Guarding the Spoils (The Wild Randalls - Book 3) (18 page)

She leaned against the wall as doubt filled her. She had only ever lain with her husband and had thought she could live the rest of her life without such intimacies again. But Oliver’s touch and kisses had ignited her dormant desires and her curiosity was stirred to finally know him in every way she could. To do that required courage. He was leaving and so was she. She’d risk her heart simply because she longed for his gentle touch to stir her senses again.

Resolve restored, she looked ahead. Light and the rustle of pages turning came from the chamber ahead. Beth quietly paced down the thick-carpeted hall, her pulse racing at her daring.

When she reached the open doorway, she paused to survey the scene. Oliver sat before the fire, book in hand, glass of whiskey at his elbow, silk banyan parted to reveal his shirt was undone and his cravat missing. Aside from a brief glimpse on the day after his return and then today at the stream, Beth had never seen Oliver informally dressed. He appeared so content on his own that doubts filled her mind again. She could always leave before he saw her.

At that moment, he met her gaze. Beth froze. Her feet would not move and her throat would not form a sound. She couldn’t bring herself to smile or say she’d changed her mind. There was no point in running from her desires because they would never go away. She would sleep with him and then she would know for sure what her life might have been like if circumstances had been in her favor. She would barricade her heart against loving him, but she would give her body into his keeping for just one night.

Oliver stood suddenly and crossed the room with long, sure strides. He gently lifted her chin until their eyes met. His eyes were dark, brooding pools threatening to pull her under. Her pulse pounded through her body and moisture pooled between her legs in a most disconcerting fashion. She’d never been so aroused by a touch so gentle and she feared what that meant for her plans to keep her heart uninvolved. She swallowed, suddenly unsure if she could survive this. “One night,” she whispered.

“One night,” he agreed instantly.

Oliver’s thick lashes lowered and then he stepped around her. The snick of the door lock made her jump, but she didn’t dare turn. Oliver brushed against her back; the sudden warmth penetrating her gown took her breath away. His fingers rose to her hair and he removed the few pins that held it in place. He ran his fingers through the long strands and then caught her unbound hair and drew it slowly over her shoulder. His breath whispered over her cheek a moment before his lips settled against her throat.

Oliver made love to her neck with soft, tender kisses that belied his lack of communication. He was undoubtedly willing to be a generous lover and take his time. She was grateful speech between them was unnecessary. She curled her arm behind her head to run her fingers through his hair. Her nails scraped his skull and a soft moan sprang from him.

The next moment, her feet left the floor and Oliver hugged her against his chest. He strode to his bedchamber and deposited her on the soft mattress. Beth trembled as he rushed to remove his banyan and shirt. It would be over quickly then. Disappointment threatened to banish her excitement. She had a brief moment to admire his nudity as his breeches and smalls followed after and he joined her on the bed, pressing demanding kisses to her lips.

Beth clung to him, astonished by his urgency. To her mind, he’d been largely indifferent to her kisses, but she supposed something in her expression had alerted him to her need and willingness for anything he’d give. There was no turning back and he knew it. He must be pleased to have convinced her without having to say much at all or be in any way charming. He’d likely known her decision as soon as their first kiss.

She ran her hands over his shoulders, surprised by the lean bulk under her fingers. She’d thought him not so muscular, but the last weeks of frantic activity had changed him. His face, when he raised it between kisses, had a healthy glow about it that proved him better. His arms were corded muscle encasing her in his strength.

A wave of heat swept over her cheeks as Oliver rubbed against her, torturing her nipples with the promise of attention. His hand rose to cup one breast through her gown, his eyes flickering from one to the other as if comparing them to judge their worth. When his thumbs brushed over her nipples, her back arched from the pleasure of it. She wanted his hands on her bare skin but she wore far too many clothes still.

Beth set her hand against his chest and pushed him back. Oliver gave her space grudgingly, pressing one last kiss to her lips first before he sat back on his haunches, his eagerness to make love apparent when her eyes dipped to his groin.

