Chapter 16
CHAPTER 16
B riar came awake with a start. She was tired after the ball, so she had gone straight to bed. She sensed someone was in the room before she saw the familiar silhouette. She sat bold upright, and the covers fell to her waist.
“You?”
Julius arched a brow. “Don’t tell me you were expecting someone else.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. How the hell did you get in here?”
“I climbed the tree outside and came up the balcony through the window.”
Briar wondered if he knew how damned attractive he was. The strong jawline, the confident curve of his lips, and high cheekbones. A bead of sweat dripped down the side of his face, over the scar, and she imagined the salty taste. The sight of his broad shoulders bunched with tension was not helping her. She needed to focus her thoughts, and it was damned near impossible with him standing so close to her bed.
“Have you gone raving mad?”
“I'm mad with the need to speak with you. I had to … it had to be me tonight.”
Her mouth went dry. She had hoped for this moment so many times since the first time he set her on fire. Finally, they were alone and all the reasons they should not be went out the window. The implacable lust churning in her stomach made her weak and vulnerable to her desires. Her skin tingled with anticipation as she imagined his hands all over her. She should ask him to leave immediately but she did not want him to go. A bad decision? Mayhap, but just for tonight, she would push the thoughts of the consequences aside. Nothing else mattered other than this moment.
He stepped forward, his gaze never wavering, and she could see the turmoil in his eyes. Julius sat on her bed, and she froze in place, painfully aware of how wrong it was for him to be here, but she knew the truth. She was happy he was here. It was Julius and the effect he had on her—handsome and desirable, and he knew it.
“There has always been something between us and I –.”
Briar reached out and grabbed him, pulling him toward her. His eyes, hazed with desire, held hers. She cupped the back of his head, his thick hair sliding through her fingers as she pulled him down onto the pillow. If this was a dream, she did not want to awaken.
Her lips found his in a crush. It was not gentle and sweet, for all the feelings of her pent-up desire drove her to a passionate fury. Julius matched her urge and longing. His mouth knew how to devastate her. Her entire body yearned for him, but her singular focus was his mouth. Their tongues clashed and dueled until Briar was breathless. She needed everything he had to offer, and badly. Her nipples were tender and aching for his touch. She felt his thick, hard cock pressing against her sensitive flesh, and she moved her hips against him. Julius groaned as he caught her lips between his teeth. She was somewhere between pleasure and frustration, and she knew he felt the same. She felt the urgency as he ran his hands all over the thin nightdress that was the only barrier between them.
Julius raised his head, and without a word, he gripped the flimsy fabric in two and tore it from her body. She gasped at the sound, knowing he could touch her freely and set her on fire. His hands immediately roamed over her shoulders and found her breasts. His fingers on her nipple an exquisite ache. Julius took a nipple in his mouth and sucked greedily as her fingers twisted in her hair. She almost became undone when his teeth grazed her nipple.
Oh God!
His greedy hands went straight to her thighs, slick and wet. She opened and welcomed him, pressing and gyrating against his hand when his fingers slipped inside her with a quick thrust. Briar groaned when he withdrew and immediately thrust two fingers deep inside her heat. As he sucked her nipple and increased the tempo with his fingers, she nibbled his earlobe to prevent herself from moaning aloud. His fingers held the promise of pleasure, but it would be nothing compared to his rigid manhood, hot and ready, straining against his breaches.
Julius lifted his head from her breasts and trailed kisses to her neck. Briar found the front of his shirt and rented the garment, the buttons flying all over the bed. She was rewarded with his intoxicating groan that washed over her. He stood up and quickly shed the remainder of his clothes while Briar gripped the remnants of her nightgown and threw it to the floor. Finally, they were gloriously naked. Briar drank in the sight of him, his manhood firm and proud. She wanted him back in bed, lying over her, but he denied her. Instead, he lifted her in his arms, and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. He made a slight movement, and she felt his cock against her wet slit. Briar moaned. Her hips ground down, the head of him rubbing against her nob. She was drunk with need, but still, he did not enter her. It was sweet torture. Unbearable.
“I need you,” she pleaded.
“Where?” he whispered.
She dug her fingers into his shoulder before she reached down with one hand, and her fingers trailed his manhood. “Inside me.”
He groaned, grabbed her bottom and entered her with one long, thick thrust and her tightness gave way to his hard cock. She relished the feel of him stretching her and he paused, but all the built-up tension inside her would not allow her to. She gripped his shoulder and slid up and down his cock. There was nothing slow and teasing as she moved on hardness. Her movements were raw and urgent. He grasped her waist, and she no longer had control. It was Julius that was thrusting in and out of her with a frenzied rhythm that she could not match. Her hot wetness took him deeper and deeper inside her as his urgency overtook her.
She closed her eyes and surrendered to the sensation that was building inside her. His strokes came harder and faster still. When she did not think it was possible, he went deeper still, and the sensation building inside her threatened to erupt. Briar sobbed. The tautness building inside her was like nothing she had ever felt before. Their lips came together in a crush, and she abandoned herself to the waves as he captured her scream in his mouth. Briar collapsed against him, and he steadied her before he sat on the bed. She was straddling him when he laid back, still hard inside her. He was yet to find his release.
