Someone Irresistible (24 page)

“Mimi…” he whispered, holding her, thrusting into her.

He groaned once more as he lost himself to the exquisite pleasure, yanking his head back, lifting his chest as he claimed her again, deeply, holding himself there, eyes squeezed shut. Then, in one fast motion, he pulled himself out from her completely as he convulsed against her thigh.

Mimi felt the warm fluid spill from him and into the crease between her hip and leg, clutching him tightly until he slowed his action and his body calmed, smiling.

Nathan Price belonged to her at last.

« ^ »

N
athan stared at her sleeping form, illuminated only by lamplight as the fire grew to a dim glow. They lay side by side beneath the sheet and blankets, facing each other, though he held his head in his hand as he rested his elbow on the pillow. She slumbered on her stomach, facing him, her dark blond lashes spreading downward toward her lovely angled cheekbones, her hair splayed out behind her like a river of wavy gold.

He’d been watching her for some time, caressing the skin on her shoulder with his fingers even though she couldn’t feel him, amused how she had drifted off to sleep so quickly and soundly after such a showing of passion. He’d been the tired one upon his arrival, and now he felt more restless than exhausted, more troubled than eased by what had just taken place between them.

He’d admitted to himself in the course of the last hour that Mimi’s desire for him was real, not imagined, and not a deception of the worst

kind, which he had, on more than one occasion in her presence, considered. She wanted him, physically and emotionally, and what stumped him most of all was not knowing why. He’d accused her father of a grievous crime, planning in the end to expose the man, which, strangely enough, didn’t seem to worry her at all. And he couldn’t offer her even one single thing that mattered, at least not now. He had no money, no title, no name to give her, should he choose to. They shared only a mutual attraction that could come to nothing. Yet she settled for it, and somewhere very deep inside him, Nathan found that not only admirable, but wondrous. Watching her now, bathed in the glow of lamplight, his heart swelled with tenderness he could no longer deny for this remarkable woman, so unique and textured, so beautiful, who enjoyed him with an honest depth of openness and trust.

Nathan moved his elbow and dropped his head to the pillow, snuggling down beneath the blankets, never taking his gaze from her face. She stirred at the movement, and after a second or two, lifted her lashes and peered at him through squinting hazy eyes. He touched her lips with his thumb and she smiled.

“Did I sleep?” she asked in a husky purr.

He felt his body respond to that darkly erotic voice of hers, but there would be time for that later. At least he hoped.

“For a while,” he replied softly, stroking her jaw. “How do you feel?”

He had to ask that. He wanted regrets, whatever they might be, to be said to him now, while they were alone together.

Her smile widened and she stretched lazily, her hands and arms above her, her breast peeking out from beneath the sheet. “I feel marvelous.”

Nathan hadn’t expected that. Undoubtedly she was sore, and probably concerned for her reputation, but he’d expected something a little more factual.

“Marvelous?”

“Mmm…” She reached up and touched his cheek with her index finger. “I feel perfect, actually. Better than I have in years.”

The honesty she conveyed in those words moved him deeply. Did she mean after lovemaking? That she never felt this good with Carter? He didn’t ask because he didn’t want to hear her say that she’d meant something else. He only wanted to imagine the best for now.

Leaning over, he kissed the tip of her nose and she in turn wound her arm around his neck, drawing him closer so that they lay nearly touching. He took her hand in his and drew his lips across her palm, gazing into her eyes, totally content for the first time in as long as he

could remember.

“Are you proud of yourself?” he asked, his mouth curved up in amusement.

“For what?”

He nibbled on her thumb. “Managing to seduce me?”

She chuckled softly. “I never doubted I could for a second. And I’m so glad it worked.”

“So am I,” he admitted huskily.

She sighed, pushing her fingers back toward his neck, angling them through the hair on his nape. He did the same with her, brushing silky golden strands away from her temple.

“How did you arrange this?” he asked, hesitating only the slightest bit because he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“I asked Justin to help,” she replied confidently, without pause.