Blushing furiously, Beth struggled to a sitting position and grabbed the hem of her gown, thankful it required little effort to remove. Oliver’s hands joined with hers and together they removed her clothes, tossing them to lie discarded on the floor.

His gaze roamed over her body and she sucked in her stomach as anxiety filled her. She was not a young woman anymore. She’d borne three children and her hips were no longer as slim as they’d once been. Would he find the fine white scars on her belly repulsive? Would he end this now that he’d seen her properly?

A slow smile lifted the corners of his mouth and he pressed her back to the bed. When he lay beside her on one elbow, Beth braced herself for another direct examination. His fingers traced everywhere: between her breasts, over the hard buds of her nipples, lower to dip into her belly button and around and around the softness of her stomach where the worst of her pregnancy scars were. His expression did not change. The same smile graced his lips and when he eventually covered her mound with his hand, she’d had enough of his silence. “Well?”

His smile grew. “As beautiful as I calculated. Perhaps even more so.”

He kissed the tip of her nipple softly and then drew the peak into his mouth. The pull of his lips caused her core to throb impatiently. He caressed her stomach before he covered her mound again. As he shifted, the head of his cock brushed her hand and she reached for him, testing the size and feel of his length. He stiffened as she wrapped her hand more firmly about him and when she stroked, he rocked against her hand with a deep groan.

While she fondled him, Oliver made love to her breasts. He shifted to kiss the other and loomed over her. With his body easily accessible, Beth explored him with her hands, too. There was not a spare inch of flesh anywhere about him. His body was firm and taut. She plucked at one nipple until he groaned and eventually he knocked her hands away from his erection. When he covered her, she wrapped her arms about his shoulders and ran her hands over his back. Heat and slick perspiration coated his skin.

Beth bent her legs and pressed her feet to the mattress, holding Oliver’s hips firmly between her knees. His mouth claimed hers urgently. Their tongues tangled as her desire for more rose. He shifted suddenly and hooked her legs about his body, falling against her as if he’d done so all their lives. The rub of his hot flesh against the inside of her thighs did terrible things to her patience. She clawed at Oliver’s back, digging her fingers into his skin as he rubbed against her. But it wasn’t close enough. She wanted him inside her and she whispered her demand into his ear.

The next moment, the head of Oliver’s erection pressed against her opening. Her back arched as he possessed her in one slow thrust. His mouth descended on her throat and he kissed and nipped hungrily until they were joined completely. Beth burned as he held still inside her. She waited for him to withdraw and plunge again. Despite his earlier urgency, he waited as if he too was savoring the moment she’d wanted all her life.

Yet if he didn’t move soon, she’d have to. There was a greater urgency to their coming together than she’d ever experienced. It was as if her whole life had been empty until this brief moment in his arms. Perhaps it stemmed from her reckless love for him. Beth wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held on. What a fool she was to believe her emotions should be shut away at a time like this. She’d never stopped loving Oliver for one single moment since she’d fallen for him all those years ago.

Beth forced herself to find some control over her feelings and loosened her grip, half afraid she’d blurt out the state of her heart or beg him never to leave her. As with everything, Oliver could not be rushed unless he wanted to be, but eventually his hips retreated and thrust against her in a slow dance that took her breath away.

He leaned up on his hands and stared down at her.

On a usual day, Oliver’s silent scrutiny disturbed her. But tonight, knowing he was making love to her at the same time, provided a much more satisfactory reaction. A tight ache formed where they joined. A need demanding to be fulfilled. Oliver caught her right breast in his hand and gently cupped it. “As I suspected. Perfect,” he murmured, his voice so deep and warm that her heart skipped a beat.

Beth tightened her legs about his waist, caught his head between her hands, and smiled. He might not make conversation well but he made love so much better and said exactly what she needed to hear most. She tugged until he lowered and pressed his lips to hers. Beth wrapped herself tightly around him, little caring if her behavior was too needy. She wanted him to touch her everywhere.

