by CJ Archer
Dear Lord but his shoulders were magnificent. She pressed her lips to one and just had enough presence of mind not to bite into the smooth skin. He growled low in his chest and tipped his head back, exposing his throat. She kissed him there, breathed in the delicious exotic scent of him and relished the way the powerful Adonis responded to her mouth, her tongue.
She became moist at the thought of seeing the rest of him. The bulge in his breeches promised something extraordinary.
All of a sudden she had to see it, had to touch it, taste it. She cupped him. He sucked air between his teeth.
"My God, Georgiana," he said on a breath. "You'd better not do that again or I won't last."
"Well that won't do," she said, removing her hand. "I can wait." Just. She kissed a trail from the hollow of his throat, through the sparse sprinkle of hairs on his chest to his nipple. "There's so much I want to do to you...so much I want you to do to me." She sounded like a wanton. She didn't care.
"Everything," he whispered hoarsely. "I want to do it all." Gladly. She went to draw down his breeches but he halted her. "You first," he said.
She lifted her arms up so he could remove her nightgown but he stopped its progress above her head so that her arms were trapped by the gown. She stood open to him, exposed. His eyes flared as his gaze raked over her, taking in everything from her thighs to her flushed breasts. She was supposed to feel shame—that's what common sense told her. But raw, basic instinct took over and she savored what he was doing to her. There was nothing shameful in the way he made her feel. She bloomed under his heated gaze like an exotic flower in a greenhouse.
"Beautiful," he murmured. He dipped his head and licked her breast. Her back arched as she tried to push herself closer. She wanted that mouth consuming her nipple, consuming her. He licked and suckled, bringing the nipple to attention. Yes, yes! She'd never felt so awake, so deliciously alive. Every part of her was alert. Every nerve ending shivered with the thrill of his attentions.
"Take me," she whispered. "Now. I can't stand this anymore."
"Not yet. You taste too good." He helped her remove the nightgown completely, freeing her arms. Then he dropped to his knees and gently encouraged her to spread her legs. "Tonight I want to possess the real Georgiana Appleby."
A traitorous voice she thought she'd buried whispered, But what about tomorrow?
He silenced the voice with a slow lick between her thighs. She gasped and nearly lost her balance. She dug her hands in his hair and spread her thighs wider. Good lord, how had he learned that trick?
He licked again and a small squeal escaped her throat. "Oh....my..." There were no more words—they were swallowed by his hot tongue, licking and sucking her sensitive little nub until she couldn't stand it anymore. She'd turned into a puddle. Her legs felt weak, loose, even as excruciatingly sweet tension built inside her. It quickly spread through her, swamped her, drawing her as tight as a bow. She looked around for something to hold onto for support to ride out the storm gathering inside her but there was only Alex's dark head between her thighs. She clutched it as all those wicked sensations swelled and surged and filled her.
"Alex!" she cried out. As if someone had removed a sandbag from the levee, the tension broke and the tidal wave enveloped her. Shudders wracked her body again and again. Her hips bucked. Her thighs quivered as the millions of tingles gave way to a strange sort of limpness in her limbs. It was the most remarkable, wonderful thing. She'd not experienced anything like it.
"You were right," she said between gasping breaths. "I was tight." She smiled down at him, still kneeling on the ground at her feet. "But now I'm not."
He rose and kissed her from her belly up to her breast, taking time to lick each nipple in turn. "That's good," he said, moving to her neck. "But I think I'm going to explode as soon as I enter you and I wanted this first time to be special."
She stilled. "This isn't my first time." For an alarming moment she thought he hadn't understood her comment about her virtue but then he smiled and she knew everything was all right.
"But it's our first time," he said.
She took his face between her hands and gently pulled him away to look at him. "You don't care that I've done this with another man?" she asked, watching him closely.
