That familiar, wolfish smile of his appeared. “Then, my lady, would you like to strap your husband to the bed and have your wicked way with him?”
Laughter bubbled up from within as the intensity of the moment dissipated. The import remained, but with a lighter, more adventurous quality. Excited by the prospect of taking control of the evening, she rose and took hold of the cuffs. “Come along, Cooper. We have much to attend to.”
His brows rose a bit as she assumed command as easily as any field marshal. “Of course.” He stood beside her.
“Of course, my lady.” She looked back at him over one shoulder and lifted one brow.
He bowed slightly. “As you wish, my lady.”
With a roguish wink, she ruined the moment, but turned and headed to the bed, confident he would follow. Once there, she pointed to the middle of the space. “Please remove your robe and lie down.”
He did as she asked, baring his body to her. She took in the width of his shoulders, the taper of his torso down to a trim waist, and then down over his lean but well-muscled thighs and calves. As directed, he settled in the middle of the bed and waited.
Emily reached down and wrapped one of the cuffs around his wrist, buckling it into place. Then she took his arm and raised it toward the corner of the bed where a hook was embedded in the wood of the headboard. It was tucked off to the side, where drapery could hide it from prying eyes, but it was still easily accessible. She approved of his attention to detail.
Then she walked around the bed to the other side and repeated the process.
Once Cooper was strapped to the bed, she stepped back and admired the tableau. He brought to mind a mythological god or fallen angel trapped by an earthly lover. His golden hair glinted in the candlelight, the shadows sculpting his face as he waited for her direction. Now that she could do anything she wanted with him, what would she choose?
Chapter 33
Cooper lay on the bed with his arms cuffed to either corner of the bed and wondered what his hellion might do to him. Were it up to him, he would ask that she press her luscious breasts to his face. But it wasn’t his decision to make. He’d handed the reins to his wife, and now waited to see what she might do with absolute control.
A naughty smile flitted across her shapely lips, and the first kernel of doubt flickered through his brain. Could he withstand whatever she conjured up to torment him? Certainly, it would all feel good, but one could take only so much pleasure at once.
“You should know, I have a mental list of all the things I have ever wanted to do to you. We could be here well past dawn,” she said, her tone full of mock warning as she untied the belt of her robe.
Beneath the silky fabric, she wore nothing, and the notion pleased him immensely. In just a few short weeks, they had come further than he ever could have hoped. But then, they had come so far prior to the schism, it made sense that they both had rebounded with alacrity.
He struggled to maintain a sufficiently solemn expression. “As you see fit, my lady. I am at your disposal.” He wiggled his arms a bit to draw attention to his cuffs.
“Mmmm…you are. I must say, I do like this arrangement.” She crawled on the bed and perched by his feet.
All over his body, his skin prickled with awareness. Her every small shift sent a new wave of sensation rolling over him, exciting him. It took every ounce of control he possessed to hold still in anticipation of what was to come.
Emily leaned over his foot. Every sinew in his body tensed, waited.
And then he felt it. A mere wisp of sensation. It was so faint, if he hadn’t watched, he wasn’t certain it would have registered. A breath of a kiss on the top of his foot. Another on the matching appendage. Then her lips caressed each ankle in turn, each shin—in two places.
Between kisses, she said, “There was a night not so long ago when you promised me—and delivered—endless delights and slow, agonizing pleasure.” She looked up at him, a wicked smile slowly curving her mouth. “Tonight, I return that promise to you.”
She slowly made her way up his thighs, past his groin. His cock throbbed with need. Ached to feel her soft, sweet lips. If it had been a sentient thing, he knew it would feel utter jealousy of the kisses she rained on every other spot on his body.
More kisses came as she worked over his hip bones, up his stomach, and then she teased his belly button with a flick of her tongue. Hands cuffed, he had no choice in the matter, no ability to simply take what he wanted. To take her as he had the night they’d reconciled. Certainly, she had started out riding him slowly, but his restraint had snapped, and he had taken control long before she could fully execute her intention. He should have guessed with him cuffed, she would follow through on her original plan.
