Midnight Masquerade

by Shirlee Busbee

  "It was d-d-different then," she stammered helplessly. "We w-w-weren't m-m-married!"

  A gleam of amusement lit the gray eyes. "I see," he said slowly. "You only welcome my embraces when we aren't married?"

  "That wasn't what I meant and you know it!" she exclaimed.

  "Then precisely what do you mean, sweetheart?"

  Melissa took a deep breath and began earnestly, "I mean that we didn't really want to marry each other and that... that..."She hesitated, then ended in a rush, "And that consummating our marriage right now would be a mistake."

  Some of his amusement vanishing, Dominic asked, "And when do you propose we do consummate our marriage?"

  Feeling a bit more confident, she said, "Oh, perhaps in a few weeks, after we know each other better."

  Dominic snorted. "I'm willing to indulge you in several areas, my dear, but since it was our mutual desire for each other that put us in this position in the first place, I have no intention of denying myself my connubial rights."

  Her heart gave an uncomfortable leap within her breast, but assuming a martyred expression, Melissa said dramatically, "Since you feel that way, there is nothing I can do to stop you from having your way with me." She sighed heavily. "I shall just have to endure your presence in my bed."

  She was prepared for some sort of reaction from him, but to her astonishment, he chuckled. "Very well," he said calmly. "You have warned me, and since you have no intention of joining me in this endeavor, I shall just have to please myself." Before she realized his intent, he had reached out and whisked away her spectacles. A satisfied smile on his handsome face, he stared down into her widened eyes. "Getting rid of your disguise will be only the first of many pleasures that I plan on enjoying."

  He glanced at the offending spectacles and then, as Melissa watched transfixed, he opened the window near where they stood and with one powerful movement flung the spectacles far out into the darkness. "There," he said. "That was one thing I've wanted to do for a long time." He looked at her, the narrowing of his gaze causing her breath to constrict in her chest. "And now," he said slowly, "for the rest of it."

  Like a frightened doe confronted by a predator, Melissa attempted a leap away from him, but his hands caught her slender shoulders and with an infuriating economy of effort, he brought her struggling form up next to his hard body. Laughter in his voice, he murmured, "Remember, you are supposed to endure, my dear, not fight me."

  Furious and, to her mortification, excited, Melissa glared up at him, conscious of his warm, hard length pressed so intimately against her. Quelling the treacherous response of her body to his nearness, she said angrily, "How dare you destroy my spectacles!" When he remained unmoved, only grinning down at her with that thoroughly disgusting satisfied expression on his face, she added, "I need them."

  He shook his head. "Not for what I have in mind," he murmured, one hand already traveling upward to pluck the pins from her hair. Despite Melissa's attempts to avoid his exploring fingers, in a matter of moments her tawny hair was tumbling wildly about her shoulders, the ugly bun ruined. Both hands once again on her shoulders, Dominic surveyed his handiwork, noting with pleasure the flushed features that she raised to him, her freed hair curling like golden silk near her cheeks, her rosy mouth full and tempting just below his and the amber-gold eyes dark with some indefinable emotion. Fear? Desire? Anger? He didn't know and at this moment he didn't care; the movements of her body against his as she had sought to escape had made him compellingly aware of the demands of his own body. Unable to resist the sweet lure of those lips, Dominic groaned and found her mouth with his. Hungrily he kissed her, surrendering himself to the primitive emotions that flooded through him at the touch of his lips against hers. He wanted to tease her, taste her, explore her slowly, but he found that he could not, that she was too tempting, too intoxicating for him to think clearly, and he urgently deepened the kiss, forcing her lips to part for him, boldly invading her mouth.

  Trapped as much by the restraining hands on her shoulders as by her own wayward body, Melissa trembled from the force of the emotions that racked her as Dominic's warm, questing tongue filled her mouth, the velvet length of it stroking against her own tongue, inviting her to follow suit. Her head swimming, a weak feeling creeping through her very bones, she swayed nearer to him, unconsciously offering herself to him, her lips helplessly parting even further before his demanding kiss.