He’d assumed as much, and yet hearing her say it aloud made it all so much more real. It worried him too, because she’d risked everything to be with him for only one night. One extraordinary, unforgettable act—and night.

Exhaling heavily through his nostrils, he closed his eyes briefly, shaking his head. “That was so stupid, Mimi.”

“I know,” she agreed, caressing his neck.

He looked at her again, and she grinned like one satisfied beyond all measure. It warmed him immensely to see her so content.

“He won’t tell a soul,” she added in a rather odd attempt to assure him.

Nathan’s lips thinned grimly. “I know that, but others might talk, and that, in the end, could be far more damaging.”

“Oh, Nathan, have a little faith,” she chided, grinning.

He blinked. “A little faith? Faith in what? In society, for shunning a widow who seduces a man? In servants, that they won’t spread gossip between neighborhood households?”

She put her finger to his mouth to silence him. “Nobody knows where I am. Everyone in my household thinks I’m visiting a sick friend in Hampstead, and I shall return before my family even learns that I’ve been away.”

He remained quiet for a moment, amazed at such daring on her part, just to be with him. If he considered it, the whole affair made him lightheaded. Mimi was the only woman alive who had a way of turning his insides to pulp.

She waited, uncertainty shining in the clear brown depths of her eyes, unsure if he would scold her, leave her, or perhaps spread the news of his conquest of the Widow Sinclair himself. Nathan truly hoped she thought better of him than that.

With a deep inhalation, he grasped her around the waist and pulled her against him. “How much time do we have?”

She laughed softly at that, wrapping her arms around his back and hugging him close. “All night. All morning. All day,” she said wistfully.

“How long would you like to lie here together?”

Forever.

He swept that thought aside with annoyance. Such a romantic notion should only be considered by virgin brides on their wedding nights.

Mimi cluttered his mind.

“I suppose we could accomplish quite a lot in several hours,” he whispered, running his palm up and down her warm back.

“Mmm… if that’s what the professor wants.”

She snuggled into him so that he felt her breasts on his chest, her thighs against his, the hair between her legs caressing his shaft just enough to bring it to life again. She felt his reaction to her touch and pressed her hips briefly against it, stroking it with every intention of inciting his desire.

“You are so perfectly formed, Nathan,” she said mischievously, draping a leg over his to hold him close. “I think I’ll sculpt you next.”

“In the nude?” he asked with raised brows, trying not to laugh.

“Naturally.”

“Hard?” he whispered huskily.

She grinned and touched her lips to his. “Only if I can get you in such a state myself.”

“You needn’t do anything but enter the room, madam, I assure you,”

he revealed, his voice barely audible.

“The perfect thing to say to a lady, Nathan.”

She kissed him fully then, playing her lips against his, and he responded. He teased her bottom with his palm, pushed his erection into her, and she followed in kind, drawing her thumbnail up his spine and then tunneling her fingers through his hair.

She backed away first, dropping light pecks on his lashes and nose, his cheeks and jaw.

“Do you like this?” she asked without pause.

He groaned. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s exactly what you’ve wanted for a long time. Weeks maybe.”

“Longer than that.”

She looked up, into his eyes, an odd mixture of curiosity and indecision lighting hers.

“So it’s been… a while since you’ve done this?” she asked slyly.

He smirked. “A while.” Deciding she wouldn’t be at all satisfied with that answer, he added, “But I meant I’ve wanted to do this with
you
for longer than a few weeks. Much longer.”

He could have sworn she purred from that and snuggled into him even tighter. “Me, too.”

“Really?”

Her lashes fell over her dark eyes as her expression grew cautious, serious. “I’ve wanted to be with you for years, Nathan. You can’t be surprised at that. I even told you that once.”

The night of the Crystal Palace opening, he mused. He remembered what she’d said to him outside that night. Every word.

“Did you and Carter ever discuss that night?” he asked, knowing it probably wasn’t the time to bring her late husband into the conversation, but doing so anyway.

