His lips kissed through her folds expertly in fluid strokes, stirring a welter of emotions in her belly, making her thighs flex and her hips lift in unrestrained longing.
A tight bolt of lightning began to unfurl in her stomach, and she couldn’t help grinding herself against him. His tongue stroked faster, and just when she couldn’t stand another second, he plunged his tongue deep inside her and she shattered. Shooting stars clouded her mind, and she floated in a haze of sensation.
When she finally brought her emotions under control it was to find him leaning over her, his stormy brown eyes tinged with gold, so dark and smoldering that she shivered at the intensity reflected in the deep chocolate pools.
She wanted him so badly, it hurt. An ache deep within her belly that only he could appease.
He kissed up her body and rose onto his thick, muscle-bound arms to stare at her with a force of need that humbled her. He lowered his head, fingers threading through her hair, spreading it out on the pillow beneath her. His mouth softened, its beautiful lines stark and sensual.
Rheda fought back a moan as his lips began to caress hers. She could feel his passion. Feel it matching hers.
“I shouldn’t want you like this. Be consumed by you. But I can’t deny my need for you ...” His whisper filled her mind and stirred a quickening deep within her. His touch felt so right ... Even though he was her enemy. He could take everything she loved away from her. His tone deadly calm he added, “Once this is over, once I capture Daniel, I can’t promise to protect you, but I’ll try.”
Before she could respond, giddiness made way for panic as she felt his turgid manhood nudge her entrance. She knew she had to relax. Meg told her it would hurt more if she didn’t. If she was to try and hide her innocence she mustn’t react. How painful could it be? Just looking at him hurt more than she could bear.
He withdrew and slipped a finger into her wet passage. “You’re so tight,” he breathed.
She took a deep breath and tried to get her unused muscles to loosen. She concentrated on Rufus’s clever fingers; another finger had joined the first, intensifying the pleasure, evoking first a resigned sigh at the pain to come, and then a low, whimpering moan at the gratification he was stoking deep within her. Perhaps it wouldn’t be too bad.
He kept up his sensual assault, egging her on, until she warmed and softened and surrendered to the dark magic he commanded. Rheda threaded her arms around his neck, pressing closer. She desperately wanted him, and a whimper of need escaped, begging him to ease the inexplicable hunger.
His fingers left her, and she didn’t protest when she felt his thick, velvet-smooth shaft pressing against her thigh. Her breasts swelled beneath his luscious mouth, while her body quivered at the promise of that thick, rigid flesh giving her pleasure.
The tip of his shaft pierced her slick passage. She arched her back and lifted her hips instinctively seeking, and he thrust inside her to the hilt. Pain tore through her, and she couldn’t stop crying out in shock, digging her nails into his shoulder as she gasped and whimpered.
Rufus stilled above her. “Christ.” His eyes widened, and his face filled with fury. “You’re a virgin.” He struggled to get his breathing under control; sweat beaded his forehead. “More deceit. What did you hope this sacrifice would bring? I won’t be forced into marriage with you—and even if I were I won’t save you if you are guilty,” he growled.
“I tried to tell you on the cliff top that I’d had no lover. I’ve never had a lover. Tonight, would you have listened to me if I’d pleaded my innocence?”
His hair had fallen forward and shielded his eyes. Already she felt him tense with guilt.
He was still embedded inside her, but he held still. The pain was easing. Tentatively she moved, lifting her hips, drawing him deeper within her.
He shuddered above her. “Don’t, Rheda. I shouldn’t have done this ...”
She moved again and lifted her torso off the bed to lick his nipples. “Let go of your guilt and make love to me. I’ve waited a long time to experience passion. Please make it special. Don’t let me have wasted my ...”
At her breathy entreat, she felt his body surrender to her.
“I know this is wrong, but it feels right. You feel right. I can’t stop,” he groaned, voice rough. His fingers trailed down and moved between their bodies, softly stroking the sensitive bud of nerves at her apex. Then he bent and took her lips in a kiss so full of feeling her heart melted.