Instead, he watched, fascinated by her deliberate pace and attention to every detail. As she moved up his torso, she skirted his nipples, again ignoring the obvious places where one is assured to receive pleasure. When her tongue slipped out to stroke along his collarbones, his cock bumped against his stomach as though attempting to draw such attention to itself. He was hard, possibly harder than he’d ever been, and ached with the need for release.
His breath grew choppy, and it became a Herculean effort to draw each one. To fill his lungs during her bliss-filled assault.
But his hellion countess continued to defy convention and do as she pleased. And as a result, she pleased him very much.
Next came his shoulders, and with them, the added torture of feeling her heat and her presence against his chest as she leaned over to minister to his opposite side. Added to the heat was her scent. A soft, indecipherable floral smell that was as wild and free as Emily herself. He would forever associate her with that perfume.
Finally, she placed her lips on his neck. Tickled his skin with the moist heat of her tongue. And then she nibbled his ear closest to her, her breath an added layer of sensation to his overly stimulated nerves. When she sucked his earlobe into his mouth, his body commenced shaking. Need gripped his balls like a vise and forced a low, agonized groan from deep within.
Emily released his flesh and sat up on her knees. She gazed at him, visibly trembling with desire, and pursed her lips together. “Cooper, are you well?”
He blew out a steady breath and tried to regain control of his galloping lust. She certainly appeared satisfied with the results of her efforts, despite her feigned concern. “I am, my lady,” he said, knowing he could not hide the ragged note in his voice.
“My, you don’t sound well. Perhaps there is something I can do to alleviate your distress.” She batted her lashes coquettishly.
He refused to play her game, even as adorable as she was when she attempted to appear innocent. “Anything you chose to do would be welcome, my lady. I am at your disposal.” His cock perked up, flopping up against his stomach.
Though not entirely in his control, he could have minimized the movement some. However, doing so seemed counterproductive at the moment.
“Oh, well then, I suppose I shall do as I please.” She winked and leaned back over to baldly swipe her tongue across his nearest nipple.
A faint tingle of sensation swirled about the point, but unlike her nipples, he did not experience great pleasure. It was almost as stimulating as having her lick or kiss his bicep. She treated the other nipple the same, but quickly moved on.
The feel of her lips caressing his flesh as she moved lower, and then lower still, drove his need higher. Then she pressed a kiss to the underside of his cock.
His hips thrust, and his balls tightened, sending pulses of lust ripping through him. She took his base in her hand, lifted him up, and wrapped those very same lips around his tip.
Fuck, he wanted to push deep within her mouth, sink into her until the tight grip of her throat tried to strangle his shaft. Instead he held back, checked the beastly urges within, and waited to see what she would do next.
Emily did not disappoint. She drew a breath, relaxed her jaw, and sank down on him until her throat
blocked her progress. Then she swallowed and relaxed the muscles, allowing her to continue forward until her nose pressed against the wiry hairs at the root of his erection. The incredible tightness squeezed his tip, causing his balls to draw up. The intense gratification had him teetering on the edge of climax, but then she withdrew, and the burning need for release retreated a bit.
The respite did not last long as she sank back down on his shaft without hesitation, taking all of him once more. He groaned, arching up against his restraints as he sought more contact, more depth. She choked, but remained steadfast in seeing to his pleasure.
She once more pulled back and then returned, sliding down his length. Over and over, she repeated the slow shuttling of his cock in and out of her mouth. Every so often, she paused at the deepest point and encouraged him to pump his hips, creating an even more intense pleasure that sizzled through his trembling frame.
The need to come, to explode, crept over him with each pass until black spots danced in his vision as he tried to refrain. “Please, my lady,” he said as his voice cracked on the last word. “You must stop, or I shall come.”
Instead of heeding his plea, she glanced up at him and moaned as she cupped his sac and squeezed ever so gently. Cooper was lost as the pressure on his balls twined around the vibrations of her moan and caused his release to rip through him. Despite his hands not being free, he pumped furiously into her mouth, fucking her as pleasure slid up and then down his limbs. When his toes curled, he shouted his bliss.
