by Dawn Brower
Serenity hit the bed as she stepped back, falling backward. She flailed her arms wildly as she tried to regain her balance and failed. Even fate agreed she belonged in his bed. If he was hoping for a sign, he’d not find a more glaring one. He moved forward and stopped at the edge of the bed, his knees brushing against her legs. She glanced up at him, her lips tilted upward enticingly.
“You’re right,” she said. “It’s about time you tumbled over the edge with me.” Serenity sat up and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Do your worst,” she demanded. “I’m ready for the onslaught of decadent torture you’re promising.”
He groaned and leaned down, capturing her lips with his. This woman was his in every manner. When the night was over there would be no denying it for him or her. They belonged together, and he’d fight anyone who stood in his way of claiming her. He deepened the kiss, their tongues dancing together as a consuming fire erupted between them. Serenity moaned against his kiss, urging him to give her more of him.
They had way too much clothes on, and he’d have to do something to resolve that issue immediately. As much as he hated the idea, he took a step back so he could remove her dress. She was ahead of him yanking the bodice down and pushing it past her waist. God above, she wasn’t wearing a damn thing underneath it. If he’d known that, they might not have made it inside the inn. He’d have had her in the carriage over and over again…
Brandon swallowed down a lump in his throat as she stood, pushing her skirts to the floor. She was gloriously naked. Her skin flushed to a delicate pink and he wanted to taste her all over. There wouldn’t be much sleeping tonight if he had his way. The need to kiss every inch of her filled him. He reached for her, but she pushed him away.
“Not until you’re naked too,” she said and then demanded, “Strip now.”
His nostrils flared at her command. He wanted to order her around and see how she took to it. It was a good thing he wanted to lose his clothes as much as she wanted him to; otherwise, he might’ve argued on principle. He yanked his shirt free from his breeches and pulled it over his head, tossing it on the floor. Serenity moved toward him and brought her hands up to his chest. She rubbed his taut muscles beneath her palms, making him groan with each stroke.
“You’re killing me,” he said.
“Not yet,” she replied. “But maybe before the night is done…”
He reached up and stilled her movement. “I thought you wanted me to undress.”
She glanced up and met his gaze. Heat radiated from her in waves and washed over him. Whatever he’d done to deserve this woman, he hoped he lived up to it. Serenity Drake was perfect for him in every way. Slowly, he stepped back and removed the rest of his clothing. He felt the absence of her heat immediately and craved it in ways he never would have believed possible. His cock jutted out in anticipation of filling her.
Serenity moved toward him and wrapped her small hand around his length. He groaned loudly as she stroked him between her nimble fingers. She’d be the death of him yet. “Please,” he moaned.
“You like this,” she said. “I bet you’d like my mouth even more.”
Shock filled him at her words. Would she really do as she suggested? He didn’t beg her or she might not do as she implied. He wanted to feel her lips wrapped around his hard cock. Brandon had dreamed too often of her doing it and didn’t dare believe it would ever happen. This was all so damn good and more enjoyable than he could have imagined. He waited patiently for her to kiss him as she promised. Anticipation was almost as pleasurable as the real thing… At least he’d thought that until her tongue brushed across the head of his cock. He almost climaxed from that alone but somehow managed to hold it in. Brandon didn’t want to find release until he was buried inside of her.
Serenity dragged her tongue down his length and palmed his sack in her other hand. He was losing his mind to her ministrations. She brought her hot mouth down his length, driving him to the brink of exploding. He had to stop her now before he couldn’t. He halted her movements and pulled away from her.
“That’s enough,” he said hoarsely. “It’s my turn now.”
Serenity grinned. “You don’t like being at my mercy.”
He liked it entirely too much. That was the problem. “Darling.” He smiled down at her. “One day I’ll let you finish me that way, but I’ve been waiting too long to have you underneath me. I’m not going to deny myself that particular pleasure.”
Brandon lifted her up and set her fully on the bed. He hadn’t lied to her earlier. He was going to drive her to the brink of insanity. There were answers to be had, and she was going to give them. That didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the process and have her screaming with pleasure along the way. He grabbed his cravat and tied her hands to the headboard. She yanked at them and glared in his direction.
“Is this necessary?”
“Yes,” he said. “I can’t have you running off until I’m through with you.”
Besides, he rather like the sight of her tied to the bed. It made his cock harden further in anticipation. Serenity pulled at the binding again. She could try all she wanted to, but there was no way she’d free herself. He’d been schooled in proper knot-tying at a young age. She wasn’t escaping until he was ready to let her go.
“This is not what I had in mind,” she said. “You don’t play fair.”
“I never promised I would,” he retorted. “Now, where were we? He skimmed the edge of her breast with the tip of his finger.”
Her skin was still flushed a nice pink. She liked this development as much as he did. “You’re about to untie me.” Serenity licked her lips. “I want to touch you.”
He laughed. “You already did.” Brandon joined her on the bed. “I promise this will be pleasurable.”