  Greedily he took what she bestowed, his lips hardening, his tongue moving feverishly within her mouth, arousing her, making her aware of the reckless desire that curled and eddied deep within her. She was powerless in his embrace, unable to even conceive of the idea of resisting him, her thoughts fuzzy and indistinct, until the only thing that she was aware of was Dominic, the enchantment his mouth was wrecking upon her, the wanton desires that were clamoring in her veins.

  She had thought that there could be nothing more thrilling than his kiss, but when his hands dropped to her slender hips and he pulled her hard against him, making her conscious of the heat and size of his swollen manhood beneath his silk robe, she realized that she had been wrong. She was swamped by a heady sensation of delight, of sweet power to know that she had brought him to this state, to know at this moment that it was her body he desired. But that thought vanished the instant it occurred—his hands found the fastenings at the nape of her neck, and with a sudden lurch of her heart, she felt her gown slipping away from her.

  Shaken at how easily she had allowed herself to nearly be seduced, she jerked her mouth from his and jammed her arm between their locked bodies. Breathlessly, she got out, "Oh, stop it! Please!"

  Through half-shuttered eyes, Dominic gazed down at her, the expression on his dark features hard to discern. Does she realize the impossibility of what she is asking? he wondered helplessly. He ached to the very marrow of his bones with wanting her; she was his wife; this was their wedding night, and she wanted him to stop? He shook his head and muttered, "I cannot, I want you... willing or not." His gaze dropped to the creamy shoulders and the swell of her breasts that his seeking hands had revealed, and he knew an urge to touch those same places with his mouth, to rip the concealing, offending garment from her body, to have all the secrets of her flesh laid bare before him. With an effort, he raised his eyes from temptation, but his gaze lingered for a long second on the faintly bruised fullness of her mouth. His eyes on hers, he finally said, "Melissa, whatever the reasons for our marriage, we are married—we will be man and wife for the rest of our days. I didn't want this marriage—I never thought to marry at all—but since, through my own folly and encouragement from you, we found ourselves forced to comply with tradition, I fully intend to make it a real marriage." He grinned ruefully. "It's odd, but while I envisioned our marriage to be filled with all sorts of difficulties, I never counted bedding you among them. That was the one and only place I assumed we would have no trouble."

  His words stung, but Melissa had to admit to the justice of them. Her reactions to him every time he came near her would lead one to suppose that she was more than agreeable to join him in bed, she thought disgustedly. But she could hardly confess that she found him utterly fascinating and that becoming his wife, his beloved wife, held a great deal of appeal to her. Since it was clear that he felt none of the more tender emotions that she did, she was going to have to make certain that he never discovered just how hard it was for her not to fall under his spell. Giving a toss of her honey-colored curls, she mumbled, "Well, it would appear that you were mistaken."

  He smiled and Melissa felt her traitorous heart beat faster. "Mistaken?" he repeated. "No, not mistaken—I merely forgot how infuriatingly contrary you can be."

  There was far too much truth in what he said for her to deny it, and to her horror, instead of the anger she was longing to feel, she was conscious of a compulsion to giggle. She felt her lips start to twitch in an answering smile before she remembered herself and pursed them into a tight line.

  But Dominic had seen the s
light quiver of her mouth and, laughing delightedly, he swung her up in his strong arms. With mischief and something else dancing in his gray eyes, he murmured against her ear, "And now, sweetheart, there will be no more talking... unless, of course, you wish to tell me what a wonderful lover I am."

  Torn between the desire to soundly box his ears and the equally appealing desire to join in his laughter, Melissa gave up all pretense of resistance. He was irresistible, and she suspected that she had lost this particular battle the moment she had first laid eyes on him. But the memory of what he had admitted about not wanting to marry lingered. Determined to protect her silly heart from further hurt, she said formally, "I just want you to know, Mr. Slade, that it is only because it is my duty as your wife that I am consenting to this."

  Dominic grinned down at her as he placed her gently on the silk coverlet. "And I," he murmured with a wicked gleam, "will only dutifully exert my husbandly rights." As he lowered her to the bed, her gown slipped farther down her body, the tip of one small breast peeking above the lace of her chemise. His smile faded, and mesmerized by the sight of that rosy nipple, he said thickly, " Very dutifully."

