Beguiling the Earl (8 page)

In an attempt to keep some distance between them, he raised his hands to her arms. The heat of his fingers on her bare skin had an almost dizzying effect on her.

“You should care, Catherine. I want…” A spasm of emotion crossed his face. “You know what I want, but until I am free, I am in no position to make promises.”

“I am not asking you to make promises.”

His eyes squeezed closed as though he were in pain. “We can’t do this.”

Instead of gripping her arms tightly to keep her away, his fingers relaxed and his thumbs made little circles on her skin where he held her just above her elbows. Despite his words to the contrary, his resolve was weakening. She moved closer to him. He resisted for only a moment, and then his grip slackened. Taking advantage of his moment of weakness, she raised her arms to clasp his shoulders and pressed herself against his hard chest, rejoicing when his breath shuddered.

“Kerrick.”

He must have heard her need, because his eyes snapped open. Heat blazed in their depths, almost searing her with their intensity.

“I want this,” she said.

“You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“I know exactly what I’m asking. I also know that whatever happens, I will have no regrets, even if we can only have this one night together.”

This time there was no hesitation when he released her arms and drew her more firmly against him. He lowered his head and took her mouth with a desperation that threatened to steal her breath. A corresponding need rose swiftly within her.

She was actually going to make love to the man she couldn’t imagine being without. She’d told him she didn’t need the promise of a future together to be with him tonight, and she’d meant those words. That didn’t mean she’d stop hoping for more. But for now, this would be enough.

Her tongue warred with his as she wove her fingers into his hair. She was afraid to let go lest this turn out to be only a dream. When he pulled back, she started to protest.

“Shhh.” He laid a finger over her lips to forestall her argument.

Mere inches separated them, and she could still feel the warmth of his breath on her face. Acting purely on instinct, she clasped his hand between hers and drew his finger into her mouth, circling it with her tongue and drawing on it. His eyes darkened with approval.

“You’re the very devil,” he said, removing his finger and running it over her now-sensitized mouth. “A temptress sent to lead me into the flames of hell. But it would take more strength than I possess to stop now. You do not, however, deserve to be deflowered on the floor of my study.”

He took her hand again, this time leading her down the darkened corridor to the main stairs. She was relieved when they reached his bedroom without encountering any of the household staff. It had taken all her nerve tonight to come, alone, to his home, and she didn’t think she had any bravery left for knowing glances and whispered words belowstairs.

His bedroom was a reflection of him. Dark, masculine. What surprised her most, however, was the lavender orchid in a small vase on his night table. Was that a coincidence, or had he remembered her telling Mr. Clifton how much she loved orchids?

He must have noticed the direction of her glance for he cleared his throat before saying, “I’ve always appreciated beauty.”

His eyes were not on the flower, however, but on her. The compliment warmed her right down to her toes and chased away the last of her inhibitions. She turned to face him and placed a hand directly over his heart where she could feel its steady beat.

She licked her lips before saying, “You must show me what to do.”

He mirrored her action, placing his hand first over her upper chest before moving it lower. Instead of settling over her heart, however, he cupped one of her breasts in his large hand. She sucked in a breath, only to release it again with a surprised puff of air when his thumb moved over its peak. His other hand rose to do the same to her other breast, and pleasure speared through her.

“To begin,” he said, his voice more rough than she had ever remembered, “we are wearing far too much clothing.”

He spun her around and made quick work of the ties of her dress and the strings of her stays, his familiarity with women’s clothing further proof that he was much more experienced than she. Before stripping the clothing from her body, he took the time to remove the pins from her hair and spread his fingers through the heavy mass. She closed her eyes in bliss when he nuzzled her ear.

When he drew her dress away from her body, allowing it to fall at her feet with a whisper of satin, and cast aside her corset, she was glad that she was facing away from him. Still wearing her chemise, she leaned back into him, craving his touch, and he complied by bringing his hands around and cupping her breasts yet again. He lowered his head to the side of her throat, and she shivered when his mouth settled on her skin.