Her answer was to stick her tongue out at him. His lips tilted upward. Soon she’d be screaming in pleasure, and her tongue would find other uses. He brought his hand up to her breast and pinched her hard nipple. Serenity’s groans echoed through the room. That was a start, but it wasn’t enough. He leaned down and drew the nipple into his mouth. She started to thrash underneath him. Brandon moved to her other nipple and repeated his actions, but this time he brought one of his hands down to caress the heat at the center of her thighs. He stroked the swollen nub, making her moan louder with each movement.
“Oh, yes,” she called out. “More, I need more.”
He stopped immediately. She wasn’t allowed to find release yet. Not until he gave her permission. “How bad do you want me to continue?”
“Damn it,” she shouted. “Why are you doing this?”
Brandon leaned down and kissed her chin and then pressed his lips to hers. She lifted her head and met the kiss fervently. He had yet to kiss her between her thighs, and he intended to before the night was over. This was a taste of all he’d wanted from her. He pulled back and stared down at her. Her dark red hair was splayed against the pillow enticingly. She was so damn beautiful.
He brushed his fingers across her delicate flesh. She pressed her core against his palm, attempting to rub herself against him. “Not yet,” he said.
“Please….”
Brandon pushed a finger inside her channel. She moaned as he stroked her core. “Do you want me?”
“You know I do,” she moaned out the words.
“Bad enough to tell me what I want to know?”
Her eyelids fluttered open, widening at his words. “Is this all a game to you?”
“Everything is in life,” he conceded. “But you’re more than that. It’s in my nature to question and hold back. I don’t want that with us. If we’re going to do this, we need full honesty.”
She nibbled on her bottom lip. “Tit for tat?” Serenity pressed herself against him, pushing his finger deeper inside of her. She was so wet for him. “I open myself wide, and you’ll do the same in return?”
Not how he’d have said it… “Yes,” he agreed. “When it’s all said and done, we’ll be strippe
d even more bare then we are now.” He pulled his finger from her tight channel.
“After,” she said. “Fuck me and then we will unravel each other’s mysteries.”
Brandon reached up and untied the cravat freeing her arms, then joined her on the bed. She sat up and brought her hands to his face, stilling him long enough to kiss him. It fueled his desire to an unbearable degree. He pushed her thighs up and settled himself between them. When he pressed himself inside of her, he groaned as her heat wrapped around his cock like a hot glove. Their first coupling was hot, fast, and exploded through them. Later he would go slower and savor the moment. He couldn’t hold on long enough to do it this time.
When his climax hit, he wasn’t even sure if she’d found hers, but prayed she had. Never in his life had he been this selfish, and he hoped she’d forgive him for it. He needed her too much and now that he had her… Lord save the fool who tried to take her away.
Chapter 8
Serenity curled against Brandon. She could think of him that way now. It was more than testing out his name on her tongue. They’d transcended that and taken whatever this was between them to a different level. Formalities had been tossed aside when they’d decided sex trumped everything else. She couldn’t regret that decision. Her entire body hummed with pleasure. The urge to stretch like a cat and purr filled her. Nothing compared to what this man made her feel. If there was something better out there, she hoped she never found it. She wouldn’t be able to survive the aftermath. This encounter had already nearly decimated her.
She trailed her fingers across his chest playfully. “We should’ve done this a long time ago.”
He chuckled. “We weren’t ready,” he said. “Or maybe I wasn’t.”
That she could believe. She read his aura to make sure he was as happy as her. His color had changed, and he was no longer shrouded in cleverly hidden deceit. This man had opened up to her, and she wasn’t entirely sure it was a conscious choice. He’d claimed there would be no more secrets between them, but this was different. His aura almost reached out and claimed her. That had never happened before. He’d finally realized they belonged together. It had been a battle from the first moment they met, but one well worth the effort.
“Perhaps,” she conceded. “Before all of this…” She waved her hand over their nakedness. “You had questions. If you want to ask them, now is probably a good time. I’m feeling rather generous.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her until all thoughts left her. If he continued that kind of mad passion, she’d not be able to string two words together. Every touch turned her insides to jelly. Her duke, always and forever. She rather liked that idea.
He pulled back and ran his hand through her hair. “I do have some things to ask you,” he said. “Some of them are rather important to me. But before we get to the life-changing ones, why don’t you tell me about Miss Byrne?”
She scrunched up her nose. Aubriella was the last thing she wanted to talk about. Serenity suspected he already knew on some level what her connection to her stepsister was. She might as well get it out in the open and tell him what he wanted to know. Although, the idea of it still didn’t sit well with her. Her stepsister was up to something here, and she didn’t want to spoil it. She didn’t generally hatch schemes. That was more Serenity’s area of expertise. Aubriella, for all her hissy fits, had a good heart and meant well.
“Must we talk about her?”
His lips tilted upward. “How is she related to you and Genevieve?”
Serenity sighed. If only Lord Thornbury hadn’t mentioned her last name. She should have realized once he uttered it that Brandon would latch on and not let go. That had been the turning point of the conversation. Before that, she’d bet everything that they’d fooled both men. Brandon was more astute than most, but even he wouldn’t have doubted Aubriella’s ire if not for her last name.
“She’s Genevieve’s cousin,” Serenity finally said.
