Chapter Six #2
She nodded, afraid to answer because her lower lip was quivering; once she started crying, she could easily slide into a jag and carry on for hours.
She was fearful that she would turn into a blathering fool if she tried to speak and hoped he would simply leave after receiving a satisfactory answer.
Instead, he knelt before her and put his great hands on the arms of the chair, trapping her.
“Is that the true reason why you are crying? Or has something else upset you? Must I run a knave through for distressing you this night?”
She shook her head, wiping at the tears that refused to stop falling. It occurred to her that they might be here all night if she refused to answer him, and it furthermore occurred to her that he might know where Ivy had gone. There was one way to find out.
“D-do you know where Ivy is?” she sniffled.
He smiled faintly, the soft glow from the hearth caressing his masculine features. “Of course. She is with Ali and his parents. Is that what has you terribly upset? Then put your mind to rest and know that she is properly escorted and in no danger whatsoever.”
She took a ragged, deep breath and met his gaze for the first time. Another tear fell and before she could dash it, Alec reached out a thick finger and flicked it away. His gaze was terribly tender on her, his smile gentle, and she felt herself being drawn into his trap.
He was cold and insensitive, she reminded herself quickly. Remember his rebuff, his stinging indifference. Remember before you forget everything and allow yourself to believe him to be tender! And for God’s sake, remember James!
“Th-thank you,” she struggled to regain her composure as she tore her eyes away. “I-I can return to bed now, knowing she is safe.”
But he wasn’t moving and she was still trapped on the chair. When she dared to look at his face again, his expression was still soft.
“May I tell you something?” he asked.
Since he wasn’t moving, she made sure she was pressed flush against the back of the chair, far away from him. She hoped it was far enough. “What?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly closed it again. With an embarrassed little chuckle, he averted his gaze and stood up. “I was going to say that…. well, ’tis not important. Would you allow me to escort you back to your room, my lady?”
She should not have wondered, but she was curious with his sheepish manner. He almost seemed ashamed of what he was about to say and caught himself before he could humiliate himself further. The focus of the conversation shifted as Peyton dried her tears.
“I told you this morning that I would demand one thing from you in this marriage, Alec. Honesty,” her voice was steady now. “What is it that you were going to say?”
He looked down at her, finally snatching a stool by the hearth and seating himself next to her chair. His pure blue eyes watched the dying embers thoughtfully. After a moment, he sighed.
“I was going to say that I was proud of the way you handled my sister,” he said softly. “To see you at this moment appearing so vulnerable and delicate, I have difficulty believing you and the woman who matched vicious barbs with Thia are one and the same.”
She was genuinely surprised. “You are proud of me?”
He nodded, his gaze finding her. “There is a fire to your spirit. I think I shall enjoy our marriage, my lady. At least I hope so.”
She could see that he was absolutely sincere and she believed him.
Her chest tightened strangely and her limbs began to tingle as he continued to gaze at her with his magnificent blue eyes.
It was the same quivering feeling she’d experienced earlier when he had kissed her and she suddenly found herself wishing he would kiss her again.
The defenses that she tried so desperate to instill in herself were crumbling like rotted wood; she wasn’t nearly as strong as she hoped.
But in one last attempt to prove her strength, she forced herself to divert the subject.
Any more talk of marriage would have them doing things that were morally allowed only within the bounds of matrimony.
She could see it in his eyes and she would be powerless to stop him.
“Will…. will Ali and Ivy live with us at St. Cloven?” she managed to choke out.
“Of course,” Alec replied softly. “Ali has some fine ideas as to additions and improvements. I think we will build him and Ivy their own wing for their family,” he gaze lingered, studying her face. “You seem to have accepted his betrothal to your sister easily enough.”
She shrugged, attempting to distract herself from the heat his gaze provoked. “’Twas never my decision to accept or reject. I am simply resigned to deal with the situation, as my sister is.”
He was silent a moment. “’Twas a wise choice on her part. Does this upset you that she seems to have approved Ali?”
