A Kiss of Lies (22 page)

Her lashes lowered and he couldn’t believe the rush of molten heat spearing through his veins as he anticipated her next move. She leaned forward with unmistakable intent. Her soft lips slid over the head of his erection; the sensation was indescribable.

He hissed through his teeth. “God, Sarah.” He placed his hands on her head, gently tugging her up and away from his body. “I can’t take much more.”

Her reply was a murmured denial, her mouth still wet and hot upon him. She began to
suck gently, and all thoughts fled from his head.

A low sound rose from his chest, and his body shook with the effort of not pushing himself deeper into her mouth. He held back, letting her have her way. She was leading and he was definitely following.

He was holding on—just—but she cupped his balls and he felt his control loosen. “Sarah, please. Have mercy.”

Her mouth left him, and he looked down on the most exotic sight a man could see, that of her lush, wet lips kissing the tip of his member and smiling. “I’m leading …” She slid her tongue up and down the length of him. “I like being in control. I want to see you lose yours.”

“Keep that up for a bit longer and you’ll get your wish,” he growled.

Her answer was to continue her ravishment of him. Her mouth tightened around him again, sucking deeply and with more purpose than before.

Christian trembled, his body swamped with unrelenting pleasure. Then he felt his testicles tighten in preparation for ejaculation. He desperately wanted to come, more desperately than a dying man wanted to live. Every muscle went taut as he tried to hold off his release.

He communicated his body’s knife-edge hold on control by sinking his hands into her hair.

With one final lick she let him leave her mouth. He wasted no time in scooping her off the floor and crossing with her to the bed. He practically tossed her onto the covers, her fair tresses flying around her creamy skin. She rose up onto her silken limbs, her lips a luscious pout. “That was not very submissive behavior, my lord.”

“There is only so much a man can take. If you want me to make love to you, then you’d best take pity on me and allow me to dampen down my desire before I ruin both our nights.”

She licked her lips and gave an amused chuckle. “It would seem that to be in control, you must know when to surrender it.”

“I promise you’ll not regret your surrender.”

He eased her down on the bed. If he was to ensure her pleasure, he needed a minute to douse his raging need, which wasn’t helped when his glittering gaze feasted on every inch of her nude form. “Command me. Where would you like my mouth, my lips …?”

“Everywhere,” was her husky reply.

“Your wish is my command.”

He nuzzled her breasts, letting his lips glide over the plump mounds, dipping to kiss the valley between her breasts. She sighed in approval as his mouth found one taut nipple and gently rolled it around his mouth, licking with his tongue. Her sighs turned to soft moans as he suckled her. She was liquid heat beneath him, her soft curves inflaming his ardor, while he still struggled for control over his rampaging need to sink deep between her thighs. He stayed suckling her breasts until at last he felt a modicum of restraint.

Then he kissed down her stomach and nestled against her soft skin when he saw her grip the sheets in her hands, while her hips lifted slightly off the sheets. Her body recognized his moves and cried out for his attentions. His hands touched her silken thighs, and she needed no further encouragement to part them so that he could slide between them.

He glanced up at her succulent body. Her eyes flew open.

“I’m waiting to be commanded. Where should I kiss you next?”

Her hips lifted in answer as she pleaded with him. “You know where I want your sinfully wicked kiss.…”

Holding her gaze, he slowly lowered his mouth and licked through her wet folds. Her eyes closed and her head fell back on the pillow with a sigh.

He pressed his mouth against the sensitive moistness of her sex. Licking and stroking with his tongue, he teased her just as she had teased him, and he could feel her arousal when the small nub between her folds began to swell against the pressure of his mouth. “You taste of the sweetest nectar. I swear I could live on nothing else.”

“God, don’t stop. I order you, beg you, to make me come!”

He smiled to himself as he bent and enthusiastically obeyed. He found her nub and gently sucked. Then he licked until he felt her body stiffen. He teased her for a few moments longer before finally plunging his tongue deep inside her. Her cries of pleasure filled the room, inflaming him even more. In moments Sarah convulsed, her hands gripping handfuls of his hair as she shuddered and moaned. He rose onto his knees to watch the beautiful sight, but became alarmed when small trails of tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

He gently stroked her stomach and quietly asked. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you? Is this not what you wanted?”

