Chapter Twenty-One
G riff looked out his bedchamber window at the night drenched sky over London. It was a few hours to morning yet, but Lou was already awake and clad in his robe as she plaited her hair. He figured she would soon attempt to slip away from him and track down Dell. There was little point; his friend would come to him when he was ready. Besides, Cole was helping to run down who owned the Sky Chaser.
The question was, how did he distract her in the meantime?
He knew what he wanted to do. Or more precisely, what he’d wanted to do since he’d gotten her away from Dell.
But with how things had played out between them—her drugging him—Griff hesitated, his greatest successes both in Parliament and in his workshop whirling through his mind. They’d all come when he’d been fearless and determined. Perhaps the same would be true of love? Would Lou accept his heart if he gave it to her?
Resolved to find out, he turned and stalked across his bedchamber. If she were his wife, it would be her room as well—at least for sleeping. Would she object to that? He was not of the mind to sleep alone.
Lou looked up from the vanity where she sat, eyes wide.
Gut clenched with nerves, Griff stopped at her side and held out a hand. “Come. I wish a word with you.”
Lou huffed, but rose. “Please, Griff, no more lectures on chasing villains alone. I wouldn’t do anything different—well, perhaps not anything. I wouldn’t drug you again, but I would ask you to see reason next time. I know I owe you an explanation, but going alone was the best way I knew how to execute the mission. You know I’ve done things alone since I left my uncle’s home.”
He nodded and drew her close. “I understand. No more lectures, and I do promise to see reason, when appropriate. But I also expect you to talk these things out in the future.” They stopped in front of the very window he’d been brooding in front of moments before. “And I do have more to say to you.”
The poised confident woman he knew looked as nervous as he felt.
Griff took a deep breath. “In the short time we’ve been acquainted, I have come to cherish the moments I spend with you.”
She smiled indulgently. “Most men enjoy slipping between the sheets.”
He frowned. “Do not deflect. I am speaking in all earnestness, and I am referring to all moments with you. Our little chats, to uncovering secrets, to fighting off villains, to the quiet moments when I hold you in my arms in the dark of night. And yes, those moments where you let me touch you and love you until you come apart in my arms.” He stopped again and drew a deep breath. “Louisa Stanton—” she gasped as he revealed her last name “—I love you with every beat of my heart.”
She stood there for a moment, stunned, he’d wager. All the while, his own heart raced as he waited for her response, for some glimmer of hope that she might feel the same. But she stood there, not speaking. Not moving. Griff couldn’t hold back any longer; he stepped into her body and swept her into his arms, snaring her lips with his own and plunging his tongue past her defenses. She tasted of black tea, honey, and a hint of whiskey that melded into a bitter sweetness appropriate for the moment.
She met his demanding kiss, her arms wrapping around him as her fingers dug in as though he were all she had left to cling to. Time slipped by, neither willing to let the other go as they expressed all that was between them with their lips and tongues, not words. Words were too hard as Griff grappled with the uncomfortable feeling of having stripped emotionally bare.
Lou drew back, slowly parting from him with nibbled kiss after nibbled kiss. Foreheads pressed together, she whispered the words he had hardly dared to hope for. “I love you, too.”
He couldn’t repress the bubble of relieved laughter as her words set in. She loved him.
Lou was still amazed by Griff’s declaration. The shock had frozen her, leaving her unsure of what to say. But as he kissed her and wrapped her in his arms, his love flowed over her and she knew what she needed to say. Knew she needed to tell him what she’d realized was true the moment she walked out on him. The reason she’d drugged him, to keep him safe. What was in her heart: she was madly, deeply in love with him.
It was why she had been so hurt by his secret. That he had somehow—though she was sure Holt had something to do with it—discovered her last name reinforced how much he cared for her. She mattered to him in a way she hadn’t mattered to anyone in a very long time…and though she had visions of a cottage by the sea, she knew it would be an empty husk without Griff. It would never be a home if her heart were not there.
