by Kimberly Nee
She curved into him, resting a tentative hand on his chest. He stirred, murmuring, “Wha—?” in a thick voice.
“Go back to sleep,” she whispered.
“Elena?” He brought his left hand up to rub his eyes. “What time is it?”
“Nearly eleven. Now please, go back to sleep. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Nearly ele—” He squinted in her direction. “What the deuce are you still doing here at this hour? You should’ve been in bed long ago, darling.”
“I didn’t want to sleep in my chambers. Not after what you said about those passageways. I feel safer here.”
“Feel safer?” He sat up with a groan and yawned before adding, “You will until your brother catches you here. Then we’ll neither of us be safe.”
He was probably right, but if Conn was otherwise occupied, he wasn’t going to be checking on the earl or her any time soon. He was going to be far too occupied to even give either of them a thought. “I locked the door.”
He looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “That would be a dead giveaway, don’t you think? What do you think he’s going to think if he goes to find you in your chambers and you aren’t there, and when he comes here, it’s to come face to face with a locked door?” He didn’t wait for her to respond, but kicked off the blankets to slide from the bed with only the slightest of winces. “And if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather he not walk in on us. Not only do I rather prefer my cock where it is, but I really don’t want an audience when we’re together as well, thank you very much.”
His uncharacteristic vulgarity made her want to smile, but she held it, afraid she’d really make him angry if he thought she was laughing at him. She couldn’t help it. This man was such a far cry from the stiff, sober-faced lord she thought he was when they first met. This man was the one she thought she’d find beneath all of his previous pomposity and she found herself falling in love with him all over again, even if this wasn’t going quite as she’d hoped it would. “Bennett, I don’t think—”
He started at the same time with, “I just don’t—”
Now she let her smile out as she said, “Go on, then. Finish your thought.”
With a sigh, he said, “I’d rather not do anything foolish and as wonderful as this would be.” He gestured to her and then the bed. “I don’t want to risk the future for it.”
He didn’t sound nearly as angry now, and she was determined to take advantage of that.
“Now, you see, that’s the problem with you, my lord.” She crawled across the bed without breaking eye contact and stretched one leg to the floor. Then the other. Easing off the bed, she strolled up to him and draped her arms about his neck. “You don’t know how to take chances and live in the moment. Sometimes, the present moment is a wonderful place to be, and if you miss it, you regret it for the rest of your days. My mother always said the chances you don’t take were the ones you regretted the most.”
As she spoke, she pulled him down to her and captured his lips in a soft kiss. He remained stiff against her, refused to bend any farther, and his lips remained unyielding.
“I’m not kissing you back, Elena,” he mumbled, his lips mashed to hers.
“I wish you would,” she purred, flicking the tip of her tongue against his upper lip. “It seems a shame to waste a locked room, a late hour, and a perfectly good, big, comfortable bed.”
He pulled away to scowl at her. “Elena.”
She wasn’t about to be intimidated so easily. She returned his scowl. “Bennett.”
He folded his arms over his chest, which made her smile. He was still in his dirt-spattered breeches and linen shirt, minus a cravat and with the top button opened, and he looked very wrinkled and not at all threatening. Not even as his jaw tightened and he rumbled, “I’m not joking with you.”
“I’m sure you aren’t.” She closed the gap between them again, this time catching a fistful of his shirt. The fine fabric was smooth and warm from being against his skin. “I’ll wager you are thinking of a hundred and one ways to throttle me.”
“At least.”
“But”—she eased the second and third buttons free—“you won’t and we both know it.”
“Elena.” Perhaps he meant to growl, but as she slid a hand beneath the open neckline and pushed the fabric outward, his voice became more of a low purr. Triumph surged through her. He was so close to capitulating and that spurred her on.
“I’d even go so far as to say that while you’re thinking of one hundred and one ways to throttle me—”
“One hundred and two, now.”
She paused, tilting her head to the left. “Really? I didn’t even think there were a hundred ways to do it.”
