Girl in the Beaded Mask (4 page)

Lulu heard the click of the door as David closed it behind them, leaving them in the darkness of a deserted bedchamber. She nervously smoothed her gown as she studied the room, the shapes of the old-fashioned four-poster bed, the chaise, the tall carved fireplace, all shadows in the moonlight that streamed from the window.

Up here, the noise from the party was muffled, like the distant echo of a constantly moving ocean tide. She could hear the soft sound of his breath, the roar of her heart. They were alone again, and this time it was different.

Now he knew who she really was.

She heard the lock turn in the door and his soft footsteps on the thick carpet as he crossed the room to stand right behind her. His arms slid around her waist and drew her back against his body.

Lulu's eyes fluttered closed as she felt his hand slide, hard and hot, over her belly and he lowered his head to kiss the side of her neck. His breath was hot and quick against her ear, and she thought she could feel his heart pounding through her. He held her close, and they were all alone, the only two people in the whole world.

She had never felt more wonderfully alive than she did in this moment! Everything sparkled like fireworks, and the world was a beautiful place again for one night.

The tip of his tongue lightly touched the nape of her neck, and she shivered. His kiss slid ever so slowly to the curve of her shoulder just where it was bared by the thin strap of her dress. He nudged it out of his way and it drifted down her arm.

“So beautiful,” he said hoarsely, and in his words she suddenly
felt
beautiful.

She spun around in his embrace to wind her arms around his neck. He pulled her up against him and their lips met in a hot rush of desperate desire. She had needed him so much for so long, and now she wanted him to need her, too!

She held on to him tightly and felt his tongue trace the curve of her lower lip, lightly, teasingly, before he pressed inside to taste her fully. She opened eagerly to welcome him.

Through the blurry, hot haze of their kiss, she felt him lift her up in his strong arms. The room tilted and swayed as he spun around, and then she found herself lying back on the bed. The velvet bedspread was soft under her, and the canopied posters enclosed them in their own warm, intimate space.

He pulled back from her, breaking their kiss, and she cried out with incoherent need. He rose up above her to shed his jacket and tug his tie free before coming back into her waiting, eager arms.

Their mouths met again in a hungry kiss, full of the vital need built up over years, the hunger for love and belonging, for each other. He tasted of champagne and clean mint, of that darkness that was only his and that she craved so much.

Her legs parted as he leaned into her body and she felt the hardness of him through their clothes. It sent a thrill all through her, that sign that he wanted her, needed her, just as she did him. Once wasn't nearly enough for them.

He slid her gown away from her skin, slowly easing it down as he kissed each inch he bared. His lips and tongue touched every curve, every freckle, as if she were a beautiful, exotic goddess he worshiped. As the beaded satin slipped away from her
breasts, he captured her aching nipple in his mouth, rolling it over his tongue as she cried out with the pleasure of it all.

She reached out blindly to unfasten his shirt, ripping away one of the buttons in her haste, until finally his chest was bare. She tossed the linen away like a drifting ghost into the darkness, and as he slid slowly down the length of her body she traced a light caress over his bare shoulders, his chest. She marveled over the texture of his bare skin, so hot and smooth over his lean muscles. He was so gorgeous—and he was hers, all hers, even if it was only for tonight.

He drew her dress and her knickers all the way off and they drifted away to join his shirt. She only wore her stockings and her dancing shoes, and it was a very naughty sensation indeed.

David gently parted her legs even wider and lay between them. As she watched, gasping for breath, he kissed the flare of her hip, the soft, sensitive bare skin above her garter.

And then, to her shock, his fingers gently parted the hot, wet folds of her womanhood and he kissed her
there.
His tongue plunged into her, tasting her deeply, and a hundred fiery sensations raced through her.

“David!” she cried out. She tangled her fingers in his hair, but whether to pull him away or draw him closer she didn't know. He wouldn't leave her. He was relentless, kissing her deeper and deeper until she shattered into exquisite pleasure.

Only then did he slide back up the length of her trembling body. He lowered himself over her, his face pressed to the curve of her neck and shoulder as he unfastened his trousers and then slid his body into hers in one smooth thrust.

Lulu gasped at this new and yet now wonderfully familiar sensation of delicious fullness. She arched her back to meet him fully, to be as close as she could. He drew back and plunged forward again, faster and faster, deeper, until she was sure their very souls touched.

She closed her eyes tightly to feel every single touch, every movement of his body against hers. She had to remember this, to keep it with her always. His hands traced down her bare arms to take her hands in his, twisting their fingers together as if to bind her to him. But she was already with him, completely.

She wrapped her legs around his hips as he thrust again, even deeper. She could feel that knot of pleasure unraveling inside her, expanding, flowing, until it filled every inch of her. Even her toes and fingertips tingled, and she thought she would burst into flames! Sparks exploded behind her closed eyes—red, white, green—and she cried out as her climax washed over her.

“Lulu!” he called out as his body arched over hers. Then he collapsed beside her on the bed, one hand still tangled with hers as his shoulders heaved and he tried to catch his breath.

