by Gina Lamm
She narrowed her eyes at the bedroom door. “Ooh, that Mrs. K is crafty. She put the butler up to doing her dirty work. Well played, adversary, well played.”
“What?”
Jamie shook her head at Mike. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to Mrs. K tomorrow.”
He leaned forward, cupping her cheek softly. “I should not want you in this way. You are not a Cyprian; you are a lady. I should wed you before lying with you.”
She closed her eyes against the tiny flutter of hope that took root in her heart. Back home, that might have meant he loved her. But in this time? No. It wasn’t a declaration of anything other than that he was a gentleman. But if she wanted to discover his true feelings, then she’d have to ride this thing out.
“I’m not a lady,” she said, raising her hand to cover his. She squeezed it gently, enjoying the feel of his long, lean fingers. “I’m just me. And you’re just you. That’s all we have to think about right now.”
He closed the rest of the distance between them, pressing his lips to hers. The distance from her chair to his proved too far for either of them, and she was eager to stand when he pulled her against him. He shoved the robe from her shoulders, and the fabric pooled at her feet.
The single layer of her cotton nightgown was so much thinner than the dress and petticoats had been. Mike’s erection pressed plainly against her belly, burning hot against her. Her hips twisted against his as they kissed.
She wasn’t sure who maneuvered who to the bed, but she was thrilled to be lying on it. The heady feeling of Mike’s kisses and the alcohol still fogging her brain made it tough to keep on standing.
Mike’s body pressed her down into the softness of his bed, their mouths tangling wildly together. His tongue traced the line of her teeth, and his hands roamed her body hungrily.
“Jamie,” he rasped when he lifted his head. “If you are not sure about this, then I need to know immediately. I am only a man. I cannot…”
“Shut up and kiss me,” she said, pulling his head down to her. I’ve always wanted to say that. She smiled to herself as they got lost again in their kiss.
Their mouths, hands, arms, bodies tangled there on the sheets. Her fingers had gained enough feeling back in them that the buttons on his shirt presented less challenge than before. She managed to get three of them undone before popping the rest as she pulled the shirt free of his shoulders.
He ran his hand up her bare leg, beneath her nightgown. She shuddered at the feel of her hands on his shoulders, of his hand on her thigh, of the wet heat gathering at her core. She arched her back, pressing her breasts against him. The barrier of her nightgown irritated her. She wanted her bare breasts against his chest. She wanted to feel his naked body against hers. She wanted him, all of him.
He knelt between her legs as he shoved his shirt free from his arms. She let her eyes linger on the sight of his lean, strong body. His abdomen was lined with just the right amount of hair dusted across his pecs, thickening in a line that disappeared below his trousers. His broad shoulders trembled, a light sheen of sweat coating them. Backing off the bed, he stood, fingers poised at the waist of his trousers.
“Last chance, Jamie.” His voice was rough with passion. “If you do not stop me now, then I will not be able to.”
She smiled at him. Rising onto her knees, she lifted the nightgown over her head.
The breath that blew from him at the sight of her nude body was ego candy, pure and simple. His nostrils flared, his eyes went wide, and a hungry look crossed his face.
“I don’t want you to stop.”
He unfastened his trousers, all the while keeping his eyes trained on her. She leaned back, feeling womanly, sexy, and as desirable as she’d ever felt. When he pulled the tight black pants down, revealing his fully erect shaft, she blew out a breath of her own.
“You are incredible, Mike. Really incredible.”
He removed the trousers, leaving them in a heap on the wooden floor. He stood in front of her naked, erect, and completely unashamed. She felt a rush of heat to her core, wetness pooling in her center for him. She’d never been so aroused at the sight of a man before.
Mike came closer, standing at the edge of the bed.
“You are staring at me.”
She didn’t look away from that delicious object between his legs. “Yes, I am.”
He grew harder under her gaze. Oh Lord.
Her legs rubbed together in an unconscious bid for relief. Her body was tuned tighter than a guitar string.