“You’d be amazed,” he replied drily.
“Yes, well—” She caught herself, trying to slip back into being the sultry temptress before he really grew angry with her. She peered up at him through lowered lashes and slid her hand to the opposite side of his neckline. This time, as she swept the linen aside, she let her fingernails graze his skin. He sucked in a sharp breath, then moaned low in his throat. Victory.
“And while you are thinking of those ways, I’m thinking of the at least a hundred and one things we could be doing that would be infinitely preferable. Do you wish to know what they are?” she murmured, pushing up on her tiptoes to sweep a kiss over the broad plane of chest she’d bared.
“Why do I think I have an idea already?” His voice grew somewhat ragged about the edges. Her sense of victory swelled as his hands came to rest on her hips.
Before her courage fled entirely, she swallowed her last bit of nervousness and leaned into him again. She kissed down into the V of his shirt, and as she did, she shoved the linen up. Moving over the bunched fabric, she continued her path down his belly, sinking to her knees before him. Just below his navel, a narrow trail of dark hair disappeared down into his breeches. That simple little path did the oddest thing to her. There was just something so…so erotic about it, as if it was meant to lead her to that magnificent part of him.
She chose to follow it.
That soft dark hair tickled her nose, made her smile, and a renewed sense of triumph shot through her as he whisked the shirt over his head and his hands settled against her head.
He was gentle, his fingers burying in her hair, loosening whatever pins remained, and she paused as she reached the waist of his breeches. His fingers twitched against her, almost urging her down lower, but she still hesitated, her courage faltering. What if she didn’t do this right? Was it possible to do it wrong? What if he didn’t enjoy it the way he thought she would? Or worse, what if she hurt him?
Damn it.
She looked up at him. His eyes were closed, but they didn’t stay that way. They opened, sleepy and seductive, and the heat of his gaze sent a shiver through her. He stroked her hair as he murmured, “Why did you stop?”
“I—well—would you like it if I did…that…?”
A sly smile lifted his lips. “I would.”
Her cheeks burned at the sensuality in his smile, but it wasn’t an altogether unpleasant heat. “And you’d think no less of me, being so wicked?”
“I could never think less of you, especially not at a moment such as this. And perhaps you’ll allow me to return the favor, then?”
She smiled as she reached for the button of his breeches and he groaned softly as it slid free and she tugged. The breeches slid free, over his hips, down his thighs, and she got her first good look at him in all his glory. It was an impressive sight and her heart skipped a beat as her nerve briefly faltered. Then she took a deep breath, and as she took him in her mouth, his fingers twisted sharply in her hair and he let out a low growl.
“Oh…Elena…” he moaned, easing the pressure on her scalp, but not releasing her. He sounded breathless, as if it took great effort to push the words out. “Oh…holy Christ…you have no idea…how…how good this fe-feels…”
That emboldened her more than sh
e ever would have thought possible. She teased him. She tasted him. She moved faster or slower, depending on his moans and his sighs, on how he guided her. He shivered against her. He shuddered. He rocked into her. He breathed her name in a husky voice. With each airy sigh, she became bolder, caressing him with her tongue, teasing him with gentle flicks and long strokes. It didn’t take long to learn what felt good to him and what he liked and the more she did it, the tighter his hands twisted in her hair and the bolder she felt.
He pulled away, then caught her beneath the arms and yanked her up to meet his fiery kiss. Backing her up until she was flush with the wall, he lifted her easily, his mouth hungrily devouring hers. He held her in one arm, his free hand delving beneath her skirts, skimming up along her inner thigh.
“Bennett!” Her cry burst free as he slid a finger inside her. He teased her just as she had teased him, and she melted against him, her body alive and aching for him.
Then his finger slid free and he guided her to him. He thrust, slid deep, filled her, moaning in unison with her as he rocked her against him. She wrapped her legs about his hips, urging him into her, faster and harder. Her back slid up and down the wall with each of his thrusts, knocking a painting from it with her shoulder. It clattered to the floor, but neither of them cared.
