Chapter Eleven #2
“I suppose.” He looked at Caroline. “You?”
Slowly, she nodded. “Yes. Something isn’t sitting right with my stomach. I’d like to go home and have a bit of a rest for a while.” As Felix studied her, she peered at Mr. Foster. “Why didn’t you think Felix would ever marry?”
“Oh.” The other man chuckled as if it were a merry joke. “It was always bandied around Whitehall that the major wasn’t interested in being a husband much less a family man. He’s too set in his ways and far too grumpy to share his life.”
“I see.” Her expression fell and she pressed her napkin to her trembling lips.
Well, shit.
Felix stood. “If we have other questions for you, we’ll seek you out. Are you staying in Brighton, Mr. Foster?”
“Yes, for another day or so, at the same row of cottages where Danforth was residing.” He didn’t glance up from his plate as he slathered jam onto another scone.
“Right.” After helping Caroline up from her chair, he said his goodbyes then escorted her out of the tea café. On the pavement outside, he brought her about to face him. “The man is an idiot. Don’t take what he says as truth.”
She nodded. “I had the feeling you and he had different mindsets.” With a sigh, she slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow. “I am tired, though. Let us go home for a rest.”
“Of course.” But he frowned. Had she taken those words too much to heart?
That evening, even though the skies were gray and gloomy around sunset with a hint of rain in the air, Felix encouraged his wife to come outside and walk the shore with him.
At the very least it might help to clear his head and hopefully urge Caroline to return to her bubbly, bossy self.
He didn’t care for the fact that she’d been dismal and near tears these past few days.
Perhaps the case was affecting her due to her history with Danforth.
Also, having someone murdered on the morning of one’s wedding was bound to affect one’s mind.
He thought.
“If the investigation is too much for you after the chaos and busyness of the wedding, you can spend your days by the shore while I conduct the interviews.”
“Oh.” She tightened her fingers on his arm. “I should be all right, but this week has been rather much. I’m afraid I’m a bit wilted.” Then she gave him a soft smile that had awareness rippling over his skin. “Everything will prove just lovely. Don’t worry.”
Except the smile didn’t reflect in her eyes. And it hadn’t since before the ceremony.
“Caro?”
“Hmm?”
He continued to lead her along the shore and farther away from the row of cottages. “You would tell me if something were wrong, wouldn’t you?” Had he done something that would have revoked her trust in him?
“Of course I would, and don’t you think that the word ‘wrong’ is mostly subjective?”
“Perhaps.” A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. What was she hinting at?
They continued to walk in silence.
“You’re happy with this marriage, right?” he asked while concern filtered into every corner of his being.
“Yes, I am.” But she didn’t offer any other commentary.
Knots of concern pulled in his gut, but before he could continue the conversation, shadowy movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention.
Seconds later, someone dressed in black with a slouch-style cap set low on his forehead rushed between them, splitting them up and tearing Caroline’s hand from his arm.
The stranger gave her a hard shove. With a cry, she fell to the ground. Her reticule flew from her hand, and she landed on her backside. “Felix!”
“Caro!” As soon as he turned toward her, the attacker lashed out with a fist. The punch landed on his jaw, which sent him flying onto his back.
Pain exploded through his face and back.
When he tried to scramble to his feet, the unknown person planted a boot on his chest, pressed him into the pebbles of the beach.
“Stop investigating this case, Major. None of it concerns you.” The voice was scratchy and growled, so it was difficult to discern a true tone.
The pressure on his chest increased as he struggled to dislodge the attacker. “A man was murdered,” he responded in between trying to breath normally.
“It has nothing to do with you,” the man—for it was a man—said again as he increased the pressure of his foot on Felix’s chest. “Don’t make it more difficult for everyone.” Then, as Caroline gained her feet, the man removed his boot, but quickly kicked him in the ribs.
A groan escaped Felix’s throat. He rolled over onto his side in pain and curled into a ball to help try and mitigate it.