"No. If you were a virgin you would have behaved like a virgin and in my experience they are a silly breed." He scooped her up and carried her to the bed then lay her down gently. He stretched out beside her, his fingers lightly brushing her hip, his hard member stretching his tight breeches. "You've come to me of your own free will, knowing what to expect and without the burden of virginity hanging over our heads like a guillotine. That is so much more enticing."
She kissed him, tasting herself on his mouth, and reached down between their bodies. Her fingers pressed against his bulging member and she was rewarded with the hiss of his breath against her temple.
"Get these breeches off," she said. "Then take me."
"Are you sure?"
"Very." She had never been more sure of anything. What they were doing may be wrong in some ways but it was right in all the ways that mattered.
"Yes ma'am." He grinned and slid off the bed. He removed his breeches in one swift motion.
She put a hand on his thigh to stop him getting back on the bed. "I want to look at you. Touch you." Her liaisons with Lawrence had always been rushed and performed in the dark. To be honest, she'd been a little embarrassed by the act. But with Alex there was no embarrassment. No fear. Just all-consuming desire.
"Extraordinary," she said, admiring the veins along the underside of his member. She touched the tip and it sprang up. She closed her fingers around it, amazed by the thickness. A drop of clear moisture seeped from the tip. She licked it off.
Alex growled, an ancient, primal sound emitted from the very depths of his chest. "Stop now," he said, "or suffer the consequences."
She smiled and withdrew her hand. "As much as I want to feel you, I want you inside me even more."
Alex didn't need to be told twice. He climbed back on the bed and pressed against Georgiana's moist opening. She was slick with her own juices. He could barely control himself but he went carefully. This first time had to be special, slow. He pushed further in. There was no resistance. He didn't care. He'd never taken a virgin and it would seem he wasn't about to break that habit soon. He'd meant what he said—he liked her confidence, the self-awareness of a woman who'd experienced men. It made him want her all the more.
And damn it to hell, he wanted her desperately. He'd come home early from the party to try and break through her resolve but it had been much easier than he'd expected. She must have been thinking about him all day, just as he'd not been able to get her out of his head since that morning.
No, earlier. Since he first met her. Now he finally got to slake that particular urge.
He plunged and she screwed up her eyes. "Are you all right?" he asked, pulling out. He hovered over her. "Have I hurt you?"
She opened her eyes and began to rock her hips. "No," she whispered, voice thick as syrup. "Don't stop." She linked her ankles behind his back and he slid all the way in. It felt glorious.
Her rocking grew faster and his rhythm matched hers perfectly until he could stand it no longer. She drove him into a delicious fever with her complete surrender and he was able to have only one coherent thought—it had never been like this before. Not with anyone.
"Oh, Alex, yesssss."
The sound of his name said in that honey-coated voice triggered his release. His body throbbed, his cock swelled and he just managed to remove himself from her and spurt his seed on her belly. Somewhere someone ground out a deep, satisfied moan. It must have been him. He felt sated, spent.
He rolled off her and stretched out alongside her beautifully naked body. She reached down and tugged the last drop from him with long, nimble fingers. He watched her. She seemed fascinated and completely absorbed, not in the least ashamed. He was relieved. So very relieved.
<
br /> "I'm sorry, I didn't think ahead," he said. "I should have discharged into my shirt."
"And ruin the fine cambric? Use that towel," she said, pointing to the one folded beside the basin of water.
He fetched the towel and gently cleaned her. She smiled like a contented cat then yawned.
"I should go," he said, not moving. But the truth of his words slapped him across the face. He would start to have symptoms soon and God knows they weren't pretty. He didn't want to be around people when the nausea and cold sweats started but he especially didn't want to be around Georgiana. Somehow it seemed so much worse having her see what he went through.
Which was ridiculous. She'd seen it all before. But still, he wished to avoid it at all costs.