He didn’t keep her waiting for long. When she held her arms out to him, he knelt on the bed, covering her body with his own.
She’d liked kissing Mike before. With layers and layers of clothes between them, it had nearly ignited her bloomers. But this, as their naked bodies were pressed flush one against the other, this almost made her die on the spot with want.
His hardness pressed against her belly, so hot she thought he’d burn her. Her hands roved the muscled planes of his back, down to his ass, up his lean hips, to his shoulders, and back again. His lips took possession of hers, lips, teeth, and tongue all engaged in pleasuring her. Her nipples, harder than they’d ever been, pressed against the soft hair on his chest, the tickling sensation beyond erotic to her fevered brain.
Mike rolled them so that Jamie was lying atop him. She lifted her head, lips swollen and tingling from their kiss. With a wicked smile, she straddled him.
“Ah!” A surprised moan escaped her at the feel of the slick head of his shaft rubbing against her wet heat. She ground her hips against him, savoring the feeling.
“Careful there,” Mike groaned, his fingers digging into her hips. “I’ll not last long that way.”
She leaned forward, her hair making a curtain around them. Pressing her lips to his neck, she kissed her way down it like he’d done to her. He tasted so good.
The strong lines of his collarbone, the firm muscles of his pecs, the flat masculine nipples—they all got her attention. She ran her hands all over his body, every place she could reach. He felt so good, his skin smooth, hot, and firm. When she reached behind her body, between his legs to cup him, his hips pushed upward, harder against her. She thought she’d die as his erection ground against her clit.
“Jamie,” he rasped.
She fondled him gently, the smooth, slightly cool skin feeling so good to her palm. She was so focused on the hand that was occupied with caressing him that his touch on her breasts took her by surprise.
He captured them both, hands firm but gentle upon her flesh. He flicked both hardened nipples with his thumbs, pinching and rolling them slightly as she moaned.
With regret, she released him and leaned forward to press her hands against Mike’s chest.
“What are you doing to me?” she cried softly, clamping her thighs tightly against his hips.
“Only what you asked for,” he said, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her down to him.
It wasn’t her mouth he was after this time though.
Bracing her hands on either side of his neck, she supported her body while he positioned her breast above his mouth. He pulled her down, close enough to suck on the tight bud.
His lips played her, teasing, taunting, flicking the sensitive flesh. Her hands fisted in the bedclothes as she fought for control. Her belly was burning, deep down, low, and his skin against the sensitive damp of her core was driving her crazy. His erection pulsed against her sensitive flesh, his mouth went from breast to breast in a ploy designed simply to drive her insane, she was sure. Another few minutes of this and she would burn up in complete and total frustrated lust.
“Please,” she begged, twisting the sheets in her grip as Mike bit her nipple. “Please, I want you so badly.”
“What do you want?” He blew a breath against the sensitive, wet skin of her breast.
“I want you inside me,” she whispered close to his ear.
His hand rubbed down her body, his fingers dipping int
o the wet sheath between her thighs. A finger parted the folds, and her body responded, welcoming him. His fingers moved within her, wrenching a gasp from deep in her throat. She was ready. She was beyond ready.
He didn’t wait to be invited a second time.
He rolled them over again, covering her body with his own. Her legs were still open, and he was poised at the entrance to her body. When she glanced down between them, she saw the dark heat of him, slick from where he’d been pressed against her core.
“Please,” she begged again, lifting her hips to him. “Please, I need you.”
His hips pushed forward, the head of him barely breaching her. Her nails dug into his shoulders as she fought for control. Her body had turned into a mindless organism, focused on one thing alone. That thing was Mike and the incredible pleasure he was giving her.
He slid forward slowly, so gently, taking his time. He stretched her softly, her body’s wetness accommodating him with ease. A centimeter at a time, it seemed, he came deeper into her.
It was too much. She couldn’t wait anymore.
With an upward thrust of her hips, he came high and deep into her. She gasped with pleasure, her inner walls pulsing around his thick erection. Her body seemed to grab onto him, not wanting to let him go. She let her arms follow suit, winding around his back.
