Once Upon an Accident 02 - Lessons in Seduction (21 page)

“
Douglas!
”

He did not even flinch at her shout. Instead, he applied himself to licking, touching and kissing her intimately. Her breasts ached, her body throbbed. Cicely knew she should stop him. What he was doing was not right, could not be right. But the warmth of his mouth had her softening to his demands. He positioned his hands beneath her bottom and pulled her closer, feasting on her as if she were his last meal.

Not able to speak, not willing to ruin the delicious decadence he worked on her, she closed her eyes again. His fingers dug into her rear end as he persisted. His siege against her senses toppled every defense she had against him. Her body tightened, wet heat surged. Fire blazed a path along her flesh.

The muscles that had tensed now grew almost unbearably tighter.

She shook her head, trying to grab control of her sanity, but he continued. His mouth grew more insistent as he worked, and her body responded. Nerves grew taut and she felt like she was racing toward a goal she did not know or understand. And still, he continued. His hands were moving over the globes of her rear end, her skin putty beneath his palms. Smoothly, easily, he pushed her, prodded her to the finish.

Understanding that he would catch her, that he knew just what she needed, she surrendered—her body, her soul—to the pleasure that called to her. Heaviness gathered between her legs as he held her closer. His tongue flicked over some pressure point and the dam broke. She moaned his name as she shattered into a thousand pieces, her body convulsing.

Weak from her release, she bent forward. Douglas rose to his feet, drawing her tight against his chest. Her ear rested against him and she could hear his heart pounding almost in tandem with hers. Lifting her head, she looked up at him. The heat in his eyes still lingered and she realized she had received her relief, but he had not.

“Douglas—”

He stopped her with a kiss. The musky taste of her passion filled her senses, the knowledge of that both wicked and thrilling.

They were both breathing heavily when he pulled away. He rested his forehead against hers. “Do not worry.”

“But, you did not…”

His smile was gentle, loving. It did more to her composure than the seductive ones he had bequeathed on her earlier.

“No, but this was not for me. This was for you.”

Knowing now, even as she tried to gather her wits, what it meant for him to go unfulfilled moved her. The sacrifice, not to mention the gift he had given her, touched her heart, warmed her to her toes. She understood it represented more to her than it did to him, but still she had to tell him her feelings. She needed to convey everything it meant to her, would mean to her in her memories.

But the only thing she could do was lean her head against his chest and say, “Thank you.”

In which Lady Cicely takes the initiative—as all women should.

Douglas walked wearily to his bedchamber, trying to keep his thoughts straight and his irritation beneath the surface. Since they had arrived at the Throckmorton house party, Cicely had been driving him mad. What was he saying? She had been driving him mad from the moment she asked him for lessons.

She was not overtly flirting with him. But, through the course of the trip here, and the time they had spent together, she had done her best to entice him. Just like at the theater, her glances were above the detection of most others. But with each look, each brush of her body against his, she pushed him further.

Since their last lesson, he had spent most of his time half aroused. It had been a painful few days and her behavior had made it worse.

He reached his door and opened it, stepping over the threshold with a sigh. He was tired, but sleep would be hard to come by. He had not had a decent night’s sleep in days thanks to denying himself pleasure. But it was not the right time, the right place. Initiating Cicely before he received her acceptance of marriage would be foolhardy. And would disrupt his plans.

Oh, but it would have felt so good to sink into her, feel her muscles tense around his cock. He closed his eyes as his blood drained to his loins, and his body, already hard, grew harder. He wanted to lose himself in her, forget memories of his past that had been bothering him as of late, and just enjoy. She would accept him for who she thought he was.

And knowing that was killing him little by little.

He groaned, his frustration growing.

“Is there something wrong, Douglas?”

He heard Cicely’s voice but did not open his eyes. Instead, he wanted to wallow in the idea, the fantasy that she was here with him. He heard movement on his bed and he willed his eyes to open.

There, sitting in the middle of his bed looking like a treat waiting to be enjoyed, sat the object of his thoughts, the star of every one of his fantasies.

Irritated, already aroused, he said with too much force, “What the bloody hell are you doing here?”