When his lips once again crashed against hers, Griff scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed. The softness of the mattress welcomed them as he settled her in place. Clad in nothing but his dressing robe, she waited as anticipation raced over her nerves like an electric current. The man she loved dropped one last kiss on her lips, straightened, then commenced removing his garments. Since he had forgone a coat, he started with his waistcoat which hit the floor with a whisper of sound.
The need to touch him, to help him, drove Lou up on her knees, but he rebuffed her assistance.
“You are to be resting, not exhausting yourself,” he said, chiding her like a babe.
Hands on hips, she tsked. “Don’t be ridiculous, Griff. What is about to occur does not remotely resemble resting.”
He shook his head. “I plan on making slow, sweet love to you. Nothing over-taxing.”
Lou snorted. “When have you ever done anything slow and sweet? You are nothing if not a passionate lover who enjoys a good romp—and, as it happens, I am of a similar mindset. So save the slow and sweet for when I’m eighty and have the stamina for little else.”
He offered her a Machiavellian smile. “Oh, my dear Miss Stanton, you have no idea what I am capable of.” He untied his cravat and lunged at her in the most unexpected of moves.
Lou shrieked in surprise as she tried to fend him off, but he was ready for her every attack. It took him a solid five minutes to subdue her—though truth be told, she didn’t fight too hard. Curiosity led her to give in and see what her lover had in store. As he looped the end of the necktie around her wrists, Griff stroked her skin with his fingertips and murmured sweet nonsense as though soothing a savage beast. He tied the trailing end off around the spindle of the headboard and propped a pillow beneath her head. Once he was certain she was comfortable, or as much as she could be, tied to his bed, he stepped back to admire his handiwork.
He shook his head. “No, something’s off.”
Griff reached over her and lifted her head to release the ribbon holding her hair back. He proceeded to arrange her midnight locks so they fanned out over the pillow before stepping back again to observe. To Lou’s dismay and frustration, he once again shook his head. “Still not right.” Then his gaze skimmed down over her body and back up. “Ah, yes…”
Again he drew closer, but this time he released the belt of the robe and spread the panels open. The cooler air caressed her flesh, raising a swath of goosebumps. Her nipples pebbled, though more from her own excitement than the cool air. His gaze caromed down her skin, taking in each rise and hollow, almost mapping her in a thorough inspection. By the time he reached her knees, her toes were curling and her torso arching up with need. Just a touch . One simple touch and she was certain she would shatter into a million pieces.
Instead, Griff returned to disrobing and talking. “Now you are properly arranged, I am going to slowly undress. Then I am going to do as I said before and slowly, torturously, make love to you.”
Not for one moment did Lou believe he would follow through on his threat.
Had a woman ever been so wrong?
Griff crawled on the bed near her feet, knelt over her lower half with one hand planted for leverage, then he gently kissed the top of her foot. With the other hand, he stroked the opposite foot as he commenced his leisurely ascent. His next kiss landed in the vicinity of her ankle, right in the inner hollow by the small bone, to be precise. The combination of his touch mixed with the feathery brush of his breath set off a series of sensations that had her writhing beneath him.
“Griff,” Lou breathed.
He eased up her legs, switching to the other as he reached her knees. There he reared back and lifted the entire leg, running his hands over the length of flesh and bone until he found what he sought. Unfortunately, that meant he did not touch her any place on her body currently clamoring for his attention.
Steaming hells why didn’t he—
He stroked the hollow behind the knee with a delicate touch that set her nerve endings off as though she were a tuning fork he’d struck against a stone.
“Griff…” She all but moaned with the need he’d stoked inside her.
“I’m afraid this is all quite out of your hands,” he teased with a flash of a smile.
He’s trying to kill me with pleasure, isn’t he?
Focused on wringing every ounce of pleasure from her body, Griff lowered her leg and continued his way north. To her utter delight he stopped, wedging himself between her thighs, and planted a kiss on her mound. Desperate for more, she pressed up into his touch, but to no avail. He immediately moved on to the sensitive skin that lay between her mons and her belly button. There he leisurely dragged his hot, wet tongue over the taut skin, causing her to gasp as pleasure stole her breath. The shaking set in as he dipped into her belly button only to swirl around it and push up her torso, an inexorable assault on her sanity, for Lou was certain she would soon be a lunatic.