She couldn't breathe, either. Her whole self felt so deliciously weak, and she didn't want to leave this very spot. She gently caressed the taut, damp line of his shoulder, his bare back.

After a few silent, stunned moments, David reached out to turn back the sheets and helped her slide beneath them to keep the encroaching chill at bay. For an instant she was afraid he would leave her, but then he laid beside her in their soft cocoon of linen and velvet and took her into his arms.

She wrapped her arms around his chest and felt his fingers move slowly, caressingly, through her hair. She could hear his breath, and the faint strains of dance music from the party. There had never been anywhere she wanted to be more than this, in David's arms, safe and warm.

But what would happen when the dawn came? Would this dream shatter like a beautiful, delicate bubble and be gone?

She propped herself up on her elbow to look down at him, studying him in the moonlight. A faint smile curved his lips, and his eyes were closed. She thought he might be sleeping, but then suddenly his eyes opened and he looked back at her.

“What are you thinking about, Lulu?” he said. “It must be something very important for you to have such a fierce frown on your pretty forehead.”

“I was just wondering—why
did
you never come back to see us at Hatton Hall?” she said. “We've all missed you so much.”

“Did you? I would have thought you never wanted to see me again.”

“Of course not! Why would that be?”

“Because I'm a reminder that I am here, and your brother is not. Because you shouldn't have to look at my scars and remember what happened.”

“What rubbish!” Lulu cried, throwing herself back down to lie beside him. “Mum and Dad would
never
blame you for what happened. In fact, Mum always says you were Bill's only comfort in France, his only friend from home, and how much worse it all would have been if you weren't there with him in the trenches. Didn't you get her Christmas letters and all her invitations?”

“Your mother is a saint,” David answered. “And I do hope I was some comfort to Bill in those nightmare days, as he was to me. But maybe there was something else I feared at Hatton Hall.”

“Like what?”

His arms closed around her again and he rose up above her to press her against the mattress. Lulu laughed in surprise.

“I was afraid that I would lose control with you,” he said with a growl. “And I was right. Look what happened tonight.”

“But I wanted you to lose control,” she said. She wound her arms around his neck and summoned up every bit of deep-down courage. “I love you, David. I've been in love with you for years and years, and I've missed you so much.”

“Oh, Lulu.” There was surprise in his voice, and sadness, too. But there was also a hint of hope, and she clung to that. “You shouldn't waste your time loving me.”

“Why?” she demanded. “Because you don't care about me?”

“Because I care about you too much.” He bent his head and kissed her, a soft, gentle kiss that spoke of longing and sadness. “Because I think I've loved you for years, too. Once, when I was younger, I thought that when the time was right I could court you, but after the war… You deserve much better.”

Joy flooded through Lulu at his words. He loved her! She was not alone in this crazy emotion. She had hope again. She tightened her arms around him, not letting him leave her.

“There
is
no better,” she declared. “All those silly boys I met in London, they were nothing compared to you. I knew I could help you, that we could be happy together. Just give me a chance to show you, to prove it to you.”

He smoothed her hair back from her brow and gently held her face between his hands. “I'm absolutely sure I would be happy with you. But my life is a quiet one, and I would never want to make you miserable for a moment. To see all that light go out in your eyes would kill me.”

“I only want you and a life together,” she said. “I don't want silly parties! I don't want crowds. Only you, David.”

He kissed her again, a wild, openmouthed kiss full of happiness and joy, a dream kiss. Lulu held on to him and kissed him back with everything she held in her heart, everything she hoped for. It was a kiss to end all kisses.

Suddenly she heard an explosion, and for an instant she thought it was her heart, bursting with too much happiness. But then there was another bang, and another. She opened her eyes and turned to see fireworks bursting in the sky outside the window.

It seemed like the perfect sign. Everything was different now; everything was going to be full of light from now on.

“Look!” she cried. She climbed out of the bed, wrapping the sheet around her like a toga as she hurried to the window.

She could see the shadows of the party-goers, clustered at the edge of the lake as fireworks shot high above the water. Plumes and comets of sparkling red and white arced across the black sky like beacons of victory, and Lulu clapped her hands in delight.

She heard David follow her from the bed, and his arms slid around her to pull her back against him. She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head, and everything in that moment seemed perfect and right.

“Isn't it beautiful?” she sighed.

“Absolutely beautiful,” he answered.

And Lulu knew that from that moment on, no matter what happened, they would be together. That was surely the most beautiful thing of all.

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Amanda McCabe
wrote her first romance novel at the age of sixteen in Algebra class, an epic starring all her friends as characters! That story will never be published (and she nearly failed Algebra), but now she's the RITA-nominated, award-winning author of many other books and novellas. She lives in Oklahoma with two cats, a Pug, and a bossy miniature Poodle, and loves dance classes, collecting cheesy travel souvenirs, and watching the Food Network—even though she doesn't cook. Visit her at www.ammandamccabe.com for Behind the Book information, contests, and upcoming releases, and at riskyregencies.blogspot.com.