Bennett’s eyes held hers, a muscle bulging in his jaw the only indication of the effort it took to control his thrusts. She wanted to urge him faster, to make him push her over that wonderful edge. She wanted to take him with her.
She locked her fingers at his nape, and then, with a sly grin, hooked her ankles. His eyes widened and the most sensual grin she’d ever seen came to his lips. As she tugged, he obliged and leaned in to seize her lips in a fierce kiss. As a moan rose to her lips, Bennett broke the kiss, but not his gaze, which held hers, mesmerizing and blue, and as intent as if he could see into her soul.
She couldn’t look away, not that she wanted to. The connection was the most powerful thing she’d ever felt. It was as if they were truly one body, one heart, and one soul.
With that, he increased his speed in time to her demands, harder and faster, until she was convinced she’d go up in flames. Her throat grew hoarse from her cries and with each one, he thrust harder still.
Then it happened.
He surged into her, she squeezed, and they erupted at the same time. “Elena!”
Bennett slowed his thrusts, his head coming forward to rest in the slope of her neck. His breath came in hard, ragged gulps and he shuddered against her once more, groaning. “Oh, sweet Jesus…”
Her limbs felt molten, her head spinning from the ferocity of her climax, and she sank into him, a delicious drowsiness seeping into every last part of her. His arms trembled, but held her still.
Then he shifted, eased from inside her, and kissed her neck. “You vixen,” he whispered. “I’m up to one hundred and three ways now.”
There was laughter in his voice, and she matched it, sleepily saying, “You’re only angry because I bested you.”
“Elena, you may best me this way any time you like.”
“I didn’t…disgust you?”
“My love, you could never disgust me. Not here, not like this. There is little more arousing than the sight of you that way, loving me in one of the most intimate ways possible. To see you explore my body with the same curiosity I feel for yours, fires my blood and makes me ache with wanting you.”
Her back went cool as he drew her away from the wall to carry her to the bed. But he didn’t place her on it. Instead, he set her down on shaky legs beside it and turned her away from him. She squeezed her eyes shut as he lifted her hair from her nape and his lips caressed a spot she hadn’t realized was quite so sensitive.
Her head lolled to the left as he blazed a trail down over her right shoulder. Her gown parted, guided by his hands to sweep off her shoulders and slip from her body. He nipped. He kissed. He tasted.
Her corset landed atop her gown.
He slid both arms about her waist, his hands skimming up to cup both breasts, and she sucked in a hard breath at the sensations crackling through her. Her back arched as she reached for him, draping her arms about his shoulders to pull him closer.
His lips continued their onslaught, his right hand coming up to grasp the neckline of her chemise and tug it aside to bare her skin. All the while, his left hand worked magic on her nipple, rolling and teasing it until it was hard and aching for him.
Her chemise spilled from her like water and she expected him to turn her toward him. But Bennett had other ideas. His palms stroked down over her, along the curve of her belly, into the thatch of curls between her thighs. White lights danced before her, fire danced through her blood, and she sank her fingernails into his shoulders as he teased that delightful little bud of pleasure and pleasure erupted like sparks to singe her from the inside out.
He was slow and deliberate. Circling once. Sliding his thumb over. Each caress enough to steal her breath and make her body beg for a little more. She ached for him like never before, desire mingling with pleasure, entwining and twisting, growing stronger with each caress.
Bennett moaned softly, his lips against her ear. “Elena…”
Now he turned her, and urged her down onto the bed. Sinking to his knees, he smiled. “It’s your turn, love.”
Heat streaked through her even as she closed her eyes and waited. His breath came warm upon her as he kissed down along the curve of her belly, dipping his tongue into her navel, teasing it along her hip bone.