Her lids fluttered open and she smiled as he imagined an angel would smile. “That was beautiful, almost surreal. I never realized how fabulous making love could feel. It touched me
here,” and she placed his hand over her heart.

He understood completely. His heart had pounded in unison with hers. He’d never wanted to pleasure a woman as much as he wanted to with Sarah.

He lay down next to her. “But we haven’t really made love. This is simply the delicious appetizer before the main course. If you are too full to continue tonight, or you’d like to change the menu, simply tell me. After all, I’m yours to direct.”

She rolled onto her side and, facing him, looked down over his body. “It would be unfair to leave you in such … condition.” Her fingers trailed over his burns, over his chest and stomach, her destination clear in her gaze. She wrapped her small hand around him, and he lay back on the bed with a groan welling deep in his chest.

Sarah rose to her knees next to him, and her free hand traced his chest and stomach while she stroked him intimately. “You’re so beautiful …”

“You make me feel beautiful. You make me forget my scars, forget everything but the feel and touch of you.”

She was breathtaking. The graceful curve of her bared shoulders, the gentle mounded slope of her pert breasts, and the flawless perfection of her naked skin were all he could desire. Not to mention the alluring rose shape of her soft mouth, with the darker color of her brows a contrast to the fair luster of her hair.

Christian couldn’t wait. He’d spend in her hand if she continued much longer. He firmly took both her hands and tugged her so she lay atop him. “If you want a full feast, you’d best stop toying.”

She gave a delightful giggle. “Enough of the food analogies! Let’s eat.”

He grinned. “You wanted control. This position gives you that. When you’re ready, and I hope it’s soon or I’ll give a very bad performance, simply slide me into your body, at your own speed.”

She raised herself and guided him to her opening. Holding her pensive gaze, he encouraged her with a smile. She tentatively began to lower herself, and it took all of Christian’s reserves not to thrust up to meet her welcoming heat. She was tight and hot, and his limbs trembled at her torturous descent. Finally she was sheathing him fully, and she let out a pent-up breath.

“It feels wonderful. Tight but wonderful, and there’s no pain.”

“If a woman is prepared properly, there should never be pain.” He could feel a bead of sweat slide down his temple. God, how he wanted to thrust, to plunge into her tight heat, but he held back. This was her night. Her chance to understand that pleasure should be mutual and that a man should, and could, put the pleasure of his woman before his own.

Sarah experimented. She rocked gently upon him, and a smile lit up her face. She leaned down and kissed his chest, running her tongue around his areola before gently biting his hardened nipple with her teeth. He raised his hips and pushed slowly into her in response.

She moaned against his chest and sat up. “Do that again,” she requested breathlessly.

He was more than happy to oblige. He pushed into her, his hips lifting off the bed, and the sight of her full breasts swaying with the movement was a sight he could not resist. He rose and nibbled down her slender throat, lingering for a moment at the point where her pulse beat fast and light. Sarah made a small sound as his thumb circled the luscious crest of her pink nipple. Her skin was soft silk beneath his touch, and infinitely feminine.

Her little cries grew in volume as he licked her mounded flesh, taking her erect nipple into his mouth, suckling deeply. He could feel Sarah’s arousal in the way she rode him and whispered his name into the silent room.

Sarah had never known a man’s possession of her body could feel so good. It was as if she were on fire. Her body clamored for Christian’s touch—his lips, mouth, hands, fingers … it did not matter. Letting him love her was what she craved.

Her head dropped back and her body responded to his driving rhythm. She used her legs as she would when on a horse, to ride him. Each thrust sent a wave of almost painful pleasure through her, and she could not stifle her moans.

He fell back on the bed with a stifled groan, and she followed him down, her lips seeking his in a branding kiss. She thrust her tongue deep into his mouth, wanting to taste him as he drove deeper within her body.

