A Love That Never Tires (32 page)

Patrick did as she asked, lifting off of her enough to let her get his trousers down to about mid-thigh. He kicked them the rest of the way off without much effort.

Now they were both naked, skin to skin, bare thigh against bare thigh.

Linley ran her hands over every inch of him she could reach. She groped for him, for the spot where she touched him last, and when she found what she searched for, wrapped her fingers tightly around his erection.

When she did so, Patrick reached down and wrapped his hand around hers. No one could touch him better than
he
could, so who better to show her how it was done? He guided her, teaching her. When he felt confident she had the hang of it, Patrick let her go, urging her to continue on her own.

His hips jerked with every stroke. She was a fast learner.

With a hint of a smile playing across her face, Linley asked him the same question he’d asked her, “Do you like that?”

Patrick groaned. A very fast learner, indeed.

He moved her hand away from him, and placed it on his hip. Bending down to crush his mouth to hers, Patrick maneuvered Linley’s knees on either side of him, placing himself right in the middle of her.

“You’re better than this, you know, ” he said, searching her eyes with his. “You deserve more than what I can give you.”

Linley licked her lips and smiled. “I think that is for me to decide.”

“I’m warning you that this is your last chance to call the whole thing off because once I’m inside you, I am not stopping.”

“Do you want me that badly?”

“Worse.”

Linley couldn’t help but grin, proud to know just how much she succeeded in making him want her. She leaned up and took his bottom lip in her mouth, tugging on it, encouraging him to do them both a favor and get on with it.

Taking his cue, Patrick guided himself right where he needed to be.

Was she truly ready for this?

Was he?

Patrick hesitated, giving her one more chance to stop him.

But she did not stop him. Linley braced both hands on his hips and pulled him toward her. He had nowhere to go but in.

Patrick pushed into her, just barely inside. He was not sure how slowly he should go. He did not want to hurt her anymore than was necessary, and even that was too much for his tastes. He wished he could be there when it wouldn’t hurt anymore and she could experience the full pleasure lovemaking could bring. That, to him, was when the real fun began.

He moved deeper, inch by inch, giving her body time to adjust. He watched her eyes tear up, and then she clenched them shut. Patrick rested his head on her shoulder, giving her a moment to regain her composure. He kissed her neck, hating himself for hurting her, even though he knew it had to be done.

When they both felt they could continue, Patrick began to move inside her. Very slowly. Very deliberately. Already, his body shuddered with every stroke. He gasped as he pulled away from her, and moaned each time he slid toward her. Every inch of his body rippled with sensation. A slow, magnificent torture.

Beneath him, Linley pushed at the floor with her feet, arching her back, rolling her hips. She tried desperately to draw him deeper, feeling like she could melt down into the floor and swim around the room. The pain had been short lived, gone as quickly as it came, leaving only the sensation of being very, very tight, and very, very full.

She moaned and clutched him to her. Patrick relished in the sensation. With every plunging stroke of his body, he cried out, growing closer and closer to his own release. He knew he shouldn’t be so loud, but he could not help it. His body was no longer under his control.

“I’m going to come,” he said, writhing on top of her.

Linley nodded. “I want you to.”

“You first.”

“I…I don’t know how.”

There wasn’t enough strength in his entire body to hold himself back. He wanted to help her reach satisfaction first, but months of his own pent up need took hold, and Patrick had no choice but drive into her one last time.

His breath bellowed as he shuddered, and shuddered, and shuddered. Patrick’s entire body jerked and bucked, and he cried out in pleasure from the sheer force of it.

He hadn’t meant to finish inside of her like that, but he could not help himself. Patrick collapsed in Linley’s arms, unable to move, and barely able to breathe.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Patrick smiled against Linley’s neck. “Incredible.”

“Was it as good as all that?”

“It was, if I may say so,” he said. “Of course, I’m sure you’re disappointed…”

“Why would I be disappointed?”

