Hold Your Breath 01 - Stone Devil Duke (15 page)

Her hands into fists, she went at his chest. “How
about this—I trusted you. I didn’t want to, but I did. You convinced me I could trust you, and now I cannot even find him—they were the key and they are dead—I don’t know how else to get to him. He knows everything—everything—about me and I know nothing. Because of you and your promises and I was stupid because I wanted to believe you and—”

The kiss came down on her hard, ravaging her mouth, sending words back into the depths of her raging panic.
She fought it, arms still pushing at him, knowing what he was doing. She couldn’t let him take away her rage, it was the only thing keeping her from curling up into a panicked, quivering ball on the floor.

His hands slid from her shoulders, one going u
p, burying into the deep hair at the nape of her neck, the other to the small of her back. Pressing her body into his, he gave her no angle to escape, no angle to breathe against his onslaught.

The
rage. She couldn’t let it go. She couldn’t dare.

Devin
’s mouth opened on hers, nudging her lips apart, his tongue easing into her. A whimper escaped her, and Devin pounced, pressing her body even harder into his, tilting her head for better access.

His lips left her mouth, moving along her jaw and down her neck. Aggie dragged air into her chest, and
Devin’s wine-mingled woodsy scent filled her head. Against every instinct, the rage in her chest started to scatter, replaced with not the panic she was so afraid of, but a fire, a need, deep in her core that sent shivers to all her limbs. A fire fighting to consume her.

Hands shaking, her f
ists unwound as she flattened her palms on his chest, the feeling in her fingertips disappearing. As her legs started to buckle, he turned their bodies, mouth still on her neck, and walked her backward until the edge of the table hit her backside just below his palm. His hand slid down under her, and he lifted, setting her on the table.

He pulled back, and Aggie cracked her eyes open
, the red rage in her mind now mixed with the blackness his touch brought. The anger that had burned in his grey eyes had been replaced by an entirely different intensity.

Breath ragged,
but voice still brutal, his left hand went along her neck, thumb under her chin. “You are angry at me. Me alone, Aggie. Do you understand?”

Aggie could feel her head nod without conscious thought of making it do so.

“Good.”

He came at her even harder, his mouth assaulting furiously, forcing hers into opening. Aggie didn’t notice when he pushed her legs apart, settling himself into her. Yanking her bottom forward, his hardness pressed insistently into her belly. Before she could react, tongue met tongue, and Aggie’s leg kicked up, wrapping around his thigh, desperate for something solid to grab onto.

S
udden cool air touched her back, and it filtered into her mind that her jacket was gone and the buttons on her dress were popping behind her. Hazy, she pulled back from Devin’s mouth, and he instantly invaded her neck again.

Her hands went to the back of his head, curling into his dark hair as she fought to get words out.

“The servants…they…”

“Doors are clos
ed. They will not bother us.” His words heated her neck as his hand came from her back and went down to the leg wrapped around him, pushing up the plum skirt.

“But—”

“No. They value their jobs. They will not enter.”

His mouth trailed from her neck, down the front of
her chest. Fabric ripped as air hit her nipple, then the warm wet of his mouth enclosed on her. Shocked, gasping, Aggie jerked, but Devin had her locked in place, hand on her bare back. In the next breath, teeth played with delicate skin just as his fingers found her core under her skirts.

Aggie lurched, the touch foreign, then had to concentrate on breathing as his fingers plied her folds, diving into her, pulling, teasing her into hard throbbing.

Her fingernails dug into his shoulders, and she realized she was half naked and he still had his coat on. Skin. She needed his skin.

She pushed his
jacket down, effectively locking his arms until he growled and pulled back from her, shaking off the jacket. Cravat, waistcoat and shirt disappeared, and before he could move in on her again, Aggie spread her hands onto his chest, stopping him, wanting to take in the skin, the tight muscles.

She wouldn’t have done this a day ago, but now, now she could. She had every right, and she was going to use being a bride to her advantage. She had wanted to know what he felt like since the she saw him shirtless. Palms flat on his boiling skin, s
he ran her hands across his chest, down his belly, around and up his back, drawing him in.

Without thought, her lips went to his chest, kissing, tongue slipping out to taste the salt of his skin.
Devin groaned.

Aggie looked up to see him grimacing. “Is this not a
ll right?”