  With one careless movement, he loosened the sash of his robe and shrugged out of it. Melissa had a brief glimpse of a muscled chest, thick dark whorls of hair spreading across its hard width; and then his face and head blotted out everything as his mouth sought hers and she gave herself up to the enchantment that was Dominic.

  She had been half fearful that he would fall upon her like a ravening beast, but now that all the words had been said between them, he seemed in no hurry to claim what was rightfully his. Instead he took keen pleasure in merely kissing her, long, deep, drugging kisses that sent her blood spinning dizzily through her veins, blocking out any idea of resistance. But kisses soon didn't satisfy him and his mouth traveled across her jaw, his tongue tasting, his teeth nibbling as he explored the shape and texture of her silken skin. It was a delicious sensation, and Melissa shivered with pleasure when his teeth found her earlobe and he bit it lightly, his tongue circling and probing.

  If his exploratory kisses had made her dizzy, the touch of his questing hands sent a jolt of animal enjoyment right through her bones. She had been so caught up by his seductive kisses that it was a shock when she felt his hand close over her breast, his thumb rubbing across the nipple. With breathless anticipation, she lay acquiescent, unable to move or think of anything but what he was doing to her, his warm mouth sliding down her chest, his lips moving toward her aching nipples. Unable to help herself, she moaned as he cupped her breast and his mouth fastened hotly over the rosy tip, his tongue curling about the straining flesh. Desire, instinctive and compelling, washed through her, the hungry suckling movements of his tongue and mouth dragging her deeper into the erotic whirlpool he created between them.

  Melissa had foolishly thought that she could maintain some sort of composure, to merely submit to his demands, but she discovered that it was impossible to remain unmoved by his arousing caresses. Helplessly, her fingers tangled in his dark hair, pulling him closer to her breast, her body arching up toward his tantalizing mouth. At her betraying movement, his hand tightened fractionally on her breast and his teeth grazed the swollen nipple, intensifying the pleasurable sensation, and she moaned again, encouraging him to continue this tender assault.

  Time and again his lips would leave her breasts to fasten demandingly on her mouth, his hands moving feverishly across the soft skin that he had exposed. With shy greed Melissa returned his kisses, her tongue exploring his mouth as he was exploring hers, her hands sliding across his broad shoulders, feeling with delight the muscles tense when her fingers brushed against his spine. His skin was warm and firm and she discovered that it gave her great pleasure just to touch him, to feel the reaction of his body as her hands grew bolder, slowly wandering down his back to his waist.

  Groaning softly, Dominic raised his mouth from hers and his bright gaze moved over her flushed face before it dropped to the small breasts with their upthrusting coral nipples. Her crumpled gown and chemise hid the rest of her body from his searching eyes, and pressing a kiss between her breasts, he muttered, "I want to see all of you... to see if reality is as beautiful as my dreams of you."

  Before Melissa had time to protest, if the thought had even occurred to her, Dominic pushed away her offending garments. He shifted and with one final movement, gown and underclothing were removed and tossed onto the floor. In the dancing light of the candles which had been lit earlier, a possessive glitter in his gray eyes, he boldly surveyed her slender shape as she lay there, her skin gleaming like sun-warmed honey against the deep lavender coverlet. Her breath trapped in her chest, Melissa froze, unable to move, inherent modesty warring with an odd shamelessness as his gaze moved across her bared flesh.

  Unhurriedly Dominic viewed her nakedness, the slim ankles and long, shapely legs, his gaze riveted for several seconds on the soft tangle of tawny curls at the junction of her pale thighs before he was able to wrench his eyes away and continue his leisurely appraisal. She was everything that he could have wished for, and unable to just look upon her, he reached out and pressed one hand on her flat stomach, letting it sweep up past the slender waist to the soft swell of her firm breasts. "Lovely," he said thickly. "Far lovelier than even my dreams."

