing she’d ever felt before. “Michael, I don’t think I can…”

  Dragging his mouth across her belly, he murmured, “You can.”

  “Please, Michael.”

  He tried to hide a smile by licking the curve of her navel, but she caught the white flash of his teeth as he grinned. Ally pulled at his arms, and he obliged, moving back up and covering her body with his own.

  “Fiend.”

  He chuckled and eased his head down, kissing her with much enthusiasm. His mouth was searing and blatantly possessive. Slowly, his fingers eased down the length of her body until he reached her very core. Then he slipped one finger inside, and Ally shut her eyes. His deft fingers probed and teased until she writhed and moaned. He didn’t stop until she was well out of breath.

  “And I’m the wicked one?” Ally asked when he finally tore his mouth from hers to nibble on her earlobe.

  Michael kissed her closed eyes. “I’m not finished with you, sweetheart. Don’t you dare fall asleep.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.” She sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. He slid in her with one smooth drive and she gasped, clenching tightly around him.

  “You feel so good,” he said through gritted teeth. When he withdrew and embedded his entire length inside her once again, all her thoughts were lost. He pulled out partially, and then plunged, each time with newfound fervor. Michael took her, claimed her.

  Ally grabbed his shoulders as she let out sexy little whimpers and moans; it drove him mad with pleasure. He buried himself in her and drew out every stroke faster than the last, lifting her higher and higher until her moans became ragged and torn. She was enticingly hot for him; it didn’t take him long before he found his own release. He groaned with each powerful thrust, rattling the headboard deafeningly in his wake, until he spilled his seed.

  Gathering Ally into his arms, Michael arranged her so that his wife’s head rested atop his chest and her body tucked beside his. A long moment stretched in silence, save for their uneven breaths before he asked, “Did I please you?” He knew she barely had enough strength left in her to move. As her droopy eyes met his, he gave her a wink.

  She laughed. “Fiend.”

  Michael flipped her onto her back. “It’s ogre,” he reminded her as he lowered his mouth to her throat.

  “Michael, that tickles!”

  The sound of her laughter was new to his ears; he couldn’t get enough of it. As he continued to disregard her feeble pleas to quit nuzzling her neck, Michael savored the hearty tune that left her throat. It left his heart warm and heavy.

  “All right, all right, fine! Ogre it is,” she said in between quick breaths of uncontrollable laughter.

  “And you didn’t answer my question.”

  “What?” she asked with a crooked smile he found adorable.

  “You know what.” His wife was blushing again, and Michael couldn’t keep from kissing her. “You embarrass easily,” he told her in be
tween his fleeting drops of kisses. Then he stared into her beautiful, violet depths, trying to read what she might be thinking.

  The warmth he felt in his body didn’t come from the heat of hers lying beneath him. No, this heat came from the pit of his stomach and worked its way up, higher and higher, and stopped precisely in the core of his chest. She was so beautiful. So perfect. She was his. And she satisfied him like no other woman ever had. “You were damn good,” he blurted.

  To his satisfaction, Ally turned a shade darker, her lips turning up bashfully. She averted her gaze to his chin. “You said that before.”

  Michael stiffened on top of her. Yes, the first time. “Ally,” he whispered, cupping her face with one palm of his hand. “I’ve never forced a woman before. I don’t know how it happened with you. I’m sorry. It will never—”

  Her eyes widened. “Forced me?”

  “Yes. You told me to stop, but I…I couldn’t. And I’m so sorry.” He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. “I promise it will never happen again.”

  Ally wrinkled her nose. “You didn’t force me, you dolt.”

  “I did.” Tautness ran down his whole being. He’d never felt more disgusted with himself. Before he could roll off her, Ally clamped his shoulders, causing him to become immobile.

  She shook her head. “Believe me, you didn’t. And I rather enjoyed it.” She smiled up at him.

  This, he had wanted for so long: Ally, happy, bestowing him bright, sparkly eyes full of joy and contentment and…

  She began to color under his close scrutiny.

  “I want to always see you blush,” he decided aloud. And God knew if he wanted something, he was going to get it. I’ll make you content, Ally. Always. He dropped a light kiss against her nose. Everything about her appealed to him.

  “I simply cannot blush on command if you must know,” she told him earnestly, but stared over his shoulder instead of holding his gaze. Both her hands placed on his chest moved in soothing motions.

  With one strong hand, he seized hers, pinning them over her head, and whispered, “Oh, yes, you can.” His blunt fingers moved to where he was convinced would make her blush, and he grinned when he heard her heave in a sharp gasp. “You’re blushing,” he murmured as his gaze searched her color-heightened face.

  Finally giving in to his fierce desire to claim her again, Michael quit his teasing and vigorously set out to make Ally call out his name for sweet release once more.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Michael lay in his wife’s bed, spent, content, and thoroughly pleased with himself. His little wife was like a capricious lightning bolt when she came; crying out his name, digging her fingernails into his shoulders. He would wear her scratches for days.

  A faint snore sounded from her that might as well have belonged to a baby. Michael tightened his arms around the slim form sprawled over him. Though she appeared delicate and gentle, her temper and lovemaking were another matter, altogether. Smiling over her head, Michael brushed a light kiss on her forehead before easing her onto her back. She mumbled a few incoherent words and snuggled closer to his side.

  As he brushed her hair back, Michael wondered how he ever believed her to be self-absorbed. He’d never been so wide off the mark about anything in his life. If he had paid closer attention to her actions in the past, he would have realized how ethically worthy she was.

  Michael nuzzled her. Never had he imagined he would ever feel this content with a woman. His woman. His beautiful, compassionate…maddening woman. God, how he loved her!

