Wicked Designs

by Lauren Smith

  The scent of her hair, like fresh-picked flowers, enveloped him, soothed him. She was here, in his arms, safe.

  “Don’t be afraid,” he murmured. His mouth brushed along the line of her jaw to her neck.

  Emily sighed, reaching her arms up around him, trying to pull him closer. He took advantage of her distraction by sliding her chemise up. He continued to kiss her until the thin cloth was near her neck, then pulled it up over her head. A gasp escaped her as she tried to cover her breasts. Godric caught her wrists and slowly lowered her back against the bed. He pinned her wrists near her waist.

  “Godric… I don’t think I’m ready to do this.”

  “I’d never hurt you, darling. Please believe me.” He placed a soft kiss at the corner of her mouth, teasing her. He wanted only to keep her safe, keep her happy. He wouldn’t dare risk losing her now.

  Emily writhed in mounting pleasure as he slid his hips into the cradle of her thighs. His mouth descended on hers. The heat of his kiss sent thrills through her. She heard in the tone of his voice that he wouldn’t hurt her, but her heart was reluctant to believe it.

  “Please, Emily, trust me to take care of you. I need you.”

  Emily pushed at his chest. “You need my body.”

  Godric pulled back, his emerald eyes drowning her in the endless glints of light. “It’s more than that. It has always been more. From the first moment, I knew you were mine, body and soul. Forever.”

  He twined a loose lock of her hair about one finger, spooling the gleaming coil in a mixture of playfulness and tenderness that undid her. “You’ve bewitched me, Emily. I’m under your spell and I never wish to wake. Don’t deny me the right to worship you, goddess mine.” He sealed his plea with a soft circling of his lips over hers, leaving her desperate for more.

  Her body sparked to life. Every nerve, every muscle twitched in anticipation of that pleasure she’d yet to experience. It was a gift for which she dared not ask. All that mattered now was Godric. The power of his body, the dance of his tongue, and the ache that built between her legs.

  Godric nestled his body against hers, rocking forward, pressing himself against her. Emily struggled to breathe, her lips still his prisoners as he slanted his mouth over hers. His teeth nipped her lips while his hands slid up the length of her outer thighs, pressing down with slight pressure. When he finally gazed down at her breasts, he moaned at the sight of the rosy nipples budding for him.

  “I’ve been waiting to taste you for so long.” He laid a trail of kisses from her neck down to her breasts. When he took the breast into his mouth, Emily arched into him as it sent violent tingles down her spine.

  His mouth encircled her nipple, tongue laving the taut tip until Emily dug her hands into Godric’s hair, urging him to continue. Godric abandoned her breast and reached up to catch her hands, returning them back to the bed near her hips.

  “I am not going to give you what you desire just yet.”

  “No?” she gasped.

  He chuckled as he kissed her collarbone. “No. It is time I punish you for your escape attempts.”

  His tongue flicked out and licked her skin. Emily groaned. “If this is punishment, let me admit to other sins, so I might atone for those too.” His heated laugh captivated her with its burning sweetness.

  Godric moved his mouth down between the valley of her breasts, past her belly and towards the dark triangle between her legs. He slid off the bed, kneeling between her legs, using his shoulders to keep her knees open as he kissed her inner right thigh. Emily’s vision blurred as he moved slowly towards her wet core.

  “Godric…” she whimpered as, at last, his mouth moved between her legs. As his tongue swirled sinful patterns into her throbbing flesh, she cried out his name again. He growled, loving the sound of his name as it ripped from her lips in desperation.

  Godric was so tight in his breeches he could barely think. He knew he shouldn’t bed Emily. He had to stop tasting her, had to stop before he went too far and pounded himself deep into her. She was a virgin, an innocent, and the first time would be painful. She needed the calm, sweet kisses of a lover, not the violence of a man possessed. Godric was on the verge of regaining control when Emily moaned loudly urging him to continue.