All the while, his hellion sucked his cock, swallowing his seed until his orgasm subsided to a dull pulsing within. Apparently satisfied with her efforts, she lapped at him as she slipped off his cock and sat up.
Tremors still shuddered through him; he was utterly wiped out.
Emily considered her husband as he lay there, spent and all but unconscious. Between her thighs, her cunny throbbed with need as she reviewed her options. She could return to sucking him until he grew hard again, she could touch herself until he was ready, or she could sit on his face and have him service her. Hmm…that last idea sounded delightfully naughty.
Determined to give him a smidgen of recovery time, she began kissing her way up his torso again. As she neared his neck, he seemed to revive enough to utter a whispered curse. “Bloody hell, woman, you will be the death of me.”
She stopped and looked at him for a moment. “I suspect there is no other way you would wish to go.” Then she scooted closer to him and leaned over his prone form. “And the French do call it la petite mort for a reason, do they not?”
Cooper chuckled and then grinned wickedly, “Indeed they do. It sounds as though my lady has been doing a spot of research.”
“Perhaps. I also seem to have a set of very knowledgeable friends. In particular, Lady Heartfield has been a font of information.”
Cooper jerked against the restraints as he attempted to sit up, but found he was unable. “I somehow thought that hoyden would be a good influence on you.” He shook his head, obviously ruing such thoughts. “I should have known that Theo would introduce you to Lady Heartfield.”
“Tsk. Tsk. Lady Heartfield is a perfectly lovely woman, and I can assure you she has not violated your privacy in the least. Even when Theo begs her for stories about you and Stone, the lady is nothing if not circumspect.” Emily pursed her lips together for a moment. “Now, I believe there has been enough chatter.”
She rose to her feet on the mattress, used the headboard for balance, and looked down at him. He lay flat on his back, hands stretched out toward the corners of the bed. Then she stepped between his arms so that a foot was planted on either side of his head.
“I believe I have a far better use for your mouth at the moment.”
And then she lowered herself onto her knees until her pussy hovered over his face. She wavered, feeling out of her depth at the forward nature of the moment. Cooper had always given her pleasure, but she had never, in all their interludes, taken pleasure for herself without his guidance. She wanted this, needed to feel in control of her destiny in some small measure. So she pushed past her doubts and unfounded concerns and sank until she was almost sitting, though not quite making contact. “Lick me.”
A newly obedient husband, Cooper complied without delay, dragging his tongue along her dewy slit. Her legs quaked as he moaned. His breath twined with the sound and caressed her swollen flesh almost as though he had physically touched her.
“Again,” she said, her tone firm and commanding.
He did as requested, swirling his tongue over her wet center and dragging it up her pussy until he reached her clit and continued with firm pressure. He continued until her hips jerked.
“Please, my lady, sit. Let me pleasure you.” Cooper’s voice sounded raspy, as though he’d been carousing all night.
A thrill shot through her, but she hesitated. Could she be so bold? Determination welled up from within, pushing her to take action until she did as she had originally wanted and sat on his mouth.
He feasted on her. There was no other way to describe the enthusiasm with which he licked and nibbled her quim. The way he devoured her pussy. Using his tongue, he penetrated her over and over and then swirled up to her nub and over it until her hips lobbed against him. But as good as his mouth felt, she needed more. Needed something to help push her over the edge. So as she ground her cunny against his mouth, she reached up and tweaked her nipples. A light pinch with her fingers that sent a flash of pleasure straight to her core to mix and mingle with the wondrous sensations he was creating with his mouth.
“Yes, Cooper!” She cried out as need churned and grew within until it buzzed through her as though a living thing.
Pinching her nipples harder, for longer, she tipped her hips and demanded, “Lick my clit. Make me come.”
And so he did. As he focused on her bundle of nerves and she played with her nipples, the living thing within her exploded, shattering into a million pieces. “Yes!”
