by Alice Gaines
The orgasm started in his balls and shot along the length of his cock. He erupted deep inside her, shooting sperm in great waves. He came until his teeth hurt, and still it didn’t end.
They clung together as the world tilted and tossed them into heaven. Then, finally finished, they floated back to reality, still holding each other in a fierce embrace.
The Atlantic Ocean wasn’t nearly as large as Olivia remembered. England had disappeared behind the ship days ago, but the memories hadn’t faded one little bit. With so much water between them, Thomas Boulton ought to have dimmed into a dream. A fantasy she’d made real for a few moments, no more. So, why could she still taste his mouth on her lips?
She looked out over the sea and made herself notice it. Counting waves as they stretched off into the horizon. No use. The blasted man wouldn’t leave her alone.
“You didn’t even say goodbye.”
Not an illusion this time. A real voice. His.
She turned to find him standing by a lifeboat. The gray-green eyes she saw in her dreams. The high cheekbones and unruly hair. The deliciously curved lips. Right now, his expression was serious, even dour. As if he disapproved of her for some reason. He had some nerve.
“How did you find me?”
“Why wouldn’t you see me again? Why did you have your butler send me away every time I called?”
“It seemed best to end things…” before we became involved, before I started to care too much “…as they were.”
“What gives you the right to decide that for me?”
“Mr. Boulton…”
His eyes flashed anger. “Thomas.”
“Thomas.” She sighed. “I have my life. You have yours. What happened between us doesn’t belong in either.”
He walked to her and placed his hands against the rail on either side of her, trapping her between his arms. “Why don’t you tell me—exactly—what you think happened between us?”
She stared up into his face. If he thought he could intimidate her, he’d learn otherwise. “We had a fling. That’s all.”
“You’re not a very good liar.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, you sound like a bad novel.”
He leaned closer, until she could see her own reflection in his eyes. “It was much more than a fling. In fact, it was so much more, it frightened you.”
“Nothing frightens me.”
“Oh, really?” he said. “Then, why did you run away from me?”
“You haven’t told me how you knew I’d be on this ship.”
“When you wouldn’t allow me in your house, I searched for you at parties. Most of them deadly dull, but I managed to stumble on the latest gossip. That scandalous Mrs. Trent had booked passage on The Sea Sprite.”
“Well, now that you’ve found me, what do you plan to do about it?” She turned away from him. He didn’t move, though, and his fists still gripped the railing. The heat of his body seeped into her back.
“I thought I’d visit New York. I’ve never been to the United States.”
“I hope you enjoy it.”
He placed his face near her temple. “You could be carrying my child. Did you consider that?”
“I’m not.” She’d had her monthly since that day in her sitting room.
“Well, then.” The air went out of him. Audibly. Did the stupid man want her pregnant?
“So, you’re not obliged to me in any way.”
He moved to her side and took her hand in his. “Is that why you think I’m here? Out of obligation?”
“What else?”
“There’s a passion between us. I’ve never felt anything like it, and I’m sure you haven’t, either.”
She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of being right, so she didn’t answer.
“Most people never have that. It’s not something to be idly tossed away.”
“I have my company. I can’t lose my reputation, even if it is a sham.”
He used his other hand to turn her face toward his. “You wouldn’t lose it if you came back from England with a husband.”
“I’ll never marry again. Not even you, Thomas.”
“Disagreeable female.” He humphed, but the corner of his mouth quirked upward in a smile. “We’ll live in sin.”
“I can’t do that.”
“We’ll pretend to be married. No one needs to know our secret.”
“You’re impossible.”
“I’ve given up my estates. Turned them all over to my sister.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You didn’t.”
“Infuriated the rest of the family, but I’ve gotten to like the idea of independence for women.”
“What will you live on?”
“I still have my annual income.” His smile turned real at that, and quite wicked. “Would you have saved me from poverty, dearest Olivia?”
She pulled her hand from his. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Ah, salt air.” He took a deep breath. “Does things for the senses, doesn’t it?”
“Honestly.” She’d meant to leave this man behind her, and now, she’d have to spend weeks on a ship with him. She’d have to sleep knowing he was nearby. Or, try to sleep. If she ignored him, he could flirt with other passengers, and she’d have to watch that. Him, dancing with strange women, pulling them against his body. Utter misery.
He put an arm around her and tugged her into an embrace. “We don’t know each other, really, but we suit in the bedroom. There are flimsier bases for a love affair.”
“Love?” she repeated.
“Perhaps. Would that be so terrible?”
Oh, dear, love? “I don’t know. I’ve never been in love.”
A wicked gleam entered his eyes. “Besides, only I know your darkest fantasy.”
“You wouldn’t.” She stared at him in horror. “You wouldn’t tell anyone else. It would ruin me.”
“Good Lord, woman, we were just discussing love. Would I do that to a woman I cared about?”
“I suppose not.”
“I’m the soul of discretion,” he said. “But we can continue to act out that fantasy in private.”
Now, there was a delicious possibility. She could ask him to do any number of depraved things to her and do the same for him. Nothing but their own creativity to limit them. “I like that idea.”
“We have this time together. Let’s explore the possibilities.” He rubbed her back, holding her gently. Not applying pressure. “At least, in bed.”
“That makes sense.”
“Then, you’ll let me do my best to woo you?”
She gazed up at his face, at the warmth of his eyes and the curve of his lips. “Do your best, but it had better be good.”
“Thank God.” He heaved a huge sigh of relief. “I was afraid you’d make me beg.”
Hungry for more? Spice Briefs to suit every taste are available now at www.spicebriefs.com, including these recent titles:
Secretly Serviced by Becky Flade
Grace Under Fire by Jackie Barbosa
Taking Her Boss by Alegra Verde
The Sleeping Beauty’s Tale by Grace D’Otare
Her Fantasy by Saskia Walker
Miami Menage by Amber Carlsbad
Dex’s Claim by Many M. Roth
Behind the Duke’s Door by Lynne Silver
Under His Hand by Anne Calhoun
For something a little longer, visit www.spice-books.com or stop by your local bookstore for stories that will ignite your senses!
Think you’d like to write a Spice Brief? Submissions are always welcome at [email protected]
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7228-0
Make Me Beg
Copyright © 2011 by Alice G. Brilmayer
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage
or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.eHarlequin.com