  He nipped at the sensitive bud of her arousal, gasping himself as she cried out with pleasure. Godric released her hands as he stood to free himself from his breeches. If he wasn’t inside her soon he’d lose himself as he had this morning.

  Her eyes widened as he kicked his breeches away and stood before her completely nude.

  Emily stared at his arousal, eyes glowing with fascination. “Godric, are you going to—”

  “Emily, I know this will hurt, but I’ll be as gentle as I can.” His voice was strained as he parted her knees gently.

  Emily wriggled as he settled over her. “Do you promise?”

  “I promise.” He had never meant any promise more in his life.

  He slid his hands down under her bottom and lifted her hips. In one slow motion he thrust deep inside. The wall of her maidenhead tore against the force of his entrance. Emily’s sharp cry of pain followed the rise of her hips as she tried to pull free, but the motion only forced him deeper.

  Godric froze at the sound of her pain.

  “Should I stop?” His voice was raw, scraping over his own ears.

  She feathered kisses on his jaw and lifted her hips in encouragement. “No, don’t.”

  Leaning down, he caught her mouth in a deep kiss. Her tension lessened. He urged her to move with him, and match his rocking rhythm. He was soon lost in the tight squeeze of her inner walls and the rise and fall of her breasts as she breathed, and each time a soft sound mewed from Emily’s lips. Her legs moved up to wrap around his thighs as he stood at the edge of the bed, bent over her, driving himself into her. Never had he felt so consumed by a woman before, so desperate to brand his soul into the very core of her being.

  Mine. You are mine, he said in the rough play of his tongue against hers, his hands clenched her hips tighter as her breasts rubbed against his chest.

  A crimson sea of desire enveloped Emily as Godric pushed himself deeper and deeper into her. Each time he withdrew she felt the depths of her own emptiness. Only Godric’s returning thrusts eased the ache. Nothing existed, held shape or matter, beyond the mating of her body to Godric’s. She tightened her legs, claiming him as hers as her tongue fought its way into his mouth, tasting the ginger from their ice cream and the remnants of brandy.

  The ache and flashes of pain turned to bolts of pleasure. She was careening towards a cliff, and once she fell, there would never be a way back up to sanity. The pleasure of this union between them was beautiful and devastating.

  “Take me deeper,” he urged in her ear as his teeth grazed her neck.

  Emily slammed her hips as hard as she could against his. All of him reached, straining towards her womb as the pressure within her crested. Emily swam on a foreign shore of desire, a scarlet sunset splashing her world in shades of fire and pleasure. Godric was there with her, his hand stretched out to grasp her, making her his forever.

  She was his. Fire burst out her body from that single point of connection and rippled through her in crashing waves. Emily cried out again, this time with sheer pleasure and Godric thrust twice more, harder than before, and collapsed onto her with a groan.

  She fought to regain her breath. His heat spread out deeply between her legs as he rocked out of her a few inches before he slid back inside. Emily moaned, her inner walls convulsing around him, still welcoming him. Their bodies were damp as he slid against her, nuzzling her neck. Emily wrapped her arms around his body, the muscles of his back shifting with his movements beneath her hands. He reached under her and lifted her up a little, sliding her farther back onto the bed so he could lie beside her.

  When he finally pulled himself off her, Emily shivered, and tried to reconnect to him, wanting to be held. Godric drew her against him, hands stroking her back, her
bottom, her thighs, back up to her hair, holding it in place at the nape of her neck so he could kiss her. Emily rested her cheek against his chest, savoring his heat and the steady beat of his heart.

  “Are you all right, Emily?” Concern roughened his voice.

  She shut her eyes, enjoying the warmth of his skin beneath her cheek. “Yes.” She loved to feel him breathe, to know that life flooded through him, and that he was hers and hers alone, even if for a brief time.

  He kissed her hair. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, my darling. The first time always hurts, but I should have been gentler.”

  “Shh…” She raised a hand to cover his mouth. He kissed her fingertips tenderly and she smiled.