Ignoring her growing desperation and need, Griff traced over her sternum, licking through the valley between her breasts and then to the right along her collarbone. When he returned the way he’d come, and then over the left collarbone, Lou came close to begging him to fill her. Please, do something before I die from needing you! But she held strong, refusing to give in to his lingering seduction.
Of course, as much as she desired it, Lou was not prepared for the moment when his lips wrapped around one nipple—and sucked. With a cry, she arched up into Griff’s mouth, arms bowed back over her head as her mouth gaped open. Relentless in his attentions, she wondered—as he let go and shifted to the other nipple—how she would survive the night. As he repeated the action on her other breast, Lou lost all thought and gave in to the swell of need wrapped in pure pleasure.
When he pushed up to hover over her, she only registered the sudden absence of his heat and the welcome weight of him. “Don’t leave me.” The words flew from her mouth before she could even register their meaning, let alone the note of panic that laced her plea.
Griff returned to where he’d been and kissed each cheek. “I shall never abandon you.” His words were a rough benediction, full of possessive intent that made her toes curl in pleasure.
The simple, yet fierce, declaration soothed Lou’s fears and pushed her back toward the edge of sanity where she’d been dancing along since he first wound his cravat around her wrists. Once more eager to dance until she tumbled, she all but purred beneath him as he returned to his stroking and caressing, punctuated by the occasional kiss or nip. Time spun out, as though he were a magician who could manipulate it, bend it to his will as he did her body.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Griff slid back down between her legs and parted them. Yes. The warmth of his breath super-heated her body, made her ache with want as she waited for him to taste her pleasure. A wriggling mass of nerves, even the slightest touch from him set off a round of shaking as she teetered on the precipice.
“Please,” Lou begged. A thousand words—some promises of dark retribution, others laced with declarations of love—tumbled through her brain. But that please was the only one she could manage to speak in the moment.
And to her everlasting joy, it was the only one she needed.
The heat of Griff’s tongue seared her like a firebrand as he traced along her slit. The pleasure-pain of the moment made her groan as her body lit up like a steam engine come to life. When he licked her slowly up to her clit, all cylinders fired, launching her off the cliff and into the oncoming wave of bliss. She exploded as Griff drove his tongue deep inside her channel and lapped at her juices while he flicked her clit relentlessly with his thumb. Like an air-ship caught in a storm, she climbed each wave of her climax until she plunged off the crest and into the valley, only to do it again a moment later.
Painstakingly, Griff eased her down from her sexual high until she merely floated gently in a tingly limbo.
At some point, she’d be hard-pressed to say when precisely, he released her wrists. As she came back to the moment, the man she loved held one hand as he stroked the chafed skin where the cravat had bound her for his pleasure.
Then she felt his thumb rub over her damp cheek. She opened her eyes and found concern etched on his face.
“Lou, I am so sorry.”
“Whatever for?” She glanced down at her reddened wrists and back up at him.
“You’re crying.” Griff looked down at her hand ruefully. “Your wrists.”
She laughed a little. “Don’t be silly. I’ve suffered far worse injuries, this is nothing.” She had no interest in discussing her surfeit of emotions. She felt far too close to him, as though he’d crawled inside her somehow and taken up residence. It was unsettling. When her dismissal of his concern seemed to calm him, she decided to wrestle control from him. With a surprise shift of her weight, she levered over him and settled on his stomach as she shed the cumbersome robe. “I believe it is my turn to do as I wish with you.”
Trepidation shimmered in his gaze for a moment as Griff clearly considered all he had done to her. Then he smirked. “Do your worst.”
“Have no fear.” Lou pressed a kiss to his bare chest, just over his heart. “I shall torture you with as much passion and fervor as you so recently showed me.” Slowly, and with great care, she nibbled her way down his body, tasting, teasing, and nipping him until she was able to wiggle between his legs.
