“Is that why you are in such a bad mood?”
Richard helped her into the carriage. “No. I was in a perfectly good mood until I saw Hindsworth with his hands on you.”
“He did not have his hands on me!” Her face flushed a deep pink. “I touched him and placed my hand on his arm merely to add to our cover of estrangement.”
“I’d prefer you to keep your hands to yourself in future.” He cringed at his double standard. He’d just had his hands on Sarah’s naked skin. As if talking to himself, he uttered, “It is not unreasonable for man to be possessive of his wife.”
Madeline snuggled in to his side as he took his seat in their carriage. “I like it that you are jealous.”
“I can see I’m going to have to watch Hindsworth in future; he is far too attentive at the moment”.
She climbed into his lap and wrapped her arms around him. “Let’s not fight. We’ve moved forward tonight in pursuit of Charles’s killer. I can put up with all the stares and snide remarks as long as I have you to come home to.”
He stirred as her scent filled his senses and her bottom squirmed against his eager cock. “I am going to have to meet with Sarah at her house.”
“Is that a problem?”
Richard couldn’t look her in the eye. “It’s just I’m worried about how far I’m going to have to go in order to get the information we need.”
Maddy stiffened in his arms. “What exactly do you mean by ‘how far’?”
“I mean, when I went to the designated room this evening, Sarah was…”
“She was what?”
“I don’t want to hurt you, but I don’t want to hide anything from you either. Are you prepared to face the fact that she is out to seduce me?”
“I might be young but I’m not stupid. Of course she is. She is still in love with you.”
They gazed at each other and desire flared bright in the darkened carriage. “I’m not in love with her. I didn’t feel an ounce of desire for her.” He rubbed himself against her. “But you, Maddy, Christ, you set me on fire. If I see you, sense you, smell you, I almost combust with want and need.”
Then he kissed her. Not a gentle kiss but a kiss filled with hunger; it was a hard, hot kiss, with his tongue possessing her mouth.
It was only because he noticed that the carriage had come to a stop that he broke the kiss.
He declared, “I can’t help how Sarah feels for me; I can only control what I feel for her and how I behave with her.”
He turned and cupped Madeline’s face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes. “The way Hindsworth looks at you is not the look of a friend. I feel as if I’ve been remiss. What do you know of Hindsworth? What is his family background?”
“Don’t try and change the subject. I know trying to get information out of Sarah is going to be a tricky business. From what I have seen of Sarah, she is a pretty sly and astute woman.”
He helped her down, but kept hold of her hand as they walked up the steps. “She knows what she wants, that’s for sure. Handling her will take a delicate touch and see me walking a fine line.”
“The sooner we can catch the killer, the sooner we can get on with our marriage.” Madeline reached in and pressed her lips to his in a soft, chaste kiss. “As long as you don’t bed Sarah, I’ll be happy with any tactic that achieves the truth.”
They mounted the stairs to the bedrooms. Richard needed a moment to collect himself. Maddy was right, Sarah was clever and if he didn’t play the lover’s role completely, she’d smell a rat. “I will see you in a few minutes,” Richard said before turning and entering his own bedchamber.
“Don’t be long,” she called after him. “I’m quite tired tonight, but I really want you with me.”
Richard took his time undressing and then dismissed his valet. He was incredibly worried about his forthcoming meeting with Sarah and how he was going to extract the information they desperately needed without hurting himself, his wife, or, indeed, Sarah. If he didn’t manage the seduction carefully, Sarah would guess that his heart wasn’t in it. She may suspect that he was after information and he didn’t want to arouse her suspicions until he had a better understanding of her motives or guilt.
He thought about Madeline getting ready to share her bed with him in the room next door. His heart pounded in his chest. All he wanted and all he needed was Madeline.
Shaking his head, he cleared imagines of a naked Sarah, refusing to take her into the bedroom with Maddy. But as soon as he entered the room all he could see, sense and smell was Madeline. His pulse quickened and his body was aroused at the stimulating vision gloriously displayed before him.
