Midnight Masqerade

by Shirlee Busbee

  He dared not let himself dwell on what might happen if he were wrong, if all that sweet fire and desire were not really for him. And driven now by the dictates of his own body as well as by the demons in his brain, he opened the door and in naked splendor walked into her bedroom.

  The room was bathed in the glow of soft candlelight, and unerringly he stalked over to her bed and pulled aside the gauzy curtains that draped the large bed.

  Lost in her own unhappy musings, Melissa had not heard either the door opening or his approach, and the sudden movement of the bed-curtains startled her. Eyes wide, she stared at him, and then, as the fact that he was completely naked impinged upon her consciousness, her breath was caught in her throat.

  Dominic was magnificent as he stood there before her, apparently not at all perturbed by his state of undress, his gray eyes fixed hungrily on the soft flesh that rose and fell beneath the filmy scrap of a garment that Melissa had worn to bed. The garment was of spun silk, ivory in color and trimmed abundantly with fine lace; it was both provocative and modest, the nearly translucent material revealing as much as it hid, the full, flowing sleeves and gently rounded neckline giving it a virginal appearance.

  Melissa had been sitting on the lavender coverlet, a pile of silken pillows at her back, and Dominic thought he had never seen anything lovelier as she sat there, her legs tucked beneath her, her glorious hair tumbling unrestrainedly about her shoulders, her mouth half parted in surprise. Unable to help himself, he bent over and claimed those half-parted lips, his kiss oddly gentle.

  Heart hammering in her chest, Melissa didn't know whether to be pleased or disappointed when he lifted his head a second later. Trying desperately to still the wild excitement that was clamoring in her veins, she kept her gaze averted from his naked body and asked breathlessly, "What are you doing here?"

  It was a stupid question and they both knew it. Melissa could have bitten her tongue when she saw the mocking little smile that quirked at the corners of Dominic's mouth. Looking everywhere but at him, she muttered inanely, "It isn't ... it isn't seemly to wander around naked."

  "My body displeases you?" he asked.

  "Oh, no! I think it is wonderful!" Melissa said in a rush; then, realizing what she had admitted, she clamped her lips together, a charming blush staining her cheeks.

  Dominic smiled with all the understandable smugness of a man who knows his woman appreciates his physical attributes. His gaze roaming possessively over the soft curves of her body, he murmured, "And I find yours utterly delectable!"

  For a moment her eyes clung to his as she tried to gauge the sincerity of his words. The warm expression in his gray eyes made Melissa's pulse jump, but then, recalling that he was a practiced womanizer, she said dully, "Mine and that of any other woman who catches your fancy!"

  His hands clamped brutally around her upper arms and he dragged her less than gently up against him. "No," he said harshly. "No other woman but you." His mouth swooped and trapped hers in a demanding kiss, one hand sliding behind her head to hold her captive as he searched her mouth with frank pleasure. "Only you," he muttered finally when he lifted his lips from hers.

  Wanting to believe him, so very weary of fighting him as well as the inexorable demands of her own body, Melissa made no attempt to escape from his grasp. Did it really matter that he didn't love her? she mused sadly. Once she had foolishly banished him from her bed and she o bitterly regretted it ever since, so why not take what he offered? She wanted him. He was her husband. She loved him; how could she not accept this second chance?

  She wasn't the only one who was remembering that she o banished him from her room. His eyes darkening, Dominic suddenly swung her up in his arms. "Tonight," he growled softly, "you share my bed, sweet witch, and I doubt that even you would have the audacity to order me from my own bed."

  For now, Melissa had pushed aside all the old reasons for her mistrust of him and, generous in her defeat, she reached up and pulled his dark head down to hers. Her mouth sliding with exquisite tenderness across his surprised lips, she murmured, "But why should I? It's where we both want to be."

