The Earl's Bride

by Joanne Wadsworth

  “He mentioned a foreseer to me this morning as well.”

  “Is that why you’re here?” She swayed into him, their bodies brushing each other’s. “To ask me about Anteros?”

  “Anteros? You’re calling him by his given name?”

  “Yes, it seemed only right since we’ll be spending time together.”

  “I don’t want you spending any time with him.”

  “You don’t have a say in the matter, unless you’ve changed your mind about staking a claim on me.” She lifted her chin, in that defiant way which he both adored and detested.

  “No, that I’ll never do.”

  “Then I’ll spend time with him as I please.”

  “There is passion between us. You can’t deny it.”

  “Which is what I told you in your library.” She grumbled under her breath. “I won’t allow you to use my own words against me. Clearly, you’re still rather randy.”

  “Terribly so.” He swept in and kissed her, one deeply needful kiss he couldn’t halt or control.

  “James.” She clutched ahold of his lapels. “Cease your jealousy. There is only one man I desire, and that man is you.”

  “I want you, but I can’t have you,” he whispered against her lips. “Not while death and danger darkens my door.”

  “What if we could set aside all that has happened? What if the war never raged, if there was never a need for you to join the hussars, if a murderer hadn’t stolen the lives of your loved ones, if love and peace prevailed?” Her gaze pleaded with his. “Tell me we’d be together.”

  “We would be together,” he admitted. “Although all those things have happened, and I can’t keep you completely and utterly safe unless I keep you far away from me.”

  “Yet here you are, still wanting me the same way I want you.” Her blue eyes softened, a smile lighting them from within. “I hope you don’t think me a hoyden, but there is a bed only a few steps away, and I’d like you to stay with me so we can talk.”

  “The last thing I want to do right now is talk.” Looking deep into her eyes, he removed his greatcoat and tossed it and his hat onto her corner floral armchair. “I shouldn’t have ridden here tonight. All I’m doing is drawing you deeper into the chaos surrounding me.”

  “If you don’t want to talk, then what do you want to do?” Her eyelashes swept down to her high cheeks then back up again, her soft murmur that of a siren’s whisper.

  “Make you mine, Sophia.”

  Chapter 8

  “I’m already yours, James.”

  Sophia spread one hand over his chest, her heartbeat pounding against her ribcage.

  “If anything happened to you because I didn’t take enough care with your safety, then I’d gladly slit my own throat so you remained out of harm’s way.” He wound a long lock of her golden hair around his fist and kept her imprisoned against him.

  “I’m safe right now.” Her head spun, both from his immense closeness and the headiness of his powerful touch. “Stake your claim.”

  “You truly wish for me to do so?”

  “Yes.” He’d kissed her only moments ago and sent her mind spinning, her desire flaring. She certainly understood he wouldn’t be able to make a formal offer for her, but if he made her a promise from his heart which she could hold onto, then doing so would be just as powerful. Slowly, she eased his jacket from his shoulders and let the fabric slide to the floor where it crumpled into a heap. No faltering. She would show him with her actions exactly how much she loved him. She unknotted his cravat, tossed it aside then flicked his shirt buttons open before smoothing over the hard muscles of his abdomen, his torso strong and rigidly firm. On her toes, she touched her mouth to his, her fingers digging into his muscled flesh.

  “You will be the end of me. I’m certain of it.” Groaning, he caught her head in his hands and took their kiss deeper, longer, an entwining of their very souls. “I want to devour you, Sophia, but I won’t ruin you.”

  “Devouring sounds delicious.”

  “You need to cease encouraging me.” He nudged her backward, not toward the bed, but until her back came up against the wall, the rigid lines crossing his belly tightening so magnificently.

  “I trust you.” She’d given him her trust the first day they’d met, when he’d caught her as she’d toppled from a wooden pail while trying to rescue a wee kitten from its precarious perch between two branches. Never would she take that trust back.