  “And to think you meant to punish me.” Emily gave a soft, sultry laugh that stirred his desire.

  “Don’t tempt me to be more creative. Lucien has some fascinating ideas from the Far East involving bondage with strips of red silk—”

  “You wouldn’t dare!” Her head snapped up, eyes darkening, and gasped as he pinched her. She beat a loosely balled fist on his chest.

  “You rogue!” she hissed, but only laughter filled in her eyes now.

  “I’ve never claimed to be anything else.” Emily relaxed, burrowing into him, absorbing his warmth. Godric, rather than continue to hold her, disentangled himself and pulled back the covers of the bed.

  “Get in,” he whispered. He tucked her in and started to dress himself. She looked up at him, the covers pulled tightly to her chin. He had just made a woman of her and yet he was abandoning her.

  “Where are you going?” The quiver in her tone shamed her.

  “Downstairs. I’ll be back soon.” He threw his shirt on, waiting for her reply.

  Emily opened her mouth but the grandfather clock in the hall outside chimed.

  “Ah, ten o’clock.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

  She lay still in his bed for a long minute. She wanted to laugh, to scream with joy. She had never felt so wonderful before. For a time she and Godric had been a single living entity without end or beginning. He’d been lost in her, and she in him. As soon as she realized this, she realized something more important. She never wanted to leave him.

  “I love him…” The epiphany brought both thrill and heartache.

  She was in love with a man who would never love her back. He was not the sort to love. Men like him never did.

  Her plan to seduce him was ever more crucial. She had to do the impossible and win his heart. It was the only way they could both be happy.

  Emily snuggled deeper into the covers, Godric’s scent wafting about her and comforting her as she dreamt of that oneness.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Godric returned to the drawing room, where he found all four of his friends overly interested in their billiards game. They glanced at him, then all looked quickly away, and for a long minute no one said a word.

  Charles tossed his cue carelessly on the table, ruining the game as it knocked balls out of place. “Bloody hell, if no one is going to ask, then I will. How was it?”

  “How was what?” Godric pretended innocence.

  “We all know that you and Emily…” For a man who never failed for words, Charles certainly came up short now. “Well, you know… Oh, for God’s sake, we have ears, man!”

  Cedric hissed, “Good God, do you want to get us shot?”

  Godric wasn’t the least bit upset. In fact, he found it rather amusing, the image of his friends scrambling like school boys in the hallway just for a glimpse through a keyhole… How could he not laugh?

  “There will be no shooting of anyone, unless any man here dares to try seducing her now. Remember Rule Four. She has chosen me. Is that understood?”

  Curt nods followed all around.

  “You didn’t hurt her?” Ashton asked after a moment, his face a little red.

  Cedric mirrored Ashton’s concern as he leaned back against the billiard table.

  “She is fine now. I was not as gentle as I should have been… But I know how to distract a woman from pain and replace it with pleasure. She was brave, my Emily.” He’d only slept with two virgins in his long life of conquests. They’d both cried the whole time and he’d sworn off innocents since then. No man liked to spend the entire night cajoling a woman back into some semblance of acceptance.

  But Emily had met him with surprising passion, one that rivaled his own.

  Ashton fixed him with a look. “She loves you, Godric. A woman in love can endure more pain and suffering than the strongest man. Their hearts are unique things, sturdy and loyal, but susceptible to one great weakness.”

  The sudden warmth in Godric’s chest surprised him. Emily loved him. He liked knowing that she loved him. He struggled to retain his composure. “And what weakness is that?”

  Ashton frowned. “It is easily broken if she is not loved in return. You must find it in your heart to love her, Godric, or you will have done her a great injustice.”

  Godric sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “You may be right, Ash. I’ve ruined her, at any rate and she deserves to be cared for. We certainly can’t return her to her uncle.”

  Lucien’s face darkened. “That would be as good as handing her to Blankenship.”