  Dominic was so stunned by her unexpected capitulation that he never remembered moving away from her bed, never remembered their entering his own room, never even remembered laying her down on his huge mahogany bed; o it was only when he noticed the striking contrast of her ivory gown against the midnight blue of his velvet coverlet that he became aware of their surroundings. And by then it didn't really matter to him where they were. ...

  Groaning his delight, he kissed her passionately, all the hunger and desire of these past days suddenly unleashed within him. With equal fervor Melissa returned his kisses, her tongue unashamedly seeking his, twining and teasing, driving him half mad with longing.

  It was heaven to have her in his arms again, to feel again the warmth of her body pressing against his, to feel her long legs entwined around his as they lay side by side, their hands roaming feverishly over the other's body. The smoothness of her fine silk garment rubbed erotically against his naked flesh, but he could not bear even that frail barrier between them, and almost savagely he ripped it from her body, sighing with pleasure when his seeking fingers found her bare skin. He had wanted to be gentle with her, to make slow, tender love to her, but he could not; all the nights of denial, all the sleepless hours he had spent reliving their wedding night, had built within him such a passionate need that he was nearly shaking from the force of it. Leaving a trail of fiery kisses in its wake, his mouth slowly slid to her neck, his tongue and teeth gently biting and tasting as his hands hungrily cupped her breasts. Burying his mouth against her throat where the pulse beat frantically, he muttered, "I've missed you so ... I've thought of nothing but this for days, wondering if I had imagined how soft your flesh is, how sweet your mouth, how easily you make me bum to have you . . ."

  The nights of denial had taken their toll on Melissa also, and although the uncontrollable desires that drove Dominic were new to her, they were no less powerful. She was already boneless with wanting, the fierce passion that only Dominic aroused within her blotting out everything but the joy of being held in his arms, of knowing again the wonder of his kiss, of once more losing herself in the magic which Dominic wove so skillfully, so effortlessly, around them. His words were erotic, the naked hunger in his voice as amusing as his touch, and her arms wrapped around his shoulders, cradling his head nearer to her. Her lips gently caressing the dark hair of his head, she admitted shyly, "I've ... I've missed you too. I-I never meant to drive you away. ..." With so much unknown between them, it was as close to an apology for her actions on their wedding night as she could come, as close to admitting that she loved him.

  "Oh, Jesus!" Dominic groaned against her throat.

  "What am I going to do with you? You've turned my world upside down, and just when I'm convinced that you're a heartless jade, you say something that completely alters my conception of you." His head still bent, in between sharp little kisses, he asked with an odd note of pleading in his voice, "Have you really missed me? Really wanted me in your bed again?"

  It was a most promising conversation. Unfortunately, with Dominic's fingers insistently pulling on her throbbing nipples and his mouth slowly moving upward, Melissa couldn't think straight. She could only feel, feel the demanding ache that was spreading throughout her body, her skin tingling wherever Dominic touched her, and helplessly she groaned, "Oh, yes! I never wanted you to leave.

  Her admission seemed to shatter the last of his control and he caught her lips with his, kissing her fiercely, almost savagely, and his hands sliding around her slim body to lock her in a powerful embrace. With a hunger that seemed endless he kissed her, his tongue filling her mouth, probing with devastating thoroughness the sweetness he found there.

  Crushed next to him, her breasts nearly flattened against his hard chest, her mouth ardently accepting his ravenous invasion, Melissa reveled in the knowledge that, for tonight at least, it was her body that he wa
nted, her kisses that he demanded. Her arms tightened around him, her warm body moving with explicit need against his, wanting his possession with every fiber of her being.

  The soft thrust of her body against his was an exquisite torment and he was almost painfully aware of everything about her, from the honeyed warmth of her mouth to the provocative thrashings of her hips and legs as she sought a closer intimacy. A growl of frankly carnal pleasure broke from his throat as he caught her slender hips in both his hands and held her firmly against his swollen and aching member, his own hips moving in a sensuously lazy rhythm that gave them both a hint of the ecstasy that would come.