He groaned against her neck, a rumbling shudder that pulsed into her.
“Don’t stop,” she said, pushing her hips up again. “It feels so good…”
She had to give it to the man. When a woman told him what felt good, he went for it with gusto.
He started a rhythm, slowly at first, groaning when he nearly left her body to come sliding home once more. He increased his rhythm gradually, looking into her eyes, kissing her, rubbing his hands anywhere and everywhere he could get to.
“Mike,” she panted, opening her hips wider. “Oh God, please.”
She was burning up. She was on fire. The slick motion of their bodies together, the sweat on both of them, the friction of his chest against her painfully hard nipples—all of it. She was going to explode, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do to stop it.
Her hips strained against his, her body aching for that peak. He drove deeper into her, higher, their bodies crashing against each other wildly. He got even harder inside her, his shaft thickening, lengthening, filling her deeper and more thoroughly than she ever had been filled before.
Cries ripped from her throat as he pounded into her. She tried to muffle them by biting against his shoulder, but it was too much. He buried his face in her neck, reached beneath her to cup her ass, and thrust his hard length inside her to the hilt.
She exploded.
Bits of her consciousness flew everywhere as her body shuddered, nails digging into his back, pelvis thrusting up against him. She shook all over, her movements becoming uneven, uncontrolled as she crested the wave of pleasure Mike had given her. She throbbed all over, the beat concentrated in the juncture of her thighs, her body rippling around his erection. He held her for a moment when she collapsed. He was still achingly hard inside her.
Jamie let out a mewl of sadness as he pulled out of her. He rose to his knees, fisting his slick, wet erection as his dark eyes looked down on her.
“So beautiful,” he groaned. Three strokes, four, and his breath stilled as he spilled himself on her stomach.
She smiled a little as he collapsed on the bed beside her.
Even in bed, such a gentleman. She laughed to herself before snuggling against his shoulder and falling asleep.
***
Micah stared at the ceiling. A sleeping Jamie was tucked beneath his arm, her head pillowed on his chest. Tangles of blond-streaked hair covered his shoulder. Satiety, content, and sheer panic warred in his brain.
He’d done it. He’d taken her to his bed. She’d been no virgin, of that he was sure, but it mattered not. He’d surrendered to his baser whims, and for that he must do the honorable thing.
She sighed and hitched a leg over his knees. He couldn’t stop the smile that climbed unbidden to his lips. Would it be a burden to take her to wife? He thought not.
Tenderly, he brushed a lock of hair back from her cheek. She was incredible. Clever, strong, tenderhearted, beautiful, bull-headed, and completely insufferable, but so wonderful that she made his teeth ache. He’d never felt this way about a woman before.
Careful not to wake her, he extracted his arm from beneath her head. She rolled onto her back with a soft mewl and fell silent. Her lovely breasts rose and fell evenly with her sleeping breaths.
Micah stood at the foot of the bed and looked down on her. Even now, he grew hard again thinking of her soft curves pressed against him. He shook his head and slipped into his dressing gown. She would need time. He dipped a cloth in the basin of water and gently sat beside her. He’d wash his seed from her and cover her to keep her warm. He’d take care of her now, and she’d want for nothing for the rest of her life. The thought was oddly pleasing to him.
Despite the care he’d taken to warm the cloth, her eyes fluttered open when he gently wiped her belly.
“I am sorry,” he whispered. “I did not mean to wake you.” When her skin was pink and clean, he rose and put the cloth back beside the basin.
“It’s okay,” she said, yawning. He smiled at the sight of her crawling, nude, up to the head of his bed to snuggle against his pillows. She breathed in deeply and relaxed with a happy sigh.
Unable to resist the lure of her soft flesh, he sat on the edge of the bed and caressed her hip gently, lovingly. “Are you awake, dearling? I must speak with you.”