He lifted a brow. “No relation to you? I somehow doubt that, especially with the news you dropped on Genevieve before she returned to your time.”
Before Genevieve had left with her true love, Trenton, Serenity had begged her to save their sister, Peyton. Genevieve hadn’t known they were half sisters, and she’d had to convince her. There wasn’t a lot of love between the four women. Peyton and Serenity were as close as two sisters could be. They’d excluded Genevieve and Aubriella at every opportunity. Now that they were adults, it was a regret both she and Peyton carried with them. Peyton had been sure Genevieve would forgive them both and help save her. She had cancer and Genevieve was a match to give her the transplant she’d needed desperately to live.
“Brie isn’t related to me in the way you’re thinking,” Serenity said. “She really is Eve’s cousin. I’m only related to her through marriage—there’s no blood connecting us. Well, unless you count Eve.”
“That’s rather confusing,” he rubbed his temple. “Explain in more detail.”
Serenity took a deep breath and prepared to lay out the details. It was rather complicated and she wasn’t sure she could aptly clarify it for him. “The short story is my mother married Brie’s father. Brie’s and Eve’s fathers are brothers. Eve, Peyton, and I share a mother, but not a father.” That was a mouthful to get out. “They’re Byrnes and we’re Drakes.”
A part of her had been jealous of Aubriella and Genevieve’s relationship to their respective fathers. Aubriella had lost her mother, but her father more than made up for it. Genevieve had her adopted mother as well. They hadn’t lived under the influence of Nora Drake-Byrne. Serenity’s mother wasn’t the warm and fuzzy type.
“Do you not get along with her?” he asked softly.
She frowned. “It’s complicated.” Everything in her life seemed to be…
The time for talking about her stepsister had passed. She was done with the subject for now. She didn’t want to tell him any more. In some ways, it was too painful. Her blood sisters were in another time, perhaps bonding. A part of her would always ache for those lost relationships. She had a choice to make. Return to her time or stay with Brandon. Her heart hurt at the idea of leaving him, but it was equally painful to accept that she’d never see Peyton or Genevieve again.
Brandon stroked her nipple. She hissed out a breath. Was he trying to drive her mad? “Why don’t we get this out so we can move on to more pleasant things,” he suggested. “Tell me why she’s here and what she’s doing with the Earl of Thornbury.”
Serenity swallowed the lump in her throat. Her heart raced in her chest as he continued to stroke her, heightening her awareness. “I don’t know,” she gritted out. “She didn’t exactly have time to explain it to me.”
“But you know something?” He trailed kisses along her jaw and sucked on her ear. His hot breath caressed her neck. “Tell me.”
“I. Don’t. Know.” He was driving her mad. “All I know is she disappeared before Trenton and I came to your house in London months ago. She went through time on her own secret mission. It must involve the earl or she wouldn’t have begged me to keep my mouth shut.”
He lowered his hand to her clit and caressed it with the pad of his thumb. Her breathing hitched with each stroke. “Is that all?”
Serenity wiggled under his skilled hands. He had one hell of a way to interrogate a person. “I think it is time we turned the tables a bit,” she said flipping on top of him. “Two can play this game.”
He brought his hands up to her waist, circling them on her hips. “You want to ride me?”
“Not yet.” She laughed. “You haven’t been a good boy and don’t deserve my attention.” Serenity leaned down and licked his chest. “It’s your turn to tell your dark secrets.”
He groaned. “I don’t have any to tell.”
“Lies,” she countered. “Do I need to remind…”
“No,” he interrupted her. “Don’t tell me that nonsense again. What do you want to know?”
He wasn’t goin
g to give up anything willingly. She wouldn’t push too much; however, there was something bothering her. Brandon never mentioned his dead wife. There was a story there and it might not be the best time to ask, but she couldn’t’ let it go either.
“Tell me about Sebastian’s mother,” she demanded.
He closed his eyes and remained silent for several heartbeats. For a moment, she feared she might have pushed him for something he hadn’t wanted to discuss. Had he loved her that much? Serenity had never truly lost anyone dear to her and hoped she wouldn’t for a very long time. If she lost someone she loved, she might not handle it well.
For a while there she thought Peyton might die, and that had terrified her. If Peyton hadn’t had the vision about Genevieve… She shook the memory away. Genevieve went home and saved Peyton. There was nothing to worry about. Both of her sisters would live a long and happy life. Peyton just needed to find her one true love and all would be right in the world. Serenity was happy with her choice to remain in the nineteenth century. The only sadness she carried was realizing she’d never see her sisters again, or be there when Peyton fell in love. Her future was with Brandon though. Her fate was in the past, and her sisters’ were in the twenty-first century. Serenity made tiny hearts with her fingers on Brandon’s chest as she waited for him to speak.
“Catherine,” he finally said. “Was a frail woman. She had a good heart and she meant well, but I was never the right man for her. She’d have been far happier if she’d married someone—anyone—other than me. For a long time, I didn’t think I was even capable of love.” He trailed his fingers over her belly. “Until Sebastian was born, I thought I had no heart to give anyone. He stole it from the moment he let out his first breath. Unfortunately, his life meant Catherine’s was at an end. She didn’t survive the birth.”
