Chapter Five
Angelica was enjoying herself far too much than was proper… but then, why shouldn’t she? After twenty years of heartbreak, hardship, abuse, and pain at the hands of her husband, it was time to chase her own interests.
There was a certain satisfaction in that.
Being given the opportunity to explore Caleb’s form was much like an aphrodisiac.
The duke refused to let her do the same; said he only wanted to rut with her, to show ownership, then he left her feeling used and often ashamed.
But Caleb? Good heavens, he was quite large and quite hard, to say nothing of the fact that he had some skill in how to pleasure a woman.
That, coupled with the respect and admiration he showed for her left her craving more.
Of everything.
When a ragged moan left his throat as she continued to bob on his member and alternately swirl her tongue around that organ, she hummed her approval.
So much power a woman had over a man like this!
It was heady stuff, and it heightened her own arousal.
Tucked away in this hidden shack in the woods while doing unspeakable things to this man she’d carried a connection with over the years came very near to heaven for her. Too bad he wasn’t hers.
“Enough, Angelica.” He must have been near the breaking point, for there was strain in his voice and he tugged her off his erection. When he encouraged her closer, she came back up his body to once more straddle his waist. “This is madness, or else you are driving me into it.”
“That isn’t a bad thing, and I want it too; it’s such a freeing feeling.” Far too mischievous, she wriggled on top of him, making sure to brush his arousal as she arranged her skirting about them.
A curse left his throat, but he tightened his grip on her hips. “Are you quite certain you want to do this? You were opposed before.”
“Oh, yes.” It had been the only thing she’d wanted for years. Excitement buzzed at the base of her spine while flutters of anxiety went through her belly. She glanced down at him but couldn’t read his eyes in the dark. “Promise to make this an experience I’ll not forget?”
“Haven’t I already?”
“You have, and it’s one of the reasons I…” She pressed her lips together, then sigh. Where was the harm? “It’s one of the reasons I love you.” There were absolutely no regrets on her part, so she lifted on her knees.
A slight gasp escaped him. “I love you as well, have for years, but then I think you already know that.”
“Yes. Holding onto that hope that I spied in your eyes after all this time helped when I was hurting.” When she nodded, tears rose in her eyes.
“It’s impossible, of course, and forbidden, but I don’t care.
” Once more, she held his length in hand.
It twitched from her touch, but she couldn’t wait.
If she did, she might lose her nerve. Guiding his tip to her opening, Angelica took a firm step into her future.
With force, she slammed herself down upon him until she was fully impaled. “Oh, you feel so good…”
“Damn!” Caleb’s fingers dug into her hips, but he went stones deep until she was fully irrevocably unashamedly penetrated. “So tight,” he murmured but didn’t move as if he were waiting for her permission. “God, you feel wonderful.”
She wriggled into a more comfortable position. “I adore this feeling. So different from when the duke did this to me.”
“Ha. What Tittleford did to you wasn’t coupling. It was rutting, taking, using. This is something much different.”
“I agree.” Truth to tell, she preferred joining with him. And this had far exceeded her expectations. Then her nerves got the better of her and some of her bravado faded. “I must admit to not knowing how to proceed, since I have never ridden a man.”
“I’ll teach you, for I have waited so long to have you like this.” With another moan, Caleb repositioned his hold on her hips. “When I thrust upward, you come downward. We’ll find a rhythm.”
With no choice but to trust him, Angelica rose up, slid along his shaft then came back down at the same time he stroked upward.
Dear heavens, the sensations swirling through her body from that joining threatened to shake her apart.
Never had she felt like this with the duke, and never had her husband made certain she would.
In that as in everything, he was selfish.
Her moan blended with Caleb’s, and in the shadows of the shack and with the soft sound of rain all around, it was a magical experience.
All too soon, she found this position far too awkward. “I need… more.” For she’d assumed this coupling would have more urgency. “I don’t understand how to move with you, and it’s taking away some of the bliss.”
“Fair enough, and I think you’ll conquer it in time.
” His muscles tensed beneath her, and seconds later, he flipped them both over so that she tumbled under his strong, hard body.
When he kissed her, the sensation of falling assailed her, and the cheeky man tweaked one of her nipples. He chuckled when she squealed.
Before Angelica could do anything in retaliation, Caleb speared into her body, penetrating her fully.
Once again, their moans blended together.
The way he filled her, stretched her boggled her mind, and it was more than she could have ever dreamed.
Needing to be closer to him, she looped her arms about his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his.
For several moments, he treated her to slow, gentle strokes that had the power to see her come undone more quickly than a frantic joining.
As she lifted her hips to meet him, she held his gaze that glittered in the darkness.
The experience was unlike any she’d had, for in that shared stare, their souls connected on a level far removed from reality, very different than what she’d ever had with the duke, and she gasped from the marvel of it.
This is what I should have had all along, throughout the course of my marriage.
The thought that it was so easy with this man, that it was the culmination of the years of glances, accidental touches, and yearnings wasn’t lost on her. “Caleb, I—”
“I know.” He kissed her once more to stem her words, and Angelica didn’t mind. Being with him in this moment made her feel so safe, so protected, so loved.
And she had been starved of that.
