Earlier that morning, Amelia had left for her day at Sir Hubert’s, clearly lost in her thoughts. Although she had been polite and had conversed readily with him, there was a certain aloofness that hadn’t been there the day before. It worried him, because not knowing the cause left him at a distinct advantage when it came to trying to persuade her to leave.
With a sigh, Sebastian considered the long day before him. He knew she wouldn’t be back until dark. That gave him plenty of time to locate the church in Glendowie, and find out if the man in the crypt was Rat or not. He would then visit Bestwick’s estate and begin to make plans for his return home.
“What the hell?” Sebastian’s fists clenched in readiness when he entered the little cottage later that evening. It took several moments for his eyes to adjust to the dimness within the room, before he realised the solitary figure sitting on the chair in front of the empty hearth was Amelia.
“Amelia? What’s wrong?” Carefully closing and bolting the door behind him, Sebastian took precious moments to light the candle on the table and eradicate the gloom, before turning towards her. His stomach dropped alarmingly when he looked at her tear-stained face.
“What is it, darling? What’s happened?” He dropped to his haunches before her, picking her cold, limp hands up and chafing them between his warm ones.
Quickly glancing around the cottage, he scoured her from head to toe, searching for anything that would cause her to be so upset.
Amelia hiccupped, unable to form the words she needed to tell him. The bottom had just dropped out of her world again. She tried to keep the tears at bay, but they just wouldn’t stop, and with a watery hiccup she began to sob.
Sebastian immediately swept her into his arms, murmuring endearments as he stalked across the cottage and gently placed her on the bed. Toeing off his boots, he carefully lay beside her, tugging her against his chest. There was little he could do other than simply hold her, as she cried as though her heart would break.
It was several moments before she calmed, and began to relax in his arms.
Sebastian slowly eased back and looked down into her beautiful moss-green eyes. His heart thumped heavily in his chest at the misery in the glistening green depths that stared back at him. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to capture her moist lips in a passionate kiss.
“Tell me,” he demanded softly.
“Sir Hubert is leaving,” Amelia murmured, fighting back the panic that threatened to overwhelm her.
“Leaving?” He frowned when Amelia nodded slowly, and rested her forehead against his chest as she cried.
Surely this was good news, Sebastian thought silently, wondering why the news was upsetting her so. “When?”
"His brother has already arrived. They are leaving for Devon in the morning.” Amelia’s voice was husky with tears. Selfishly, she was so very glad Sebastian was there.
“Sir Hubert apparently received word of his brother’s imminent arrival the day before the storm hit. Now the roads have cleared, his brother is here and they are preparing to leave.”
“Has he asked you to go with him?” Sebastian was so tuned to her that he knew the answer before she spoke.
“No. He has asked me to clean the house once he has gone, and close it down.” Amelia hiccupped as another wave of devastation swept through her.
What was she going to do? How was she going to survive? If Sir Hubert left, the job would go. The money would go, and she would be left without a home. The pennies she earned mending the Bestwick House laundry weren’t enough to live off, even if she could find another cottage.
“He has said I can remain here for as long as I want to, but he isn’t certain he is going to return to Glendowie.” It was all she could say at that moment. She could only hope Sebastian would understand, and not ask further questions for now.
Sebastian mentally thanked Sir Hubert for his excellent timing. Although it distressed him greatly to see her so upset, it couldn’t have worked out better for the plans he had made with Bestwick earlier that afternoon. With the option of remaining with Sir Hubert eradicated, she would be more malleable to going with Sebastian, wouldn’t she? Sebastian liked to think so.
In reality, if he was totally honest, he wasn’t so sure.
He held her tightly against his chest, waiting patiently until her hiccupping sobs subsided. Gently tipping her head backwards, he looked down into her tear-stained face, and felt his heart flip at the misery staring back at him.
“It will be alright, Amelia,” he reassured her softly. “Trust me.” He didn’t wait for her answer. With his gaze firmly locked on the tempting curve of her delicate lips, Sebastian gave in to temptation and lowered his head.
The delicious sensation of having his lips caressing hers was just too tempting for Amelia to resist. Willingly returning the insistent pressure of his lips, she made no move to protest when she was drawn tighter against the solid wall of his chest.
His broad hands tenderly cupped her face to hold her still, as he deepened the kiss in the way his wayward body cried out for.
She learnt quickly, and within moments was copying the movements of his marauding lips and tongue. Her willing acceptance astounded him. When her thin arms stole around his neck, pulling him tighter to her, he groaned and gave himself over to the passion burning within.
The silence within the room was broken only by the hissing and crackling of the logs on the fire, as Sebastian and Amelia gave themselves over to the passion engulfing them.
He was driven by his fear for her safety. She needed the comfort of his strong arms. The mutual attraction neither felt able to acknowledge, drove them to deepen their embrace.
Sebastian shifted, pulling her tighter against his masculine length. He moaned low in his throat at the delightfully arousing sensations of her soft breasts pushing against his muscled chest. His manhood surged beneath the cloth of his breeches, and he groaned against the roughness of the material against his sensitive tip. He knew she could feel him, but did little to hide the evidence from her. He wanted her to know just what she did to him.