  “Then let me show you the woman I see before me, the one I wish to stake my claim of, the one I shall always adore.” He loosened the laces at the neckline of her nightgown and slid the fabric down her arms. The ivory linen caught at her elbows, her breasts spilling free, then gently, he turned her to face the tall-standing oval mirror propped in one corner.

  Her reflection shimmered back at her. She stood bared to her waist, the man at her back shirtless and a head taller than her, the light from the glowing fire glittering in his passion-filled eyes. He trailed a finger along the arch of her brow down to the sweeping hollow of her cheek then along her jaw. She tingled everywhere he touched.

  “You’ve skin as pale as alabaster and as soft as satin.” A sweep of his hand down her neck, his voice low and husky, his gaze moving over her breasts. “You’re so beautiful.”

  Her skin heated, her cheeks flushing, her nipples hardening into tight peaks. She’d bathed in a tub in this very spot, the fire roaring, and countless times she’d stepped clear of that tub and dressed before her mirror. She’d seen her body, each and every curve, but with his gaze upon her, she saw herself differently for the first time in her life.

  She saw herself as a woman being looked upon by a man.

  She saw what he saw.

  Desire. Need. Love. All shining in her eyes.

  She tipped her head to the side and rested it back against his shoulder, her back arched and breasts pressing forward.

  James dipped his head to her neck, his dark hair sweeping forward over his brow.

  She gasped as he nuzzled her flesh, as he lifted his hands and cupped her breasts.

  “I want to bring you pleasure, my sweet Sophia.” Nibbling on her earlobe, he kneaded her breasts. “Will you allow it?”

  “Yes, by all means, please continue.” So many sensations roared through her, all she desperately desired.

  “I want to suck on your breasts.” He grinned wickedly as he stepped around in front of her. “Does that request shock you?”

  “Yes.” Heat throbbed between her legs. “But in a good way.”

  “I want to lavish attention on you.” Head bent, he wrapped his mouth around her nipple while he gently pinched the other.

  As he took the tender tip deeper into his mouth, his dark head an alluring contrast against her pale skin, she gripped his shoulders and held on tight.

  “My sweet, this is why ladies are never permitted to be alone with a man.” He licked across to her other breast, his tongue tracing the heart-shaped mole above her heart as he did. Tingles raced across her skin, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

  More sucking, so deeply delicious.

  She melted, although all too soon he swept back around to her back, his gaze once more on hers in the mirror, his gaze burning with desire. “I need to see you fall apart in my arms. Say yes, that I might have my wicked way with you.”

  “Yes.” No hesitation. She wanted everything he could give her.

  “Thank you.” He pushed her nightgown past her elbows and the cotton slithered to the floor, leaving her completed bared to his gaze.

  She squeezed her eyes shut, shock and desire pulsing through her in equal waves.

  “If you want me to stop, simply say so.”

  “No, if you stop, I shall never speak to you again.” She opened her eyes and peeked at her reflection. Longs legs, curved hips, and golden curls covered her entrance below, his gaze moving over all of her.

  “You’re such a vixen, my vixen.” He swept his fingers along her inner thig
h and gently nudged her legs farther apart. With soft butterfly nips, he trailed his lips across her collarbone and into the sensitive curve where her shoulder and neck met.

  Anticipation thrummed through her.

  Being held in his arms was spellbinding.

  He pressed his palm flat to her belly then speared his fingers downward into her curls. One finger dipped between her folds and nestled there. She held her breath and leaned back against him, then when he rubbed her nub, she gasped, her legs trembling.

  She’d touched herself there before while bathing, had found the spot sweetly sensitive, but with him touching her in the same spot, everything was different. She gripped his outer thighs through his buff breeches as something devilishly hard prodded her lower back. “Can I touch you?” she whispered. “The same way you’re touching me?”

  “No, otherwise I’ll come in my breeches. I’m already extremely close to doing so and I won’t allow that. Your pleasure comes first.”

