Redemption for the Rakish Earl

by Jilian Rouge

  Lowering his head once more, Rue felt his breath on her, felt him breathe her in. “No one else but you, Rue. Only you.” He looked into her eyes, pouring all of his desire for her within that one look.

  Closing her eyes against the onslaught of feelings he was arousing within her, Rue’s tenuous hold on her sanity was slipping further and further from her grasp. It was almost impossible for her to believe that Alex could desire her like this, and yet, here she was being thoroughly seduced by a simple look.

  Just as suddenly, Alex broke through her languorous haze with an outburst. “Have you taken any other men inside you as you did me? How many have you allowed the pleasure of your body?” His grip on her tightened, believing that a passionate woman as Rue was, would not hold herself back from seeking her own pleasures.

  Shocked at his jealous tone, she erupted with a glare, “There was no one, you pompous ass! There has never been anyone but you. How dare you think I would give myself away so cheaply!”

  Elated as he was that he was the only one to have ever felt her tight sheath surrounding him, he asked, “Why, Rue? Why gift me with your virginity when it should have belonged to your husband?” Grinning inwardly, he already knew his answer, but he wanted to hear her say it aloud.

  Beating at his chest with a closed fist, Rue choked, “Because I wanted you! I had always dreamed of you, and then you were about to leave—”

  She gulped, bravely fighting back a sob. Alex drew her head to rest against his chest as he shushed, “Oh, Rue. I’m here now and everything will finally be all right.”

  “No, it isn’t all right,” she insisted. “It’s all wrong!” And again, she tried to wriggle free.

  “How could this, us, be all wrong? I’m home now and ready to settle down. With you! We’ll get married and—”

  “No, we won’t! You don’t really want to marry me!”

  Confused, Alex gritted out, “But I do want to marry you. I decided days ago that none would do as my wife, except you!”

  Casting him a glittering look, Rue seethed, “I gave myself to you that day because I wanted to demonstrate how much I wanted you to stay. I naively thought that if you saw how good it was between us that you would keep me with you, not stay away for nine years!”

  Dumbfounded, his grip loosened around her, and Rue stepped out of his embrace. His mind could not forget the wealth of pain he saw in her eyes at her admission, and he found he had to try to reach her, to reassure her. He tracked her form as she paced back and forth, swiping at her eyes to dash at unwelcome tears.

  “Rue, nine years ago, I was in no position to take on a wife, nor was I ready for what you wanted for us,” he said, trying to keep his tone even. Placatingly, he continued, “But now, I’m ready to be a proper husband to you, one who will make sure you are never wanting. I am sorry I wasn’t as wise as you were at nineteen, to see how well the two of us suit.”

  Unappeased by his reasoning, Rue spat, “A fat lot of good that does me now! Christian has proposed, and I promised I would give him my answer after the Midsummer ball! Besides, I have doubts as to your true motives for wanting to marry me.”

  The mention of Christian from Rue’s lips pricked him hard and raw. The reminder of another man wanting, lusting after Rue enraged him, and he dearly wished he could light into the man with his fists until he was nothing more than dust. Never mind that that man was his own cousin.

  But watching Rue now, he knew that no amount of pleading or arguing could convince her of his intentions. If that is how she wants to play this, then so be it, he thought rabidly. She forced him to resort to much more drastic tactics, and he knew exactly how to get through to her, to hit her where she was weakest.

  With the library door locked and everyone believing he was hard at work behind its doors, no one would assume any impropriety to be happening in here. Narrowing his eyes at Rue, he shrugged off his coat, swiftly unbuttoned his shirt, and hauled his shirt tails from his trousers.

  Eyes widening, Rue helplessly watched as Alex disrobed before her. “What are you doing? Are you mad? Someone might come!” Now, that he was shirtless, the sight of his naked torso was enough to weaken her knees. Every naked, delectable inch of his chest, his flat stomach, and corded arms were effective weapons against her feeble defenses.

  Stepping into her once more, he reached for her and explained, “No one will. Everyone thinks that I’m tending to estate matters, and with the door locked, they will think I wish to remain undisturbed.”

  As he gathered her into him, she protested, “You can’t think to do this here! This is madness!”

  Already, he was making short work of her muslin gown, expertly undoing the buttons at the back, and then he tugged the sleeves of her gown down her arms. The rest of her gown followed suit, pooling about her feet, leaving her clad in her stays, chemise, and stockings.

  Suppressing a choked groan, Alex raised his hands to tenderly cup the mounds of her breasts through the layers of fabric, his thumbs circling her sensitive nipples. Rue gasped, swaying, at the sensations he pulled effortlessly from her, her body turning traitorous to her mind’s resolve.

  She couldn’t think coherently, her heartbeat seeming to drown out all other sounds. Just as devastatingly, he bent his head to take one tight peak between his lips. The feel of his hot breath through the fabric rasping against her responsive nipple had her emit a small moan that evolved into a little shriek when he bit down gently.

  He released the tightened bud just when she felt like she couldn’t take any more and she asked on a moan, “What are you doing to me? Why?”

