Forever Mine (32 page)

“Are these my clothes or Edmund’s?”

“Your brother’s.”

“Ah.” He nodded as a sinful smile curved his lips. “I thought so. Although, Edmund has never filled them out quite as nicely as you do.”

“I didn’t have anything else to wear.” She bristled and her jaw grew tight with irritation. “Your wife only owns
one
habit, which happens to be what you want me to wear in that damn portrait.”

“I see,” he murmured. Green eyes glinting with a look of possession. “When we go to London, you can order a new habit, but you’re never to dress like this again.”

“Why not? It’s perfectly respectable.”

She decided to leave the issue of London alone for the moment. At her rebellious response he stretched out his hand to caress the base of her throat. Leaning forward his lips brushed across her ear.

“You won’t dress like this again, because I’ll not have any other man see those shapely legs of yours,” he said huskily. “
I’m
the only man who gets to see them, Victoria. And I’m the
last
man who will ever have them wrapped around him. Is that clear.”

She’d never felt so beautiful, desired, and sexy in her entire life. He was staking his claim. In no uncertain terms, Nicholas was saying she belonged to him. Not because he believed she was his wife, but because he wanted her for himself. She drew in a deep breath as uncertainty took hold of her. Victoria took a quick step back from him.

“And my past? I won’t apologize for who I am or what I did long before I met you.” Her words caused a somber expression to fall over his proud features.

“The thought of you in another man’s arms doesn’t please me,” he said in a tight voice.

“I’m not her, Nicholas. I won’t betray you.” The whispered pledge made him reach for her.

Nicholas wrapped her in a tight embrace and buried his face in the side of her neck. She thought she heard him murmur something against her skin, but didn’t have the chance to ask what he’d said as he lifted his head and kissed her. The moment his mouth captured hers, she was lost.

N
icholas savored the sugar taste of her against his mouth. What was it about this woman that made him willing to forget whatever had happened in her past without hesitation? In the short time since her return, he’d found himself struggling to stop thinking about her, touching her or listening for the sound of her voice in the next room. He knew he was fighting a losing battle on all counts. Without guile, Victoria was securing a place in his life that threatened to topple his world in a way Vickie had never done. A quiet mewl broke past Victoria’s lips as he kissed his way across her cheek to nibble on her ear. His fingers found the tie holding her hair back, and he released the auburn silk hair so he could slide his fingers through it.

A familiar need surged through his veins as his hands slid across her shoulders. The rough wool of the riding coat reminded him she was wearing his brother’s clothes. When he’d seen her dressed like a man, he’d been furious that other men had seen what belonged to him. Worse, the way she looked had thrown him off balance, just as she was doing now. He lifted his head, and met her gaze.

The passion darkening her sapphire eyes made his cock stiffen and ache with a hunger he realized only she could ever satisfy. He did not allow himself to consider the thought. Instead, he slowly pushed the coat off her shoulders. The white shirt she wore revealed her nipples straining against the material. He sucked in a sharp breath. She’d forgone a corset.

“
God almighty, Victoria
,” he rasped. “Do you have any idea what could have happened to you if those bastards had caught up with you dressed like this?”

“Yes,” she whispered as she paled slightly. “But they didn’t. You saved me, just like you always will.”

The conviction in her voice displayed a trust he hoped he could live up to. A sensual smile suddenly curved her lovely mouth, and she began to unbutton her shirt. His mouth went dry as she revealed her beautiful breasts. Lush and round, he wanted to suck on her until she cried out for mercy. Her smile became that of a seductress as she pulled the shirt out of the pants she wore and shrugged herself out of the blouse. A mischievous look sparkled in her eyes.

“Do you want to know what I’m wearing under these trousers, Nicholas?” The smile curving her lips as she removed her boots made him realize she couldn’t be wearing bloomers.

“
Sweet Jesus
,” he rasped as she undid the buttons of her trousers to expose her bare stomach.

As she tugged the riding breeches off her legs, his throat constricted as she revealed her naked body. With jerky movements, he shrugged out of his clothes as she backed away from him to the bed. Her gaze ran over him as he finished undressing. Arms outstretched to him, she silently urged him to come to her. As he approached the bed, she scurried backward with a smile of enticement.

“Did you think it would be that easy?” She laughed softly, and Nicholas quickly caught her by the ankles and tugged her toward him.

“You, sweet witch, are a tease.” His hand slowly slid up over her calves to her thighs. “I think that deserves a punishment.”

She gasped loudly as his fingers brushed against her core. His gaze locked with hers for a moment before he lowered his head toward the apex of her thighs. The soft musk of her desire made his blood surged through his veins until his body ached for her like a man dying of thirst longed for water. The moment his mouth brushed against her, a cry parted her lips. A second later, hot, tangy cream raced over his tongue.

Eagerly, he licked and sucked on her as she writhed beneath his touch. Another sob of passion escaped her, and he nipped at the plump nub of flesh between her slick folds. Her body arched upward as she came again. The tart taste of her filled his mouth increasing the need tightening its relentless grip on him. God, but the woman was incredible. The way she responded to him was intoxicating.

His mouth caressed the inside of her thigh then moved across her stomach up to her breasts. Her hand slipped between them to grasp his cock firmly. Her fingers tightening around him, she slid her hand up and down his erection. The caress created a friction that aroused him more than he dreamed possible. A deep groan rolled out of him, and when she suddenly released him he uttered a fierce protest. With a quickness that took him by surprise, she pushed him over onto his back and sheathed him in her velvety heat. The feel of her wrapped around him dragged a dark growl out of him.