  “How does a man come?” She couldn’t help but ask the question, particularly when she wanted no secrets between them. “Will you tell me?”

  “A man, when he reaches the pinnacle of his passion”—he pushed his hips firmer into her back, the bulge somehow even larger—“comes by way of release, ejaculating semen from his cock. It’s a thick whitish substance and should I release that inside of you, it could leave you with child, which would cause you ruin, and which I will never do.”

  “I see.”

  “But you can come at my hand, and find pleasure.” He plunged his finger deep inside her channel.

  “Oh my.” She closed her eyes as sheer pleasure stormed through her.

  He sucked on her earlobe, his fingers rubbing inside her lower flesh.

  Never had she experienced such heavenly heights as this. She moaned, and he stroked her harder and faster. So deliciously fast. Everything went dark and her core sparked and caught alight. A fire of desire roared through her and she soared clear of her body, catapulting to the very stars. Dizzy, her legs buckled and—

  “I’ve got you.” He caught her up in his arms and carefully laid her on her bed. With his boots kicked off, he unbuttoned the front of his breeches. Standing beside her bed, he held his handkerchief over his freed cock and pumped himself in long pulls.

  “Kiss me,” she whispered, needing him closer.

  “I can’t, or else I’ll toss this cloth and push my cock inside you. I want to, Sophia, more than I could ever express with words.” He increased his speed, his breath coming more rapidly, then he gritted his teeth, his body convulsing. Growling low, he jerked and leaned over her. He pressed his forehead to her forehead, his handkerchief wet with his seed. “Giving you up, will never be an option, not anymore. As soon as I’ve completed my investigations and sorted out this mess surrounding me, I will make you my wife. Say yes, that you’ll wait for me, for however long it takes.”

  “Yes, I’ll wait for you, for forever long it takes.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged him down onto her. She kissed his jaw, his ear, his bare shoulder. “I love you, James.”

  “I love you too.” He swept a lock of her hair behind her ear then kissed her with an open-mouthed kiss that had her clinging to him with breathy moans.

  “You looked so stunning when you came. I shall never forget that moment, not for the rest of my days.” He lifted up a touch, fastened his breeches then settled back over top of her. “One of us needs to remain at least partially clothed, and that shall be me.

  “I shan’t forget the moment you came either.” She tickled her fingers over his bare chest, then down each indent lining his belly, his midsection packed with muscle. “I love touching you. I fear I’m becoming a wanton woman.”

  “You can be as wanton as you like with me.” He rolled them both over until she came up on top of him, her breasts pressing into his chest. With one arm curved around her waist, he settled his other hand over one lower cheek and stroked a small circle with his thumb across her skin.

  White-hot flames danced back to life within her. “You took me to a place far beyond my own body.” She trailed a finger along his lush lower lip. “I adored it.”

  “You are learning how to be a seductress rather quickly.” He gripped her hips, lifted her bodily higher and fastened his mouth over one nipple. “Which I love,” he muttered as he swept to her other nipple and sucked that one deep between his lips.

  “My lord, I do agree with the way you stake your claim.”

  “I believe I agree with it far more.”

  He crushed her in his arms and kissed her wildly, as if trying to take her into his very heart and soul, which he already had. Never did she wish to be anywhere else.

  Chapter 9

  A few hours later, not long before dawn, Donnelly had to force himself to pull Sophia’s nightgown over her luscious body and leave her bed. He grumbled as he donned his shirt over his breeches, knotted his cravat and buttoned his jacket, all while she smiled with her head on her pillow and her golden locks in complete disarray. “Do we have an understanding?” he asked her from the side table where he’d secured a piece of paper from the top drawer and dipped her quill into the ink bottle.

  “What understanding would that be?” Such a sultry smile as she pushed her elbow into the mattress and settled her head in her upturned palm.

  “That Bourbon and I will be doing our damnedest to hunt down the thief and killer, and that once justice has been served, then I can return to claim you as my wife.”