Instead of scaring her, or even deterring her, she smiled. “I’ve come for my next lesson.”

“You what?” His voice had risen and he sounded like an offended spinster.

Again, she paid no notice as she slipped from the bed and walked toward him.

She wore nothing but a sheer nightgown, white in color and almost transparent thanks to the fire glowing behind her. She approached him on bare feet, her steps barely making a sound as she crossed the floor.

She stopped less than a foot away.

“I said I have come for my next lesson.”

“But—”

She chuckled and moved closer. “But nothing. You promised more when we came here and it has been two full days. I cannot wait much longer, Douglas.”

Excitement dripped from her voice and scattered his good sense.

“You cannot?”

She nodded and placed her hands on his chest. “Since our last time together, there has been a…need growing. A need for you.”

He shook his head, trying to gather his wits, trying to gain some sense of control, but failing.

A frown turned her mouth down as she stepped away. The space gave him the chance to take a breath, but that only brought in the scent of lavender and aroused woman.

“I do not want to wait and I demand more.” Her tone dripped with authority, but he did not miss the catch in her voice. Because of that, he did not expect her next move. He anticipated retreat. Instead, she bent at the waist, grabbed the end of her nightgown and pulled it with a jerk over her head. Tossing it behind her, she stood in front of him, hands on her hips, her chin lifted proudly.

He had never seen her completely nude, but there she was, gloriously naked. The fire blazing behind her lent a warm glow to her porcelain skin. As his gaze traveled down her body, he paused at her breasts. He had seen them, but not thusly, completely free of clothing. Full, bottom heavy, with the most delicious pink nipples… He licked his lips. He slid his gaze on down her body, delighting in the fact that she never moved.

When he looked back up at her face, he noticed a blush had covered it. It added to the delectable package that was Cicely Ware.

Something warm shifted through him to his heart. It spread throughout his body, causing his stomach to tighten and a lump to rise in his throat. He cleared it and attempted one last time to play the hero.

“I do not want to take advantage of you.”

For a second she said not a word. And that was all it would take. One word and he would do anything she wanted. One command and he was hers. But then she laughed and shook her head.

“Douglas, what more do I need to say? I would not have followed you to your room had I not trusted you implicitly.” Her gaze did not waver.

Her expression did not change. “I want you to take advantage of me, Douglas. In fact, I believe I told you that almost a fortnight ago. I asked you to. Since I asked, does that not mean it is no longer ‘taking advantage’?”

From the moment she asked him for lessons on that crowded dance floor, she had been leading him around with little to no problem. She had slithered beneath his skin, curling into his heart. Teasing, tempting, calling to him, asking him to take that which he did not deserve. He had decided years ago not to marry, not wanting to pass on his poisonous genes to another generation of innocents. But as she stood there, nothing but firelight covering her skin, he felt his steeled control slipping.

“I remember.” His voice was hoarse with need. “I wanted to ensure you had no regrets.”

Cicely searched his face. He felt himself leaning closer, losing himself in the depths of her wide chocolate brown eyes. In them he found comfort. He found friendship and a kindred spirit he’d not expected to ever discover. She soothed him much like a sweetened confection.

Douglas attempted to move away from the nearly overwhelming temptation. Before he could, Cicely grabbed his hand. She held on with a death grip and rubbed her thumbs over the sensitive skin on the back of his hand. Her brow wrinkled as she watched the motion. Douglas swallowed. Her heat warmed him as she touched him, her fingers still moving over his flesh.

“How could I regret the one thing I know would make me complete?”

she asked.

Slowly, she lifted his hand to her mouth. As she did, her gaze rose to meet his. They locked with each other in a battle of wills. She deliberately turned his hand over and kissed the palm, flicking her tongue against him.

Another surge of heat ran along his nerve endings and settled heavily in his loins. She kept him trapped there, not allowing his gaze to leave hers, keeping his hand against her mouth as she said, “I want you to make me feel. I want you to make me forget.”

He was back to shaking his head, trying to hold onto the last vestiges of his honor, when she moved his hand from her mouth and placed it on her breast. She killed him with one word.

“Please.”

