by Vella, Wendy
“Meaning what?”
“Meaning that I know you are an honorable man, and should someone challenge my reputation I would not want you to have to step in.”
Before he spoke, she hurried on.
“Besides, I am to go back to Pickford. If my reputation were ruined, it would be of no consequence.”
His brows drew together. “It would be of consequence to me.”
She didn’t know how to answer that, so she ignored it. “Will we contact the authorities in the morning to help us retrieve the book?”
“The magistrate won’t be back until tomorrow evening. Apparently he is visiting his first grandchild.”
“What is to be done then?”
“I found where Sanders is staying, and he has the book with him. His henchmen are sleeping in the stables. I will sleep for a few hours, then try and relieve him of the book. If that doesn’t work, there is little to be done, I’m afraid. I’m not risking either of us for a book about plants, no matter how important it is.” The yawn that accompanied those words was wide enough to make his jaw crack.
“Do your eye and jaw hurt?”
“Only when I laugh.” His smile was small. “How about your cheek?” The finger he ran down it was gentle.
“No. I can no longer feel it.”
“I’m still going to make him pay for that.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“I’ll take the floor” was all he said, getting to his feet.
“No. There is enough room on this bed. You will be more comfortable there with all your aches and pain.”
“That’s not a good idea.”
“Surely as we are both tired and no one will know, it is all right. Come.” She patted the bed beside her. “It will be all right.”
“It would be if I didn’t want you as much as I do.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Oh.”
To Ben’s exhausted eyes, Primrose looked like an angel.
“But that is silly. You are tired, as am I. You need to sleep.”
An annoying angel who never knew when to stop talking.
Her dark blonde hair was damp, and she’d left it unbraided. It hung in tangles to her waist. He wanted to touch it. Rub it between his fingers. Fist his hands in it while he kissed her.
“I will take the floor,” Ben said, looking at the curve of her shoulder. The blanket had slipped, as had whatever she wore underneath. The curve was alluring, as was the soft, pale skin beneath. He clamped his lips together at the thought of pressing them to it. “Good night.”
He felt her eyes follow him as he walked away from the bed.
“No!”
He stopped in the act of lowering himself to the floor.
“I want you to sleep here beside me. We are adults, and… and…, well I’m sure we can refrain. Both of us.”
He straightened, his muscles twinging from the movement. He hadn’t looked forward to a night spent on the hard wood, but he would have done it if she’d wanted him to.
“Come, there is enough room, and we have much to do tomorrow, so you will need your strength.”
“We,” he said, retracing his steps, “do not have much to do. I have much to do.” In this he was adamant. She would not be put in danger again.
“I am not letting you do it alone. If we are to get that book before it sets sail, then I am helping.”
He braced a knee on the bed and leaned over her.
“No, you are not.”
Primrose may have chattered a great deal, and usually had an opinion on most things, but she was nobody’s fool. He was an angry, tired male, and obviously she’d had exposure to them in her lifetime, as she shut her mouth. To his surprise, she then turned on her side, presenting him with her back, and appeared to be ready for sleep.
He didn’t move for a few seconds, letting his eyes run over her hair and down her back. The blanket was wrapped around her body, but he could still see her feet. Pale, the arches were delicate, as were her toes. Lust bolted through Ben just looking at them.
“Blow out the candle, please,” she said in a prim little voice.
He did as she asked and began to walk away from the bed, sure that he couldn’t resist her unless he slept on the floor. Something stopped him. Stupidity, exhaustion, need—he didn’t know what. But seconds later he was lying beside her on the bed.
“You have beautiful hair.” He touched a long, damp curl, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger.
She didn’t reply.
“I don’t think I can do this.” He went for honesty.
She rolled onto her back, then over again until she was facing him. He rolled onto his side facing her. They were now inches apart.
This close, he could see her eyes in the dimness. There was no fear there. She lifted a hand and began to trace the contours of his face. Her touch was gentle, the lightest brush of a fingertip, and his entire body tensed.
“Primrose,” he warned her.
“Benjamin.” She sighed, closing the inches that separated them.
“I am tired and have little resistance. This is not wise.” His voice sounded gruff.
“I know, but I cannot seem to help myself. Once, I did not believe in passion, but with you, and after those kisses we shared, I have changed that opinion.”
Her honesty aroused him.
“Kiss me again, Benjamin. Please.”
Her breath brushed his lips like a caress.
His hand went to her hair, fingers delving through the thick, damp locks.
“I’m not sure I can stop.” His voice was hoarse with his need for this woman.
“Then don’t.”
“You don’t know what you are saying, Primrose. This will change everything.”
“Only we will know what happens in this room.” She cut off his next words with her mouth, and Ben was lost.
Rising up on his elbow, he kissed her softly, tracing the contours of her lips with his, brushing the inside with his tongue. Tasting her.
“I want to feel it again. Those wonderful sensations you created inside me in the barn, Benjamin.”