Madeline lay completely naked upon her large four-poster bed, the glow from the fire and the many lit candles illuminating her pale skin in a reverential glow. She looked good enough to eat and his mouth watered for a taste.
Her luscious, auburn brown tresses, flowing like rich fur across the sheets, shone in the candlelight. His fingers itched to thread themselves through the fine strands and then roam over her silky-smooth skin until he had re-acquainted himself with every inch of her intimately. She could not be compared to any other woman and his chest puffed with pride. She was his wife, and this sight was for him alone. Seeing her so provocatively displayed, and knowing she had done this to tempt only him, Richard’s blood roared for possession.
She lay flat on her back, smiling at him, and then she widened her thighs for him.
Lust slammed through him. His mouth dried. Her body drew his gaze like a river to man dying of thirst. His senses, driven by instinct, were ferociously focused. The sight of her open womanhood made his groin throb.
He could not drag his gaze away from her. The delights of her body were boldly and brazenly displayed for him and only him.
He swallowed.
Her lips curved gently into that sweet, understanding smile as she welcomed him into her room and her body.
“My husband”, she whispered, the soft invitation making him hard and fit to burst. “Can you think only of me for one night?” she whispered.
She was sheer seduction and all his. The idea that any other man could see her like this almost sent him blind with fury. She beckoned him over to her.
Tonight, she was fully aware of her power. Her understanding was written clearly on her exquisite face and in the depth of her sparkling eyes.
“I couldn’t think of anywhere I would rather be than with you right now.” Richard let his eyes tell her everything he could not put into words. He felt his body surrender to a desire infinitely stronger than any that had ever come before, and a passion immeasurably more compelling. She belonged totally to him and no other.
He felt his gaze focus on her lips, those succulent berry ripe lips begging to be kissed. He breathed in deeply and leaned over her until his face was inches from the mouth he wanted to plunder.
She stretched up, drew his head down, brought her lips close to his, and murmured, “At least I know you find me desirable. That in itself is an excellent way to start a marriage, and an exciting way for me to try and win your heart.”
He could hardly deny it for his erection had tented the robe he was wearing.
Her other hand moved to fondle him and his last vestige of restraint evaporated at her innocent touch. Something had changed.
He covered her lips with his, and kissing her ferociously, deliberately let the chains he had locked round him break open, rattling his very soul to its very core. The desire and passion that raged through his blood was different this time. He had never felt anything like it before and knew that he probably never would again. All he desired, all he wanted, was lying on the bed in front of him. Hands splayed, he slid them over the fine silk of her skin and pulled her roughly half off the bed and into his arms, molding her urgently against his body. He now understood what Anthony was talking about. The feelings that were overwhelming him, the feelings that were coursing through his blood and into his heart, were bonding him to her. Na
ked in his arms, she clung to him and returned his kisses voraciously, avidly, flagrantly encouraging him to seize, take, and conquer.
Madeline’s whole body trembled as she felt Richard’s arms lock tight round her and his lips bruise hers, hard and demanding. She relished his surrender. This was a different Richard. This was a Richard who was giving her every atom of his soul, body, and heart.
He straightened, crushing her to him without interrupting the kiss as he lifted her against him, sliding her down his body, his robe rasping against her sensitive skin.
Her slide of pleasure paused for a moment when her knees touched the bed. She knelt on the edge of the bed, her arms wound round his neck. His hands cupped her bottom, pressing her so she would feel his need for her, while his tongue plundered her mouth, wreaking havoc with her senses. Within her, an intensity of passion bloomed and burgeoned unbearably …
Madeline was scared to break the kiss and destroy the moment, but she wanted him naked, his body displayed for her gaze and touch. With hands on his chiseled chest, she pushed his robe off his shoulders, trapping his arms.
With a curse of impatience, he let her go and let the robe slide to the floor.