She wanted him. Far too much. He would be her first lover. God, she wanted him to be her only lover ... To fill her, to teach her about—love. Her eyes welled with tears. There would be no love—he would despise her when he realized who she was—Dark Shadow, the smuggler he sought.
Then he moved within her, and Rheda closed her eyes and forgot everything except for the hard lean body above her. She took the newfound comfort of his tender kisses and caresses. But as he began to stroke inside her, all thoughts of tenderness flew out the window.
He withdrew slightly, then thrust back into her. Slow at first, he eased himself from her sheath, then pushed back inside—all the way in—in a relentless plundering that made her feel more than she ever thought possible.
More painful than losing her virginity was the knowledge that Rufus would never look upon her with anything other than disdain once the truth came out.
For a long moment Rufus didn’t move. He was caught up in the enormity of what he had just done. Could he be wrong about everything?
If so, this night would cost him.
Soon he could feel her softening, warming around him, feel her virginal tightness become wetter with her increasingly renewed arousal. Finally, she moved her hips beneath him. He heard her breath catch in a startled gasp of pleasure as his powerful length filled her.
Sheathed tightly inside her, he began to move, withdrawing and thrusting again, forcing himself to go slow, to hold back, to restrain the excitement flaring through his senses. She was moist and hot and insanely inviting. Yet her instincts, too, were quickly driving him to completion.
She wrapped her legs around him and lifted herself to match his rhythm, but he felt her innocence. Calling on all his willpower, he began to coax a sexual response from her. When Rheda’s thighs parted to accept more of him, Rufus clenched his teeth, fighting the scorching hunger of his body.
This was the space between heaven and hell. A scorching hunger singeing every part of her. The heavy, burning ache inside her was growing, melting the pain in her heart.
Rheda felt the heat and desire. Her entire body throbbed at the feel of Rufus’s hard flesh joined with hers.
His hot breath seared her nipple just before he took it deep into his mouth. The twinges of pleasure sharpened. She tried to press closer, molding her skin to his as she felt the hot, coiling tension rise, spiraling through her body; her need was ravenous. She opened wide to him. In reward, he sank deeper. She whimpered, pleading, needing ... He thrust harder, faster, and Rheda suddenly erupted in a blinding flash of stars.
Rufus captured her wild cries with his mouth. When she shattered, rigid and lost in her release, he followed, shuddering and spilling his seed deep within her in a burst of explosive need, his hoarse groans mingling with her cries as he convulsed against her.
For a long while afterward he lay there, breathing harshly, shock waves still pulsing, his face buried in the riot of curls surrounding her face.
She moved slightly beneath him, and he rolled onto his back, his skin layered with a sheen of sweat from their wild lovemaking.
He cursed his own weakness. Guilt ate at his soul. Not only had he taken her virginity, he’d knowingly done so when Rheda knew she was all but a prisoner.
She’d stripped him of his honor as easily as a whore raised her skirts. She proved exactly what sort of man he really was.
He stood and picked up his trousers. Unable to look at her he said, “You will get dressed and join me in the library. We have much to discuss.”
She sat up, a look of startled surprise on her beautiful face. She gathered the sheet tightly against her breast to cover her nakedness.
“Do not keep me waiting long or I’ll send my men to get you, whether you are properly dressed or not.”
Then he was gone.
Rheda pictured him fierce and angry, striding down the hall with each heavy footstep thumping the boards. He probably hated her with a vengeance right at this very minute.
She ran a hand through her tangled hair. She must look like a wanton. She cringed. What had she done? This was her fault. She could have stopped him. If she’d struggled harder he would have stopped. He would never have taken her against her will. Deep down she knew that.
She was the one who’d behaved appallingly. She’d behaved selfishly. She’d wanted him, so she’d had him.
In the dim firelight she searched the room for her clothes. She hesitated in her dress. What a mess. She sunk down to sit on the end of the bed, her heart heavy. She thought about all that had happened over the past few weeks. All of it she had caused. It hadn’t started the day she’d disobeyed Daniel and rolled the barrel to Meg’s. No, it had started long before that. It started when her father died and left her with a mess to clean up.