“Seriously? You give me the best, most incredible, most mind-blowingest sex of my life and you want to have a long, in-depth discussion afterward?” She peeked at him with one eye over the pillow.
He crooked a brow and curled his lip at her. “Mind-blowingest?”
“It’s an expression.” She buried her face in his pillow. “C’mon, Mikey, let’s talk tomorrow.”
Using both hands, he rubbed her derriere gently, massaging the rounded muscles. His blood heated at the feel of her soft skin. Her sigh was muffled by the goose-down pillow. “Okay, you win.” She rolled over and looked up at him, the cross resignation on her face looking patently adorable. Sitting up, she scooted closer to him, letting her fingers play on the vee of skin that was exposed by his dressing gown. “What’s on your mind?”
He took a deep breath, suddenly unsure of himself. “We must discuss our future.”
“Future?” Her voice was wary.
Micah nodded, stilling her shaking hand by taking it in his own. “You must not worry that I will insult you by casting you aside. I will do the honorable thing.”
She shook her head, forehead furrowed. “What do you mean, honorable?”
“As I have lain with you, the only proper thing to do is to wed…”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Jamie said, pulling her hand from his. “You would marry me just because it’s proper? That’s what I’ve been trying to prevent you from doing all along, you stubborn, overly noble man!” She shoved off the bed, pacing alongside it, seemingly completely unaware of her nudity. The curls of her hair swished across her bare back, and her nipples were peaked in the chill of the room.
Mike sat on the edge of the bed, perplexed. This was not going at all as he’d imagined. “What do you mean, trying to prevent?”
She turned to him, hands propped on her bare hips. “You were going to propose to Miss Lyons. Today, in fact. You didn’t love her, you were just going to do it because of society, because of your position, and numerous other reasons that don’t matter at all.” She ticked off the points on her fingers. “She wouldn’t make you happy. She is all wrong for you. I had to show you that. And now that you’ve realized you and I have something amazing, something way deeper than society, position, wealth, and all that crap, the reason you’re going to propose to me is to protect my nonexistent reputation?” She shook her head vehemently, e
yes snapping in anger. “No. Not happening.”
She walked past him, not paying the slightest bit of attention to his gaping mouth or shocked expression. Scooping up her nightgown, she swam through the layers, attempting to pull it over her head.
“Jamie.” He stood when he finally found his voice. If not for the gravity of the situation, he’d have been amused that she was being drowned in her own night rail. He helped her pull the uncooperative garment on. “Please, wait for a moment.”
“Why? So you can convince me that my fragile reputation is critically wounded by our having had sex? Not buying it. Sorry.” She pulled free of his grasp, heading over to the puddle of her robe in front of the fireplace.
“No,” he said, raking a hand through his hair. “So I can tell you that I love you, damn it!”
She stopped, half stooped, frozen. Had he really said that aloud? He must have because she was standing slowly, her eyes wide as she looked at him. “You…love me?”
Did he? He’d told Louisa that he loved her, and he’d not felt a quarter of what he now felt for Jamie. If this was not love, then what was? Did a stronger feeling exist than what he now held for her? It couldn’t. Not on this earth.
He nodded, sure that his internal consternation was bleeding out all over his features. “Yes, I do. Despite everything. I have tried to deny it, to ignore it, but I am helpless against it. I love you, Jamie Marten. I love your beautiful body, your brilliant mind, and even your foul mouth. It makes no sense. I have tried long and hard to convince myself of the contrary, but I cannot. I would have you as my countess. Will you wed me?”
Twenty-One
Oh, shit.
Had Mike really said that he loved her? What did she do now?
First things first.
She threw her arms around him, holding him close. Emotions swamped her—happiness, terror, excitement, fear. “Oh, Mike, I love you too.”
He kissed her again, their lips tangling passionately. She let his tongue possess her mouth, opening for him when he probed at her lips. She held his shoulders as he loved her, lips and hands roving where they would. She tried to shut down her buzzing brain, but it kept shouting things like home, Leah, cars, showers, computers, sundresses, over and over again.