"Stay a few minutes," she said. Her big brown eyes shone in the dull light of the lamp and she smiled like he'd never seen her smile before. Like she was...happy. She was extraordinarily beautiful, but not in the obvious way of some women. Her beauty was quieter, subtler and all the more lovelier because of it. She caressed his arm and he didn't hesitate to lie down beside her. It was exactly where he wanted to be.
"No regrets?" he asked and kissed her naked shoulder. She'd taken her hair out of its tight bun to go to bed and he coiled a flowing lock around his fingers. It smelled like the first strawberries of the season.
"No." She sounded surprised by her answer. "I don't."
She had more sense than him then. He let go of her hair and lay back on the bed. She looped one leg over his thigh and nuzzled into his chest. "So if you don't regret it, why did you resist for so long?" he asked, closing his eyes against a bone-deep weariness that had slipped into him. He felt so tired all of a sudden, like he'd not slept in years. He must be careful not to fall asleep in her bed—he had to return to his room and his opium before he succumbed to slumber.
He felt her shrug. "It's a long story. I'll tell you about it some other time."
Part of him had enjoyed her resistance. The part that liked the fun of the chase. Fun? Of sorts. Events had certainly taken an interesting turn this week.
Interesting yet calamitous. As much as he enjoyed her company, she still had to leave. Had to. His sanity depended upon it.
It was the reason for this night of bliss after all—make her mad with desire and terrified of her own emotions.
Not that she seemed afraid or particularly eager to flee. Indeed, curled into him like a sated nymph, he would say she wasn't going anywhere. He found he couldn't be disappointed about that.
He kissed the top of her head and pulled her sleeping form closer. He felt so...calm. Odd really when his life was creeping towards disaster. Not only was his long-buried sense of honor disturbed by what he'd done tonight, but his seduction seemed to have achieved absolutely nothing except make him want her more.
She didn't seem eager to leave at all.
***
Georgiana awoke with a start as Alex tossed violently beside her. The bed shook so hard she worried the ropes supporting the mattress would snap.
"Are you all right?" she asked, sitting up.
He didn't answer and she realized he was asleep. By the light of the lamp, she could see the beads of sweat across his furrowed brow.
He must be in the jaws of one of his nightmares, the ones that drove him to smoke opium—opium which he'd not yet taken for the night.
Her hand hovered above his shoulder but he flopped over again and she darted away. She desperately wanted to wake him, to rescue him from the horrors he experienced in the dream world, but that was his lover thinking, not his physician. She had vowed never to soften towards another patient again. That path led to destruction and she would do anything to keep Alex safe. The only way she could think of weaning him off the opium was to learn about his nightmares. If she could discover what caused them and encouraged him to share his burden then perhaps she could alleviate his need for the powder. It was a slim opening but one she had to take. He wasn't going to stop any other way.
"Cottesloe," he mumbled. "No. Not you. No."
"What about Cottesloe?" she whispered. She wanted to touch him, kiss away his nightmare but she dared not wake him. Not yet. "How did he die?"
"Blood. Everywhere." He winced and licked dry lips. "Why?"
"Yes, that's it. Ask why. Why did Cottesloe die?" When he simply groaned and said nothing more, she steeled herself to ask the most vital question. "Did you kill him?"
"Go away." Whether he was saying it to her or to someone in his dream she wasn't sure.
He groaned and rolled towards her. His face suddenly twisted then he curled in on himself. Stomach cramps. He shivered and she pulled the blanket up.
With lightening speed, he snatched her wrist and rolled over, dragging her down on top of his chest. "What are you doing here?" he growled. His eyes snapped open, grew wide. He swore and shoved her off. "Go away."
Her heart clawed at the thick emotion in his voice. "No. I won't leave you while you're like this. Besides, this is my room." She tried to laugh but it stuck in her throat.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed but doubled over as another wave of sharp nausea must have hit. He didn't utter a sound.
She circled her arms around him and pressed her cheek to his back. His breaths were fast and erratic and his body shook violently. She wanted to hold him and absorb his pain but there was something more productive she could do. She slid off the bed and went to her medical bag on the floor at the foot of the bed.
