Holy God in heaven, he groaned, quaking under her lips.
Stroking his hips, she kissed random trails across his torso, feeling as much as hearing his breath catch when she played a sudden variation, like a bite where shed licked or a scratch where shed stroked. His hands tangled tighter and tighter in the sheets beneath him as he struggled not to grab her.
Of course he wanted to grab her. What she did offended all his notions of command.
You push me too far.
She laughed against his sternum. If you can still talk, youve still got a way to go.
He tugged at her hair, hard enough to compel attention. She stared up past his sharply cut jaw to eyes as black as her own with excitement. He must be gritting his teeth. His cheeks looked tighter than the skin on a drum.
What are you doing, Pen?
Seducing you.
Into complete subjection?
She shrugged, her breasts tingling as they brushed his ribs. This is war.
Cam was a man gifted with almost unnatural perception. Even teetering on the edge of control, he recognized that she was serious. I dont want a winner and a loser.
Unless youre the winner. Despite anticipation turning the air to invisible flame, she couldnt altogether contain her bitterness.
He stared at her. I want to make you happy. That means we both win.
How she wished she believed him. With all the longing in her heart, she kissed him. Shed expected rapacious passion, but his lips were tender.
The frantic crescendo of desire fleetingly paused and something else hovered near. Something sweeter, more enduring, more powerful.
Then the moment dissolved as she broke away and slid down his body.
She took him in her hand, feeling the vital leap of his flesh. The man capable of speech only moments ago responded with a guttural groan.
Listening to her friends describe this act, Pen had been completely revolted. But a quick glance at Cams face told her that right now he was in her thrall.
Curiosity gripped her. Curiosity and daring. And a profound wish to give him pleasure.
This was a gift of love. Cam would never know that. But Pen would. That must be enough.
She bent and took him into her mouth.
Cam watched Pens silky dark head move down his chest, his abdomen, then lower. All night, shed stretched him on a rack. Now she tightened the ropes until she threatened to rip him apart.
The nearer she edged to his aching cock, the more frantically his blood pounded. Wanton images tumbled through his mind. Even as he watched her position herself, he knew that a not-much-past-virginal lady wouldnt use her mouth on a man.
She wouldnt do it
His world exploded into a million blazing stars. Hells bells, Pen, he grated out in shock.
His belly hollowed in despair as with a hot wet glide that nearly blew his head off, she lifted her mouth away from him. Dont you like it?
He focused on her lips. Pink. Plump. Glistening. His brain struggled to comprehend what she did. Or almost did.
Cam? Those witchs lips curved into a smile. He searched her face in vain for shyness or disgust. He saw neither, just a sensual eagerness that made his heart crash against his ribs.
How Dear Lord, why was he wasting time talking? Pen, you were
She laughed low in her throat and he realized that his wifes days of succumbing in wide-eyed wonder to his worldly experience drew to a close. You dont usually have trouble finishing your sentences.
Damn it, she was right. He wasnt a schoolboy with his first sweetheart. He swallowed. He still didnt trust his voice. He swallowed again and grabbed a breath. Only then did he dare speak, hoping against hope that he didnt sound as bedazzled as he felt. How does an innocent girl know to do this?
That smile still flirted with her lips. Im not exactly an innocent girl.
Not far off.
Her eyelashes fluttered down. The gossips were right about one thing. Conversations in Romes salons were more risqué than at Almacks.
Still straddling him, she slid upward until her sex brushed his aching cock. He bit back an agonized groan. Heat seared every thought from his brain but one. He must have her. He must have her now.
Through the ferment in his head, he heard her speak. He was in such a state, it took a few seconds to translate the sounds.
I thought youd like it.
He dragged his mind back from his need to plunge inside her. I did. He paused in case she misunderstood. I do.
Im working purely on hearsay.
She looked so serious that even half-demented with desire, Cam couldnt contain a laugh. My sweet wife, whatever you do will please me.
Triumph lit her face. Im glad to hear it, Your Grace.
Tonight sarcasm had edged her use of the formal address. Each time, the bite in her mellow contralto set his desire spiking.
Im so mad for you, this house could burn down around my ears and Id still choose to stay in this bed.
Tonight sarcasm had edged her use of the formal address. Each time, the bite in her mellow contralto set his desire spiking.
Im so mad for you, this house could burn down around my ears and Id still choose to stay in this bed.
When she kissed him, she tasted of woman and desire and everything he wanted. He devoured her mouth, plunging his tongue deep. Let me have you, he whispered against her lips.
Not yet.