Her cry rang out through the room while her body spasmed and jerked, overwhelmed with the bliss of orgasm.
As the room came back into focus, she extricated herself from her husband and melted onto the mattress next to him. With his arms still stretched wide by the restraints, she simply nestled into his side. Cooper lifted his head enough to kiss the top of hers, and then they both lay there for a few moments.
Finally—it could have been moments or it could have been an hour; she’d lost all sense of time—she sat up. “Let me release you.”
“I’d stay here, tied to this bed forever, if it made you happy.” The low rumble of his voice sent shivers up and down her spine.
She laughed as she unfastened the first restraint. “You make me happy. And right now, I very much wish to feel your arms wrapped around me.”
She released his other wrist, and he was able to rub at the slightly chaffed skin. “As you command, my lady.”
She placed a hand on his chest. “Let me take care of you.” And then she jumped up and ran into her room. Grabbing her pot of best skin cream, she plopped down on the bed next to a sated but rumpled Cooper. “Here.” She took one of his wrists and quickly applied the cream with a gentle touch. Then she did the same for the other one. When she was done, she found him looking at her with a world of emotions swirling through his deep brown eyes.
“Emily, I—”
Panic had her interrupting what she worried would be a declaration. She was not ready to say the words she felt pulsing within. Soon, but not yet. She yawned mightily. “I am terribly tired after all that activity.”
Cooper merely nodded and laid back down. “Come, snuggle with me, wife.”
“I’d like that, husband.” She sighed a little and settled in with him. To her great satisfaction, this time, he wrapped her in his arms as they drifted off to sleep.
In the dark hours before dawn, Emily awoke as Cooper rained kisses over her shoulders and down across her breasts. Need erupted within her like gooseflesh rippling ov
er one’s skin after a chill. A light, sensuous teasing of sensation that was a strange mix of pleasure and discomfort. Then he swept her lips into a kiss that stole her breath and her few scattered thoughts as he slid deep within her body.
With a steady yet determined pace, he thrust into her over and over, until a desire-filled moan escaped her lungs while she arched into the searing touch of his lips on her skin. Flames licked over her as he lapped at one furled nipple and then the other, without ceasing his deep penetration. And, greedy wench that she was, she wanted more. “Cooper, please.”
“Please what? Tell me what you want.” His rough demand seared through her haze of desire.
“You. I want you.” She moaned again and wrapped her legs around his hips as he pumped into her again and again.
“You have me,” he huffed out. And then she swore she heard him whisper, “I’m yours forever.”
But as he thrust one last time, she shattered around his cock, screaming his name as pleasure swamped her like an inexorable tide taking the beach. With each new crashing wave of pleasure, her certainty that she loved him grew stronger. The new fresh sprout of hope sparkled and shimmered in welcome.
And as Cooper joined her in bliss, pumping into her until he collapsed on top, she knew she had nothing to fear from her husband; that once they declared their love, all would be right in their world.
Chapter 34
Emily sat in her front salon sipping tea as she waited for Arthur to arrive. It had been two months since her wedding, and she had not seen him with the same woman twice. While she was greatly pleased with her marriage and no longer bitter about the union, she was—as always—a woman of principle. Her brother had used his desire to marry as leverage to get her to agree to a wedding. He would make good on his promise to search for a wife.
That said, she allowed her thoughts to stray back to the night a week earlier. When she had strapped Cooper to his—no, their—bed, everything had changed. The way he had trusted her, had made himself vulnerable to her, helped her open up to him. It had allowed her to reveal her true self to him in ways she had not until then. Taking control of their lovemaking empowered her and reinforced that they were equals in their relationship. They had fallen asleep wrapped around each other, only to wake in the night and continue where they had left off. As he had slid deep inside her and filled her, she had finally allowed the love she felt for him to come forth. Though she had not said the words yet, every movement, every touch had been imbued with the surfeit of emotion immersed within her heart.
Taming His Hellion Countess Page 23
