Chapter 47 Livy
Livy
A promise reflected in those green eyes, their color blackened by the shadows. A promise of pleasure. But there was something else. Something new. Something tender.
When he’d fallen to his knees before her, it had felt like a pledge. Yours. Pledging himself to her. Her heart beat faster. They were teetering on the edge of something, about to tip over to the other side. Tonight, they would.
He leaned in, nose brushing against her curls. Paused and breathed her in, just his hot intoxicating breath hovering over her skin. She fisted the bed linens, desire building into something wild and desperate.
Her hips canted into him. Seeking. But he only continued with his light, unhurried kisses. Like he wanted to go slow. Savor.
His tongue trailed over her; just enough pressure to tease, but not enough pressure to give her what she craved, to dip inside.
She wriggled in his grasp. Needy. She was aching and empty.
His fingers tightened on her bottom, holding her still.
She needed to feel him deep in the heart of her. Any part of him.
She tried to spread her thighs even wider. Pleading. Frustration rumbled out of her in a soft growl. “Derek.” It came out as a demand, tinged with threat. “Get on with it.”
He groaned against her, his body shivering between her thighs. And then he jerked her closer, burying himself deeper between her thighs. As if her ordering him about, making demands of him, made him lose control.
All semblance of slow disappeared as he went straight for her core.
He licked into her, his tongue thrusting without preamble.
Her head tipped back as ripples of pleasure rolled over her.
He pressed her open wider, delving deeper.
But it still wasn’t enough. It was a hint of what was to come.
Her hips bucked against him, chasing that pulsing, dangerous need.
The need to be filled. Stretched. In a way she’d never been before.
She held onto the coverlet for dear life with one hand, the other fisting his hair.
She held him to the heart of her, back arching as she pressed into him, trying to get closer.
The noises echoing around them were wicked.
Sinful. Slick and sex. A sob tore from her.
It was too much. It wasn’t enough. He was dismantling her, taking her apart until he got to the essence of her beneath.
Then her feet were off the floor, and she was being tossed onto the mattress.
Her back had barely hit the coverlet before she was being yanked to the edge of the bed.
His large hands curled around her thighs, pressing them wide, and he stood between her legs, gaze locked on her.
Shadows flickered over his face, hidden behind wild ebony waves.
His chest heaved, mouth glistening. He looked feral, deranged.
His fingers flexed, and his gaze snapped up to hers.
A pang of lust hit her straight between her legs.
The man could seduce with a single look, one that said he hadn’t eaten for days and had finally found sustenance.
Her.
His tongue slipped out, and his teeth dug into his bottom lip.
She squirmed against his hold, and he seemed to come out of his trance.
He dropped back between her legs, and her mouth parted on a soundless cry.
He showed her no mercy. What had begun as seductive warfare had shifted into an assault of pleasure.
His tongue flicked over her at a pace that had white-hot heat streaking through her. She stayed with him, her feet finding purchase so she could push back, shift until his tongue found the perfect—
A cry ripped from her. “There.” Pleasure licked at her just like the man between her thighs, building. “Don’t stop.”
An appreciative rumble left him as she ground against him, the vibration pulling another cry from her. Oh my stars, this man’s tongue. It should be criminal. She was completely unmoored, nothing but raw, unbearable sensation.
And then he slipped a finger inside her, and she was lost. Her back bowed as bliss swallowed her, an electrical storm of pleasure shockwaves and rumbling ecstasy. She blindly reached for him, needing something to hold on to while she flew apart. Needed him to keep her steady.
And he did. He stayed with her until the storm cleared, and she had to shift away as she became too sensitive.
Soft kisses dusted over her inner thigh.
A gentle nuzzle into where her hip met her thigh.
She unsteadily lifted to her elbows, breath still leaving her in shaky bursts.
Her gaze locked on Derek’s, and a slow smile spread across those talented lips.
Her heart squirmed, and the most painful affection burst in her chest. He was so adorably proud of himself.
Her stomach fluttered. This man. She needed him. All of him. Now.
Livy reached for him, and he stood, settling between her parted legs, his length heavy and hard on her belly. Hands slowly coasted up and down her thighs. Even though she lay bare before him, in nothing but her stockings, Derek wasn’t looking at her body—his gaze was fixed on hers. Unwavering.