Despite the numerous layers of material between them, Amelia felt a thrill of feminine delight that she had aroused someone as wonderfully debonair, and startlingly handsome as Sebastian, Lord Torrington. Amelia knew she should be shocked, and should pull away. But her body yearned for the closeness he offered her, and she wanted to feel as though someone cared - if only for a while.
Gasping in delight at the wicked curls of sensation unfolding deep within, she tilted her head backwards to allow the tender ministrations of Sebastian’s mouth, as he slowly nipped and suckled down the long curving arch of her neck.
“We need to stop.” It took every ounce of her self control to utter the words she really didn’t want to say, but felt that she had to make a token protest at least. If she was to have any liveable future at all, she couldn’t allow herself to succumb to his ardour.
“Amelia,” Sebastian groaned in protest. Everything within him screamed at him to ignore her request, but despite his rakehell background, he was too much of a gentleman to force his attentions upon her.
For the sake of their future together, he had to make sure that she was completely comfortable with allowing him into her bed and her body. Because there was one thing he was certain of. He was definitely going to be the man; the only man; to enter either.
Reluctantly, he placed one last, tender kiss on her lips before easing his aching body away from the tempting comfort of hers.
“I’m sorry, Amelia; I didn’t mean to offend you,” Sebastian mumbled, gritting his teeth against the aching in his groin.
“You haven’t.”
Tenderly, Sebastian cupped her almond-shaped face with his palms, reluctant to break all contact with her completely. “You are so beautiful.” Satisfaction surged at the blush that stole over her cheeks, and he smiled teasingly at her. She was clearly not used to displays, or declarations of affection, and he loved to see her b
lush.
If he had anything to say about their future, displays of verbal and physical affection were something she needed to get used to. He had every intention of spending his days telling her, and showing her, just how beautiful she really was.
She couldn’t break free of his hold. Although she knew it was unwise to allow their association to develop further, her heart screamed at her to take what he was so blatantly offering. If her life continued as it was, this one night may very well be the only opportunity she had to experience true fulfilment. It would be the only chance she had of knowing what it was to love, and lie, with another.
Decision made, Amelia closed out all further thought and placed a gentle hand on the back of Sebastian’s head, drawing his head down to hers until their lips met. She caught the brief look of shock on his face before she captured his lips with hers, and was rewarded when his moistened lips immediately returned her kiss.
Despite his compliance, Amelia could sense his hesitation. Clearly, he was reluctant to do anything that would cause her distress. Desperate to convey with her lips what words could not express, she pressed her lips persistently against his, copying his earlier actions. She was rewarded when, after several moments of hesitation; he groaned low in his throat and deepened the kiss.
Carefully, Sebastian eased on to his good side, pulling her around until she was facing him. Tipping her chin upwards, he leant over her and probed the moist recesses of her mouth with the hot spear of his tongue.
Not that Amelia minded. If Sebastian had withdrawn and apologized for his forwardness, she might just have cried right there and then. Instead she was tugged flush against him until he was lying half over her as he deepened the kiss. She made no attempt to protest when his knee pressed gently between hers.
The next few moments passed in a blur of wondrously new sensations as desire built. Sebastian somehow managed to divest them both of their clothing, before moving them under the covers and snuggling her closer.
He shivered at the delicious sensations of her naked flesh against his and he felt his manhood throb painfully beneath the sheets.
Despite her reservations, Amelia knew that back in the world Sebastian habitually frequented, he would have ran his eyes over someone like her, before moving on to one of the beautifully powdered, elegantly gowned ladies who paraded themselves for the delectation of men like Sebastian. Women like Amelia disappeared into the background. She had no doubt that had they been anywhere other than her little cottage, he wouldn’t have looked twice at her, much less made to kiss her, or lie with her.
But would that make it right if she made love with him? Would she be no more than a common whore? Or would she be simply a woman who had spent much of her life alone? Who had been given an opportunity to learn what it was like to be loved and cared for?
Could she take the risk that he would not take her heart with him when he left? Already Amelia knew the answer to that one. He already had her heart. There was little she could do about it.
Decision made, Amelia firmly blocked out the nagging doubts and gave herself over to the delightful sensations Sebastian was creating.
Sebastian knew he was lost. Despite her willingness to accept his kisses, he sensed she spent the last few minutes wrestling with indecision. He knew when she had vanquished her demons when she suddenly relaxed in his arms, and began to actively engage his advances.
Stunned by the sheer barrage of emotional sensation that swept through him, Sebastian knew he was lost. In all of his four and thirty years, with all of the mistresses he had bedded over the years, he had never made love to any woman who had had such an immediately profound effect upon him. Amelia, with all of her innocence, had to be the most sensual woman he had ever encountered.
His eyes wandered over her as she lay within the comfort of his embrace and he felt the blood pound in his veins.
Head tossed back, her hair had long since lost its pins and fallen in a riotous wave of curls on the pillow, beckoning him to delight in the silken bonds. Her naked body lay flushed and tempting in the soft candlelight.