A tear seeped out of the corner of her eye. She’d selfishly decided to make her own way in this world. Turning down Christopher’s honorable offer of marriage and setting up a smuggling ring—what had she been thinking?
And there was the problem. She didn’t think. She was so full of pride and scorn for the world of men that she thought of no one else but herself.
Oh, she’d pretended it was Daniel’s inheritance she was saving. It would have been saved if she’d married Christopher. No, it wasn’t Daniel she was thinking of. She did it for herself, and no one else.
Shame and disgust racked her body, and she let out a sob, quickly stifling it with the back of her hand. She was responsible for Daniel being chased and shot by the Revenue men. All because she wanted—she wanted—she wanted ... The words kept echoing in her head.
She stood and rinsed herself in the cooled bathwater before slipping her dress over her head. She could only reach some of the hooks at the back, and the bodice gapped open. She didn’t care. She had a more pressing problem—Daniel. How could she protect him from the scandal she was about to unleash.
Once she’d donned her stockings and slippers, she tidied her hair.
She didn’t even hesitate when leaving the room. Rheda made her way determinedly down the stairs. She knew what had to be done. She had to clean up the chaos she’d instigated, and damn the cost to herself. She’d do what she should have done several years ago, and she prayed it would not be too late for Daniel.
Chapter 18
Rufus refused to notice the shaking in his fingers as he poured himself a stiff brandy. He could barely swallow the liquid past his guilt.
Had he learned nothing? He’d let his rampant desire for a woman cloud his judgment for a second time. Upon entering her room and seeing her lying naked in the tub, he should have immediately turned around and escaped. He should have let Stephen retrieve her. Could have, should have, would have ... But one step into the room was all it took for his resolve to crumble, for his driving need to possess her rise up from the ashes like the phoenix and burn every other thought out of his head.
His gut swirled in agony as the fiery liquid hit. He clenched his fist tightly around the glass. The thought of Stephen seeing Rheda’s nude body, touching her body—he wanted no other man to see her, or have her. The words, you’re mine, pounded through his brain.
She was certainly his now. He’d taken her virginity. He didn’t want to focus on the implications his bedding Rheda wrought. Finding Daniel and capturing the spy had to come first. He’d deal with the aftermath later. He hadn’t even withdrawn. What if he’d gotten her with child.
He took another swig of his drink.
Tonight had been an unmitigated disaster all around. He’d let Daniel slip through his fingers. He’d been knocked unconscious. He’d let smugglers escape, and worst of all he’d taken great pleasure in deflowering Miss Rheda Kerrich.
There would be a price to pay for each of his failures.
With a grim smile he recognized which one of his mistakes would demand the worst punishment. Rheda.
On the heels of his disparaging thoughts, the door opened and Rheda swept into the room. The fresh scent of orange blossom sent his senses reeling.
“I am here as you commanded, my lord,” she said, her tone sweet and slightly mocking. Then she curtsied deeply, almost to the floor.
For a moment he could not respond, deafened by his own heartbeat. Rheda’s spirited beauty made speech impossible. He gazed, riveted, upon that perfect heart-shaped face, sleekly framed by her long golden tresses spilling over her shoulders like a silken waterfall.
The golden flecks in her tawny green eyes sparkled with anger. Her tall, slender, and luscious body was once more fully clothed, but now that he’d seen the delights that lay underneath, Rufus’s memories became feral.
It took a supreme effort of will to pretend a casualness he did not feel. His pride and the raging hunger to take her again made his voice sound harsher than he’d intended. “Do you know what the Crown does to traitors? Have you ever seen a man hanged?”
The smile left her delicate features, to be replaced with a confused frown. “Traitor? I am not sure I understand you, Rufus. What is it you think my brother has done?”