He gave up the fight then. Opening the blanket, he skimmed his hand up her body, feeling the curve of her hips and slender strength in her limbs.
“I-I want to touch you also.” Her voice was hesitant.
“You may do as you wish,” he gritted out. His mouth went dry at the thought of her hands on his body.
She slid her hands under his shirt and skimmed her fingers up his body. The breath hissed from Ben’s throat at her touch.
“You are beautiful.”
“No, that description is reserved for you alone, Primrose.”
“I disagree.” Her fingers grazed over his nipples, making him twitch. She did it again.
Ben eased her shift up her body, his hand roaming silken flesh.
“Sit forward.”
She did, and he removed it.
“Exquisite.” He leaned closer and took her mouth again in a fierce kiss. “You’re not afraid?”
“No. Not here with you.”
“Primrose—”
“I don’t want to speak of anything out there. Only now, and this.” She arched up into him, wrapping her hands around his neck. “I know there can be nothing more.”
“You deserve more.”
“But you do not have it to give.”
Before he could speak again, she kissed him softly. Ben took over, and their next kiss was bordering on savage. A desperate need drove him to take her, but she was an innocent, for all that she showed no fear. He would not frighten her.
He stroked the smooth skin over her ribs, then cupped the soft flesh of a breast. The weight settling perfectly in his palm. Her gasp as he ran the pad of his thumb over a taut nipple made him smile.
Of course she’d be responsive. His Miss Ainsley would not hide how she felt.
“Oh, Benjamin.” She made a humming sound that went straight to his groin as he moved lower, kissing ever
y inch of skin he could reach until he arrived at her chest.
“I could worship your breasts for hours.” Ben licked one thoroughly. He then took her nipple into his mouth.
“I-I’ve never felt this way.”
“I should hope not.”
He stroked her thighs and moved into the soft hair between her legs. She stiffened, but then her thighs opened, allowing him to touch her again.
“God, you’re beautiful.” He looked up her body. Her eyes were slumberous, skin silken. Her lips were swollen from his kisses. He felt something heavy settle in his chest, but pushed it aside.
“Can I explore you, Ben, as you are me?”
“No.” He couldn’t cope if she did that. He’d promised himself to make this about her, and he would stop before it reached the point of no return.
“Why?” She looked down at him. “I want to explore your body too.”
“I only have so much restraint, Primrose. Let me pleasure you.”
“Oooh.” She fell back as he stroked the curls between her thighs. He found the hard bud and ran his thumb over it, making her shudder.
Ben could feel her tension, feel that she was close to achieving something she’d never achieved before—and it would be at his hands. The thought shouldn’t make him as happy as it did.
“That’s it, sweetheart.” He could hear the rasp in his voice as his body became so hard it was painful. If he touched himself he would explode.
Taking her breast again, he sucked on the nipple as he pushed a finger inside her wet heat.
She screamed, her body shuddering as he pushed in and out of the tight sheath. A second finger joining the first, he pushed her higher and closer to the climax.
“Let go.”
“I can’t.... Oh, bluebell and carnation!”
Her shriek was followed by a shuddering release that was beautiful to watch, but left him twitching with unfulfilled need.
He lay down beside her, pulling her close, holding her as she came back to reality.
“I-I never truly understood what could be between a man and woman.” She turned her head to look at him. Those blue eyes were still smoldering with passion.
“Not just any man and woman,” he felt the need to say.
“But you did not—”
“It matters not,” he gritted out, easing his body away from hers. If she touched him, he’d ignite.
“It does matter.”
She pushed herself upright, following him; she was soon braced above him. Her hands reached for his shirt.
“No!” He scrambled away, falling out of bed in his efforts. “We can’t do that.” Ben leaped to his feet, uncaring of the pain in his body, and lit the candle.
She followed him. Naked. Christ, her body was a work of art.
“P-put your shift on.”
She did as he asked, bending to retrieve it, her movements graceful and making his mouth go dry. The effect was no better. He could see her nipples through the material.
“Why can we not do that?”
She advanced on him.
“Because you will go to your marriage bed with H-Herbert a virgin.” The thought made him sick. He wanted no other man to touch her, even if he could offer her nothing more than what they’d shared. “I will not do that with you. It is not right.”
She kept stalking him.
“Yet it was right for you to touch me there and k-kiss my breasts?”
Even in his tense state, he noticed she was not quite as confident as she seemed. Her stutter gave her away.
“Primrose, I will not take advantage of you. Get back into bed.”
She kept walking until she had him backed into a wall.
“But what if I t-take advantage of you?”
She stepped closer and pressed her body into his, and he moaned. It slipped out, long and deep. Ben wanted to grip her hips and press his groin into hers, but he was no animal. He could stop this.
Mother of God, her hands were on his buttons.
“Please, Primrose.” His voice sounded tight and high.
“Benjamin,” she whispered, sliding her hands inside his shirt. Her finger caught on the edge as the buttons didn’t go the entire way down the front, and she had to untangle it. “I-I’ve never done something like this, but….”