Oliver moaned and the pace of his thrusts increased. His grip tightened until they were wrapped as tightly together as was possible and still be able to move. Beth ran her hand up and down his damp back, threaded her fingers in his hair, and kissed any part of him she could reach. Just a little harder, deeper, a little faster to ease the unbearable ache. Oliver bucked against her, pressing deeper with each thrust until she cried out and shuddered too quickly. Before she was ready to let him go, Oliver fought to be free of her embrace and he turned aside, spilling his seed on the mattress with a deep, shattering groan.

Disturbed by being presented with his back, Beth laid her hands on him and traced his spine to his waist. Oliver rolled back a touch and trapped her hands beneath him, his breath coming in a harsh, desperate rush. His chest rose and fell rapidly. Beth tugged her hands free and slid one over his chest, brushing his nipples in her need to remain connected, to retain their intimacy. When Oliver remained where he’d fallen, Beth shifted closer and cautiously placed her arm around him. He picked up her hand and kissed her palm before pressing it back to his chest.

A small sigh left Beth as she snuggled against him. He’d surprised her. He
was
a passionate man, but only in private. It was a pity she couldn’t have more than this. The thought saddened her momentarily but she was resolved. Just once. Just one brief moment in his arms to last her a lifetime.

She relaxed, lulled by the steady beat of his heart beneath her palm and her own lassitude from his intense lovemaking.

“Marry me,” he said suddenly.

Although her heart raced at his surprising proposal, she knew better than to accept at a time like this. He’d given her great pleasure and proved what she’d hoped for all along. She wouldn’t marry someone who couldn’t love her. She hadn’t loved her husband and regret still tormented her. She kissed Oliver’s shoulder as sadness filled her. “Absolutely not; there’s no need.”

A deep rumbling sigh left him and for a moment she wondered if he’d argue his case. When he didn’t, she settled again, content with this one brief moment of intimacy with the man she’d always loved. His heart returned to a steady rhythm, his breathing settled quickly. The moment she’d longed for all her life was perfect. She closed her eyes, at peace with her life at long last.

“Don’t fall sleep, Elizabeth,” he warned a moment later.

Beth pressed one last lingering kiss to his skin, knowing that their time was over too soon. “I won’t. I must leave.”

“Not yet though.” He wriggled free of her embrace and rolled her onto her back. The smile he bestowed took her breath away. “We’ve only just begun.”

Given the urgency of the kiss that followed, Beth concluded Oliver might not be finished with her for some time yet.

Chapter Seventeen

OLIVER HAD TRIED not to think about last night seventeen times before he gave up and returned to his memories of Elizabeth’s glorious body held firmly against his. His wicked thoughts and plans for further encounters were so much more interesting than the cold hard facts in his book about Italy or his plans to leave Romsey. Not that he’d let on exactly when he would go. The less his family knew, the better. They couldn’t punish his ears with their pleas or wound his eyes with their stricken expressions. Without their disapproval dogging his every moment, he could consider how to lure Elizabeth in his arms once more and hear her sob his name as passion claimed her.

And if he didn’t think about leaving, he wouldn’t be considering what life might be like if he stayed.

He closed the book and tossed it with the other discarded tomes, sure he was on the verge of making an ass of himself. Elizabeth had been very clear that she’d come to him for one night and that was all he could reasonably expect. Reason, however, had disappeared with the first sight of her beautiful body. He longed to locate her and do something incredibly rash and irrevocable right now.

“What has you so out of sorts?” Leopold grumbled, paper rustling between his hands as he turned the pages. “You’ve not stopped huffing since I found you here.”

He focused on his brother. He couldn’t possibly tell him the truth—Elizabeth would not like that, so he scratched around in his mind for a likely excuse he could utter that would prevent further discussion. “A calculation about the length of my trip.”