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered hoarsely.
Emotion prickled behind her eyes, and she swallowed thickly. Oh goodness. She couldn’t start weeping in the middle of being intimate. She masked the swell of feeling with a teasing smile. “Those small feelings are showing again, Derek.”
A lopsided smile curved his lips, and just like that, her heart melted into a puddle.
He leaned forward, resting on one hand, the other coming up to cup her cheek. He shook his head, black waves falling in disarray as his thumb dusted over her cheekbone. “Livy, love?” he whispered roughly. “The feelings I have for you… They are so far from small.”
His hand slid away from her face, trailed down her neck until it rested just above her breast, over her heart. His fingers followed a swirling pattern. Over and over. Continuous swirling loops. She searched his eyes.
“The way I feel for you…it’s beyond measure.”
She bit her lip, trying to force back the tide of emotions with the sharp bite of pain.
The way he looked at her, she could feel it, feel the depth of it.
And she saw the fear behind it all. She understood, because this, whatever this was between them, it was so intense, so profound, it was terrifying.
And it was fragile. So easily breakable.
Her hand fell to his length, and she stroked gently. His eyes fluttered shut, and a hitched breath fled him. He swallowed, and her gaze greedily followed the ripple of his Adam’s apple, of his strong corded muscles. He was all sinew and strength. And hers.
“Show me how much, Derek.”
He stepped back. She let out a frustrated grumble and reached for him.
He was back over her in a breath, pressing a quick kiss to her lips.
“One moment, love.” His lips hooked up, but it held a…
sadness to it. “Your safety is of utmost importance to me, Livy. There are consequences, and as it stands—” His words cut out, and his features tightened.
She slid a hand to palm his face, and he leaned into it, eyes drifting closed.
Her heart closed in on itself at what his words suggested, at what he was trying to say but couldn’t voice.
Despite this moment being monumental, all their walls melting away to reveal the feelings hiding within, it didn’t change reality.
She might love him. He might feel the same.
But right now, his future could very well be with another woman.
And he wouldn’t allow Livy to end up with child out of wedlock.
Of course, this man wouldn’t. The man who saved orphaned children. Who put those children before himself and his own happiness. He didn’t abandon.
Derek pulled away and went to his dressing table, shuffling around in the drawers and some things on the tabletop. She studied him, the way his muscles rippled in the shadows with each movement. Tall, lean, beautiful. Inside and out.
The notorious Marquess of Dunmore.
The man so many of their world derided.
The greatest man she’d ever known.
Derek was back at her side a moment later, setting a bowl and vial down on the bed. “The condom will need a couple minutes to soak and soften,” he said with a wicked smile. The cavalier rogue was back. He flashed her a wink. “Nothing but the best for my girl’s cunt.”
She gasped, and heat slapped her cheeks. “Derek!” she hissed. Dear Lord. That was…that was…
He chuckled. “I beg your pardon, Miss Shallots. I forgot you couldn’t even say tits when we first met.” His hands massaged her thighs, and his grin turned feral. “I have a dirty mouth, clever girl. You know that.” His voice dropped to a purr. “Personally.”
Her core throbbed in agreement, his seductive words in the carriage after The Devil’s Eye flitting through her mind.
“I-I like it,” she said unsteadily, her heart rate all of a sudden much too fast. “It’s shocking and scandalous and…” Like a slap to her senses. One she wanted to feel over and over again.
She swallowed heavily, and when she spoke, her words were husky. “It makes me feel like you want me.”
She couldn’t put it into words. But when he spoke about her body, the things he wanted to do to her, for her to do to him, those sinful words just highlighted how much he ached for her on the most elemental of levels. It was need in its rawest form.
She reached for one of his hands and pulled it to rest over the center of her. Her gaze bore into his. “It gives me confidence. Talk to me, Derek. Tell me how much you ache for me.”
“Fuck, Livy.” He groaned. “You’re so bloody perfect.” His fingers lazily massaged her, slipping lower, parting her. “I think we have just enough time for you to come again before the condom’s ready. Shall we test the theory?”
Her lips curved slyly. “No, Derek… Let’s prove it.”
His grin flashed. “Oh, my clever girl.”
Then he sank his fingers inside.