“Because I wanted it to be as good for you as it was for me.” Patrick shifted off of her and propped himself on his side with his elbow. “And now you will have a devil of a time finding a husband who doesn’t mind his wife isn’t a virgin.”

Linley frowned up at the ceiling. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but I still intend to take a lover.”

“Then I’m sure you’ll find no shortage of men willing to help you in that department.”

Linley took his free hand into hers. “I’m not concerned about other men. I would like you to be my lover.”

“Me?” Patrick was genuinely shocked.

“Yes, why not?”

He rolled the idea around in his brain for a minute and then shook his head. “Being someone’s lover is a very complicated business.”
When she started to argue, he cut her off. “But if you would like for this to be a trial run, we can go home when this is all over, and then discuss it the next time we see each other.”

“The next time we see each other? When am I ever in London?”

“When am I ever going to be in Malta? Or Egypt? Or South America?” Patrick asked her. “These are all things we would have to work out.”

He did have a point. How could they be lovers if they never saw each other? Linley thought it would be worth it just to see him once every six months or so, but she knew that was unfair to both of them.

“I don’t want to think about all that right now,” she said. “Can’t we just enjoy each other’s company while we have it?”

Patrick pulled her closer to him. It would have been a perfect time to tell her about Kyre House. About the money, and how he planned to spend it. Yes, that would have been the perfect time, but it just did not feel right. After all, that was not the kind of thing a man springs on a girl after taking her virginity. Her thoughts were probably all muddled and she would more than likely get emotional. So, to avoid making things any more difficult than they already were, Patrick tucked his little plan back into the corners of his mind. He would tell her later, and they could talk it over then.

Cradled in his arms, Linley had no idea of the struggle taking place in Patrick’s head. She assumed he was as calm and content as she was at that moment. If she had it her way, Patrick would never be more than an arm’s length away from her for the rest of his life. But she knew better to think that was possible.

She ran her hand over his hip and down his leg. He was warm, and sticky, and wonderful. And, for the night at least, he belonged to her.

“Aren’t you glad you quit resisting me and accepted the inevitable?” she asked.

“Inevitable or not, I never wanted to pressure you into doing something you would come to regret later.”

“Just because your first time was horrible doesn’t mean everyone else will have the same experience,” Linley said. She traced her finger along his jawline and smiled. “I think making love with you is absolutely wonderful.”

Linley already wanted him again. She wasn’t sure if that was normal, or even acceptable behavior, but as she nibbled the base of his throat, she felt Patrick’s blood rise and knew he was more than willing for another round.

“If this is to be a trial run between us,” she said. “Then I intend to find out exactly what I can expect from my future lover. And no more of that timid lovemaking business. When I stayed with the Howards, I heard them in the room next to mine. How ever they were doing it, I thought they were going to knock the walls down. If you’re feeling up to it, I’d like to try something like that.”

Patrick kicked up one of his dark brows. This was turning out to be quite the adventure. And if it was a lover Linley really wanted, he hoped she could keep up with him, otherwise, she had her work cut out for her.

“Turn over,” he told her. “Hands and knees.”

Linley did as he asked, more than a little self-conscious to be so naked and so…visible…in front of him. When he was on top, covering her, that was one thing, but this was another matter entirely.

He slipped into her from behind. There was very little pain this time, and Linley actually felt a jolt of pleasure hitch in her throat as Patrick plunged himself all the way in with one slow sweep of his hips.

And as he dragged himself out of her, then drove in again, Linley bowed her back and took every inch he offered. Patrick, more than encouraged by this, quickened his tempo and intensified his thrusts until the sheer force of them made Linley brace her palm against the cool wall.

It hurt. She wasn’t going to deny it. She also wasn’t going to deny how good it felt, pain and all. Patrick thrust so hard that her head nearly smacked the wall. This time, Linley put both hands against the wall and pushed back, causing him to slam into her with enough force to make her cry out.

