“What do I do now?”
“Why don’t you put that luscious mouth of yours to use?”
He remained still, his hands braced on the rim on either side of the tub, giving her complete control of his seduction. Excitement shot through her, flooding her veins with shuddering heat.
Her hands were shaking a little when she threaded her fingers through the curling hair at his groin. Then, craving the warmth and taste and feel of him, she bent forward and suckled him.
His body went rigid at the first touch of her mouth, and remained that way for the delicate searching of her tongue. When she glanced up again to gauge his response, his mouth curled in a tight smile that seemed half pleasure, half pain. “That isn’t bad for a novice.”
Feeling challenged, Madeline returned her full attention to arousing him, letting her tongue and lips roam at will, her caresses inviting, teasing, promising.
Rayne gave a growl of approval and gripped the side of the tub more tightly. An answering sound rasped from Madeline’s throat. She was fascinated by his response, warmed by the pleasure she felt at pleasing him.
“God,” he muttered as she suckled him more strongly. “And you said you didn’t know how to arouse me.”
“You are an excellent tutor.”
He was no longer so nonchalant, she thought triumphantly as his hips thrust forward. She slipped her hands behind him, glorying in the way his masculine buttocks hardened in her hands.
“Does this hurt?” she murmured, her question slightly taunting as her lips enveloped him more fully.
“Yes, I am in excruciating pain. I’m ready to burst….”
As if to prove his words, his hips arched again.
With greater assurance, Madeline drew his rigid flesh even deeper into her mouth, continuing her carnal ministrations, until his hand suddenly reached up to clutch in her hair, stilling her. “That is enough torment.”
She glanced up, wondering if he really meant for her to stop.
There was nothing casual now about the glitter in his sapphire eyes, Madeline saw. His hot gaze scorched her, and she stared at him in turn, thrilling at the sight. She saw need in his eyes, sexual need for her.
She felt beautiful in that moment. Beautiful and omnipotent. Madeline savored her first feelings of power as a woman as she let herself get lost in his incredible eyes. Heat poured through her, making her weak and shaky.
She must have had the same effect on Rayne, for he suddenly lowered himself into the tub. Water sloshed over the rim as he hauled her into his arms. They were both trembling now, with poignant desire and sharp need pulsing between them.
Taking control, Rayne parted her thighs and tugged her onto his lap, so that she straddled him, her cleft nestled against the swollen ridge of his manhood. The contact was a delicious shock.
“I’ve wondered how it would feel to have you ride me.”
The image of his erotic words made her feel even more faint. She caught her breath as Rayne guided her down slowly so that she was sitting astride him. It was like riding a powerful stallion, except that she was impaled on his rigid shaft. Her body was molten, raw with wanting him.
When he was finally sheathed in her body, Madeline whimpered at the exquisite sensations. The fullness was blissful—yet Rayne seemed determined to increase her ecstasy. His lips came down hard on hers as he began to move inside her, his mouth feverishly eating hers.
His kiss was a lover’s demand, a little fierce, a lot possessive, but she met each questing stroke of his tongue with her own urgency, her mouth locked with his, seeking, searching, aching.
The tempo quickened rapidly. Her thighs locked around his hips as he plunged inside her over and over again, the friction of their wet, slippery bodies compounding her desire with searing intensity. In only moments Madeline was gasping for breath, but still the sensual explosion inside her took her by surprise. Rayne captured her scream of pleasure as she bucked and shook in his arms. Her sheath contracted powerfully about him while liquid fire poured through her.
Rayne found his own powerful climax an instant later while her body still vibrated around him, the echo of her raw throaty cries mingling with his groans.
When they both finally stilled, Madeline collapsed upon his chest, her heart hammering, her breath coming in pants. She felt liquid and sensuous and too weak to move. The heat of their passion had melted every bone in her body.
Rayne seemed just as spent. His rasping breath harsh and uneven, he lay there with his head back against the tub, his arms held loosely around her as she floated in the water.
It seemed a long while later when he gave a hoarse chuckle. “This was not exactly the welcome I expected. Unquestionably, I have never enjoyed a bath more.”
The warm glow in her body expanded at his soft laughter. Madeline still couldn’t bring herself to move, however. In truth, she wasn’t sure her limbs would ever function again. Joined to Rayne, she’d experienced that startling sense of fullness again, not just of her body but of her heart.
At the same time she felt an almost euphoric sense of exhilaration. Rayne’s wild, physical response to her lovemaking had sent her hopes soaring, had made her believe in possibilities. After such incredible passion, she found it far easier to see a glimmer of promise for their future together.
Even though love was no part of their bargain, Rayne’s love was what she wanted, what she dreamed of. Her happiness depended on winning his heart.
Of course she didn’t dare tell him so for fear of driving him away. Yet she had begun to hope that Rayne would come to want her someday, not just for the pleasure she could bring him, not for the children she longed to give him, but for herself.
Reminded of her campaign, Madeline stirred in his arms and weakly pressed a kiss against his bare shoulder. “That was a most enlightening lesson in lovemaking,” she murmured.
“You make a splendid pupil,” he replied languidly.