Julius gazed up at her with raw lust, and it made her tighten around him. He moved his hands to her hips, and Briar reached for them, placing both on her breasts. He squeezed both nipples between his finger and thumb, and she gasped. She began to move her hips, this time slowly and deliberately. Again, she took over, and she opened her legs wider to take him fully. He bucked his hip, straining to be deeper inside. Briar leaned back and placed both hands behind her on his thighs to control the movements. It wasn’t time for him to move … not yet … she wanted to be in control of giving him pleasure. She lengthened her strokes, a tight and slow rhythm on his manhood.
“Briar,” he uttered, her name a plea.
“What do you want?” She whispered.
Briar gasped as he rolled her over onto her back, still inside her. He thrust his cock deep, and there was no more tenderness. She met his frenzied strokes, tilting her hips to receive more of him.
“I wanted to claim you, to bury myself in your tight heat. Do you want that?” He asked between strokes.
She made a sound between a moan and a gasp.
“Say it.” He demanded in a husky whisper.
“Yes,” a breathy mewl. She could feel the tension building in her sex, yet she was hungry for more of him. She did not want to surrender … not yet. She met him stroke for stroke with an unimaginable wildness. His relentless thrusts brought her to the edge as she dug her fingers into his shoulder. She raised her hip, and he thrust deep even when she thought there was no further to go, sending her over the edge and tearing a moan from her throat. Her sex tightened around his cock in tiny spasms as he drove into her, finding his release with a loud groan. He collapsed beside her, his leg across her thighs.
Briar had enjoyed her first time with him, but she did not know it could get better. Tonight had been earth-shattering, and she was completely spent. She closed her eyes, and although she was in a haze, she recalled what he said. He wanted to claim her.
Julius was slick with perspiration, and his cock was drenched with her silky wet heat. He reached over and kissed her tenderly. He needed to rest for a moment. He closed his eyes for what seemed like a short time, but he knew it was much longer when his eyes flew open. Briar slept soundly; this time, it was her legs across his thigh. He was trying not to wake her as he stood up to dress, but her eyes flickered open when he pulled his breeches on. She stood up, went to her trunk, and put on another flimsy nightgown. His cock stirred at the memory of ripping the other one off her.
He pulled on his shirt, which he could no longer button. Briar padded over to him on her bare feet and ran her hands over his exposed chest.
“You did not ravish me like this at Berkley Estate.” Briar's eyes twinkled.
Julius gave a soft chuckle. “Minx.”
“I want you to do it again right now. Don’t you?”
“Woman. I need time to recover.”
Their banter was interrupted by the sound of footsteps outside the door. Briar’s wide eyes brought him back to reality.
“Go,” the one word an urgent whisper.
Julius grabbed his shoes and quickly moved toward the window. He leaned over and put one foot over the window's edge before the door burst open.
“I thought I heard laughter and voices—a male voice, Briar,” Duncan said. “What the hell is going on? Who goes there?”
Julius heard no more. He lost his footing and fell to the street below, landing with a thud that knocked the breath from him when pain jarred his limbs. He shouted in surprise on his descent and heard his knee crunch before it turned at an odd angle. He was sprawled on his backside in the muck of the street.
“Bloody hell!”
The pain ripped through him as he glanced up to see Briar and Duncan staring down at him. Duncan’s expression was stern, and Briar’s terrified.
He heard a door open and a voice shout.
“What is going on here?”
Julius looked up and saw Lord Blackstock. He could not say that he was happy to see him. Lady Blackstock, a notorious gossip, was hovering in the doorway behind him.” Lord Blackstock rushed toward the street and bent down to examine his knee.
“Let me help you inside.”
“Thank you for your kind offer, but I will decline. If I may have the use of your carriage to my townhouse in St James’s Square, it will be returned to you forthwith.”
“Certainly,” Lord Blackstock replied.
Julius heard another carriage rumble down the cobbled street before it came into view. As it drew abreast, Julius recognized the color and emblem. The carriage stopped, and the door opened.
“Can I be of assistance, Your Grace?” Lord Archer enquired.
“No. It is all in hand. Thank you for asking.” Julius replied between clenched teeth.
“As you wish.”
Lord Blackstock helped Julius to his feet as he watched the Archer carriage fade into the distance. Julius placed all his weight on the sound knee.
Lord Blackstock turned to his wife. “The carriage.”
Lady Blackstock understood and disappeared into the townhouse. The carriage rolled down the street shortly thereafter, and Lord Blackstock assisted Julius inside.
“Thank you,” Julius said and gave the driver instructions. Lord Blackstock closed the door before the carriage rolled down the cobbled streets. Julius wanted to look at Briar’s window, but he decided not to as he rested his head against the squabs and closed his eyes. He knew what he needed to do. He would summon his physician, and as soon as his knee was sorted, he would go to her. In the interim, he would send her a letter and ask for her forgiveness. There was so much that he wanted to say tonight, but when she kissed him, he forgot himself, and nothing else seemed to matter. It was foolish and reckless; by tomorrow, there would be a full-blown scandal. Lady Blackstock would see to it.
The carriage rolled over a bump, and it jolted his knee. He gritted his teeth against the pain. He wasn’t just hurting physically; he was hurting inside for what he was about to put her through. If only Duncan had arrived a bit later, Julius would have had the chance to tell her how he felt. He was wealthy enough to use his influence to try and squash the rumors and shield Briar as much as he could. He never set out to harm her, but that was exactly what he did. For the first time, he began to worry that she would not forgive him.
What the hell would he do then?