  “Oh, we most certainly have that understanding.” Her blue eyes twinkled with devilish merriment.

  “Good.” He scrawled across the paper, the comfort of writing to her as he did each morning instilling some calm in him before he had to leave her.

  My dearest Sophia,

  Last night you came apart in my arms and being the cad I am, I wish only to return to you each night henceforth, so I might pleasure you again in every possible way there is to pleasure a woman. Clearly, I can no longer refrain from taking liberties with you, not when you bewitch me at every turn. That said, you must not answer my call again should I toss acorns at your window. I beg this of you, otherwise I shall be placing your life in danger when that is something I have no intention of ever doing. Give me the time I need to track down the killer. That is all I’m asking.

  Yours with complete devotion,

  James.

  “What are you writing?” Her questioning words were slightly slurred, her need for sleep clear to hear. Not surprising. He hadn’t allowed her any rest since he’d arrived.

  “A letter, which you must read, then I shall take it with me.” Such a discriminating note couldn’t remain where one of her household might stumble upon it. No, when he arrived home, he would add it to his locked box of letters.

  Returning to her side, he handed her the missive and stood waiting with his hands clasped behind his back and hopefully a stern expression on his face.

  “All right. I shall read it.” A plump of her pillows as she rested her back against them. With the parchment in hand, she read, a frown slowly taking away her smile. Carefully, she folded the paper in three and handed it back to him, her frown remaining in place. “All I’ve read is completely understandable.”

  “Thank you. Agreeing to my request is incredibly important.” He slotted the letter into his inner jacket pocket.

  “James, I said understandable, not that I’m in full agreement. Every day you are left wondering who killed your father and brother, if perhaps you’re their next target, but you shouldn’t cease living your life. I can’t possibly turn you away should you toss acorns at my window.”

  “I will never allow any harm to come to you.”

  “There are so many men, women, and children dying due to this dratted war. For goodness’ sake, women wed and can perish in childbirth. Does that mean those women should never lie with their husbands? If one doesn’t look where one walks, they might step into the path of a carriage. Does that mean we s
hould never leave our homes?” She shuffled onto her knees, her nightgown pulling against her front then she rose up onto her feet and eyed him nose to nose. “Life isn’t set in stone, so one must take happiness where one can get it. You bring me happiness. I will take that at every possible opportunity.”

  “It is also the right of any man to ensure the protection of his family.”

  “I’m not yet your family.” She jabbed a finger into his chest. “Before my papa passed away, he told me that one should always fight for what is right in our world and to never give up on those we cherish. I finally understand exactly what he meant. Even though you don’t wish for my aid in your current battle, I must offer it all the same. Everything within me demands it.”

  “I have buried my father and brother, well before they should have ever gone to their graves. I won’t bury you as well.” He palmed her nape and drew her mouth to his. He kissed her, with all the desire and fury swelling deep within him. “I want to make you my wife, Sophia, and I will, but I need more time. That’s all I’m asking for. Remain where you’ll be safe until I claim you fully, with all that I am.”

  “My heart ceases to beat when you kiss me.” She clung to him. “I can’t lose you.”

  “I can’t lose you either.”

  “I don’t like that you’re leaving.” She caught her breath and pressed a hand to his heart, her fingers firm over his chest.

  “I must leave. Daylight looms.” He firmed his resolve and stepped away from her. He opened the door, his heart squeezing tight. The last thing he wanted to do was leave her, only he had no other choice.

  “Wait, James. Let me check that all remains clear.” She snuck off her bed, eased past him and peeked into the darkened hallway, then with a nod, gripped his hand and escorted him downstairs the same way they’d traversed up.

  He allowed it, needing these last few moments with her.

  At the side entrance near the kitchens, he slipped on his greatcoat and stuffed his hat on his head. No more could he delay. The skies were lightening, dawn so terribly close.