The man leaned over him. “I’m warning you.
Leave it alone and no one else will get hurt.
If you don’t, what you hold most dear will be taken away.
” Seconds later, he loped off, ran toward the street, and quickly, he disappeared through someone’s garden, no doubt as an easy way to gain the front side of the cottages to the street beyond.
“Shit.” Despite the pain cycling through his body, Felix staggered to his feet. He caught Caroline in his arms, almost desperate to make certain she was unharmed. “Are you all right?”
“I think so.” Though she nodded, her eyes were wounded and brimming with unshed tears. “More frightened than anything else.” Concern shadowed her face. “How are you?” She raised a hand to touch his chin where he’d been punched.
“I’ve been through worse.” Though he flinched at her questing fingertips on his skin, he couldn’t discount the fact they were in the thick of it.
“We’ve made someone nervous regarding the case.
That’s a good thing. It will be over soon.
” Then, because he was so worried about her safety, he kissed her, regardless that they were in public and could be seen by anyone in the area.
As they walked back to the cottage, Caroline clung to his arm.
“You don’t believe the attack was random?”
“Hell, no. Someone is uncomfortable. Let’s make them even more so.”
She dashed away a tear from her cheek. “It’s dangerous,” she said in a soft voice.
“When is it not?”
“True.”
At the cottage, Felix led her directly upstairs to the bedchamber they shared. “I want you, Caroline.”
Surprise jumped into her expressive eyes. “Why? We’ve just been attacked.”
“I know, but I’m so damned worried about you that I need the assurance you are truly well and that you promise to keep yourself safe.” For she’d already had a difficult time of it, and he didn’t want working this case to make things worse.
“It will take more than being shoved down to run me off.” When she cupped his cheek and peered into his eyes, the sensation of falling assailed him.
“Good.” When he took her once more into his embrace, he kissed her and put every ounce of feeling into that one meeting of mouths.
As he did, he walked her backward until the wall at her back prevented further movement.
With her snugly trapped between him and the wall, he continued to claim her mouth.
This was right; she was everything good and light in the world, and he needed to do a better job of protecting her, for she was his reason for living.
Felix kissed her, drank from her, dragged his lips along the silky side of her throat while she clung to his shoulders.
With hot need and desire filling his veins, he yanked down her bodice, and when the soft globes of her breasts were bared, he took one in hand while sucking the nipple of the other into his mouth.
A shuddering sigh escaped her. She arched her back, putting herself more securely into his care. “Oh, Felix, yes…” Her words were lost to a moan as he pleasured those pebbled tips with tongue and teeth and fingers.
“I need so much more,” he whispered against the crook of her shoulder as he slid a hand down her side and then gathered handfuls of her skirting.
“We are married. Take what you want, for I want that as well,” she responded in a sultry whisper.
“You are my perfect foil.” He kissed her again, essentially shared breath with her, wanted to show his possession so she’d feel protected, know that he was doing his best. When he’d bunched most of her skirting between them, he eased his hands beneath the layers of fabric to clutch her arse.
A surprised squeal came from her, and the sound made him grin.
“This will probably go quickly. I intend to lose my control early on.” Already, his prick pulsed with pain-tipped pleasure. He’d explode soon and embarrass himself if she declined.
“There are times when the only thing needed is a quick, hard coupling to remind us that we’re alive.
” She looked up at him with passion-drugged eyes and kiss-swollen lips, and he knew he’d made the right decision by wedding her.
The same need etched upon her features fired through his blood.
“Give me all of you; I’m feeling the same way as you just now. ”
“Darling girl.” He fumbled at the buttons of his frontfalls.
Though various places on his person throbbed with pain, he ignored it as best he could.
Then locking his good knee, he picked her up and leveraged her against wall, holding her thighs while letting the tip of his hardened shaft brush against her center.