“Hell, yes, it is al
l right.”

His
hand dove back under her skirts, deep into her, while the other gripped the hair at the back of her neck, forcing her backwards and down onto the long table. He descended onto her lips again, fire in his tongue, thrusting in and out, as he pushed her fully onto the table. Both of her legs wrapped around him.

Mouth hovering above hers, he steadied
, even as she strained to pull him back down to encompass her again.

“Your anger. All of it
, Aggie. I want it now.”

A
t his words, Aggie unleashed and leaned up from the table to meet his mouth, taking in his tongue, then biting his lip as her fingernails raked across his back. She thought she tasted blood, but couldn’t be sure, and honestly didn’t care. She needed whatever he was doing to her. Whatever he was demanding of her.

He pushed her dress
, short stays, and shift up over her head, shoving it off the table as his mouth took her nipple into his teeth once more.

Aggie’s
nails streaked down his back, and she realized he had lost his buckskin breeches without the slightest notice from her. Her fingertips curled over the curve of his backside, and she was rewarded by his hand moving in her folds even faster, manipulating her with speed. Aggie’s hips thrust, uncontrolled, both for and against the agony he created in her core.

Her right hand
flew from his back, over her head, flattening on the table in search of something hard to hold onto against the onslaught. The first scream built instantly, and she gripped, clawing at the table until it unleashed, burning fire mixed with pleading.

More screams erupted, and a
t the instant she didn’t know what would win, pleasure or pain, an explosion tore through her body, and Devin ripped into her, thrusting hard, spiraling the pleasure even deeper into her body.

Agg
ie thought she heard a guttural “Hell” in her ear as he filled her again and again, but she could think of nothing except the black exploding chasm her mind had become. Devin’s muscles suddenly tightened under her grip, and in the next instant, she could feel him swell and explode deep within her.

Their chest
s warred with each other, both heaving for breath, and then Devin slipped a hand under the small of her back and flipped them, him flat on the table, still deep inside of her draped body.

Aggie buried her face in his chest, still tasting the saltiness of his ski
n, still gasping for breath. Both of his hands went deep into her hair, and his thumbs slid along her jaw, lifting her slightly as he tilted her face to his. Worry etched his eyes as he searched her face.

“Hell, Aggie. I did not know. I was terribly wrong. Are you
all right?”

“All right
? Yes. Is there something wrong?” She could only afford a murmur against her ragged breath.

“No. Your
virginity. I should not have—” He sighed. “That should have been slow. Gentle.”

“What was wrong with that?” She propped her chin on
the crook in the middle of his chest, licking her lips, now plump and red. “Should I have not felt that? Did I do something wrong? Are there rules I do not know about?”

“Are you in pain?”

“No.” She shifted her hips slightly on him. “Ouch. Yes.”

His hands went to her hips, stilling her.

“I did not know that was part of it. So there are rules.”

Devin
laughed, low and thick, rumbling her on his chest. “No. No rules. At least not as far as I am concerned. You may come up with some along the way, though.”

Aggie’s eyes widened, but a smile played on her lips. “You are looking pretty wicked right now. I can only imagine
what is in your mind.”

Devin
shrugged and his fingers moved along the back of her neck, kneading the muscles. “You will be sore for a while, but after that passes, any sort of pain from now on is by choice.”

“Even more wicked-looking
, you are.” She reached up and touched the small cut she just noticed on his lip. “Sorry about that.”

He snatched her finger in—
between his teeth, making her jump. Closing his mouth around it, he sucked, tongue caressing the tip.

Aggie’s breath caught. How could one little move
so instantly light up her core?

He let her finger slip from his mouth, and she slid it down his chin onto his chest, trailing circles along his collarbone.

“I always wondered.”

“Wondered what?”

“What went on in all those brothels.”

Devin
sputtered. “Brothels?”

“Well
, yes, I mean, I knew what went on inside of them, but I really did not know. And I was quite curious every time I dropped a gentleman off at one—and believe me, that was a lot. Brothels have to be the most common destination among men. I probably now know the location of every brothel in London.”

His hand went through her hair, caressing the long st
rands that had freed themselves from her upsweep. “That makes you a very dangerous woman.”