His heart thumped heavily in his chest. He leant down to kiss the milky white column of her neck, peppering it with tiny kisses, and was rewarded as her small hands tugged at his head. His questing lips trailed carefully downwards under the thin barrier of her shift to capture the pink rosebud of her turgid nipple. Her soft moan of sensual delight encouraged him to seek the second breast, and lavish the same attention on it.
White hot tendrils of molten desire laced through Amelia’s belly as Sebastian laved and suckled the pink tips of her breasts. The hot coil of sensation he created pooled low within her feminine core, until she thought she might go quietly mad. Helpless to do anything but succumb to his soft kisses, she arched her back, desperate to ease the wanton ache deep within.
“Sebastian.” She didn’t know what she was asking for, but he clearly did.
He heard her soft plea and removed his mouth, carefully placing tender kisses around her face as he quickly tugged her shift off.
Tugging her leg upwards until it was trapped beneath his waist, Sebastian eased his hips forward as he drew her other leg over his hip.
Lying wantonly open to him, Amelia was curious to discover how he intended to join with her in such a position. She squirmed with surprise as his fingers gently stroked through the thick patch of curls at the apex of her thighs, seeking the fluid warmth of her femininity. Cheeks flushed, Amelia briefly lay passive as his searching fingers probed deep. Instinctively her back arched at the sensations his wicked fingers created. Her breasts were thrust upwards in mute appeal for equal attention.
His manhood hardened painfully, and Sebastian struggled to retain control and not frighten her. Her responses to his attentions were more than he could ever have expected. For someone who was untried, he was deeply moved by the honesty of her response. He watched her face as his fingers probed deep with her, searching for any signs of apprehension.
Did she know what he was going to do to her? Was she aware that she was about to lose her virginity? Should he mention it or just get on with it?
In all of the years he had been sleeping with women, he had never bedded a virgin. If all of his plans came to fruition, Amelia would be the one and only virgin he would ever make love to. After all, a man could only take his wife’s virginity once. Although she may not expect it, if she did accept him into her body here, tonight, she was irrefutably tying herself to him forever. She may not know it yet. She may not even like the idea. But he would accept nothing less.
“Sebastian.” She groaned, unsure how to deal with the warm tingling deep within. Instinctively her hips rocked against his probing fingers as the warmth coiled and tightened. Arching her hips upwards, with a scream, she gave herself over to the burst of rapturous sensation that scattered around her in a cascade of shattering stars.
His chest swelled with masculine pride as he slowly drew the blankets down and off them. In the flickering candlelight, with her body bathed the soft glow of sensual completion, she looked like a goddess. Her pink tipped nipples protruded heavenwards, tempting him. The dark thatch of hair at the apex of her thighs glistened with her feminine moisture. He couldn’t stand it any longer.
Amelia barely had time to catch her breath before the rigid shaft of his manhood began to probe her, seeking entrance.
“Amelia,” Sebastian murmured softly as he twined his hand into her hair, and tugged her head upwards until her eyes met his. “Everything will be alright, I promise.” He tried to convey in his gaze everything that words couldn’t express, as he slowly withdrew from her. He held her gaze steady as he slid into her once more. Again and again, he repeated the movement until she began to relax beneath him.
Tearing his gaze from hers, he suckled her nipples and waited until she began to squirm beneath him as her pleasure built. He hated to bring her any pain, if only for a short while, but it was inevitable, given what he was about to do.
Gently he rolled
her onto her back as he deepened the kiss, and settled himself more firmly between her legs.
Amelia had never felt so close to another person. Lying with her legs draped around his narrow hips, his masculinity probing deep within her, she knew her life was irrevocably changed forever. The wondrous sensations he had created with his fingers earlier began to build with increasing intensity, and she found herself eager to experience the wonderful pleasure once more. Despite the wantonness of her position, she lay open to him and allowed him the freedom of her body.
Gritting his teeth, Sebastian withdrew and placed his lips firmly upon hers. His tongue teased and probed as it danced with hers for several moments, as he teased her turgid nipples with his blunt fingers. He waited until she began to squirm beneath him, silently pleading for more. Pushing hard into her, he held her hips still beneath him when she would have squirmed away from the sudden pain of his abrupt intrusion. He could feel the quivering of her lips beneath his as she fought a sob. Breaking the kiss, he peppered her face with tiny kisses, whispering endearments and he waited for her to relax once more.
“My beautiful Amelia, you are truly wonderful.” Inwardly something broke free, and a sense of masculine pride he had never encountered before blossomed deep in his chest.
This woman was his. This beautifully brave, endearing lady was his. Amelia. Groaning as the sensations of being buried deep within the woman who held his heart began to build, Sebastian withdrew once more and began the age-old dance towards completion.
He was rewarded for his patience when, after a few moments of frozen contemplation, sensations grew inside her once more and she began to move against him. A few tender directions of his hands, and she caught the rhythm of his thrusting hips. Eagerly raising her hips upwards to take him in deep, as the need to find completion beckoned.
Cinders and Ashes Page 7