She stared down at him, her eyes bright with desire, but there was another indecipherable emotion there as well. She began to ride him. Slowly at first, then faster and faster. He matched each of her hot strokes with hard thrusts of his own. His body demanded a release, but he held back in an effort to prolong her pleasure. The rising tide inside him pushed at his control and warning bells sounded in his head.

Swiftly, he rolled her onto her back and thrust hard and fast into her. With a low cry of pleasure, she arched her body upward and her spasms clutched at his cock like a fiery vise. Twice more he thrust into her then quickly withdrew and throbbed against her stomach with her name on his lips. It was far from the fulfillment he’d experienced in her arms last night, but without protection he could think of no other method to avoid the risk of a child. He’d made that mistake last night. He wouldn’t do so again.

Arms braced on either side of her, he lowered his head to press his forehead against hers. Their harsh breathing was the only sound in the room as he shifted his body and fell onto the bed beside her. Stretching out his hand, he caressed her cheek gently. The wanton look of satiation warming her features made the familiar need to possess her rise inside him once more. He suddenly realized he would never be able to get enough of her. She would haunt him forever. The thought disturbed him. It made him afraid he might lose her.

“As always, that was wonderful,” she whispered. Her eyes closed, Victoria’s mouth was curved in a smile as she lay spent beside him.

“I’ll be back,” he murmured as he kissed her.

Aware of the risk he’d taken moments ago, he quickly retrieved several French letters from his room. He’d meant to place a couple in Victoria’s night stand, but their argument this morning and had made him forget. Before he returned to her room, he stopped to wet a cloth in the bathroom. As he walked through the door leading into her bedroom, he froze at how still she was. A dark fear blistered its way through him, and he raced across the room with his heart slamming into his chest like a sledge hammer.

“
Victoria
,” he rasped as he knelt beside her. She jerked in surprise and looked up at him.

“What?” she asked with a startled look on her face. Feeling like a fool, he shook his head and proceeded to wipe his seed off her stomach. As he started to leave the bed, she sat up and grasped his hand.

“Tell me what’s wrong, Nicholas. Why did you call out to me like that?”

“I thought you’d had another spell.”

“No,” she whispered with a shake of her head. A soft hand cupped his cheek, and he turned his mouth into the palm of her hand. When he turned his gaze back to her face, Nicholas glimpsed guilt flitting across her features.

“You’ve had another spell.” His eyes locked with hers. She opened her mouth then closed it. Narrowing his gaze at her, Nicholas frowned. “Don’t lie to me, Victoria. You fainted again, haven’t you?”

“Technically…no,” she muttered.

“What the fuck does that mean,” he snarled.

“It means that it wasn’t an accident.” She had the decency to look contrite at least.

“
Christ Jesus
, you deliberately brought on one of your headaches, didn’t you?” Fury streaked through him like a violent storm.

“It doesn’t matter. Nothing happened,” she said quietly.

“
Yes, it does matter
.” He wanted to shake her for being so foolish. First, the ride tonight, now this. “You’ve not seen the way you look during one of your really bad spells. You’ve barely been breathing. What the hell would make you do such a thing?”

The thought of losing her made him grow cold. He didn’t want—couldn’t bear the thought of that happening. Nicholas shoved a hand through his hair and waited for her answer. She turned her head away from him. When she remained silent, he released a fierce sound of anger.

“
Damn it
, Victoria, answer me.”

“I was trying to go home.”

“You are home,” he said firmly.

“You know what I mean, Nicholas.” She shook her head with what he realized was a bleak despair. “I thought if I could go home, I wouldn’t get hurt.”

“Who said they would hurt you? Who’s threatened you?” he demanded in a harsh voice. The memory of the letter he’d received earlier that day filled his head. Had she received a similar note that he didn’t know about? A chill settled in his bones.

“No one’s threatened me,” she said in a forlorn voice. “I just know that the longer I stay here the more it will hurt when I go home.

“Come here,” he said gruffly as he saw the despondent look on her face. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

“You don’t understand—”

“Victoria it doesn’t matter what either of us believes. What matters is that I’m not going to let anything or anyone hurt you.”

A sad smile curved her soft pink lips. For a brief moment he wondered what might happen if she really wasn’t from his time. No sooner did the thought enter his head than he dismissed it. Victoria was here, in his arms, and he wasn’t about to let her go. Deep inside a mocking laugh taunted him, but he didn’t dare consider what it meant. He held her in his arms for a long time, enjoying the warmth of her against his body. She stirred in his arms, then slid down his side to where she reached out and touched his scarred leg. Instinctively, he stiffened at the touch. Victoria lifted her head to meet his gaze for a long moment then lowered her head to caress the burned, mottled flesh.

“What happened to your leg?”

Her lips gently brushed across his skin. Despite the scarring, the touch of her mouth still sent sensory signals to his brain. He closed his eyes at the question. It aroused guilt and sorrow inside him. Not once since that terrible day had he shared his feelings with anyone. Whether it was the fact that he’d failed to save the boy or his desire not to relive the nightmare, he didn’t know. In some ways he believed his refusal to speak of the matter was a form of penance.

“Nicholas?” Her question was repeated silently in the gentle way she said his name.

“There was a fire at a paper mill I owned shortly after I inherited my title.” It surprised him at how easily she’d persuaded him to share his story. “I’d just inspected the mill earlier that morning and was about to board a train to return home when I learned the mill was on fire.”

The touch of her fingers against his mutilated flesh made him draw in a breath as he remembered how his injury had happened.

“A fire brigade had formed by the time I reached the mill, but it was of little use.” He swallowed the bile rising in his throat. “It was then we heard the screaming.”