"I'll get you something for the nausea," she said.
"I don't want your damn potions! They don't work." He stood and snatched up his shirt, pulled it over his head and looked around for his breeches.
"No! Wait!" Where was that damned bottle? "It'll lessen the pain."
"I'm sorry, Georgiana." His strangled voice caused her to look up. "I'm very sorry."
Tears welled in her eyes, hampering her search but eventually she found the tonic. "Just try it, Alex." She handed it to him. "Please. For me."
He blinked and his eyes became glassy, unfocused. His mouth twisted in either pain or a sneer. "Oh, ho!" he said, voice a slurred drawl. "We sleep together once and you're already pulling that trick. Well it won't work." He scooped up the rest of his clothing and made for the door.
He was suffering from withdrawal of opium but it didn't make it any easier to hear him speak so coldly to her. It was just like the last time, with Lawrence, only the cruel dismissal was happening much sooner. Would the rumors start tomorrow too?
Unlike last time, she would not accept such behavior meekly. Meekness achieved nothing. She would do whatever it took to cure him, even if doing so meant he grew to hate her and never wanted to see her again. It was a risk she had to take.
"Do not dismiss me, Alex." She stood between him and the door and planted her feet a little apart for balance. "I've tried pleading and now I will try reason." She waited while he turned away as another wave of nausea hit. After a few moments, he turned back again. He looked like he'd been to Hell. Damp hair clung to his forehead and his face was as pale as the moon outside the window. He shivered uncontrollably and hunched his shoulders like a scarecrow in a strong breeze. He didn't meet her gaze.
"Move!" he shouted. "Damn it, Georgiana, don't do this to me! I need you to move NOW!"
"No." She swallowed hard and clenched her fists at her back. It hurt so much watching him battle against the nausea but she would not to go to him. She forced herself to be the woman he needed—the physician not the lover. It was the hardest thing she'd ever done. "Tell me about your dream."
"What?"
"Your dream. Tell me what happened. Without the opium—."
"What do you know of my dreams?" He took a step towards her and she felt like an ant against a bear. Her vulnerability was made worse by the fact she was still naked. "What did I say while I was dreaming?"
"You dreamt of someone called Cottesloe." She took his hand in both of hers but he snatched it away. "Please, Alex, try to remember."
"I do remember. That's the whole bloody problem!" He shook his head as if he'd said too much.
"Alex, please, I don't care what you did in your dreams or in real life. Whatever it is, we can work through it together. Just talk to me." He closed his eyes and a rush of hope filled her where before she'd been empty of all emotion except fear. Fear for him. "Let me help you."
His eyes opened. They were rimmed red. "Unless you can help me to forget, you must move."
"Alex—."
"Get. Out. Of. My. Way."
She drew in a steadying breath. She'd never felt so insignificant, so small. But he would not get violent. Not with her. Not now. She was almost sure of it. "No."
His icy gaze raked down her body as if he'd suddenly noticed she was naked. "My God but you're beautiful." He lowered his head and kissed her with a brutal force that left her lips numb and her heart pounding.
Then he used his superior weight to hustle her aside. He broke the kiss and before she could recover, he'd opened the door and was gone.
She stared into the dark hall, not caring that she was uncovered. It was only when she began to shiver uncontrollably that she shut the door and returned to bed. She lay awake for a long time with one question repeating itself over and over.
What happens now?
Then she curled into a ball, just as he had done in his agony, and wept.
CHAPTER 12
Persistent pounding on his bedroom door woke Alex in the morning. Georgiana? If so, she was irritated with him at best if the rapid hammering was any indication. At worst she was... Damn. He had so much to say to her, much of it beginning with the word sorry.
He threw off the bedcovers but Trent came out of the adjoining dressing room and descended as fast as he could on the door to silence the knocker.
