Chapter Eight
Desire guided Felix’s steps as he calmly went upstairs at Caroline’s side.
The fact she’d practically lied through her teeth to the butler about what they’d be doing this afternoon had pure, unadulterated lust shoving through his veins.
She could think on her feet and compile an explanation with impromptu grace, and every day that went by, he was more and more impressed by her.
Neither of them spoke, and thankfully they didn’t pass servants on the way to the third level. Then, she glanced surreptitiously about the corridor before beckoning him into one of the rooms.
“Welcome to my private bedchamber,” she said in a whisper that had the power to see him undone right there before they’d ever done anything scandalous.
“When I was a much younger woman, at the height of my Come Out, I implored my mother to decorate the room in shades of ivory and pink, and while this is still a young lady’s dream, I have matured since then. ”
He forced moisture into his suddenly dry throat. “What colors would you choose now?”
“Most likely shades of blue either paired with silver brocade or perhaps variations of mauve.” Quietly, she closed the door behind him, and just as silently, she turned the key in the lock. Since there didn’t appear to be an adjoining sitting room, he was confident they wouldn’t be interrupted.
If he ever had the right, he would have a room in his house designed to her specifications, a space tucked away as her private sanctuary where she could retreat to when the world became too much. But he’d need to actually ask the question of her.
Until he could build up his confidence again, Felix masked his confusion by tugging her into his arms and kissing her at his leisure, as if they had all the time in the world.
When she put her arms about his shoulders and furrowed her fingers into his hair, the countdown to seeing them both undone had begun.
“I think… we should make… the best use… of our time,” Caroline said between kisses as she manipulated the folds of his cravat until she’d unraveled the knot.
A soft exhalation of victory escaped her when she was able to tug it from his neck.
“My aunt is quirky enough to abandon her plans and come home early.”
“Good thinking, but not because I’m avoiding scandal; I desperately want you.
” Then, ushering her across the room, he thanked whatever deity was listening that her room featured no windows, for privacy was ensured.
At the side of the bed, he spun her about.
“Are there any objections before I undress you.” Already, his hands shook as his fingers went to the short line of buttons at the back of her dress.
“Absolutely not. I have dreamed about just this.” She offered no protest when the bodice gaped and seconds later, he yanked the garment off her shoulders, down over her hips, and then finally off her body to pool on the floor. “I have missed being intimate with you.”
“As have I.” Did she need to know how many nights he’d taken himself in hand to relieve the throbbing need whenever he thought of her?
No, she did not, for that was quite scandalous indeed.
As quickly as he could, he untied the laces at her waist and then removed the lawn petticoat. It joined her dress on the floor.
When she attempted to turn about, he clicked his tongue.
“None of that, Miss Ives,” he said in a low whisper.
As she braced her palms on the bed, he stifled a groan, for all he wanted to do was claim her body in such a way that there were no doubts as to his intentions toward her.
However, he paused long enough to remove his superfine jacket in a bottle green color as well as his waistcoat, cuffs, collar, and finally his shirt.
There was no going back now.
Then he attended to the laces at the back of her stays.
Without obstacle, the garment fell away in his hands and he quickly tossed it to a nearby chair.
Damn, but it had been an age since he was with her like this, and as he drew off her thin shift, finally able to gaze upon her naked body save for her stockings and garters, it was just as good as he remembered.
Perhaps better.
“Felix, please. I can wait no longer.”
The whispered plea cut through his thoughts, brought him back to the present. “Patience, Caroline. I’ll give you everything you need.” So saying, he layered his front to her backside, cupped her breasts, and rubbed his palms over the hardened, pebbling buds.
A soft whimper left her throat. She wriggled her backside, and that slight motion jostled his burgeoning erection. “Why must you torture me?”
“That’s the glory of foreplay.” Emboldened by her response and needing a distraction from the urgency in his shaft, Felix rolled those nipples, plucked them, almost willed her to find release simply by playing with her breasts.
“Dear heavens.” The trembles she experienced transferred to him.
