Dark Obsession (22 page)

To Marina’s horror she felt tears welling in her eyes. ‘That’s right,’ she said haughtily. ‘Laugh while you can. You seem to forget that I can always ask my husband to dismiss you for insolence.’

Jerry moved closer and took her hands in his. When he spoke his voice was softer than she’d ever heard it. ‘Why would you want me dismissed?’ he said. His voice was gentle. ‘I wasn’t laughing at you, I was laughing at the thought of Betsy moving fast. I’d never laugh at you; I admire you too much.’

‘Admire me?’

He nodded. ‘I know how hard this is for you, but you’ve stuck at it, and you were doing well until today. It’s my fault. I thought you were ready but you weren’t. We’ll go back a bit and then try again some time next week when you’ve had more practice.’

‘I don’t know why I’m learning,’ she murmured, staring into his blue eyes and very aware of the sharp tang of his aftershave.

‘I thought you wanted to be able to go out riding again. Didn’t your new neighbour suggest it?’

‘Yes, but he suggests a lot of things that I’m not certain I really want to do,’ she said softly.

Jerry released his grip and put the palms of his hands on each side of her face. ‘I’d like to suggest something right now,’ he whispered. ‘How can I be sure you’ll want to do that?’

Marina stared at him. She didn’t reply but her eyes told him all that he’d been hoping to hear and very slowly he lifted her right hand and tenderly kissed the inside of her
wrist
. Marina shivered and moved towards him. ‘Keep still,’ he whispered, his eyes bright with admiration and desire, ‘I want you to stay right there while I kiss you properly.’

She closed her eyes and remained quite still, waiting for the touch of his hard mouth on hers, but instead he continued to kiss her wrist and inner arm until he reached the inside of her elbow. Here his tongue traced a lazy circle across the fine blue veins beneath the pale skin and Marina trembled even more.

His other hand was stroking her left arm and shoulder. He gentled her as he would a horse, murmuring softly as he moved his mouth to her tender collarbone where his lips grazed against the slight bones while his hands opened her shirt a little wider to allow him easier access.

She longed for him to unbutton her blouse and kiss her breasts, but it seemed that he was in no hurry, preferring to linger at her neck where his mouth roamed up and down the slim column, his teeth just skimming the surface of the flesh beneath her ear until her whole body was quivering with anticipation.

She longed to move, to take his head between her hands and move his mouth against hers, but at the same time she didn’t want the delicious sensations to cease and so she stayed motionless while he continued to softly tease some of her most erogenous zones.

Just when she thought that she couldn’t stand it any longer he stopped and she felt his mouth against her ear. ‘I want to cover your whole body with kisses,’ he said softly. ‘I want to kiss every inch of you, but not here, not out in the open where people might see us.’

Marina’s eyes flew open, and she knew that he must be able to see the look of desire on her face. ‘I don’t want you to stop,’ she moaned, unable to disguise her need.

‘Nor do I. Don’t worry, I live in a cottage at the other end of the track. Do you think you can bear to get on Betsy’s back once more?’

She’d have done anything to ensure that her tingling, swollen flesh was satisfied, and without another word she let Jerry help her back into the saddle and then they were moving slowly along the pathway until a few minutes later they arrived at his cottage.

It was small and the brickwork was in need of repair, but Marina didn’t care. She wanted to feel his hands on her, wanted him so badly that she was already moist with excitement; she scarcely took in the disarray of the rooms as he led her up the narrow stairs and straight into his bathroom.

Marina had been expecting the bedroom, and for a moment she drew herself up in a manner more fitting to the wife of Lord Corbett-Wynne than the would-be mistress of his riding manager. Jerry put his arms round her. ‘I thought it would be nice if we took a shower together after our ride.’

Marina didn’t reply, but as he started to take off his clothes she slowly began to unbutton her check shirt. Her excitement increased when he kept his eyes on her all the time she stripped, and she saw nothing but admiration in his face.

‘You’re lovely,’ he whispered when she was finally naked. He ran a finger lightly round each of her breasts. ‘Don’t worry; if I do anything you don’t like just say and I’ll stop. I want to make you happy, that’s all.’