“B-but?” Now he was stuttering.
“But I want to try, even though I am scared I’ll get it wrong.”
“There is no wrong,” he said when what should have said was “back away.” Take charge, Ben.
“Go back to bed, Primrose. Please.” He felt no shame in begging.
Her eyes held his, wide, uncertain, and then she pushed his shirt up his body, leaned in, and kissed him.
Another moan was torn from his body. She continued to place kisses all over his chest. Ben clenched his hands into fists and thought about anything but her; then she licked him, and he gave up the fight.
Sinking his fingers into her hair, he lifted her head and kissed her hard. Her hands took over from her mouth in tormenting him. Ben wanted more.
“Be very sure, Primrose.” He walked her backward until her thighs touched the bed, then picked her up and laid her on her back. “I have no more resistance.” His whisper was ragged.
“I don’t want you to resist.”
“So be it.”
He pushed up the shift, bent at the waist, and gave her the most intimate kiss of all.
“Ben!”
He didn’t stop, just held her thighs open and tasted the woman who had been driving him slowly mad for days.
She moaned and cried, and every sound had him wanting to plunge deep inside her, but he didn’t, instead concentrating on taking her to the edge of pleasure once more. Only when he felt the little tremors and her pants grew louder did he remove his breeches and step between her legs.
“Look at me now.”
Her hands were fisted in the covers, body flushed with excitement.
“Primrose, this will hurt you, but I hope not for long.”
“Y-you hope?”
He was so aroused it was painful.
“I can stop if that is your wish,” he managed to rasp out.
“No! I want you now.”
She reached for him as he eased closer, nudging at the dew-drenched folds. Moving forward slowly, he vowed to take it easy, vowed he would cause her as little pain as possible.
“I can feel you stretching me,” she whispered.
He stopped.
“Don’t stop!”
“Then shut up!” Ben thrust deep inside her. Bracing his hands on either side of her face, he leaned down and kissed her.
“Primrose, open your eyes and look at me.”
She did, and he lost himself in the blue depths of her eyes.
“How is the pain?”
“Easing.” Her hand cupped his cheek. “I have often wondered about this.”
“Now you know.” Ben pulled out, then gently thrust back in. He kept the pace steady, watching her the entire time while he fought with the need to drive into her again and again. Blood pounded through him as the tension climbed to an unbearable point.
Her first moan told him she was there with him, then she arched off the bed as he drove into her and shuddered her release. Ben followed one thrust later.
Dragging in a lungful of much-needed air, he picked her up and lowered her onto the bed the right way. Following, he just had enough strength to pull up the blankets. He pillowed her head on his shoulder and closed his eyes.
“Promise you won’t leave the room without me, Benjamin.”
“I promise that tomorrow we shall both leave for Rossetter together.” He kissed her cheek.
She muttered something he didn’t catch, and then she was asleep. Ben followed seconds later.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Primrose opened her eyes as dawn light filtered through the curtains. Her head was resting on something. Looking to the right, she saw an expanse of skin. She was using Benjamin’s arm as a pi
llow. Moving slowly so as not to wake him, she laid her cheek on his back, as he was lying on his front.
Closing her eyes briefly, she enjoyed the feel of his large, warm body pressed into hers. She let her mind remember every little detail of what they had shared last night. Felt her face heat with embarrassment as she pictured what he had done to her… and what she had let him do. Enjoyed, if she was being honest. Very much enjoyed. In fact, Primrose could say with clarity that she had never before felt the way she did last night, ever.
This man had transported her to places she had not known she was capable of reaching.
Looking around the small room, she tried to memorize everything. The faded blue curtains and simple furniture. The painting of a ship run aground on a sandbank, framed in dark-stained wood. The blue-and-white-striped wallpaper and door that hung on an angle so there was a small gap in the top left-hand corner.
Lifting a hand, she touched the curve of Benjamin’s shoulder blade. He was so much warmer than her. Continuing her exploration, she stopped when she reached the covers at his waist. Lord, he was exquisite.
“If you wish to press a little deeper between my shoulder blades, there is a place there that is sore.”
Primrose moved her hand quickly and rolled off his arm to the other side of the bed. Granted, it was not a huge bed, but she moved as far from him as she could. She didn’t know how to deal with this situation. What did she say? How did she act?
“Good morning.” Ben reached out an arm and hauled her back to where he lay, now on his side facing her. Rising on an elbow, he leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
“Good morning.” Primrose wasn’t sure where to look. “We need to get moving, otherwise Sanders will be on that ship and gone before we have retrieved the book.”
He moved again, his body now half lying on hers. One hand touched her chin, forcing her to look at him.
“Why won’t you look at me?”
“We need to get going.”
“Primrose. What we did last night changes everything, surely you know that.”
“It changes nothing. No one knows what happened.” She saw the brief flash of relief in his eyes and knew she’d used the right words. Ignoring the arrow of pain in her chest, she continued. “Anyway, we cannot speak of that now, Benjamin; there is much to do.”