“Maybe so.” She smiled, contemplating the thought.
“I will have you know I was propositioned several times by the ladies when I was driving.”

He laughed. “And you got out of those invitations
how?”

“Best I could, silently and
with my head down. I just wanted you to know I am wanted in many circles.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Aggie twirled her fingers on his chest. “Regardless, I always tried to imagine what was going on inside of them.”

“And how far did you get?”

“Pretty far, I would say. I did grow up in the country, after all, so have seen animals mate. But I never really knew. And now that I do…”

“Now that you do—what is the verdict?
”

“Well
, now that I do…wow.”

Devin
’s chest shook with a laugh and Aggie’s head bobbed up and down on it.

“Leave it to you to know all about brothels, everything except for
what actually goes on inside the rooms. But I can tell you on good authority that what goes on inside those establishments is not even a shadow of the good we just experienced.”

She craned her neck to look at him. “Really? On good authority you say?”

“Don’t ask.”

“I will not
.”

“
Just trust that what we did is on a completely different level—one I didn’t know existed.”

Wary, she looked at him,
trying to decide whether to believe him. He hadn’t lied to her yet, as far as she knew. “Well then, that is good to know.”

Her head heavy, she let it fall
back down onto his chest.

His fingertips were gentle up and down her spine.
“Aggie, if I had known, I would have waited until we got to Stonewell. This was sudden, I know, and I should have let you have more time to get used to the idea of losing your virginity—”

Her head snapped up. “You did
not think I was a virgin?”

Devin
shrugged in apology. “You did not catch that earlier? I was not sure, and I leaned on the side of experienced—how we met, you must admit, was a bit unconventional. So I assumed. I should not have.”

“And you were fine
with me not being a virgin? I am surprised.”

“I wanted you. I want you. I do no
t really care how.”

She smiled.
“This is the fun part of marriage, isn’t it?”

“Apparently, yes. I honestly had never dared hope I would get this lucky in the marital bed.”

Her hand slid up, caressing his jaw. “Except we are not in a bed. Maybe you will be less lucky once we are in one.”

His eyebrow cocked at her.
“Now who is wicked? Let us get upstairs to a bath.”

Devin slid down into the warm water between Aggie’s naked back and the side of the fat copper tub, soap and washcloth in hand.

She didn’t pull away
as he settled his legs around her, but did look over her shoulder at him. “You are in the bathtub with me. Naked.”

Her voice even,
Devin wasn’t sure if she was delighted or appalled. He brushed the wet ends of tendrils along her neck. “Did you expect I would dare let your nudity out of my sight?”

Aggie’s arm went up, arching backward to wrap her fingers along his neck, while the
back of her head snuggled below his collarbone just above the water line. “You are not one to let go of something once you have it, are you?”

“That
one is true, my duchess.” Devin scrubbed the washcloth and soap together, then slipped it across the front of Aggie’s body, down between her breasts, passing her stomach, and diving into the depths of her.

At the touch, she immediately
clamped her thighs and jerked away, sending a thick wave of water splashing over the far end of the tub. He grabbed her arm before she could escape from his legs.

“You a
re not going shy on me now, are you?”

She stopped movement
. “Yes. I guess. Instinct. I am sorry. This. Naked with you. It is just so new and you do not need to…I can do it myself.”

“Of course you can, but I want to. I now have access to every nook of you, and I intend to use that
privilege.” He tugged on her arm, and resistance gone, she let him spin her back into her snug place between his legs. Devin dove again with the washcloth and she only gave a minor twitch as the fabric went down past her belly to gently clean the area he had ravaged earlier. “Clean up after the messes you make. That was the one lesson from my father I actually took to.”

“Only one lesson took?”

“I am sure there were more, but they were beyond me.” Devin shrugged. “That particular lesson only took because I watched him spend his whole life cleaning up the mess he made.”

“What mess was that?”

Devin stiffened. “I apologize. I was misleading when I brought up my father. I do not intend to continue talk of him.”

No reply.
Aggie tensed in response to his rigid muscles. Devin swore to himself. He wanted her pliable, not on-guard, not silent.

“Trust me, Aggs, when I say that talk of my father is not worth our time. Especially when we are naked in a warm tub.”

She relaxed slightly against him. “You have other plans for us?” He could hear the smile in her voice.