“Rarely,” she murmured after only a moment’s thought. Inhaling deeply, she revealed, “Carter was very jealous of you, Nathan, and didn’t often want to discuss you. He envied your status with Professor Owen, your analytical ability, the fact that you were treated so respectfully when you’d come from… humble means, shall we say. He disliked the fact that you were so—so liked by everyone, if that makes sense. And I think you are probably inherently smarter than he was, and many knew it, including him.” She paused for a second or two, fingering his shoulder blade with wispy movements. “I think, in a sense, he pitied you that night, Nathan, and in another, he realized your downfall would be his gain, and in a manner of speaking I think he felt guilty about such feelings. Carter was, in general, a good, honest man. I want to say again that I know he had nothing to do with what happened to you professionally that night. He simply stepped in and took advantage of the situation.”

Nathan needed a moment to absorb that, and then the chilling realization of what she was actually telling him began to sink in. He stilled, felling a growing anxiety in the pit of his stomach—and an ache of others also wronged that night nearly three years ago.

“What did Carter feel for you, Mimi?”

She tilted her body back a bit. “He was a good husband—”

“That’s not what I asked.”

He’d whispered those words low and forthrightly, and immediately noticed the slightest frown tug at her mouth, and a sadness creep into her eyes as she dropped her gaze to his chest.

“Carter didn’t love me, Nathan, if that’s what you’re asking. Not as a woman. Not passionately. But we made the best of the situation, and we were, for the most part, happy together.” She peeked up again to add,

“He asked for my hand because it was the practical thing to do, as I’m sure you understand. I am Sir Harold Marsh’s daughter and Mary was too old for marriage, even then. Asking for me was well considered and appropriate. And he treated me with as much respect as a lady of my position requires.”

Nathan doubted it. Carter probably looked after her needs as a husband should, but he wouldn’t have concerned himself with respect, and he certainly wouldn’t have cared about her wishes. He would expect her to act the proper wife socially, and he would reward her for her efforts—with children, a home, an occasional nicety, and her studio.

“Did he satisfy you in bed?” he asked softly, knowing he shouldn’t, that her positive response would irrationally irritate him. Still, he couldn’t stop himself.

Her mouth broke out into a slow, sly grin. “Are you sure you want to know, Nathan?”

That annoyed him. Of course he didn’t want to know. But he wanted her to tell him anyway. Squeezing her bottom and pushing her into him, he said, “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.”

She leaned forward and kissed his lips gently. “Physically, yes; emotionally, no,” she whispered against his mouth.

He had no idea what she meant by that evasive statement. Then again, it wasn’t all that evasive, he decided, feeling a sudden, illogical jealousy inside and chiding himself for it. He was a man, a man who had satisfied women in bed before, and hadn’t particularly thought about anything beyond the physical. Yet it bothered him more than he could say that Mimi had positive sexual memories of another lover.

That the man was her husband didn’t matter to him in the least.

In that instant, Nathan felt a fierce protectiveness toward her, one that he wouldn’t be able to describe should he try. But she was here, now, with him, and enjoying him in the most physically delicious way.

He wanted her to know what he thought of that.

Grasping her with both arms, Nathan turned abruptly onto his back

and pulled her up with him so that she lay on top of him. She giggled, running her fingers through his hair but making no attempt to move away. She ground her toes into his shins, the curls between her legs rubbing his sensitized penis, her breasts flattened against him, her nipples making his chest tingle. He drew a hand forward and brushed her hair from her face and shoulders, gazing into her pleasure-filled eyes.

“Did you climax every time with him?”

“Nathan!”

He watched her cheeks darken as she blushed, her mouth drop open.

He grinned, rubbing his palms along her hips. “Did you?”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter if I did or didn’t.”

“Did you?” he pressed in whisper, tipping his mouth to her chin, running his lips along her jaw.

Finally, she faintly admitted, “Yes, most of the time, but I… made sure of it.”

His grin deepened and Nathan couldn’t himself believe he was having this conversation with a woman. He never would have considered it with anyone else.

Pulling back he peered at her face again. She flushed with embarrassment, and he adored it.