  “It is settled, then. At the end of the week I will return to London to tell Parr that Emily is no longer his. Her remaining here with me will be the settlement of his debt to me, and all contact will be severed between us.”

  “And what about Emily?” Cedric asked.

  “I’ll keep her here.”

  “Is that wise?” Lucien asked.

  “She’ll be bound by her honor. Besides, I doubt she’ll try to leave, not after what happened tonight.” Godric tried to stop himself, but his lips curved up regardless.

  “That good, eh?” Charles chuckled.

  Godric shook his head. “As if I’d tell you.” What she lacked in experience she made up for with confidence and enthusiasm, and if Ashton was right, love.

  He wondered if that emotion, one so elusive in his own heart, had filled the moments with fire and tenderness. He’d lived a life of pleasure, and in that life, love had no part. His lovers enjoyed him as he in turn enjoyed them, but there was nothing more to it than that.

  Emily… That had been something else entirely.

  “Godric, you will take care next time, won’t you?” Ashton said after a minute. “I would hate to see Emily burdened with a babe so young,”

  Godric winced. He hadn’t even thought about that. Christ! She could be with child now this very minute because he hadn’t controlled himself.

  “I will take the necessary precautions.” There were a few ways, but the best was a French letter, an old favorite of his. He would be prepared next time. Of course, the next month would be a nerve-wracking one as he prayed to God that the first time with Emily didn’t result in disaster.

  Even as he thought it, he knew a child born from that singular moment of wondrously tender pleasure would be a beautiful one. With his dark hair, and its mother’s expressive violet eyes. Her ticklishness. His boldness. What a child that would be. The image of this enchanting nonexistent child shocked him. A child? Eventually he would need an heir.

  He needed to clear his thoughts of Emily and that imaginary child. “Shall we start a new game?” The other men joined him at the billiard table.

  When Godric finally returned to his bedchamber, he carried a sleeping Penelope under one arm and her basket in the other. He set the basket down near his bedside table and fluffed the blankets for the puppy before setting her down. Penelope licked his hand with a sigh of contentment.

  “Good girl.” He stroked her sleek head and scratched behind her ears. Her eyes drifted shut and Godric quickly undressed, dropping his clothes in an untidy pile at the foot of the bed, before he slipped under the covers. His body warmed instantly as it came into contact with Emily’s.

  “Godric…” Emily murmured as she rolled over to face him.


  “I’m here, darling.” He slid his arms around her waist, tugging her against him. She sighed, rather like Penelope, not really awake. He took advantage and kissed her lips. In the darkness, with their bodies entwined, with no witness but the moonlight, he almost thought himself capable of loving her. Emily almost read his thoughts as he freed her lips and nuzzled her neck.

  “I love you,” she whispered, speaking to a dark prince in her dreams. She didn’t seem to expect a reply.

  “I know,” he whispered as she fell asleep in his arms. Godric followed her into the land of dreams not long after, into a place surrounded by fields of exquisite butterflies. He could not catch a single one…

  Emily woke to a new world.

  Her body was languid and loose, flush with a new understanding of herself. No longer did a barrier exist between her and the elusive state of womanhood.

  The man who changed everything lay next to her, his skin warm against hers. Before now she’d only ever felt embarrassed and shy about her body, but Godric had seen and tasted every part of her. He too had shared himself. She’d felt the passion in the tenderness of his kiss and the vulnerable glimmer in his eyes.

  Emily pulled her hair into a loose coil at the back of her neck as she shifted closer to Godric. His chest rose and fell in a slow pattern of sleep, and she couldn’t resist him, as exposed as he was at that moment.

  She kissed his chin and trailed her lips down his chest until she reached his left nipple, her mouth teasing it. Godric moaned groggily as his sleeping body responded.

  Emily had one leg wedged between his, and his manhood stirred against her thigh.

  She sucked harder before moving down over his abdomen.

  A hand clasped her head, holding her mouth to his body. He was definitely awake now. “What are you up to, little vixen?”