“Are you certain? If that attack discomfited you—”
“Do stop, Major,” she interrupted with a short huff. “I need this too.” She looped her arms around his shoulders. Her fingers at his nape encouraged him with slight pressure, and she sought his lips, lightly nipping the bottom one.
“Hell but you’re a vixen, I think.” That little gesture nearly sent him over.
With one flex of his hips, he penetrated her body, buried his shaft deep in her warmth, easily breaking through that slight resistance.
“Bloody hell, Caro,” he whispered against her lips.
“You feel so good, tight.” And damn if she wasn’t already wet.
Certainly, she’d not been lying when she said she wanted him. And they fit together so well.
“I adore this moment.” She wriggled her hips to better accommodate his girth, and that movement nearly had him shooting off his wad prematurely. “Lovely…”
When she shivered, he clenched his teeth as well as the muscles of his abdomen. “I’ll do my best though it will prove brief.”
Then there were no more words, for he couldn’t spare the strength. He dug his fingers into the soft flesh of her thighs, and as need raced down his spine and tingled through his stones, he pulled out of her body merely for the glory that thrusting into her honeyed heat brought.
Over and over, he stroked into her, taking, claiming, joining, promising.
The deeper he went, the more frantic and intense his thrusts became, for she was like a balm to soothe his hurts and storms. Much like finding a missing piece of a puzzle, there was a certain contentment in being with Caroline.
Her eyes shuttered. A few tendrils of black hair tumbled from their pins.
She dug her fingernails into his shoulders, and he welcomed the prick of pain through the fabric of his clothing, for it kept him as focused as he could be while losing himself in her.
When she locked her ankles and her heels dug into his backside, his hold on control snapped.
“Damn.” He pushed with ever more fervor. The need to claim her became greater than everything else. “Are you close?” His words were raw, ragged, propelled into being by emotions he wished to speak but didn’t have the courage.
“Yes, but it’s out of reach.” She restlessly tossed her head. Yet her inner muscles fluttered around his member, ushering in the beginning of the end. “Hurry.”
“I’m trying.” Nearly gone, Felix clenched his jaw, held back the urge to finish in order to slide a hand between their bodies. When he found the slippery, swollen button at her center, he rubbed his fingers over it with varying degrees of friction.
Caroline’s eyes shuttered. She bucked her hips, which buried him ever deeper. “I… I… Oh, Felix!” The cry sent a wave of smugness through him.
As she fell into that unspectacular release, he renewed his hold on her and gave himself over to ruining the hell out of her.
His strokes became frantic and hard, and all too soon hot sensation raced through his stones and shaft.
He pumped for all he was worth. When her body stiffened slightly and she clutched at him with ecstasy on her face, he grinned and claimed her mouth, taking her cry into himself.
Release crashed over him, through him, roaring along every nerve ending like a voracious beast. Again and again, he pumped into her contracting passage as his prick pulsed.
For long seconds, he lost himself to the act of spending.
Sharing this with her—his wife—held a sacred edge.
Once his body had ceased the mad torment, he held her close, keeping her safe between himself and the wall.
Always.
As his heartbeat returned to a normal pace and his breathing evened, he pulled slightly back from her to peer into her face. A pink flush had overtaken her chest and cheeks. “Was that good even if it was rushed?”
“It was amazing.” She sighed as he let her down and set her feet on the floor. “There is something about being taken against a wall. It’s most enjoyable.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Cupping her cheek, he pressed his lips to her forehead. “Are you sure you are well after the attack?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “However, I am tired, so I’m going to have a lie down. Will you continue the investigation?”
“I might go into town and pop into the tavern where Danforth and his friends spent the night before the wedding, perhaps question barmaids and other workers.” Another wave of concern poured over him. “You’ll be all right alone for a bit?”
“Yes, please don’t worry.” Taking his hand, she squeezed his fingers before she toed off her slippers. “We’ll have dinner together. Mrs. Andrews said she is making something special.”
“Very well.” But his unease didn’t fade.