She followed him into the shower, and as the warm spray beat down on them he got her to place her feet on the raised sides of the base, so that her legs were parted and her body lifted and their heights became equal.

His arms went around her, reaching down for her buttocks which he squeezed softly, and then he reached for the shower gel, poured some into his hands and began to lather each of her breasts in turn. His hands moved slowly and sensuously around each areola before massaging the nipples themselves and Marina uttered soft cries of pleasure, as at long last the aching globes received the
touch
she’d been imagining ever since he’d first kissed her wrist.

As he massaged, he bit softly at her earlobes, sending a sharp tugging sensation down through her body, and then he lightly inserted the tip of his tongue inside her left ear, flicking it rapidly until her hips began to shake with desire.

Her breasts had never felt so hard and when he took each of her nipples in turn between his right thumb and index finger and rolled them gently she was certain she’d explode as all her muscles started to tense and her feet nearly slipped from the narrow edges of the shower.

‘You look wonderful,’ he murmured as he started to soap her across her ribs and stomach, and then he applied gentle pressure at the base of her belly just above her pubic hair, keeping his hand still until a warm glow began to spread down between her thighs and a sweet ache suffused her entire sex.

Once she was covered in soap, Jerry moved closer and rubbed himself against her slippery flesh, stimulating them both until Marina was crying out with desire, thrusting her hips towards him in frantic movements as the sweetness of the ache became unbearable.

Jerry’s hands returned to her buttocks and at last he pulled her firmly towards him, sliding into her swollen vagina with a slow steady movement. He then stayed motionless inside her while one of his hands began to fondle her between her parted thighs.

He massaged the whole pubic area, pressing and releasing the flesh then rotating it in tiny circular movements followed by an up and down stroke that soon had her body on fire as her indirectly stimulated clitoris swelled and she felt her internal muscles growing taut and hard.

‘Tighten round me,’ he whispered. ‘Use your muscles on me so that I can feel you grip me.’

She looked deep into his eyes and as she obeyed she pressed her mouth against his, her tongue thrusting between his lips and circling his gums, before flicking
between
his teeth and moving backwards and forwards as though she were a man performing oral sex on a woman.

Her sudden taking of the initiative, together with the heat that he could feel from her damp body and the tightness of her vaginal walls as she gripped and released him in quick spasmodic movements, drove Jerry wild.

Now he abandoned his slow tender approach and responded to her new needs. His hands tightened on her buttocks and he allowed one finger to ease its way between them. Marina was so caught up in the frantic excitement of the moment that she didn’t even notice, and it was only when her body was teetering on the brink of its climax that he allowed the finger to ease its way inside her rear entrance. With a loud cry of ecstasy, Marina gave herself over to her orgasm, an orgasm that went on and on as his fingers stimulated her from both sides until she was finally still.

‘Now it’s my turn,’ he murmured, and at last he began to move inside her.

He moved in long, leisurely thrusts, allowing the full length of his erection to glide in and out, and at every outward movement Marina clutched desperately at his shoulders, terrified that he was going to withdraw completely and leave her achingly empty. Jerry was too experienced for that, and enjoying himself far too much to break the carefully built-up rhythm; all he was doing was prolonging his moment of pleasure and, he hoped, enabling Marina to achieve another climax.

Slowly she felt her body tightening once more and she writhed against him, pressing her erect nipples against his chest and her stomach hard against his to give herself the feeling of pressure that she’d enjoyed earlier.

After a few minutes Jerry’s tempo quickened as his own climax grew closer. He felt his testicles pull upwards against his body and the tip of his penis was filled with light tingling sensations. He knew that he was about to come, and sensed that Marina was close too. Quickly he
moved
the heels of his hands until they were resting on her hip bones and then, just as the tingles spread lower down his shaft, he started to knead her pelvis with firm fingers.

Marina’s whole belly rippled in a delirium of excitement and she kept her eyes locked onto Jerry’s as they were both shaken by a simultaneous climax of shattering intensity. By the time hers was over, Marina was almost collapsing against him, and she found that she was crying tears of joy while the soft caress of the shower continued to fall on her naked body.