And then…
He was slow. Teasing. Deliberate. Pleasure swirled through her, soft and subtle at first, but then it grew. It twisted into hot, tingling knots to spread through her. Without thinking, she shoved her fingers into his hair. Twisted. Held on. Guided him to where his strokes felt so deliciously wonderful. Pressed him into her.
“Bennett!” Her back arched as fire filled her. Those knots burst, pleasure unlike any she’d ever felt erupting to pulse through her, leaving her head spinning, her bones going to mush, and coherent thoughts impossible to form.
She rocked up to meet him, to make that bliss last as long as she possibly could. Then she collapsed, fighting for breath—almost sobbing as she writhed beneath him with the last ripples of her ecstasy.
“Oh…oh…” Her head lolled from side to side as he kissed her inner thigh again and came up to press his lips into her belly. The muscles twitched and danced, and she let out another breathless cry. And another as he kissed his way up between her breasts. Everything just felt so sensitive…she almost couldn’t bear even the gentlest of touches. As her spinning head slowed, she smiled, murmuring, “Bennett…” as drowsiness swirled through her.
He pressed a gentle kiss into her left hip, then moved to stretch out beside her. As he did, he tugged her against him. His lips found hers, and fire flashed once more at the hunger in his kiss. He wasn’t the only one threatened by that fire. As their lips met, she pounced, shoved him onto his back, and moved astride him. She sheathed him in one long, sensual glide, her moan mingling with his. He rocked her against him, gentle even as the storm clouds gathered. She locked her fingers at his nape, holding his gaze as she came up, and then down, over him. His eyes were so brilliant blue they almost glowed.
Up. Down.
Forward. Back.
He let her decide how far to take him and how fast, and judging by the sensual smile on his lips, he didn’t mind ceding that control. The pleasure was unlike any she’d ever felt, heady and sweet, and as she felt him near his own climax, she picked up her pace.
“Bennett…” She fought for breath, her muscles tiring. “Please…”
He helped her as she fought to increase her speed, her depth, and his smile faded as the precipice drew near. His eyes closed, his jaw tightened, and as he arched hard into her, she felt him go over that blessed edge, and a shower of sparks engulfed her. The summit was there. She was about to crest it and when he went, he took her with him in a blaze of desire
and need.
“Elena!”
She collapsed into him, fighting for air as the wave receded, and he wrapped his arms tighter about her, cradling her against him as he breathed, “What you do to me, love.”
A breathless laugh bubbled to her lips. “I hope it’s at least half as good as what you do to me.”
“I think it’s safe to say it is.” He held her away to smile and stroked her back with one hand, bringing a chill to her that was delightfully sensual and sweet at the same time. It added to her drowsiness, and when he pulled away entirely, it was only to stretch out and gather her in his arms. He kissed the top of her head, then pulled away once more, rolling onto his side to gaze down at her. “I love you.”
Her cheeks twitched with the need to smile and she held his gaze, hoping like mad he saw in her eyes what she saw in his. “Bennett—”
“I know I’ve been a bit of an ass, refusing to even hope for a future. But—”
“Bennett.” She silenced him by putting her forefinger over his lips. “Hush.” She kissed him. It was a long kiss, slow and deep, and as he tightened his arms about her, she pulled away to whisper, “I love you, too.”
He dipped down to nuzzle her, kissing her gently along her neck, up to her ear, where his breath came warm on her skin. “Allow me to make you a lady in every way possible. Elena, will you marry me?”
Her heart soared and the tears that glimmered in her eyes were the happiest she’d ever shed. She smiled up at him, tracing her forefinger along the rough curve of his cheek. “Yes.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Elena lay quietly in his arms, and he thought she’d fallen asleep. Then, she stirred. “Bennett?”
“Yes, darling?”
“Nothing. Just making sure this isn’t a dream.”
“It isn’t.”
“Good.” She let her eyes close completely. “Bennett?”
“Yes?”
“Tell me, what is your full name?”
“You want to know that now?” He couldn’t keep the chuckle from his voice.