“Leave off for one moment.” Unexpectedly, she turned to face him, and then immediately came into his arms, kissing him as if he held the last bit of air and she wished to share it with him.
“If you think I’m going to let you have all the fun, you are quite mistaken. ”
“Equal partners, even in this, eh?” It was one of the things he adored about her.
“Of course, for what is the point of doing anything together if you will receive the lion’s share of credit and accolades when I’ve worked just as hard?
” Then she kissed him, and her hands were seemingly everywhere, smoothing over his naked back and chest, caressing his skin, brushing over the network of scars on his body, and leaving heated need behind.
With a barely audible growl, he once more cupped her breasts.
They were a pleasant handful he remembered well, that he hadn’t had nearly enough time with the other day when things between them had been heated.
With the pads of his thumbs, he teased the turgid tips, took one into his mouth to further tease and torment.
“Felix…” Arousal and affection warred for dominance in the blue pools of her eyes. “Send me flying. I don’t need the preliminaries.” The plea, said against the underside of his jaw, sent fires through his blood.
“Ah, but those things are what make the actual coupling so much more satisfying.” And he’d been denied being with her for far too long to rush this opportunity now.
Feeling reckless, he squeezed the globes of her breasts while his shaft pulsed with urgency. “I want to taste you, Caro.”
She met his gaze, practically dared him to continue. “I haven’t bid you nay, Major.”
Shit, but she might kill him before too long.
“Good.” Not willing to waste time, Felix urged her to sit on the edge of the bed, and as she reclined backward, he kissed a path between her breasts, along her torso, past her navel as he leaned over her, encouraging her legs to part.
The curve of her breasts, the nip of her waist, the flare of her hips called to him like a siren’s song.
“Are you truly going to—ah!” Her words broke off the second he buried his face between her thighs and licked her slippery folds. “Felix!” Even with a hand clapped to her mouth, her soft exclamation sounded overly loud to him.
With a smug grin, he held her hips in a strong grasp, and proceeded to devour her as if this was their last day on Earth. The moment he coaxed that nubbin out of hiding, he suckled the bud, teased it with unrelenting friction from his tongue until she squirmed.
God, she was as sweet as she’d been the first night they’d come together. And this time he wouldn’t stop his campaign until she’d fallen over the edge.
“Oh, heaven, oh yes. I have so missed this,” she whispered with pleasure in her tone.
One of her hands was in his hair, tugging, pulling, pushing as he worked her over, moved his mouth, tongue, and lips over every bit of her most sacred of places.
“You must stop…” When she tried to push him away, Felix ignored her, for that only meant she was close.
“You are as exquisite as the most exclusive dessert,” he whispered before suckling once more at that swollen nubbin.
“I, oh, I… Felix!” Seconds later, Caroline broke from his torture, and those half-stifled cries mixed with smokey moans were the sweetest sounds. She writhed on the edge of the bed with trembles moving through her thighs and tears rolling down her cheeks.
“You have the look of a woman who has been thoroughly pleasured,” he whispered with a wink as he pulled away from her body.
“I have been.” She roved her gaze up and down his form. Heat built again in his veins. “But it has only energized me. Shall I return the favor?” One of her black eyebrows rose in question.
Damn it all to hell.
Never had he shucked out of his boots and breeches as quickly as he did in that moment.
It didn’t matter that his false leg was on display, for she had seen it before.
When she glanced at his rampant shaft, he couldn’t help his grin.
“You will take me into your mouth?” The last time she’d done that, his world had shifted.
“Why not? You said yourself that foreplay makes coupling even better.” Then she patted the tick mattress beside her. “Join me, Major.”
Being with Caroline gave him a new anticipation for life. Quickly, he mounted the best as best he could with the false leg, but his partner didn’t wait until he was settled.
She scrambled to her knees then lunged at him, knocking him onto his back. “I appreciate a man who knows how to properly salute a woman,” she said as she bounced her gaze between his erection and his face.
“Easy, Caro, else I’ll explode before we can come together.” With a frown, he eyed her. “What wicked delights have you in mind?”