For a moment he held her against him, running his fingers through her wet hair and smoothing the damp strands off her forehead, but then he turned off the water and stepped slowly away. ‘We’ve got to get dried,’ he said reluctantly. ‘I don’t think we can make your first ride last too long or someone might get suspicious.’

‘I don’t care if they do,’ murmured Marina, letting him wrap her in a large, if somewhat coarse, towel and then rub her briskly all over. ‘I’ve never been so happy before.’

‘That’s what I like to hear,’ he said with a smile.

Marina glanced at him, his jet black hair plastered to his head and his teeth gleaming white against his tanned skin. ‘I imagine all your women say the same,’ she teased.

The laughter went out of his eyes. ‘I don’t usually have women. Girls, yes, I’ve had a lot of girls, but not women. Now I know what I’ve been missing.’

She wondered if he’d slept with the fair-haired girl she’d seen in the stables, or even Tania, but then she pushed the thought away. What did it matter if he had? He’d just made love to her, and done it more skilfully and with more feeling than anyone had before, even Matthew, so what did his past matter?

‘When can I see you again?’ he asked and she felt like laughing aloud with happiness.

‘Not until Sunday,’ she said regretfully. ‘I’ve got a
dinner
party tomorrow night and simply can’t get away then, but Sunday morning will be all right.’

‘We’ll take the horses out,’ he said, his eyes bright at the prospect. ‘Do you mind coming back here again? We’ll use the bedroom next time.’

‘I don’t mind where we go,’ she said truthfully.

They rode back slowly and in comparative silence, but it was a friendly silence and Marina realised that Jerry was continually glancing at her, as though proud to be in her company.

‘Is Sir Matthew Stevens coming on Saturday night?’ he asked casually when he was helping her dismount in the stable yard.

Marina touched the back of his right hand. ‘Yes, he is, but he isn’t important to me any more. I don’t really think we’ve got a lot in common.’

‘Sometimes it takes a long time to get to know someone,’ he said slowly, ‘but at other times you have this feeling, a kind of instinct if you like, that it’s right. Do you know what I mean?’

Marina nodded. She knew it was ridiculous, that he was younger than her, worked for her husband and had spent most of his adult life bedding nubile young girls, yet she was quite certain that he was going to be a very special person in her life.

‘I’ll see you on Sunday,’ she promised.

Jerry watched her go and wondered if she’d regret it once she was back inside her luxurious house. He hoped not. Already, after this one time together, she meant more to him than any other woman had done, and no one could have been more surprised by that than he was.

‘We’ll have to wait and see, Betsy,’ he told the docile mare, leading her back into her stable. ‘I must be mad, but the way I feel at the moment I want to spend the rest of my life with that woman. She’s made for pleasure, and I intend to be the man who gives it to her.’

When Marina arrived at the front door of the house she
found
Matthew Stevens waiting for her on the steps. He smiled, and she noticed with surprise that his smile didn’t have its usual effect on her. Only a week or so ago it would have made her legs tremble and there would have been a nervous fluttering in her stomach, but now there was nothing.

‘I gather from your outfit you’ve been riding,’ he said softly, his eyes bright with appreciation. ‘Even if you never become highly proficient, the clothes look incredible on you, very erotic indeed.’

She smiled, but in an absent-minded way and Matthew realised this. He wondered if she wasn’t enjoying being on horseback again. ‘If you’re not happy riding, then give it up,’ he said with another quick smile. ‘I’m sure we can find other ways to meet.’

‘I am enjoying it,’ Marina assured him, pushing open the door and preceding him into the entrance lobby. ‘In fact, I can’t remember when I’ve been happier.’

‘That’s good. I can’t remember when I’ve been happier either,’ he added, his voice suddenly low and caressing.

Marina realised that she was comparing him unfavourably with Jerry. Jerry was always sincere; when he paid her compliments she knew that they were genuine. With Matthew Stevens she wasn’t certain, and his recent insistence on honing her sexual skills in the way that he wished, rather than following her desires, had done nothing to help his cause.

‘I’m afraid I’m rather busy today,’ she said politely. ‘Was there something special you wanted to see me about? I’ve got about half an hour to spare, but after that all my time will be taken up getting ready for tomorrow’s dinner party.’