  Melissa writhed in his embrace, frantic for him to take her and equally frantic to touch him, to caress him, to let him know just how powerfully he affected her, just how deeply stirring she found his lovemaking. Her entire body seemed to be on fire, her breasts full and aching to feel his mouth upon them, her nipples hard and throbbing, her breath coming in soft little gasps when his head dropped and began to slide openmouthed down her chest.

  Mindlessly she arched upward, offering herself to him, sighing gently when his lips at last closed over a coral nipple, sharp pleasure shooting through her body as he suckled hungrily on the rigid tip. Intensifying the sweet sensation, his teeth rubbed lightly against the sensitive nipple of first one breast, then the other, sending giddy waves of delight coursing through Melissa.

  His hold on her hips had loosened, and freeing her arms, she began to caress him, her hands moving in ever-widening circles down his back until she reached his muscular buttocks. Almost wonderingly, she ran her hands over the smooth flesh, kneading and exploring the warm firmness.

  Her tender ministrations only made Dominic more aware of how her slightest touch enthralled him, his already painfully erect manhood swelling to impressive proportions as her exploring fingers traveled languidly from his buttocks up his spine and around to his chest. When her searching hands finally found his own hard little nipples, he couldnot suppress an excited groan, her movements copying his, her slim fingers gently tugging and pulling on the highly responsive nubs.

  Blindly he caught her lips with his, kissing her urgently, revealing plainly the depth of his arousal, his tongue plunging hotly into her welcoming mouth. Wild with passion, he slid his fingers down her flat belly, lingering for a teasing moment in the tangle of tight, soft curls between her legs before he reached the area he sought.

  The intimacy between them was still too fragile, too bewilderingly new for Melissa not to react to his probing fingers, and instinctively she stiffened. It was almost as if she feared the pleasure she knew he would bring her, and her thighs closed protestingly around his hand. Her action didn't seem to perturb Dominic; if anything, he found it strangely moving. His lips against hers, he commanded huskily, "Don't. Open your legs to me, let me give you pleasure ... let me give us both pleasure."

  The blood pounding dizzyingly in her brain, her body consumed by desire's fever, wordlessly she obeyed him, her pale thighs parting slackly. A muffled sigh of satisfaction broke from him and his fingers knowingly sought entrance to her body, sending pleasure spiraling wildly through her. He caressed her gently at first, slowly building the hungry need inside her, and then, as Melissa began to thrash even more violently, her hips rising up against his tormenting fingers, his movements became less controlled, more urgent, and she shivered with near ecstasy Racked by the compelling need to have him give her the release she so desperately sought, she writhed with carnal abandonment beneath his touch, her fingers digging into his shoulders. "Oh, please!" she gasped. "Please, take me, let me feel you inside me. I want ... I want you Shaking from the force of the powerful desire that was surging through his veins, his face hard and set with a passion too-long denied, Dominic gave them both what they yearned for, his bulging shaft thrusting into her with a nearly frenzied motion. Bodies fused together, they lay there oddly breathless, staring at each other, just savoring the delicious sensations that were rippling through each other's body.

  Still not moving, his big body braced not to lie heavily on hers, Dominic kissed her slowly, with great-tenderness, and then rhythmically he began to move within her, sharpening the keen edge of passion that pierced their bodies. Wanting desperately to prolong the sweetness of their mating, Dominic tried frantically to refuse the demands of his body, his features twisted by the effort it took not to seek that final pinnacle of pleasure.

  Arms wrapped around him, her tongue hungrily exploring his mouth, Melissa could feel his restraint, could hear his labored breathing, and it heightened her own arousal, her hips heaving upward to eagerly meet the downward plunge of his. He felt huge as he lanced into her and she took a lover's pride in his size and strength, her hands sliding to his driving buttocks to clench that firm flesh and spur him onward. With every stroke he took, delving deeper within her, the fiery, demanding ache that raged in her loins became more intense, more ravenous, until she was wantonly twisting beneath him, soft moans of pleasure and entreaty mingling together as her own passion-maddened movements brought them closer to that longed-for peak of fulfillment. This exquisite torture could not last, and suddenly, like the rush of a storm-swollen river, ecstasy burst through her straining body, making her cry out with the joy she experienced.