  Alex chuckled wickedly, “I am clearly demonstrating what is so obvious between us. This lust between us is inescapable for me, just as it is for you, isn’t it?”

  Closing her eyes against the truth, she weakly tried to shake her head in negation.

  Fiercely, he commanded, shaking her once, “No, I won’t let you hide from me! Look at me, Rue!”

  She looked up and saw the dark, savage glow in his eyes, warning her of his impending, impassioned outburst, but she reveled in their intensity. He wasn’t going to let her go this time, not like last night, not like nine years ago. The steel bands that were his arms kept her locked tight against him as evidence of that fact.

  “You feel as strongly as I do, I know you do,” he informed her while deftly undoing her stays and divesting her of them. Leaving her with her chemise as her only physical barrier between them.

  His obstinacy had him insisting he knew exactly what it was she felt, and that alone had her back up. And although she couldn’t deny how easily her body responded to him, she still had to try to fight back.

  Cursing, she hissed between gritted teeth, “You are beyond stubborn! Why is it that everything you say and do make me want to scream?”

  Before she could continue her rant, Alex seized her lips with his own, intent on setting her alight with his kiss alone. The moment his lips touched hers, Rue only knew thorough devastation in the manner he kissed her. This was no soft, chaste kiss, but a kiss meant to dominate and ravage her completely. He kissed her hungrily, like he meant to devour her. It was rough, heated, and without finesse. Once or twice, their teeth mashed against the other, but like his touch, she reveled in every bit of the experience.

  Alex felt her surrender, felt her melt against him in her acquiescence. Pulling away from their kiss, he whispered fervently, “I want you, Rue. More than I have ever wanted anyone or anything.”

  She thought, No one knows more about wanting than I. Nine long years have taught me that hard lesson.

  Touching his forehead to hers, he looked her in the eye with a wicked gleam and a playful grin on his lips. He murmured, “And I would like the privilege of making you scream for a completely different reason.”

  Rue’s heart nearly stopped at his words, but her curiosity and intensified desire had her asking, “How will you accomplish that?”

  Alex saw Rue’s brown eyes turn luminous, watched as her beautiful, s
oft skin flush with raised color. He could tell that she was ripe and sensitive for anything sensual he directed at her. She was ready to let him finally have her.

  He smiled at her a predatory smile, full of purpose. “My lady, instead of telling you, why don’t I show you.”

  In one swift movement, he swept her up in his arms and set her on her feet at the edge of a nearby chaise. His wicked suggestion earlier thrilled her to her toes and she couldn’t wait to see what he had in store for her. But she looked at him questioningly when he positioned himself flat on his back on the chaise.

  At her look, he informed her, “A rake always knows to see to the lady’s pleasure first. I need you to straddle my face like you’re about to go riding.”

  Intrigued, she did as he bade her by planting both knees on either side of his head. Looking down at him, she asked, “What do you need me to do?”

  Mischievously, he said, “You are to do nothing but enjoy. We are going to emulate the first illustration you spied in that book.”

  Comprehension dawned as she had the memory of that first page emblazoned on her mind since the first glance. Because of her limited knowledge, she had no idea what was being done to the naked female in the illustration. But she gathered that it must have been extremely pleasurable by the look of ecstasy on the female’s face.

  Positioning Rue where he wanted her above him, Alex began by trailing feather-light kisses on the insides of her thighs. She could feel the heat of his breath against her core, causing her to gasp and tense in delight. But when she suddenly felt him part her nether lips with his tongue, she moaned at the unfamiliar but pleasurable sensation.

  Alex looked up at her in time to catch her look of fiery desire, and he gloried in the evidence of her sensitivity to his caresses. Sliding his hands up her torso, he tugged her chemise down, exposing her breasts to his view. He then teased at her nipples while his tongue set to work tasting, licking, and probing between her legs.

  Rue was grateful for his expert skill since she was on the receiving end of it, feeling hot and achy with his ministrations. She arched her back against the feelings he conjured in her and could do no more than continue taking what he gave so generously. While he sucked and licked at her, she clamped her hands over his, as though to help him caress her breasts in the way that would bring her more pleasure.

  As Alex watched her above him, he possessively thought, Mine. All of her wildness and passion on display especially for him as she rocked above him against his tongue. Although still innocent of all the ways of men and women, she instinctively knew to start a rhythm in her own hips to increase her own pleasure.

  Compelled by an instinct she didn’t understand, Rue clasped either side of Alex’s head as she savored what he was doing with his torturous tongue. Driven by pure reflex, she rocked harder and faster against Alex while he sped up the tempo, goading her to reach some urgent feeling. She was totally addicted to the sensations he produced in her, pushing her towards an edge that had her uncertain.

  Trustingly, she let Alex take her there steadily when suddenly a tremendous wave of extreme pleasure crashed through her. Vibrations of exquisite delight imploded within her, originating from where Alex relentlessly caressed her with his tongue. In response to such unbelievable bliss, she would have let out great soul-wrenching cries to the rafters if it were not for Alex’s hand muffling them.