His eyes, dark and burning, narrowed on hers. He reached for her, palm curving around her jaw, tipping her face back, while drawing her closer. He studied her. She poured everything into her gaze, all her desire, all her uncertainty, all her need and, of course, all her love.
He bent his head, murmured, “Do you know how much I want you and only you?”
That was all she needed. She could wait for him. Richard would be worth the wait. She acted on his words, touching, searching, and grasping the smoothness of his skin. The sensation was as she remembered it. She purred with satisfaction. His muscles flexed beneath her palms, hot, satiny, and alive. His chest was a wonder of gleaming fair hair and male hardness. She fitted her hands with the hard contours of his chest and soaked her senses in his maleness.
For the first time since they had been married, she knew she would win this battle. Not just the battle, but also the war. She believed sincerely that once Richard had given her his heart, she would never lose it, for she would protect it carefully and nurture it, and ensure that it was well fed.
He yielded to her questing fingers, eager for her touch. She felt the evidence of his need pressing rigid against her stomach.
He gasped, “I have never felt like this before. You are all I can think of. You’re what I dream about at night and you are what I reach for first thing in the morning. I miss you throughout every hour of the day we are apart.”
His words further fuelled her confidence and she met his lips brazenly, hoping he would let her glimpse the man who knew how to love as consistently as he had always loved his brother.
She sensed the lover hidden within him, felt the battle he fought to constantly ensure that his intentions were true. She pressed her lips to his nipple and licked it, hoping to send flames of desire ricocheting round his body. But the heat of their passion engulfed her too. The fire spread, capturing her in its scorching blaze.
Yet her boldness had had the desired effect. He captured her mouth in a devouring kiss. Her arms wrapped round his back to hold him to her, for escape was out of the question. She needn’t have worried as his hands moved down to cup and provocatively knead the globes of her bottom. She felt the thick muscles framing his back flex like steel beneath her searching hands. She ran them down his back, marveling at his form. Then with more bravery than she had ever thought she possessed, she slid one finger over his ribcage and forward to caress the rippling bands decorating his abdomen. They quivered at her touch. He sucked in a breath as she sent her fingers questing lower and then exhaled as she lightly traced the line of his erection.
He stilled and broke the kiss, his eyes revealing his love even if he could not yet say the words. She tentatively reached for the hard length of him. Touching the taut length, ridged as she had expected, yet so hot and with skin so smooth …
She gripped him tightly, and his groan filled the bedchamber. His eyes flashed to her face as he took her lips in an urgent, unrelenting kiss, his tongue plunging deep within her mouth.
“God, I’m so glad you are my wife.” His words came in short pants.
Closing her fingers as far around him as she could, she moved her hand slowly up and down his length and felt him shudder.
“You are magnificent, Richard. You have always been magnificent to me,” she added wistfully.
Her hand firmed round the thick length and at her first stroke Richard sighed and tilted his head back. She explored him and her pulse raced, knowing how much her touch pleased him.
She saw stark longing in his eyes and she saw his need, raw and bold as he came to her. His fingers glided gently over her bare shoulders, then travelled lower, over the curve of her ribcage, to her waist. As his hands slid down over her hips, he pulled her against him and she felt his hot throbbing maleness against her.
“See what you do to me?” he asked softly. “Can you feel the fire raging in my loins?”
Not letting her answer, he bent to her breast and the coolness of the night air against her bare skin gave way to the scorching heat of his mouth.
At the softest slash of his tongue, she quivered. When he suckled gently, her fingers dug into his shoulders and she clung to him.
Her soft whimper only aroused him more fully. Richard tensed his jaw, remembering what it felt like to be seated deep within her. He laid her gently on the bed and moved in between her legs rubbing a whiskered check on the inside of her thigh. Madeline went rigid as he inhaled her scent.