  Her cry shattered what little remained of his control, and groaning his own delight, Dominic shuddered as his body was racked by the fierce momentum of his own release. Passion fading slowly, they still clung tightly to each other as languid contentment replaced the elemental forces that had, such a short time before, driven them mercilessly.

  For a long time they lay locked together, neither one wanting to break the intimate contact between them, neither one wanting to face the difficulties that still confronted them. Though desire had been sated, some need to touch and caress still remained. Lazily, Dominic kissed her, suddenly inordinately grateful for whatever fate had brought her into his life. And when she would have moved, would have displaced his weight, he captured her arms above her head, and nuzzling her neck, muttered, "No. I want you again. Can't you feel me stirring inside you, feel me responding to your satin warmth?"

  Vibrantly aware of his hardening body, Melissa smiled languorously, her nipples suddenly tingling, her body instantly surging to life once more. Her eyes bright with mischief and rising passion, she murmured, "You mean you aren't going to send me from your bed?"

  Already half lost in the conflagration that was flaming through his body, Dominic thrust possessively into her and swore thickly, "Oh, Jesus! Never!"

  Chapter Twenty-two

  THE SUN was high in the sky when Melissa awoke the next morning, and as she glanced bewilderedly around her bedchamber, she wondered miserably if she had imagined last night, if her fevered longings had taken the form of a particularly lifelike dream. Despairingly she buried her head in her pillow and instantly became aware of some things of vital interest: she was stark naked, and she was blushingly conscious of a faint soreness between her legs, of a tenderness in her breasts that could not have been brought on by a mere dream-no matter how real it might have seemed!

  A slow, ecstatic smile spread across her face as she turned and stretched like a well-fed cat. For whatever reasons, Dominic had come to her last night and in the ensuing hours he had made it quite, quite clear that he was a man of astounding sensual appetite. Furthermore, during those long, exciting hours in his arms she had learned to her delight and a little embarrassment that she possessed a hunger as great as his own and that she was becoming more than slightly addicted to his passionate lovemaking.

  Dreamily she considered last night, remembering how fiercely he had claimed her body time and again, remembering how he had looked when he had first come naked into her room, recalling the width of his muscled chest, the narrowness of his waist and the swollen, upthrusting size of his . . .

  A hot blush burned in her cheeks, and deciding that she was turning into a most depraved, lascivious creature, she bounded from her bed,
suddenly eager to see her husband.

  Ringing for her maid, she dragged on a lace-trimmed robe and waited impatiently for Anna's appearance, wondering where Dominic was, wondering why he had put her back into her own bed.

  Anna stuck her head inside the room and flashed Melissa a smile. "Good morning, madam. Your bath is almost ready; the master ordered it for you before he went for his ride. He said that he was quite certain that you would want one immediately upon waking."

  There was a knowing gleam in Anna's dark eyes that flustered Melissa a bit, but nodding her tawny head, she replied, "Thank you, Anna. I do want a bath, and could you have some chocolate and a hot bun brought up?"

  After last night, everything seemed mundane to Melissa, and though the bath was fragrant and refreshing, her thoughts kept straying to Dominic as she idly speculated on what it would be like to share a bath with him, to soap his wet body, to feel him come to life under her hands....

  If Anna noticed that her mistress seemed particularly distracted this morning, she made no comment, cheerfully helping her to dress and arranging the thick, shiny hair into artless curls. Having finished her chocolate and eaten the freshly baked bun, Melissa fiddled in her room for a few moments, suddenly attacked by a bout of paralyzing shyness.