Chapter 14 #2
Grey’s eyes glittered as he smiled. ‘Balancing on the precipice of pleasure can bring with it a unique pain. Only a true bastard would do that to someone.’ He let his hand slip lower, circling her right nipple with his thumb over the thin cotton until it peaked against the material, but he never touched the tip.
It hardened so tight, her skin tingled. A corresponding spike of sensation exploded in the cluster of nerves hidden in her sex. ‘Mayhap Sir Robin is right.’
Without warning, he gripped the neckline of her gown in both hands and in one violent jerk, ripped the cotton down the centre.
Yes. Please.
She wanted him to strip her bare. To do all the things he spoke about.
A small burst of pleasure fired low in her belly.
But he didn’t pull aside the material. Disappointment flared.
She wanted him to see her. Naked. Real. Raw.
Instead, he trailed a finger from her throat, between her breasts, grown heavy and aching with need, over her sternum to her belly.
Her muscles clenched as he tickled her navel.
‘Women, in my experience, are amazingly soft, and deceptively strong.’ His insidious finger dipped lower, tangling in her maidenhair before he softly brushed where no hands other than her own had ever ventured.
Every nerve in her body fired at once. But when she would have burned the earth to cinders for friction, he brought his finger back up, dipping beneath the cotton to trail along the underside of her right breast.
‘Damnation! Grey. Touch me, please.’ She pulled against the cravat to lean closer to him, but he only stepped back, capturing her gaze.
‘What is my name, Clio?’
‘Lieutenant General.’ She wouldn’t give in. Not yet.
Bending his head, he brought his mouth to her left breast, so close she could feel the heat of his breath.
But he didn’t draw the puckered tip into his mouth and suck as she so desperately wanted.
Instead, he blew a stream of air over her sensitised flesh, his finger resuming its devastating circles around her right nipple.
His other hand trekked lower again, palming her pussy, pressing his hard palm over her slick flesh, but pulling back before she could grind her hips against him.
‘You intoxicate me, Clio. Say my name.’
‘You infuriate me… Thomas.’ The word escaped, and she couldn’t regret her choice.
‘Thank God!’ He gripped both of her legs, wrapping them around his hips. She could feel the hard ridge of his erection through his breeches. The rough cotton created delicious friction as he rubbed his length against her.
He palmed her breast, but this time, strong fingers pinched and plucked. Ducking his head, he licked her nipple before nipping and sucking.
She wanted to wrap her arms around him, strip him bare, feel the glory of his naked skin against her own.
But she could only absorb the sensations as his hand returned to her core, fingers sliding through her wet folds until he found the tight bundle hidden there.
As his tongue swirled around her nipple, his finger circled her nub.
Soft. Hard. Fast. Slow. Flames of pure pleasure burned through her systems. When he bit the tip of her breast, Clio’s world was consumed in fire as an orgasm ripped through her.
She cried out his name, his finger never stopping.
Heat coalesced in her palms. The cravat smoked, smouldered, then incinerated, raining ash around them.
Her hands fell from the sconce, and she landed heavily on the floor, nearly losing her balance.
Thomas gripped her around her waist, steadying her.
For a moment, they stood that way. Both breathing as though they’d run, far and fast. Almost embracing. But not quite.
‘That was…’ There were no words. She had experienced a climax before. Many times, from her own efforts. But it had never been like this.
‘Are you well?’ The concern in his voice shifted something in her chest. It was the second time he’d asked her that question this evening. This time, her answer was honest.
‘I’m marvellous.’
He raised his dark brows, mischief dancing in his emerald eyes. ‘I suppose cravats are no match for witchy magic.’ Did her powers unsettle him? Because his powers certainly unsettled Clio. He stepped back but kept his hand on her hips.
‘I suppose we’ll have to use stronger binding next time.’ She tried to keep her voice light and steady.
Grey’s hands fell from her waist. He smiled with all the smug confidence of a cat who caught the canary. ‘I thought you said this was just for tonight.’
Blast!
She had said this deal between them was only for one night.
But now she knew a little of what magic they could make together, and she didn’t want to stop.
Not yet. She wanted more. Far too much more for a woman determined to maintain her independence.
Even affairs – hot, passionate, complicated things – could trap a woman into commitments she neither wanted nor could sustain.
‘I just meant, if there was a next time.’
‘Will there be one?’ It was impossible to ignore the hope in his voice. In the end, that’s what won her over. Fragile faith from a man who seemed to have lost it somewhere along the way.
She wrapped the woollen robe over her ruined nightgown. ‘That depends. Did you bring anything sturdier than silk cravats?’
He shook his head. ‘You are trouble.’
‘Double, double toil and trouble.’ She walked to the library door and turned. ‘Fire burn and cauldron bubble.’ With a flick of her gaze, the fire flared, then burned down to nothing but coals.
‘Something wicked this way comes, Clio.’
‘Yes. And his name is Thomas Grey.’ She turned and walked down the hall to her room as his dark laughter echoed in the shadows.