  His mouth swooped down upon hers and he kissed her fiercely, his tongue plundering between her lips, his arms closing around her. The warmth and hardness of his powerful body startled Melissa, her breasts crushed against the unyielding wall of his chest, her legs intertwined with his; and between them... between them, stabbing against her belly with a heat and force of its own, was the swollen, imposing length of his manhood. Melissa knew a quiver of excitement and fear when his hands moved to her hips and he jerked her closer to him, making her even more aware of the strength and power of his big body.

  Lost in the turbulence of new emotions that stormed through her body, Melissa responded blindly to Dominic's urgent kisses, her arms closing about his neck, her body pressing intimately against him. Her nipples tingled from the rough caress of the crisp hair that covered his chest as they lay there locked together in a passionate embrace, and she was more and more aware of an insistent yearning ache deep within her. The touch of his roaming hands as they traveled over her slender hips, fondling her buttocks while he rhythmically rocked against her, only served to excite her further, to stoke the spiraling need surging through her slender body. She ached with an elemental need; the kisses and the arousing caresses were now not enough. There was a hunger for something more, driving her to seek a closer intimacy, her hips arching up to rub against him.

  Dominic groaned at her actions, his hands clenching convulsively into the soft, pliant flesh of her buttocks as he held her motionless against him, just savoring the sensual experience of her delicately formed body pressed so close to his. Her hard little nipples were burning into his chest like points of fire, and the brush of her body against his was a deeply carnal pleasure. She was an enchanting, intoxicating creature, everything about her pleasing him, from the passionate kisses she returned to the signs of her arousal. He wanted her, needed to bury himself deep within her, to find relief from the aching, throbbing demands of his body, and so gently he pushed her back into the softness of the mattress, his hands sliding to the tight curls between her legs.

  At the first touch of his hands in so intimate a place, Melissa stiffened, the instinct to protect herself momentarily allowing coherent thought to filter through her consciousness. She made a tiny movement to escape, but Dominic was prepared for it, and lifting his mouth from hers, he muttered, "Ah, no, sweetheart... don't close me out. Let me..." His mouth slid to her breast and he muttered against the silken flesh, "...let me pleasure you, let me teach you..."

  A shudder went through her at the need and desire evident in his voice, and with a small moan of mingled defeat and excitement, she relaxed against him. His lips closed almost painfully around her sensitive nipp
les and the hungry, yearning ache in her loins sharpened, nearly making her cry out at the intensity of emotion that flooded her. But it was the probing caress of Dominic's knowing fingers between her thighs that shattered her inhibitions and had her writhing like a wanton, possessed creature as, he taught her the secrets of her body. With a sweet deliberation, he stroked and teased that most sensitive flesh, and pleasure such as she had only guessed at rippled throughout her body with every erotic movement of his fingers. Gripped by a fierce onslaught of desire, she pushed up frantically against his invading exploration, her hands rubbing feverishly across his broad back.

  "Oh, Dominic," she moaned softly, "I want... oh, please... please..."

  Her words were nearly his undoing, the throbbing demands of his hungry, straining flesh almost destroying whatever restraint he still possessed. Her scent was in his nostrils, her yielding, sweet body was eager and aroused beneath his touch and her honeyed kisses drove him mad with the compelling desire to plunge his body into hers, to make them one. Aware that he would lose total control of the powerful needs that were swamping him if he did not end this delicious torment soon, he captured her wandering hands in his and covered her with his body, sliding between her legs.

  The warmth and weight of him both thrilled and agitated Melissa, her breath catching in her throat as she felt the burgeoning pressure of his swollen organ between her thighs. She twisted against him, wanting his possession and yet frightened of it too. He seemed so big and intimidating as he loomed over her, and with a leap of her heart she became aware of the strong grip of his hands holding her own prisoner on either side of her head. She could feel him trembling against her, could sense his driven passion from his fierce kisses, and her apprehension fled. He was her husband, the only man who had ever aroused her to passion, the only man whose kisses and caresses had shaken her, the one man who had made her giddily aware of the delights to be found in physical love, and helplessly she melted against him. Her lips against his mouth, she murmured, "Take me, Dominic... make me truly your wife."