She tilted her head to the side to grant him further access.

“Catherine, you undo me,” he said, his breath warm against her skin.

She very much doubted he could feel more cast adrift than she at that moment. His hands moved to the neckline of her chemise, and when she realized that he planned to remove it, she covered his hands with hers to still his movement. She turned in his arms.

“I am not the only one wearing too much clothing,” she said, aiming for a levity she was far from feeling.

He took a step back and she could almost feel the caress of his eyes on her as his gaze roamed over her body.

“I would never wish to disappoint you.”

He made quick work of his cravat and the buttons of his waistcoat, and when he was done, Catherine stepped forward to draw his tailcoat from his shoulders. Mirroring his casual disregard for her own clothing, she dropped the garment to the floor before doing the same with his waistcoat.

“You are a quick student,” he said, an edge to his voice.

“I aim only to please,” she replied as she pulled his shirt from his trousers and burrowed her hands underneath the material so she could finally feel his skin.

Remembering how it had felt when he’d teased her breasts, she trailed her fingers up his torso, dragging the lawn fabric of his shirt upward as she sought his nipples. She raked her nails over them gently and was rewarded by his harsh inhalation.

He stripped his shirt over his head in one quick movement and threw it onto the floor. Without further preamble, he dragged down her chemise until her breasts were freed and then lowered his head to take one aching peak into his mouth. All thought deserted her. Afraid her knees would buckle at any moment, she could only cling to his shoulders as he suckled her. One hand toyed with her other breast while the other hand cupped her backside and shifted the lower half of her body until she was held firmly against him. His arousal pressed into her, but not where she ached for him between her legs, and she squirmed against him.

He gripped her chemise where it rested at her waist, and she felt the first flare of alarm when he knelt before her. Her hands fluttered to his shoulders in uncertainty.

“What are you doing?” She could not keep the quaver from her voice.

He looked up at her, his normally vivid blue eyes now almost black. “I’m trying to make sure you enjoy this as much as I know I will.”

“Kerrick, I—”

But he ignored her protest and released his hold on her chemise. It pooled at her feet, and she stood before him in only her shoes and stockings. He made a low sound of approval before kissing her belly. She was still slightly alarmed by what he was doing, but that feeling turned to outright shock when he parted her legs and blew softly on her now-damp curls.

Her legs started to buckle and he rose swiftly when she swayed forward. Before she knew what he was doing, he’d lifted her into his arms, carried her to his large bed, and deposited her onto it. She knew enough about what happened between a man and a woman to expect him to remove his trousers and join her on the bed. Instead, he drew her legs apart and devoured her with his eyes.

Embarrassed, she flung an arm over her eyes. She wouldn’t stop him, not now, but her bravery threatened to desert her at the almost unbearable intimacy of being laid open to his hungry gaze.

Nothing happened for several moments.

“Catherine?”

This was Kerrick, the man she loved. She did not need to feel shy about him seeing her like this.

She lifted her arm and looked at him where he stood between her open thighs, uncertainty etched on his face. His concern only served to make her feel young and foolish. Fearing she’d disappointed him and needing to get away from his unrelenting gaze, she rolled over onto her stomach and closed her eyes.

The bed shifted under his weight as he lowered himself onto the bed beside her. His warm hand settled on the bare skin of her lower back, and when he spoke his voice was strained.

“I’ll understand if you’ve reconsidered. I won’t be particularly pleased about it, but we can stop right now. You haven’t been fully compromised yet—”

Needing him to stop talking, she surprised them both by turning and launching herself at him. He rolled onto his back and she settled over him, her slight frame supported by his much larger one.