Patrick pounded her almost as hard as he could. Linley’s bony backside dug into his hips, and he thought that if this beautiful young woman wanted sex without the expectation of marriage, he was the luckiest man alive.

Reaching around her hip, Patrick brought his hand down and began to stroke her. This time he wasn’t stopping until she found her release. Thankfully, their earlier lovemaking session took care of any pent up urges on his part, and now Patrick was ready to go for quite some time.

The magic he worked with his hands and his body became almost too much for Linley to handle. He slammed into her as deep as she let him go. Again. And again. And again. All the while, he stroked her with his fingers hard and fast.

She uttered a filthy word.

Bit her lip until it nearly bled.

Arched her back and gnashed her teeth, and fought for something that came toward her like a freight train. Bearing down on her. Crashing into her with enough force to knock her backward. Linley’s entire body convulsed in wave after wave of pleasure until she collapsed from the sheer intensity of it all.

Patrick caught her before she fell, her body so weak he almost had to hold her up.

When Linley’s spasms subsided, and she returned to the world of the living, where things like time and gravity still existed, she became aware of the way Patrick stared at her. He knelt, suspended in half-thrust behind her, his mouth agape. Linley tossed her hair back out of her eyes, turned her head to meet his, and muttered the very first thing that came to her mind.

“Don’t stop.”

***

Linley was surprised at the lack of blood. It was her understanding women bled significantly after their first time, but except for one red smear on the inside of her thigh, there was none.

Alone in her own room, she examined her body. The water from the pump was very cold, but she hadn’t bothered to heat it. She liked the shock of the freezing water against her bare skin. She splashed some on her face, and between her legs, wincing. Her body felt sore, but as many times as they made love that night, she wasn’t surprised.

Linley felt drained from it all, but was absolutely, deliciously happy. This was the adventure she’d been waiting for! This was her one chance at really living, and she had every intention of making it count.

After all, she was no longer a virgin. She had given her innocence away and could not take it back. Not that she wanted to—Linley had no regrets about the night before. She had only sweet memories and the prospect of many more ahead of her. But she did not make light of the situation. They took a very great risk. There would be consequences, no doubt. Linley only hoped they lay further down the road.

Much
further.

***

In the courtyard below, Patrick sat in quiet meditation. For the very first time, his head was clear.

Nothing like an hour or two of sex to put everything back into perspective! He must have been very bad off, indeed. But that was not why he did it. Patrick knew it was more than mere desperation that led him to abandon his principles. To do the unthinkable.

Yet he thought about it plenty enough.

There had been no finagling. No seducing. Yes, he broke his own rule—to stay away from innocent young girls who always expected more than he could offer—but Patrick justified it by telling himself she practically
forced
him to do it. How many times had Linley begged him?

But that wasn’t entirely true. He wanted Linley just as badly as she wanted him. She was an amazing young woman. Not beautiful. Not even his type—if he actually had one—but there was something about her…

In truth, there were so many things about Linley Talbot-Martin that Patrick could not put a finger on just one of them. She was intelligent, but she was not cunning. She was witty, yet her jokes were never hurtful. She never did anything at anyone else’s expense. And she did not lie.

Most of all, she did not lie.

And while Patrick had to admit that Linley was no beauty, he found her irresistible. He loved her tangled hair, her gangly limbs, her flat bosom, her bony hips, and those ridiculous school-girl freckles spattered all over her face—and over a good deal more of her, if his memory served him right.

Patrick opened his eyes. It was a beautiful morning. The best morning he’d seen in years. Or, at least, the best one he actually bothered to pay attention to. He’d made plans earlier to hike up to the top of the mountain with Linley. The lama had told him that he should see it. The view, he said, was breathtaking. Sometimes all one needed was a different perspective.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

“Are you sure you feel up to it?” Patrick asked, staring at the winding path leading up the side of the mountain.

Linley fixed her eyes on it as well. “I am if you are.”