  She still felt the strong pulsations of her pleasure when Alex suddenly toppled her from her perch to deftly roll her underneath him. In alarm, Rue watched as he quickly unfastened his trousers with one hand and guided himself between her thighs.

  “I don’t want to wait further to feel you come undone around my cock,” he explained. And he flexed his hips to sink into her in one thrust.

  She gasped at the sensation of his filling her, stretching her. Her wet, swollen flesh rippled faintly around him in memory of her earlier climax, and she arched beneath him to further the feeling.

  He groaned at her movement, and urged her, “Wrap your legs around me.”

  She complied while pressing herself closer to him, and almost cried when Alex drew back, thinking he was withdrawing from her. But he thrust back into her, mind-numbingly deep and she moaned at the wonder of having him so intimately within her body.

  Alex rode easily within her, her body responsive to everything he gave her. Finding their rhythm together, Alex knew if he angled the base of his cock just right, it would soon bring Rue to the pinnacle along with him. Sitting up on his haunches, he continued to thrust within Rue as he grasped the globes of her bottom to pull her into him at the same time. Her breathing shortened and grew heavier with each thrust, and Rue knew she was midway towards reaching her own pleasure.

  With a thumb, he caressed the little bud just above where they were connected, and she whipped her head to the side, closing her eyes on a gasp. Smiling at her reaction, he asked, “Do you like that? Shall I touch you some more?”

  With eyes still closed, she nodded in answer only to have him stop.

  Snapping her eyes open, she looked at him in surprise. He explained, “I want to hear you tell me what you want. What is it you want, Rue?”

  Aching for him to give her more, she pleaded, “I want more—more of you touching me.”

  He rewarded her by first bowing over her to place a kiss on her lips, then he sat back once more. “Good girl. You will always tell me what you want to maximize your pleasure, and mine, consequently. Understood?”

  On a moan, she agreed, “Yes! Just please, keep moving!”

  “As my lady wishes,” he said teasingly, and with his thumb he probed at her bud while thrusting deeply into her.

  Alex could feel her sheath gradually tightening around him, signaling her impending climax. A fact he was grateful for since he wasn’t sure he could hold out much longer. He circled her bud faster and increased the tempo of his thrusts to bring them both to the brink of pleasure.

  Mindful only of the feel of Rue, Alex almost missed the sound of knocking at the library door, then the trying of the latch. Looking down at Rue, he put a finger to his lips to warn her to silence.

  Unmoving, Alex called out calmly, “Yes? What is it?” Then he punctuated his question with a sweetly agonizing thrust into Rue’s body.

  “It’s Christian. I’m sorry to disturb you, but have you seen Rue? I was told she had come here to fetch a book, but no one has seen her since.”

  Alarmed, Rue’s eyes grew wide, but Alex held her firmly in place by settling atop her while slowly driving her mad with his just-as-equally-slow-but-deep thrusts. For good measure, he also clamped a hand over her mouth to still any protests that might give them both away.

  “She was here briefly,” Alex lied through the door. “But since I was busy with accounts, she promptly left. Perhaps she is reading in her room, or in some nook somewhere.”

  Seeming to be satisfied with his answer, Christian replied back, “Of course. Sorry to interrupt.” At the sound of Christian’s retreating footsteps, Alex resumed driving into Rue with renewed vigor. This time without the lazy patience of lovemaking, he took up a fierce, animalistic pace, bent on seeing both of them to the peak of unadulterated bliss.

  Fortunately, he hadn’t removed his hand from Rue’s mouth when she suddenly howled behind his hand at finding her ecstasy. Feeling her pulsations milk at his cock within her, he immediately joined her there, cursing against the most powerful orgasm he had ever felt. No one had ever produced such a response in him, and he was elated that it was Rue who had done it. After this, he was going to ensure that she was his for all of their natural lives by making her his countess.

  13

  The Watcher in the shadows positively seethed at the sight of Lady Rumina leaving the library, a tremendous shock to see the irrefutable evidence of who had been locked in the library with the earl. It was only by chance that the Watcher had been walking past when the unmistakable sounds of two people--one male, one female--murmuring to each other could be heard behi
nd its doors.

  The situation had become more interesting when Christian had come knocking, looking for his intended. And so, the Watcher had stayed to watch the scene unfold while hiding out of sight behind the drapery. Listening to the exchange between the earl and Christian, suspicion had mounted around the earl’s assumption that the lady in question was elsewhere. The Watcher had been willing to bet that Lady Rumina was hidden away behind those doors along with the earl, based on what had been witnessed outside the maze the night before.

  When Christian had walked away, seemingly satisfied with the earl’s answer, moments afterward, the Watcher had stayed in hopes of confirming the suspicion that Lady Rumina was indeed inside. Looking either way to make sure no one else would round the corner, the Watcher had stooped to spy through the keyhole.

  As the Watcher had thought, the earl had not been busy with the accounts as he had told Christian. Through the narrow field of vision made available by the keyhole, the earl could be seen with his torso and arse bare, his back facing the library door. And he was rutting like an animal between the thighs of a woman whose face was hidden from view, and thus, it wasn’t possible to tell her identity.