In that single request, he heard a need that matched his own. He was damned tired of keeping himself apart, of being aloof. He wanted to forget the world and fall into her. All he wanted to do was be there, as one with her.

With a groan, he yielded. He gently pushed her backward to the bed, tumbling them both onto it. He kissed her, but this time he held nothing back. Douglas wanted her to know him. He wanted her to understand that he needed her more than his next breath of air. His words were lacking. This he was good at. He’d held back before, trying not to scare her, but now there was no reason to. She returned his kiss with a yearning he could feel all the way to his soul. Her response increased his own desire, brought forth his darker passions. Breaking from the kiss, he placed a trail of wet kisses down her flesh, delighting in the taste of her, the feel of her skin beneath his mouth.

When he reached her puckered nipple, he paused, licking his lips in anticipation. How this woman hid the wonder of her figure from society, from him, for so long, he had no idea.

She drew in a deep breath, her sweet flesh quivering with the action.

He bent his head and flicked his tongue over the tip. Her breath came rushing right back out. He smiled and took the entire nipple into his mouth. With his hand, he stroked her other one, bringing it to a tight rosebud like the first. Her moans grew, the sound of them pounding through his blood, encouraging him, emboldening him.

Knowing that he had to have more, that he had to make this first experience perfect, he moved away from her breasts. Even in the darkened room, she could not hide the aroused flush that darkened them to the tips of her nipples. He slid down her belly, delighting in the flesh as it quivered, in the salty-sweet taste. When he reached her core, he breathed in her scent. Aroused woman surrounded him, stirring his passion even more. Her uneven breathing hitched as he gathered her up for his taste. She tensed briefly but then relaxed against the bed.

As before, when his tongue stole inside for a taste, the flavor of her essence filled his senses, spurred his arousal. Never before had a woman tasted as if she had been created just for his pleasure. He could hear his name on her lips, the passion in her moan. His body grew taut, blood surging to his cock, twisting his balls. Soon, her legs moved restlessly against the bed and she threaded her fingers through his hair, fisting, pulling, urging him closer. Grabbing what little control he had, he slipped one finger into her, preparing her for his entry.

Christ she was tight.

Driven by his own desires, he flicked his tongue over her hardened nub. She shouted his name, her body first tensing, bowing off the mattress before she convulsed. He lifted his head, replacing his tongue with his thumb and watched in fascination as her mouth opened in a soundless cry.

He knew if he did not have her at that moment he would go completely insane. Surging up to his knees, he yanked his trousers open.

His shaft sprang free, a drop of moisture already wetting the head. When he looked at Cicely, she eyed him with wonder instead of the maidenly fear he expected. He had to push her hand away when she reached out to touch him. Without a doubt, at this point he would embarrass himself if she so much as breathed on him. He would be lucky to last three thrusts.

“Not…right…now,” he ground out. Urging her back, he covered her body with his and slowly eased into her warmth. He closed his eyes as her muscles clamped around his cock. Lord Almighty.

As he pushed further in, he felt the barrier of her virginity and paused. “Love.”

Her eyes fluttered open.

“This will hurt.”

She nodded and closed her eyes. He drew back slightly and surged ahead, breaking her maidenhead. Possessiveness roared through him, touching something deep within him he had not known he possessed. It was primitive and overwhelming, but the fact that he had been her first almost pushed him over the edge.

“I’m sorry, love, it couldn’t be helped.” He couldn’t believe how wonderful it felt, her heat, her core, her embrace. He struggled for control, waiting for her.

Without opening her eyes, she said, “It isn’t so bad.”

He snorted at her faint praise. “I promise it will get better.”

Without another word, he dropped his head to her shoulder, resting his forehead against the sweet curve of her neck. Pulling back out and then thrusting back in, he could not stop the surge of joy that shot through him as he built his pace. Her body grew damp and pliant beneath him. Still, he had to grit his teeth as he fought against the escalating need for release. He wanted to prolong the pleasure for as long as possible. Not only for her, but for himself. He shut himself off from everything except her and what he was feeling, tasting, smelling. Soon Cicely joined in, catching his rhythm and moving with him.