When she lifted her head to gaze at Rayne, his eyes were still shut, but the tender smile that curved his mouth made her want to crawl inside of him.
The quivery feelings in her chest intensified—a warning sign, Madeline knew. She would have to end this intimate interlude before she gave away her feelings.
Only a moment more, she promised herself, resting her cheek in the curve of his shoulder with a contented sigh.
Rayne was feeling the same languor, experiencing the same swell of bone-deep satisfaction. He had found Madeline’s wicked innocence completely entrancing.
Strange how he had once thought her plain. She was nothing like the drab spinster he’d thought her at their first meeting. Her innate sensuality not only had stirred and excited him, it had more than proved a match for his own libidinous nature. He could still feel the fever her passion had left on his skin, even though the water was cooling.
His new wife was indeed much more than he bargained for, Rayne acknowledged.
No sooner had he silently voiced the thought, however, than Madeline eased away from him. Untangling their limbs, she pulled herself up by the rim.
With effort Rayne opened his eyes, watching as she climbed from the tub, his gaze fixed on her lithe, lush body. To his disappointment she wrapped a length of linen towel around her dripping form, concealing her delectable curves from his view.
“You are not leaving, are you?”
In response she glanced over her shoulder and sent him a tantalizing smile. “Surely you can bathe without me.”
If he didn’t know better, he would call that look flirtatious, provocative even. He was sorely tempted to rise up from the tub and drag Madeline back into the water with him.
Rayne felt himself frown. Between her improved looks and changed demeanor, he almost didn’t recognize his new bride. In truth, he wasn’t certain he liked this seductive side of Madeline. He could see no artifice in her wide gray eyes just now, yet all his instincts were suddenly on edge.
“You needn’t go,” he said without inflection.
&nb
sp; “I’m afraid I must. I have to dress and prepare for this evening.”
“This evening?”
Her own tone remained casual as she explained. “I forgot to mention … Arabella is holding a dinner at Danvers Hall for some of the neighboring families, with cards afterward. I mean to attend, but you needn’t bother if you don’t wish to. I know you don’t care for dull social occasions.”
Rayne frowned again, realizing that Madeline had made plans of her own and was set on living her life without him. But wasn’t that exactly what he wanted from her?
“I want to attend,” he replied. “My presence can only help your introduction to society.”
“Then I will send her a note, saying to expect you.”
After drying off, Madeline pulled on a highly feminine dressing gown of jade green silk, leaving it partially open as she sauntered over to him and bent to place a light kiss on his lips. Searing heat shot through Rayne again before she closed the wrapper and hid her womanly charms once more. Then, gathering up her clothing, she left the bathing chamber, shutting the door softly behind her.
Rayne found himself staring at the door, admittedly taken aback by the alluring change in Madeline. He was pleased by her newfound sensuality and her bold advances, yet he was accountably wary at the same time. In his experience, a woman bent on seduction could be deceptive and dangerous. Camille had used his seduction for her own ends—
Perhaps he was overreacting again, Rayne realized, just as he’d done when he’d misjudged Madeline’s relationship with Baron Ackerby. He was keenly aware of the depth of his mistrust after experiencing Camille’s betrayal. Unconsciously, he had started looking for signs that his wife intended to betray him, too.
Yet even if her motives were totally pure, Rayne had to acknowledge that he was becoming too attracted to his enchanting new bride.
From now on he would have to keep up his guard better, he reflected as he set his jaw and reached for the soap once more.
Chapter Fourteen
Rayne makes a woman desperately yearn for his kisses, Maman, but I hope to make him yearn for mine. Regrettably, he seems stubbornly resistant to all my efforts.
The change in Madeline was clearly noticeable to Rayne. When they dined at Danvers Hall that evening, she wore a stunning evening gown of white Brussels lace over a slip of pale green sarcenet. Her hair was dressed in a much softer style than before, her shimmering tresses threaded with seed pearls and emerald green ribbons.
Madeline’s features seemed softer as well, more delicate and refined somehow. In truth, Rayne decided, his new wife looked almost beautiful with her sophisticated, fashionable veneer. From watching her interact with the other dinner guests, it was obvious she was ready to take her place at his side as his countess.
Understandably, Rayne spent the entire evening fighting his attraction. There was no question that the new Madeline was lovelier than the plain spinster he had wed the previous week. And although her outer appearance was not as important to him as her spirit and her intelligence and her lively wit, he couldn’t help being affected by the change in her. To his chagrin, Rayne felt an unwanted softening inside him, a weakening of his resolve to keep his distance from Madeline.
His weakness only intensified once they returned home to Riverwood and retired for bed. Madeline had also acquired more confidence in her feminine appeal, apparently, in addition to her newfound sensuality, for when Rayne escorted her upstairs to her bedchamber door, she paused to look up at him.
When she met his gaze with her luminous gray eyes, her glance both inviting and questioning, Rayne couldn’t help remembering how hot and eager she’d been in his arms just a few hours earlier. He could still feel her tight sheath clenching around his cock in a violent climax.
Recollecting her taste, her texture, her warmth, Rayne felt a powerful surge of lust ripple through him—which might have been exactly her intent. From her expression he could tell she knew he was thinking of their bath. Her lips curved with that same tantalizing smile she had flashed him this afternoon during their passionate encounter in the bathing chamber.