In an excess of frustration, he dug his hand into her mane of hair and held her still. You really do want to kill me.
Her eyes glittered with excitement. Perhaps.
With a blatant eroticism that set his heart galloping, she pressed down. She was so close. He tilted his hips, but before he could slide inside her, she retreated.
I should finish what I started.
He couldnt trust himself not to spill into her mouth. Have mercy. You test my control.
Her eyes flared with unholy interest. I dont mind.
Pen shifted to take him inside her luscious mouth. His vision dissolved into a long dark tunnel. Her name emerged as an incoherent protest.
She licked the sensitive head and any impulse to stop her went south, along with every drop of blood in his body. Thendear Godsubtle suction.
She increased the pressure, squeezing her fingers around the base. Despite her clumsiness, this level of pleasure ranged beyond his experience.
The act blazed through him like fire through dry tinder. She moaned with enjoyment. Another jolt of excitement. Another thread ripped from his frayed control. He strained against losing himself.
Pen, stop. His voice emerged as a raw husk. Enough.
Tauntingly slowly, she rose, lingering at the tip. His neck muscles were so tight, he feared his head must break off. He closed his eyes. Speaking was painful. Let me take over. Youve made your point.
Whatever that point had been. Hed forgotten it the minute shed used her mouth. Her hand still curled around him, warm and firm. She needed to let go or shed get a nasty surprise.
Warm silk tumbled over his belly and she took him again.
Heat. Pressure. Pleasure.
Demand. Resistance.
The throbbing necessity of need.
Release
Every cell in his body screamed for surrender. On a choked curse, he gave up the struggle, bowed toward the ceiling, and spurted his hot seed into her mouth.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Her actions the previous night still occupied Pens thoughts the next evening when she accompanied Cam to the Duchess of Matlocks ball.
Despite the power that had surged through her when Cam had lost control, her victory had been hollow. Yes, hed acceded to her wishes. Yes, hed relished what shed done. But when hed taken her afterward with unashamed command, shed recognized her failure. Cam had surrendered physically, but behind his green eyes the barriers still rose. Shed conquered his body, not his soul.
She had to be stalwart. One night, no matter how passionate, couldnt shatter defenses laid in earliest childhood and shored up ever since. Cam wouldnt yield without a fight.
She sprang from a long line of warriors. Thornes never lacked for nerve, whatever other qualities were wanting. This quest to bind her husband to her would prove as hazardous as any of the battles littering her family history.
Since theyd entered the ballroom, Pen had felt the reassuring warmth of Cams hand at her back. It reminded her that while she hadnt won the war, Cam had been unusually affectionate today. Hed kissed her at breakfast and hed spent the day showing her around London. Odd that she knew cities like Paris and Rome like a native, yet the capital of her own country was fresh territory.
The Matlock ball was a highlight of the social calendar, making it the sort of crush that counted as a success. Guests included the Marquess of Leath and his newly returned sister, Lady Sophie Fairbrother.
Pen was surprised at her first sight of James Fairbrother, the man Harry painted as such a villain. Leath was handsome in the saturnine style. He was more heavily muscled than her husband, a prizefighter rather than a swordsman. She didnt miss how Leaths eyes narrowed on Harry, who ostentatiously kept his distance. Nor how he watched the golden-haired girl who was in such demand as a dance partner.
Pen hadnt been sure what to expect of Sophie either. The girl was lovely and clearly the toast of the ball. She paid no regard to Harry. Had she decided that a penniless younger son, however devoted, was beneath her touch? Or was she playing it safe in public?
According to Harry, Leath wanted Sophie to marry Lord Desborough. Pen knew hardly anyone in this glittering world. Several older men danced with Sophie. Perhaps one was Desborough.
Pen couldnt help feeling that tying such vibrant youth to a man approaching middle age verged on cruelty. Which didnt mean she disapproved of Leaths plans for a good match for his sister. Apart from his loyal and loving heart, Harry wasnt a good match.
But his loyal and loving heart should count. If Sophie loved him, Pen decided, shed do her utmost to help. Cam had told her not to interfere, but how could she abandon Harry and Sophie if they were genuinely in love?
In this sea of unfamiliar faces, it was almost a relief to see Lord Hillbrook and his wife approaching through the crowd. Neither Jonas nor Sidonie Merrick had been particularly welcoming last night, but they were unfailingly loyal to Cam. And at least they werent complete strangers.
My lord. My lady. She forced a smile to her face.
Good evening, Sidonie, Jonas. Cam sounded pleased. I thought we might miss you in this brouhaha.