Needing to dominate the proceedings, Rufus remained standing, leaning against the mantelpiece, one hand in the pocket of his jacket. A bitter smile twisted his mouth. “Your brother is the infamous leader of the Deal smugglers. They call him Dark Shadow, do they not?”
Rufus watched his beautiful prey, and he caught the flicker of fear passing over her delicate features.
A discreet cough came from a chair behind them. Rufus had purposely asked Stephen to join them. He couldn’t trust himself in Rheda’s presence. The urge to protect her rather than interrogate her overwhelmed him.
Stephen stood to reveal his presence. “Miss Kerrich, I would advise cooperating with Rufus. Your brother is in serious trouble.” Stephen’s words made Rheda’s bottom lip tremble, and she tilted her head in acknowledgment.
Stephen remained standing, as did Rufus. “I repeat. Your brother is the infamous leader of the Deal smugglers. I am not asking you, I’m telling you. I shot him tonight, at Jacob’s Point.”
Rheda rolled her hands in her lap. “I swear to you on my mother’s grave, Daniel is not Dark Shadow.”
Rufus moved to her chair, bending down until his hands rested on the arms, trapping Rheda in her seat. He looked directly into her eyes. “This is gone way past a game, Rheda. Men could get hurt—killed. Daniel could have been killed tonight.”
She gasped.
Rufus cursed and moved to the sideboard containing the much needed brandy.
Stephen spoke up. “If he is not Dark Shadow, then he certainly knows who he is.”
Rufus caught the glint of truth flash in her vibrant eyes. Rheda hung her head. Time ticked past, the silence almost deafening in the room. Finally, she roused herself. “You want me to betray—a confidence. I at least deserve to know why? Why is Dark Shadow so important to you?”
It was Stephen who answered her. “Not important to us, to the Crown.”
Rheda frowned. “The Crown?”
“The Crown believes Dark Shadow is aiding a French spy. The spy is using his smuggling ring to send England’s secrets to Napoleon.”
Rheda jumped to her feet in horror and cried, “No.” She vehemently shook her head. “That cannot be true.” Her face drained of color, and she began to sway on her feet.
“Rufus, brandy,” Stephen called as he caught Rheda before she hit the floor and laid her on the settee. Rufus pushed his friend aside and brought the glass to Rheda’s lips. Rufus made her drink until the color began to creep back into her cheeks.
She pushed Rufus’s hands away and made to sit up. “I’m fine. Stop fussing.” Rufus remained on his knees beside her. “I’m fine, Rufus. Really.” He held her gaze for what seemed like eternity before, with a curse, he stood and moved to the fireplace.
She swung her legs over the side of the settee and took in the grim faces of the men before her. She’d been such a fool. All this time they had been trying to aid England, and she’d thought only of the shame her illegal activities would bring down upon her brother. What about all the soldiers whose lives were in jeopardy because of her selfishness and arrogance?
Before fear made a coward out of her, she quietly said, “Daniel is not Dark Shadow. I am. Daniel helps occasionally, but the smuggling ring was my invention and I control it. Daniel would rather fall on his own sword than commit treason.” She paused. “As would I.”
Stephen let his breath out on a whoosh. “Heavens. I didn’t see that coming.”
Under his breath Rufus said, “I should have known.”
Rheda held her palms up. “When my father died, I was seventeen and penniless. I was so alone. Daniel was only eleven and did not understand the consequences of our impending bankruptcy.”
“Why did you not accept Lord Hale’s offer of marriage? A far more sensible thing to do.” Stephen’s words were filled with censure. She could not bring herself to look at Rufus, afraid of seeing the same disapproval on his face.
“I thought about it. Seriously. I thought about it so much my head almost burst. But have you ever felt trapped?” She wrung her hands, not waiting for confirmation. “One night I couldn’t sleep so I went for a walk along the cliff tops. That’s when I spied them—smugglers.” She hesitated, then defiantly added in a rush, “If they could do it, why couldn’t I?”
“Christ.” Rufus rubbed his hand across his face. “Who helped you? One of them must be the spy.”
Invitation to Scandal Page 21
