Chapter Forty-Three
Damian immediately conjured ways to show Georgie pleasure from where he should kiss and touch, if she was in front of him, standing or kneeling, except that all fled his mind when she pressed him against the door and kissed him most thoroughly.
There would be no calculated seduction, but pleasure, shared and given, as it should be, as soon as he managed to have her clothing removed.
After grasping her skirt, he bunched it and kept pulling it up and he was just about to pull it from her body when the back of his fingers brushed against her damp curls.
She was ready and if her moan was any indication, in need, so he set to pleasuring her as his mouth devoured hers.
Only when she pulled away and arched as her fingers dug into his shoulders did he relent and allow her release, then quickly divested her of her gown, picked her up and deposited Georgie in the middle of the bed, still wearing her stocking and shoes.
Those would not be removed as he admired the beautiful and passionate woman before him.
Damian could not get his boots and clothing off fast enough and then he closed the distance between them.
He assumed that Georgie had anticipated that he would take her because she opened her thighs further. Instead, he lifted her from the waist until they were seated then rolled on his back, bringing her over him.
Georgie’s eyes went wide and she stilled.
Damian’s hands slid up her thighs, his thumbs caressing her point of pleasure.
Georgie moaned.
“What do I do?” Her voice was breathless.
“Take me.”
“Take you?”
“Yes.”
She glanced down and must have realized what he had meant because she sank down on his manhood until she could go no further.
Damian nearly came off the bed and it was his turn to moan.
However, when he looked up, meeting her eyes, they were filled with questions.
Gently he grasped her hips and nudged her up, then down, and soon, Georgie was caught up in a rhythm that she controlled.
With eyes closed and head back, she managed to find her own pleasure while providing him with the same, and he took the opportunity to caress her magnificent breasts until her breath hitched, and he knew she was near.
Only then did he reach forward and touch her as soon as she climaxed, biting her bottom lip.
When she tightened around him, Damian nearly lost control and lifted her away, and feared he had not been done so in time. He hoped that none of his seed had been released inside of Georgie because that could bring about circumstances that…would see her returning to his side.
No. He wanted Georgie with him because she wanted to be and not because she did not want to bring a bastard child into the world. Therefore, he’d be even more careful than ever before. She’d already been ruined by a rogue, he wasn’t going to make it worse by leaving her with child.
*
Georgie fell to her side and smiled.
Goodness!
Who would have thought that she could be the one in control of the pleasure.
She hadn’t really known what she was doing and went on instinct and it had been powerful.
How else might she pleasure him? What else was there to learn?
Would she have time to experience everything before she finally caught up to her sister?
Damian rolled to face her.
There was a softness in his blue eyes, especially when he tucked a curl behind her ear and his thumb caressed her cheek. In any other circumstance, it might have been seen as a gentle act of love, but they were only friends and that was all they could ever be.
Georgie shivered as her body cooled, surprised that she was chilled.
Damian pulled the blankets up so that she was covered then traced a line around her upper arm then across her bodice.
“You were too long in the sun.”
She glanced at the line that he had traced. The exposed skin was a delicate pink, but she was not concerned. A sunburn was just reddening of the skin, and certainly not something about which she should be concerned.
Content in ways that she hadn’t been in a very long time, Georgie’s body grew heavy, along with her eyelids.
A small rest, that was all she needed, then maybe Damian would want to teach her something new.
Georgie woke slowly and likely from the pounding in her head, but she was nauseated as well.
Damian was asleep beside her and when he turned, he brushed her arm. She sucked in a breath, surprised at the tenderness. Only then did she look at her arm to note that it was much redder than it had been when she had fallen asleep.
How could her sunburn get worse when she was not in the sun?
Carefully she pressed a finger to her arm. The pain was more of a sting, and her skin was hot. When she removed her finger, where she had touched, it was temporarily white before it was red again.
Was this how her face and chest looked?
Georgie took one of the blankets, wrapped it around herself then carefully walked to the mirror anchored on the wall and nearly groaned to note that her face was indeed red, as was her chest, with a very clear and curved line of where the bodice of her dress had ended.
Hopefully the burn wasn’t so bad that she blistered.
She’d seen that happen to a friend when she’d spent too much time at the beach without a parasol or bonnet.
“I shall never go outside without a bonnet again.”
“Is something the matter?”
Georgie winced and slowly turned to face Damian. “I am not feeling well.”
He was by her side in a blink before she was swept up in his arms and he took her back to the bed, where he tucked her in, careful not to touch her red skin.
“I will see if there is a doctor on board and ask if there is anything he can provide for the pain.” He frowned. “It is pain, is it not.”
“My skin is tender and I do have a headache, but I am also nauseated.”
Oh dear, she hoped that she did not toss up her accounts in front of him. That would be not only horrible but embarrassing.
Damian was out of bed in a blink. “I shall fetch tea; some bread and hopefully the doctor has something for your pain.” He then dressed quicker than she thought possible, given the layers men wore.
Though he was not totally put to rights, he was covered as he should be and even more so than he had been when they had first met.
As soon as he was gone, Georgie pulled herself from the bed again, but this time she went in search of her nightrail.
She could not lie in bed naked. What if the doctor wanted to examine her?
She couldn’t let him think…or know what she and Damian might have been doing earlier.
It didn’t matter if the man believed them to be married, it was still a private matter.
When she shook out her nightrail, Georgie immediately changed her mind. Even though it was made of a soft material, she could not have the sleeves touching her arms. Besides, she was already hot and she wanted to wear as little clothing as possible, especially if she was going to be in bed.
Instead, she drew out a soft cotton shift with capped sleeves. She had been saving it so that she would have something clean to wear beneath her dresses while they traveled back to Italy as the others were already in need of laundering.
Maybe she would be given the opportunity to wash her clothing before they left for home so that her valise was filled with clean clothing.
Oh, it was a minor concern right now, Georgie decided as the soft cotton caressed her skin and she crawled back into bed.
Careful with her tender skin, she found a comfortable position on her back with her arms folded on the blankets, across her middle and not touching anything else.
This was exactly how she would remain until the burn faded.