She made a soft sound in the back of her throat as she delighted in the feel of his skin against hers. She was aware of many sensations all at once: his heat seeping into her, her breasts crushed against his muscled chest, the sprinkling of hair abrading her nipples. He still wore his trousers, but there was no mistaking the hard ridge of his erection pressing into her thigh. And his scent… why had she never noticed how wonderful he smelled before now? She was almost light-headed from the onslaught of sensation.

“You haven’t reconsidered, then.”

She shook her head and then there were no more words. He clasped her head in his hands, his fingers tangling in the mass of her hair. Their eyes met and held for several long seconds.

Her breath shuddered when he urged her head down and claimed her mouth with a soul-stirring kiss. Her world constricted until there was only Kerrick and only this moment between them. He let her take the lead in the kiss, and she explored his mouth, her tongue warring with his, with an intensity that almost frightened her. Dimly, she became aware of his hands sweeping a trail of fire down her back before settling on her hips. He shifted her until her legs draped on either side of his hips, and she moaned at the feel of his hard length pressed right where she needed him most.

He broke the kiss then and spoke, his lips still on hers. “Do you trust me?”

She did. With her very life. She nodded and he rolled them both over until she lay beneath him, his weight braced over her. Thinking that he meant to take her in that moment, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and tried to draw him even closer.

“Not yet, my impatient one.”

She made a sound of protest when he levered himself off her, but he ignored her and started trailing kisses down her body. Her objections ceased when he stopped to lavish attention on her breasts. He suckled each one in turn, each pull from his mouth causing an almost desperate ache much lower, even though he no longer pressed against her.

“This is too much,” she said, the pleasure almost overwhelming.

He lifted his head and his eyes locked with hers, a wicked gleam in their depths. “We have barely begun.” His words, coupled with the intensity of his gaze, promised unimaginable pleasure, and she shivered in response.

He pressed an openmouthed kiss low on her belly, then shifted lower still. This time she pushed aside her alarm when he kissed the inside of her thigh, unwilling to let her nerves put an end to their lovemaking. For that’s what this was. She loved him and she needed him.

Some instinct told her what he wanted, and she parted her thighs for him. He made a sound that could only be described as an approving growl before touching her where no one ever had.

“You’re already wet for me,” he said, stroking her.

“I never imagined such things.”

She wasn’t sure if she’d spoken the words aloud, and in the next moment she didn’t care. He moved his hand, replacing it with his tongue. The shocking sensation, coupled with the warmth of his breath where she had never expected to feel it, had her squirming.

“Kerrick…,” she breathed.

She was close to losing her mind, but he didn’t stop. His tongue drew circles on a particularly sensitive spot, and he thrust first one, then two fingers inside her. As he continued to torment her, both inside and out, she quickly spiraled out of control until her body seemed to fly apart.

She might have screamed—she honestly couldn’t say—as tremors wracked her body. He didn’t stop, prolonging the torment, until the last quiver passed.

She was incapable of movement and could only lay still, every muscle in her body languid, as he moved to cover her again. When he kissed her, she could taste herself on his lips. He pressed the tip of his erection against her entrance, and her body stirred to life again, wanting this final, ultimate act of intimacy.

She was so wet, so ready and aching for him, that the first stab of pain at his penetration took her by surprise. He stilled at her sharp cry, pressing. He rested his forehead against hers, and they remained that way for what must have been a full minute, their breaths mingling together.

“You’re so tight. Tell me I can move now before I lose my mind completely.”

She replied by contracting her muscles, squeezing him when he rested inside her, and he groaned. He started to draw himself out and she panicked, thinking he meant to pull out of her completely and knowing that he hadn’t yet found his own completion. When he pushed himself back in, more slowly this time, her body gave only a slight twinge. His next penetration hurt even less, and then she was meeting him thrust for thrust, all memory of pain forgotten.

“I can’t…” He started to move faster and his urgency called out to her, quickening her pleasure until she peaked a second time. He pushed himself inside her one final time before cursing and pulling out of her completely. He groaned and spilled himself outside her body.