She rocked more forcibly, and her sex slid over his sweat-covered muscles. Desire spiked and fed her hunger. She moved restlessly, seeking the glorious shattering finale to come.

She sat up and gasped for air, the intense satisfaction capturing her breath. Her pants filled the darkened room. It was so good she called out in feverish pleasure, not even trying to mute her cries.

Christian’s hands were now gripping her hips, and he was thrusting powerfully. She
pushed down to meet him in equal urgency. She wasn’t frightened as his thrusts grew in speed and intensity. She glanced at his face. His eyes were shut; his long dark lashes lay against tanned cheeks. He was lost to the world of pleasure, as was she.

The sharp bite of his fingers on her skin increased as the rhythm escalated, and Sarah realized she was going to climax. With a loud guttural groan, he pushed deeper yet. She could feel him as far as physically possible within her, and the sensation of his thick, turgid length made her erupt with such intensity that her body shook. Rapture took her prisoner and held her captive as Christian continued to thrust into her.

He quickly followed her to bliss. A loud roar reverberated around her as he arched frantically, holding her tightly upon him, calling out her name as his seed flooded deep within her.

When Christian could finally breathe again, he pulled her down into his arms and hugged her tightly, showering the top of her head with little kisses. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself. You’re much too tempting to simply lie back and not participate.”

“I’m not complaining.”

He stroked down the small of her back. “That was amazing.”

Sarah pushed out of his hold. She stared down at the utterly tempting, devilishly handsome man who’d just made magical love to her. “That’s an understatement.” She beamed at him. “I can’t explain how wonderful it felt to be in your arms.” She hesitated before saying, “I know it’s not always like that. What we shared was special. Well, special to me, anyway.”

He stroked her hair and squeezed her tighter. “You’re special.” To have overcome a brutal husband and have the courage to let another man bed her was astonishing. “Thank you. Thank you for trusting in me.”

Sarah tilted her head sideways so she could see his face. Without all the formal clothing, his black locks tousled against the white pillow slip, his disfigured cheek visible in the weak moonlight, he did look menacing; however, he was anything but. She swept her gaze over his lean body and, without thinking, reached and touched his scars. He flinched beneath her touch.

“I hate to think of you in pain,” she whispered.

“That’s the one saving grace about pain. The memory dulls it. Oh, I can still vividly recall going out of my mind from the agony, but I can’t actually remember what the pain felt like. Not that I try to relive that day; my nightmares do that often enough, and I can never escape
in my dreams.”

She continued to caress him, willing the ugly memories away. “Do you think the nightmares will ever end?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps they will fade with time. I’ve gotten used to them.” He spoke so matter-of-factly, she wondered at the calm behind his words.

“Have you ever talked to anyone about what happened?”

“Talking won’t change the outcome.”

“But it might help. It might stop the nightmares.”

“Grayson knows. He was there. He saved me. If it hadn’t been for him …”

“How did he rescue you? What did he do?” She could tell he didn’t want to relive the day, but it might help him to let it out.

“As the wagon collapsed, Grayson fell, knocking himself out. I was trapped beneath and at the mercy of a revenge-filled Frenchwoman. My inhumane howls managed to pierce Grayson’s dead sleep. He awoke and threw his coat over my burning skin, freed my hand, and then had to try and save me from my injuries. A friend who lay all but dead in his arms. Simply putting out the flames only began my battle to survive.”

Sarah tried to repress her shudder. The pain would have killed a weaker man. “Who helped you recuperate?”

He shifted restlessly. “I had Roberts and the rest of the staff.”

“You didn’t have anyone special?”

He turned to look at her as if she were asking a ridiculous question. “No.” His tone was harsh. He blinked and looked away. He looked out the window at the still night. “There was no one. My mistress thought I was going to die, so she found another benefactor as quickly as possible. Eloisa was not the type to hold anyone’s hand. A man’s wallet was of more interest to her.”

“I can’t understand what men find so pleasing in such an arrangement.”

He stared at her for ages before he said, “Having met you, I don’t either. I could never go back to that sort of paid arrangement.”