“I do, but I have some business to take care of first.”

Aggie’s right arm floated along the break of the water, methodically swirling little ripples. “I imagine you are a busy man, but what business do you need attend to?”

“You.
Our conversation downstairs. We have to talk about the fifth man. The leader.”

Her hand froze mid-circle. “We do?”

Devin’s chest tightened at how quickly her voice shriveled. It infuriated him to have to ask her anything, but he had to. “Yes. I would rather not speak of him ever again, but we need to.”

He set the w
ashcloth down on the wide teak ledge that encased the tub. “But first you need to turn around.” Gently, he grabbed her upper arms and spun her until she faced him.

“Why?” Her eyes were locked onto his chest. “I was fine where I was.”

“I need to see your face to know if you are telling me the truth.”

Scared green
eyes flipped to enraged as her look jerked to his face. “Truth? I take offense—when have I ever lied to you?”

“You have omitted important details
in the past. That, you cannot deny. And that is what I am guarding against.”

Crossing her arms below her breasts
, Aggie shoved back in the water until her back hit the opposite end of the tub. “Fine. Ask. I will be sure to include as many details as I can.”

Devin
stared at Aggie’s taut face. He wished he didn’t have to ask Aggie about the man, and he wouldn’t if he had even the slightest clue as to who this fifth man was, why he was involved, or how he could find the bastard. But he had nothing. Dead ends all around.

In the dark alley,
Devin had not gotten the slightest look at him. He’d had a hood deep over his face, and Devin was too preoccupied by Aggie flying at the wall. Asking Aggie was his only choice. She had gone through enough, but she was his only link to the bastard.

“The leader—he is the
key to this mess. I need to know exactly why he wants you dead. You said you witnessed something that marked you for disposal. What was it? When did this start? The real story.”

Almost instantly,
Aggie’s crossed arms softened, her whole body eased into calm, and a controlled mask slipped onto her face as her eyes went to the water in front of her. That she suddenly gained control of every nuance in her body was telling.

Devin
braced himself.

“It started a year ago, the moment I saw my father
murdered by these men.” Her voice sat above the water, eerily even, not a flicker of emotion breaking through.

Shock sent
Devin’s eyes wide. He had no idea she witnessed her father’s murder. He also realized he had neglected to ask her days ago what the terrible incident was that she had witnessed.

O
utrage sent waves through his body, threatening to take him over, but he stifled it for Aggie’s sake.

“Aggs, what happened?”

Aggie looked up, startled. “You are not angry with me for not telling you sooner?”

He shook his head. “Tell me.”

Her eyes moved back down, fixating on the water. “We were traveling into London, Papa and I. We were at the bottom of a hill, through a line of woods. We had been through there a thousand times. Shots stopped our carriage. They killed our driver and footman immediately. I do not even know why Papa was carrying so many pistols that day. He rarely did. But he put one into my hand, and took the other two. He told me to run and hide in the woods. Then he jumped out. I pleaded with him not to go. He knew I was an excellent shot. He knew I could have helped. But he jumped.”

Her voice stayed incredibly flat.

“Three bullets went into him before he could even raise his arms. He died in front of me.”

“Aggs—”

Her palm, but not her eyes, came up, stopping him. Devin went silent.

“I jumped from
the carriage to go to him. That is when I saw them all. The four surrounded me, and their leader stayed back on his horse, partway up the hill. None of them had bothered to cover their faces. And the leader…” Her voice gave the slightest quiver as she closed her eyes. “He had the most evil eyes.”

She fell silent.

Devin paused, exhaling his held breath. “How did you escape?”

“I didn’t. I did nothing. I did not even grab the pistol when I jumped from the carriage. Worthless.
”

Devin
could see under the water her hands had balled into tight fists, straining against her upper arms.

“
The carriage that came over the crest of the hill was the only thing that saved me. They disappeared into the woods.”

Aggie took a deep breath
, her chest rising above the water.

It grated
him to have to continue, but Devin steeled himself. “Had your father acted strangely before your trip? Was there any reason he should have been afraid? Business deal gone bad, maybe?”

Eyes still closed, Aggie shook her head. “No. Bu
t I knew very little of his business dealings. Jason had always been by his side with the investments. I have been lost in all his paperwork.”