“Nay,” she said quickly; too quickly. She could sense his questioning gaze and her head throbbed harder. She did not want to talk any more on a subject that was causing her a great deal of frustration. “My head is aching terribly. I would retire now.”
He did not answer and she raised her eyes to look at him. Suddenly, he was much closer than she remembered and moving closer. She opened her mouth to protest, but his big body was abruptly upon her and she heard the stool topple.
Her protests died in her throat; his arms were wrapping about her torso and her own arms were winding about his neck as the same giddy feelings she had experienced with their first encounter returned tenfold.
The kiss was hot, sultry and erotic; their tongues danced the sensual rhythm of discovering passion and Peyton heard Alec’s low moan of desire.
It sent a bolt of excitement through her and she tightened her grip on his neck, soft whimpers coming from her own throat.
He left her mouth quickly and trailed to her neck, moving much faster than he had earlier in the day.
It was as if he intended to resume where they had left off, when he was about to tread virgin territory and touch her where no man, not even James, had ventured.
Peyton knew she should stop him, but she couldn’t seem to find the strength.
She wanted him to touch her, to explore her sensual curves.
“My God, Alec,” she breathed into the top of his cropped blond hair, her hands gripping his head.
He responded by yanking the edges of her robe apart, revealing the web-thin shift. Peyton thought the garment might slow his pursuit, but she was wrong. His massive hands gripped the material and ripped it in half in one clean motion.
She was wide open, her most private areas revealed to a man who confused her desperately.
Alec’s breath came in ragged gasps as he ran a finger along the crests of her breasts, observing their flawlessness as his gaze locked onto the triangle of golden-red curls between her legs.
Peyton shuddered violently against his touch.
“Christ, Peyton,” he whispered raggedly. “You are so perfect. So…. beautiful.”
He dipped his head and began to kiss the swell of her round, firm breasts as she bit off a rattling moan. His huge hands gently traced underneath the swell of the globes, moving to grasp her slim waist and completely encircling her torso as his mouth worked lower and lower, feasting.
Peyton was nearly incoherent, knowing he was moving for the brazenly taunting nipples and not wanting to wait any longer to experience the pleasure.
He was torturing her with his leisurely pace and she refused to endure the anguish; turning her body slightly, a tender morsel of nipple slipped easily into the glove of his mouth.
Alec clamped down and she let out a loud gasp of ecstasy.
It was better than she imagined, more wonderful than she could have hoped for.
His hot mouth suckled hard and Peyton bit her lip to keep from screaming.
Her whole body was a quivering, hot mass and she felt as if every bone had left her.
Her hands cradled his great head firmly, forcing him against her nipple as if she were nursing a starving child.
Alec suckled her until she was raw with ache, but still she gasped for more.
She was unaware of the tears of pleasure that were filling her eyes, dampening her cheeks as he moved from one breast to the other with great desire.
His huge hands were clutching her torso, his fingers digging into the soft white of her flesh as his mouth ravished her thoroughly.
His lust was running rampant and his hands left her waist, fondling the creamy globes with tender power as his lips left her nipples and forged a hot trail down the division between her ribs.
She groaned softly as he reached her soft abdomen and he felt a violent surge of passion surge through his body; he suddenly bit down and suckled her sweet skin so forcefully that a purple love bite appeared immediately. Peyton’s only response to the erotic mark was a low growl.
Alec was possessed; he’d never lost control in his life and he was shocked to realize that he had done precisely that.
He hadn’t meant for their encounter to go this far, having truly only intended to taste her again as he had this morning, but the moment his tongue met with her honeyed flesh he was spiraling out of control and he did not care.
Not only was he experiencing the fire again, he was a roaring inferno.
He’d never had a woman who inflamed him as Peyton did.
In fact, he’d never had a woman before. Period.
Aye, he’d tasted the exotic flesh of the Holy Land just as he had sampled the wares of his native England.
But he’d never lain with a woman simply because he had never possessed the complete desire to bed any one particular woman and, mostly, he’d submitted to their hot mouths purely to satisfy his own selfish lust.