He bent forward to probe the delicate, petal like folds of her womanliness, using his tongue to find her ripeness. Her knees opened wider, she clutched frantically at his hair, but he had no intention of stopping. His hands held her hips still for the unrelenting caress of his tongue. Her hair tumbled in auburn tangles around them as he continued savoring, exploring, claiming, in long strong, slow strokes.
Maddy moaned with longing, arching against his clever mouth. It was torture, his infinite tenderness slaking one hunger, but his sensuality creating another.
“Richard, please …,” she pleaded.
Obliging, he lips pressed against her fully as his tongue delved even deep. A jolt of flame-like passion ran from him into her body, searing her, and she quaked in fierce need.
His hoarse whisper seemed far away. “Yes, be on fire for me, my wife.”
Another racking shudder convulsed her, and then she couldn’t remain still. Shaking, she cried out as the tremors overtook her. She fell back upon the bed, thoroughly sated.
“Enough …,” she murmured helplessly.
Desire was bold in his eyes, as he replied huskily, “No, Princess. We have only just begun.”
He kissed her as if he had found something fragile, precious, and then lay down next to her on the bed. His mouth still covered hers as he made her roll over on top of him.
Primal awareness shimmered through Maddy as he began his sensuous assault all over again. His touch was warm, his mouth magical, as it moved over her body, kissing her everywhere. She gave herself up to the sensation his touch elicited.
He was so strong and so gentle, and his caresses were so soft. He held his power under careful control, his lips skilled and slow, and she could feel his caring.
A feverish sound escaped her throat. She was drowning in desire.
She pleaded with him once again, but it seemed an eternity before he at last seemed to hear her. His eyes fierce with tenderness and intent, he lifted her so she sat astride him. Urgently, Madeline lifted herself until she slid down the hard length of him until she could feel it in her womb.
He kept himself there for a moment, his arms holding her hips ensuring she did not move as he gazed up into her eyes. “I never knew it could be like this,” he said. “Having you in my arms, all beauty and fire, is all I will ever want.”
His eyes were passion black, expect
ant.
“I have no intention of going anywhere,” she said, “I’m yours; I’ve always been yours,” Madeline replied shakily.
It was all the answer Richard seemed to need. He lifted her hips slowly, and then lowered her as he thrust deeply within her. Madeline gave a ragged sigh at the relief of having him finally becoming a part of her.
He paused for a moment, letting her grow accustomed to the swollen, rigid fullness. Her flesh throbbed as he slowly withdrew.
He thrust up forcing his hips to rise off the bed, positioning himself so deeply inside her, she gasped. Smiling tenderly, Richard reached up to fondle her breasts, filling his hands with the soft globes. It was the most exquisite sensation she had yet experienced of being as one with him.
Madeline continued to ride him. She couldn’t think. She could only feel. The desire and passion he had awakened with his touch was so vibrant that it pulsated like a raging fire burning inside her.
They moved with quiet haste; both of them feeling the urge to crescendo. Her hands moved blindly over his hard muscled body as he increased the rhythm, burying himself deeper and harder into her welcoming body.
Richard’s breath quickened against her throat as his hips thrust up even more forcefully. He tried to remember to be gentle, but then the thought faded along with his control as the rampant torrent of longing gripping Madeline also swept over him.
The explosion, when it came, dragged them both under. He caught her moans of ecstasy with his mouth as he rose up to take her lips. Pulsing spasms shook his body and rippled against hers along with his release. When he collapsed back against the bed; the resulting tenderness was such an ache within him, he trembled at its potency. Sated, he weakly rolled her to his side and folded her against his chest.
For a long while, Richard lay there shaking, still pulsing with the powerful aftershocks, his thoughts in turmoil. There was a name for the fierce and overwhelming tenderness he was feeling he now realized. Love. He loved Madeline. Not with a love that was fleeting and would pass with time. It was a love that was deep and abiding and he knew he’d found his soul mate at long last. He now knew he could trust her with his heart, giving it to her for safekeeping.
Invitation to Passion Page 21