They communed together in silence, letting their joined bodies talk for them. Though she wished they’d both been naked so she could feel the glide of his body against hers, this was nothing to sneeze at. Seconds later, his form shuddered, and he gasped.
“I’m not going to last, won’t be able to draw this out.”
“It matters not.” For she meant to tease him into another few couplings while she had freedom from the duke. “Send me flying.”
He didn’t answer with words, but his thrusts accelerated. Shorter and deeper he went. The coupling turned hot and frenetic as they worked in tandem to chase the same goal.
“Caleb.” A restless feeling settled over her.
Angelica’s breath came in pants to mirror her heartbeat.
Need stacked and coiled low in her belly as she clung to him, reveled in the breadth and solidness of his shoulders, in the manly scent of him.
It was beyond wonderful. Tears welled, and she couldn’t hold back the urge to cry, so the drops fell.
The sensations were so big and all-encompassing that they swept her away and she didn’t want this moment to end or to go back to reality.
The fact that it was her husband’s solicitor who had her feelings this way made sense in the abstract part of her brain, and it had lived up to every imagining she’d ever had.
Then the demands of her body wrenched her from the musings. “I need… something.”
“This. You need this.” When he slipped a hand between them to rub her pearl with a fingertip, her world tilted and tumbled.
A rush of heated sensation crashed through her person.
It took very little effort for her to fall into that first release.
“Oh!” While her body tensed and convulsed, Caleb stroked into her as deep as he could go.
Over and over and over he worked. Sweat broke out on his brow.
The same trickled down her back, for the afternoon was fairly warm.
Faster, deeper, more powerfully he moved, and was so strong that she could barely match his movement.
Though Angelica adored every moment of this, she wanted so much more.
Yet it was impossible all the way around.
Suddenly, she was tossed over that edge into bliss again as her brain jogged away with her thoughts. Such a lovely moment, and one she adored with this man she’d somehow fallen in love with over the years but had told no one.
Because she wasn’t free to act upon it.
“Caleb!” A half-stifled cry left her throat, but he kissed her, taking the remainder of the sound into himself, and on his next thrust, the sensations rocking her heightened, and the release continued to pulse through her core.
When he reached his own release, his shout was muffled, for he’d pressed his lips into the crook of her shoulder, but he pulled out of her body at the last second.
The jump and twitch of his shaft was at her hip.
That little trace of honor brought another wash of tears to her eyes, for it wouldn’t do to fall pregnant even at her age when she hadn’t had her husband in her bed for years.
“Angelica, ah sweeting,” he whispered, and the endearment in the gloom caused her heart to tremble.
Most men wouldn’t care about the consequences of such a joining, but he did, which meant he did, indeed, care for her.
Too bad she couldn’t have that all the time.
She wrapped her arms around him as he collapsed on top of her, and for several moments she cried into his cravat.
Cried for all the things she’d been cheated of, for all the things she couldn’t have in this life.
“Dear God, I had no idea how satisfying, how raw this act would be. It was never like this with the duke.”
He chuckled, and the sound tickled through her chest. “Well, the man does make a difference.”
“Apparently.” A soft laugh escaped her. “This was far too lovely.”
“I agree, and I apologize this was hardly the place where we should have acted upon these feelings.” His breath was ragged in her ear.
“Oh, that doesn’t matter. I would gladly come here if it meant being with you like this again.”
“I feel the same way, but next time? I want you naked.” When she stirred, he rolled to his side, and she immediately missed the weight of him.
“Most definitely.” She rested a palm on his chest. “What now?” The thought of returning to the manor left her with a feeling of dread.
“I don’t know.” Then he pulled her close and encouraged her head onto his shoulder. “This is the first time I’ve ever fallen into such scandal with anyone.”
The patter of the rain sank into her consciousness while residual tremors tripped through her body. “Will we meet tomorrow? I’m aiming to secure the key to the dower house.”
“That would be lovely.” When he sighed, his breath ruffled the curls on her forehead. “Being a gentleman, it’s practically demanded that I apologize for what I’ve done, but I won’t because I enjoyed myself more than I should. Coupling with you was beyond everything I’ve dreamed.”
Warmth went through her cheeks. “I couldn’t have been that incredible, despite my daring.” Goodness, she could hardly believe what she’d done to him. “Shouldn’t a duchess show a bit more decorum?”
His chuckle added warmth to what she already felt, and it was much like a cozy blanket. “You had every right to behave however you wish, especially where your own pleasure is concerned.”
“Perhaps.” As she realized she could have had inspired and passionate intercourse like that over the past twenty years, annoyance rose in her chest, for the duke had neglected her, even in this.
“I should head back, at least. The last thing we need is for staff from the manor to come searching for me.”
“Yes, perhaps you’re correct.” He brushed his lips against the crook of her shoulder. “Should I escort you back or wait a half hour or so before I show up?”
“It would be better if we arrived apart.” Then she blew out a breath. “This interlude has been all too lovely.”
“It has.”
“But we’ll see each other at dinner.” How could she be expected to act as if he were still just an acquaintance, her husband’s solicitor, after this?
“Of course.”
Yet she made no effort to move. “Good.” Promising herself to enjoy a few moments more in his arms, Angelica lay still.
What have I done, and more than that, what will happen now?