His cock had long since risen to attention, swollen to a pinkish purple color that begged for her regard. The sight of him drove her to pause and appreciate his manly endowments. Using only a fingertip, she lifted his erection out of her way and explored the underside, especially the thick ropy vein running along his length. Curious, she reached out with her tongue to trace the ridge and reveled in his gasp of surprise. Satisfied with her discoveries, she shifted lower down to cradle his sac with her free hand. The soft, delicate skin intrigued her, drew her. It was such a vulnerable place on a man’s otherwise hard body.
Again Lou ventured closer, eager to learn every inch of him in the most intimate way. She popped one ball into her mouth and swirled it around with her tongue. Griff’s hips rose off the bed as a low moan escaped him. Excellent. Just because she could, she slipped her hand down lower as she continued to suck on his ball, and stroked the flesh between his sac and his arsehole. Again, Griff groaned and strained not to buck her mouth free.
And then she achieved her ultimate goal.
“Please, for the love of Trevithick, woman, I beg you to stop torturing me.” The low growl Griff let loose at the end of his plea—because obviously she’d ignored him—drove her onward.
Ready to turn up the steam, Lou released his sac and shifted up toward his rod, where she firmly grasped him at the base and positioned her mouth over him. Once again teasing him, she pulled up along his length while swirling her tongue around the tip of his cock, scooping up the clear fluid that had seeped out.
“Please…” Oh, how he begged, and how she adored the masculine plea that assured her she held him in her thrall as much as he held her.
Lou pulled her hand back and swallowed his cock in a slow slide, taking him little by little until he was lodged deep in her throat. His hands sank into her hair as he cursed in three languages—and she’d had no clue he spoke anything but English.
She worked him with her mouth and throat, tempted to let him find release, but in the end her desire to feel him deep inside her grew greater than the need to taste his seed. After waiting for him to climb closer to the edge, she pulled up short, releasing him.
The growl of desire should have warned her—not that she would have cared or stopped him, and besides, she reveled in this aggressive, rough side of Griff. In a flurry of motion, he flipped her onto her back and drove into her in a sharp, deep thrust.
Pinned beneath his weight, Lou wrapped her legs around his waist and thrust upward to meet him. Yes! More! Deeper!
Griff laughed at her impatience and slapped her on her hip. “Cease trying to take control or I shall resort to restraints once more.”
Determined to push the boundaries of his control, Lou offered him a winsome smile. “Faster, please.”
To her dismay, he paused mid-thrust and unwrapped her legs. He then lifted them up over his shoulders so her feet and ankles were near his head. With a slow, simmering smile that promised more pleasure to come, he answered her plea as his jaw tightened with the effort of maintaining control. “Slower. Every time you ask, I shall reduce speed.”
Lou blinked once then nodded. “Slow it is then.” All she could do was settle in for the ride, because clearly Griff would not be rushed.
“Excellent.” He sank all the way into her body, his balls pressed against her ass. “You know, a beautiful woman is like a fine wine. She should be opened, allowed to breathe, then savored.” And he returned to the agonizing pace that had her wiggling to get the right pressure on that magical spot inside.
Griff continued the slow ride for what seemed an eternity, pushing her up the hill one excruciating moment at a time. How he managed the self-control it must have taken for him to hold back was beyond her comprehension, but manage it, he did—until in a moment of desperation, as the first shimmers of the pleasure to come danced off in the distance, Lou clenched around his cock.
With a curse, he fell forward over her and immediately struck up a bruising pace. To Lou’s everlasting delight, she had pulled her very last trick out of the bag, and it worked. He fucked her hard and fast, and she loved every jolting pump of his hips. With his own climax clearly chasing him, she held on and met him stroke for stroke as the long sought pleasure rushed to the fore.
“Great Trevithick! You—you’re mine, you shall always be mine! I love you, Lou!” The words reverberated off the walls and straight through her soul, carrying her with him.
“Griff! Yes!” The tide of bliss swept over them, rolled them under, and shot them out of a steaming geyser.
Shattered once more, Lou was certain that this time there would be no putting the pieces back together. She was absolutely ruined for any other man, and the notion made her pleased as punch.
As they both lay there, still joined with the blissful shivers of orgasm rolling through them, she answered his earlier call in a soft whisper before she drifted off to sleep. “I love you too, Griff.”