“Was the leader with the other men
on the other occasions they tried to kill you?”

“Not the first time, but the second time he was there.
After they came to our house, I decided to go after them.” Aggie opened her eyes and gave a sad half-smile to Devin. “And that, you know all about.”

“Did you see anything at all that would identify him? A unique button, watch, pin—anything?”

She shook her head.

Devin
stared at Aggie. She had told the entire story with as much emotion as reading a stagecoach schedule. Not even the slightest glimmer of a tear showed in her eyes.

“Aggie
, have you ever grieved for you father?”

H
ard resolve flickered into her green eyes. “No, and I will not until my family is safe, justice has been served, and death is not coming for me.”

Devin
moved forward in the water, his hands searching for her knees that had curled into her body. He needed to wrap her into such a cocoon of safety that she would never have to think these thoughts or visit these memories again.

“T
here is no need for you to worry about this last man, Aggie. I will take care of it,” Devin said as he squeezed her knees, letting every drop of raw determination reverberate in his words.

The calm gone, her body had shifted into a tight coil, and
something deep and grave that Devin couldn’t identify invaded her face at his words.

“
Devin, there is one other thing you need to know. What I did in London, how I went after the four—I did it with a lack of fear. I was afraid for my family, but not for me. Nothing could ever compare to the fear I felt the day my father was murdered. So facing the four killers didn’t frighten me.”

Aggie paused,
and Devin could see she had to choke the last words out.

“But
Devin, this fifth man, the leader…I am afraid.” She drew a quivering breath, her rigid body shaking, sending rippling waves along the water. “And I am so tired of being afraid.”

The sheer vulnerability
she let escape in that second rammed into his chest. Hell. He had failed her. Failed her by not killing that bastard. And now she was terrified.

Details. He needed
damn details to find the leader. But he also needed Aggie not to look like she did right now. Now was not the time to push—details could wait. Now was the time to remove that tension from her. He had to. She needed to be safe. Needed to feel safe. Mere vows were not enough.

H
is hands left her legs, and he reached around her, drawing her body into his. She let him, and the shaking lessened, but didn’t cease. She needed more.

A hand on her back, he clasped
her harder into him. His mouth went to her ear, voice gentle. “I cannot take away the fear, Aggs, not in this moment. But I can make you forget. Let me do that.”

Heartbeats passed.
Then her forehead rubbed against his chest in the smallest nod.

“Good…good. Just concentrate on my touch. My hands on you.”
Devin slipped his fingers up her spine to her neck and tilted her head. “My mouth on you.”

He started lightly behind her ear,
lips taking in the wet beads, and slowly moved downward along her slick skin. She responded immediately, her shoulder leaning into his chest even as she opened her neck more fully to him. A heated moan rose from her throat just as the shaking yielded to his touch.

She untangled the hold she had on herself,
her hands moving to grip his solid arms, digging into the straining muscles.

He had her now. And he wasn’t about to let go.

Devin moved to her mouth, tongue touching hers, and it was all he could do to not push her back against the tub and take her, but it was too soon. She would still be sore. He squashed his own throbbing need and concentrated on moving his fingers along her skin, bringing to life nerves that begged to be unleashed.

It was fire, and she was quick to reciprocate,
fingers dancing along his body, tongue thrusting back at his. His fingers went into her hair and he pulled her head to the side, gaining access to his next attack on her neck.

L
ow, guttural groans escaped from deep within Aggie’s chest, and both of her legs found their way to wrapping around Devin’s waist.

Aggie’s hands went about his neck
, burying into dark hair. “Yes. Please. Take it away. Please…” Her voice trailed off as her legs clamped and her hips moved forward.

Her body, so tight when he first grabbed her, was no
w as pliable as a rag doll. Only her legs and her hands strained, but that was only to get her body closer to his. It was what Devin had wanted to accomplish. And now he wanted her to have more.

He
trailed his thumb slowly in a line from her neck to the slope of her breasts, letting the nerves prick the skin. He moved downward, caressing her right nipple, twirling it between his fingers. It only prompted her to tilt her head back further, opening all the more to him.

His lips found her neck again as h
e pushed her body backward to the edge of the tub. Reaching it, he slipped his hands under her thighs and lifted her, setting her on the lip of the tub, her weight carried by the wide
teak ledge.