  The mere notion of how he could love someone so considerably made him feel powerful- the sort of power he never presumed existed. At the moment, Michael believed he could accomplish anything, such as fight a feral beast- had there been one pacing the grounds somewhere; or conquer Scotland- if he had the mind to rule it. Perhaps, he’d hand the country over to his king. Hell, he felt so strong, he could even keep Cook’s mutton down. Or maybe not.

  He wanted to shake Ally awake, share with her this newfound emotion wreaking havoc inside. He didn’t have the heart to disturb her, of course. So, instead, he studied her rosy-pink, soft-to-the-touch, all warm and kissable face.

  “How I love you,” he murmured while stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers. Ally was dead to the world, letting his hoarse, loving whispers fall on deaf ears.

  After kissing her brow, he eased off the bed and donned his clothing. He glanced one last time at her before slipping out of the room, leaving her to doze a while longer.

  ***

  Ally, still feeling languid from their recent lovemaking, approached Michael’s study with a sense of anticipation. Matthews intercepted her in the hall and bowed low. Did his eyes twinkle? Did everyone know what happened? Ally could feel the heat bloom on her cheeks.

  Matthews opened the door. “Milady.”

  Michael looked up from his desk. At her husband’s expression, her whole body warmed, including her heart.

  He looked very handsome when he was in a good mood; his eyes practically lit up the room, his sensual mouth turned up at the corners. Ally smiled upon realizing his hair stuck out in complete, adorable disarray. The white cotton shirt he donned was rolled up at the sleeves, giving her a nice view of his bronzed forearms. Although his was much too bulky and sinewy for polite Society, she found she liked him just this way.

  “Come here,” Michael said, fixing his steady gaze on her. His voice sounded thick as honey. Had he not winked, Ally’s knees would not be on the verge of bucking.

  “I believe he means you, milady.”

  Ally’s attention flew to Matthews, whom, she noticed, appeared quite content, if the way he rocked on his heels was any indication. She’d never seen him act out of order such as now. She gave him a warm smile. “I do believe he meant me as well.”

  The butler dipped his head and gestured for her to enter. Once she stepped inside the room, he clicked the door shut behind her.

  Ally stood gazing at her husband, suddenly bashful. Michael crooked a finger at her. His mouth curved up with wickedness, flourishing her body with escalating waves of pleasure.

  She approached with caution; his eyes were fair warning. It trained on her, penetrating, dissecting, gleaming. Her head swam with a mixture of nervousness and excitement. As soon as she reached his side, Michael gathered her into his lap and promptly put his mouth to her neck.

  Ally squirmed. “I did not expect that.”

  “Exactly my intention,” he murmured against her skin.

  “That feels…so-”

  “Good?”

  She nodded, snaking her arms around his neck to urge him closer. “Tickles, too.”

  “Mmm. Does it?” He drew her tight up against his broad chest.

  She burrowed nearer to his warmth. “But I like it.”

  He caught her by the flare of her hips and stilled her. “I know.” Tracing her lower lip with his thumb, causing a feathery-light sensation to flip inside her stomach, he asked, “How did you sleep?”

  “You left.”

  “You fell asleep, love. And in my way of thinking, you needed it immensely.” He sounded arrogant when he added, “I exhausted you.”

  Ally looked up in time to catch his broad grin and the twinkle dancing in his eyes. He looked overly-proud and smug. And the worst sort of cad. She couldn’t stifle her laughter. “You’re impossible!”

  He planted a brief kiss on her lips. “So lovely.” Then he bent his head for another. This time, it lasted longer…and was much more beguiling. His tongue demanded, and she sought to grant him everything he wished. The sharp, tanginess of spice much like cinnamon drifted over her senses. All of a sudden, Ally had an odd craving for apple pie.

  Michael shifted her over his arousal, arranging her, then rearranging her, and finally, stirred underneath her, as if a comfortable position could not be found. A groan escaped him when she pulled away. Ally smiled at his disheveled condition. His eyes were glazed with desire, his breath, chopp
y and harsh.

  She was exceedingly proud of herself. He was the experienced one. Ally wanted to see how far she could go to make him lose all self-control. She inched closer and writhed in his lap.

  “I advise you don’t move like that or…”

  He left the unfinished words suspended. On purpose. She could tell that now, he did possess all his control by the confident, crooked smile on his handsome face.

  He lifted a hand to her breasts, thoroughly kneading one in his palm. Ally gasped and hauled his arm down, clasping it firmly atop her lap.

  Although his touch elicited such wondrous commotion, she believed she ought to say something, for propriety’s sake. They weren’t in a bedchamber, after all. “Someone will see,” she said, even as her belly flip-flopped.

  Michael grinned and nodded toward the shelves behind him. “You mean all those books?”

  “Michael.” She couldn’t suppress her smile.

  “All these documents then.”

  To her embarrassment, a rupture of giggles exploded, none that had ever sounded so hearty. She gnawed on her lower lip to restrain the rest of the silliness from escaping. “If someone opens the door-”

  “Matthews knows better.”

  “But Michael…in here?” God, she felt so breathless. And excited. And eager. But she’d never let him know that.

  ***

  Michael smiled in approval when she sagged against him. He lowered his mouth to hers, the need to taste her, deliciously plaguing him. Something different engulfed every vein and cell in his body. Generally, a kiss would be a prelude to sex, but this had nothing to do with the act, and everything to do with the woman.

  She stirred him like nothing he’d ever experienced before. One innocent touch, one simple kiss, exhilarated him to no end. He caught Ally’s moan against his lips and a scorching heat rushed forward, taking residence in the pit of his stomach. The hairs on his arms stood erect. As did other parts of him. Ally whimpered when he massaged the insides of her thighs and she wriggled to get closer.