His gaze fixed on her full, ripe mouth for a dozen heartbeats … but then Rayne forced himself to take a step back. He longed to follow Madeline into her bedchamber and spend the entire night ravishing her. He wanted to be inside her again in the most desperate way. Yet he left her at her door, determined to limit his connubial demands, despite his professed desire to sire an heir.
He already felt too much need for Madeline. Until he discovered a way to be with her, to be inside her without allowing her to slip any deeper inside him, he intended to stay away.
Not surprisingly, Rayne had difficulty sleeping that night, finding it all but impossible to drive away the memory of making love to Madeline. He woke the next morning, feeling restless and irritated. It was understandable that he wanted her so badly, but why he was having such trouble maintaining his emotional defenses—when he’d vowed to feel nothing more for her than carnal desire—was much harder to fathom.
He had a similar problem when Madeline joined him at breakfast, looking fresh and lovely in a cream-colored muslin morning gown. He longed to pull her into his arms so he could kiss that alluring mouth and that even more alluring body.
Doubtless that explained why he was thankful for the minor incident that put him on his guard once more. They were engaging in polite conversation at the breakfast table, discussing the guests Madeline had met the previous evening, when she accidently let slip a revelation. Rayne had just complimented her on her success in winning over their neighbors.
Madeline gave a small laugh while wrinkling her nose. “To be truthful, I am attempting to become more like Roslyn Moncrief. I know you admire her immensely. How did you describe her? ‘Intriguing’? And you rated her very high on intelligence.”
Rayne’s gaze sharpened at her observation. There was only one way Madeline could have learned how he’d evaluated Roslyn: from rummaging in his study desk.
“How did you learn of my admiration for her?” he asked mildly.
Madeline suddenly gave a start. When she sent him a guilty look, Rayne wondered if she would confess or try to bluff her way out of her self-induced trap with a lie.
After a hesitation, she evidently decided to come clean about her transgression. “I happened to see your list of bridal candidates the other day.”
When he gave her a long, level look, Madeline added earnestly, “I was not snooping precisely. I was looking in your desk for writing paper. One of the drawers was unlocked, and when I came across your list of ladies’ names, I was curious enough to want to read your comments.”
When he remained silent, she placed an imploring hand on his arm. “I am sorry, Rayne. I didn’t mean to pry. It won’t happen again, I promise you.”
Her look was innocent enough, but then he had been fooled before by an imploring expression on a pretty face. He let the matter drop, yet the knowledge that Madeline had searched through his private papers to ferret out his personal secrets was enough to make him again question whether her word could be trusted.
Two days later, another more serious incident occurred that raised Rayne’s suspicions even further. It was late in the afternoon when he caught Madeline attempting to eavesdrop on his conversation.
Since returning to Riverwood, Rayne had received several reports from London regarding the progress in breaking up the assassination ring. As he dismissed the latest courier with some final instructions, he opened his study door to find his wife loitering in the corridor outside.
Madeline gave him an amiable smile as she offered an apology of sorts. “I was just debating whether to knock, my lord. I didn’t wish to intrude on your privacy.”
Rayne wasn’t sure if he believed her excuse for not making herself known, but he had no desire to discuss the matter before an audience. Thus, he nodded at the courier in dismissal.
When they were alone, Madeline slanted a glance up at Rayne from beneath her eyelashes
. “You missed tea again. I came to invite you to have it with me.”
Since he could think of no good reason to deny her invitation, Rayne followed her from his study and accompanied her to the drawing room, where his staff had already laid out an appetizing tea.
As she poured for him, Madeline commented in a casual tone, “I did not realize that you were still involved in your former spy activities.”
“What makes you think I am still involved?” Rayne hedged.
She gave him an arch look. “When I see shadowy figures coming and going from your study at all hours of the night and day, it is not hard to guess.”
“And you assume my visitors have something to do with spying.”
“Yes. There is an urgency about them … a seriousness that would be lacking if they were simply interested in business matters. They don’t seem to be supplicants, either—hangers-on demanding favors of you—which you doubtless have in great abundance, given your illustrious title and wealth.”
“Why all the concern about my endeavors just now, sweeting?” Rayne responded evasively.
Madeline raised a quizzical eyebrow. “Why not? Should I not wonder what is occupying my new husband’s time? Is it unreasonable that I would be curious about your affairs now that we are wed, even if we do have a mere union of convenience?”
Perhaps it wasn’t unreasonable, Rayne decided, but her pointed interest made him uneasy. He wanted to fob her off, but Madeline persisted with her observations.
“I thought you had given up your career in intelligence, but it wouldn’t surprise me if you decided to continue in some fashion. You thrive on challenges. I can’t imagine you being content with the tame life of a nobleman.”
When Rayne didn’t reply to her prodding, she added with a provocative smile, “I suspect men of your profession do not simply fade into the woodwork, especially someone of your caliber.”
If she was attempting to flatter him for her own purposes, she would realize he was immune to such tactics.
To Tame a Dangerous Lord Page 24
