Spirit of Love

by Duncan, Alice

Chapter Fifteen

  Ash could hardly believe his ears and eyes. There stood Georgina Witherspoon, naked as a jay—a gloriously perfect jay—pointing her little gun at him and threatening to shoot him if he didn’t make love to her. For a moment, he hesitated. Then he shook himself hard. He had dragged her here in a fit of temper like some Neanderthal. While he felt like a bastard for doing what he’d done, it certainly didn’t look like Georgina was objecting to being in his bedroom. Dammit, she was threatening to shoot him if he didn’t stay with her in his bedroom.

  “Well, hell, I reckon I can’t very well resist if you’re going to threaten me with a gun.”

  “No. You’d better not.” She thinned her gaze and looked about as belligerent as she could look, which wasn’t very. “I mean it, Ash. You come here right now and finish what you started.”

  He grinned at her. “All right, Georgina. Don’t get mad, now.”

  “I fear I’m already mad.”

  He got the feeling, she didn’t mean angry in this case. “Put the gun away, sweetheart. This will go smoother if you don’t shoot me.’’

  She squinted at him “I’m not sure I trust you.” He gazed at her perfect body, her breasts as luscious as melons, their dusky nipples hard, her smooth white skin, her barely rounded belly, her flaring hips, the blond curls between her thighs that were only a little darker than the hair on her head, her perfectly delectable thighs and calves, and his erection gave an enormous throb.

  “You can trust me.” Lord, Lord, he could hardly believe this. She was all of his most lurid fantasies come to life. And she was threatening him with a gun if he didn’t have sex with her.

  “Do you mean it?”

  “I mean it.”

  She eyed him slantwise, as if she still didn’t trust him. Hell, all she had to do was look below his waist, and she’d believe him.

  “Honest. If you don’t believe me, look at this.” He gestured at his turgid sex and had the satisfaction of seeing her eyes go wide and her cheeks blossom red.

  “Yes, I already noticed that.”

  “Then you must know I’m telling the truth.”

  “Very well.” She laid the derringer on the table beside the bed.

  Ash licked his lips. He didn’t like leaving the gun on the table, so close to her. He was almost positive that she was a virgin, and if she got mad when he hurt her she might just reach for the blasted thing and blow him to kingdom come. “Get on the bed, Georgina. I’ll join you there.”

  After the briefest of hesitations, during which he held his breath and feared she was going to change her mind, she did as he’d asked, and wriggled back so that she could rest against a pillow without taking her gaze from him. She looked perfect on his bed. She looked as if she belonged there.

  This wasn’t the same bed he’d had during his marriage. When Phoebe died, he gave that one away, and ordered this one from San Antonio. He couldn’t bear the memories the old one had called up.

  But this one was just right. Georgina looked like, a pagan princess lying back against his pillows. He walked slowly to the bed. Fortunately, she closed her eyes when he knelt on the bed and kissed her so she didn’t notice when he snaked a hand out, quietly opened the night table’s drawer, and shoved the derringer into it.

  He felt much better when the gun was out of sight, but he decided he’d better go slowly and carefully from here on. If he scared her and she changed her mind, he might not survive the disappointment.

  “I don’t know what to do.” Her voice was small and tentative.

  “That’s all right, honey. I do.”

  She swallowed. “Yes. You said you’ve been married.”

  He nodded and decided she didn’t need to know that his experience came primarily from sources other than his marriage bed, which had been almost celibate thanks to Phoebe’s selfishness and odd notions. “Just relax now. I’ll take care of you.”

  She said, “You’d better,” in a tone that led him to believe she meant it.

  “I will,” he promised.

  He did his best. He tried with all the restraint he possessed to go slowly and carefully, and to make the experience as good for Georgina as he could. It was certainly good for him.

  Except during his marriage, Ash’s sexual experiences had, until now, been carried out with women who knew what was what. Georgina didn’t. Not only was she as innocent as a newborn babe, but she was delicate. No matter that she disagreed on that score, Ash knew better.

  Her skin, for instance, was like satin, it was so soft, smooth, and silky.

  Lord, she was gorgeous. Ash wasn’t sure how long he could keep this up without bursting, but he aimed to give it a good try. He wanted to explore every inch of that magnificent body even if it killed him.

  Georgina arced like a bow when his wandering tongue grazed over her breast. She had lovely breasts. Just big enough, and as firm as ripe peaches. And her nipples—well, her nipples were telling an interesting story, to Ash’s way of thinking. They were pebbled up hard as anything. When he licked one, she moaned, deep and hungry. Then he took it gently in his teeth, and she groaned.

  Ash almost burst at Georgina’s reaction. He had long imagined what it would be like to make love to his sweet Georgina. And now he knew. She was the most responsive woman he’d ever lain with. He’d never be able to get to sleep again, because now he’d be thinking about this every night.

  Georgina wasn’t sure how long she could survive this amazing experience. Until today, she’d always assumed the marital act was carried out in darkened rooms, under the covers, quickly and briefly, sort of like executions.

  But Ash’s bedroom wasn’t dark at all. Indeed, sunlight poured into the room through the windows and, if she opened her eyes, which seemed to want to stay closed, she could actually see what he was doing to her in the mirror of his dressing table. She supposed she should be feeling more scandalized with herself, but everything just felt too delicious to worry about that now. All that mattered now was that she was here with Ash and he was making her body feel things she had never imagined possible.

  That was her in the mirror making love to a perfectly spectacular male—and in her mind there was absolutely nothing scandalous or wrong with that.

  This was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her. She’d come two thousand miles to seek adventure and, by gum, she was finding it. In fact, she was finding more here than she ever had back in New York City. She knew beyond a doubt that intimate intercourse with Henry or Payton would never have been this exciting.

  This was special. It was wonderful. And it was about to kill her.

  Her hips moved against Ash’s muscular leg. If he didn’t start concentrating on the pressure between her thighs, Georgina might just have to take things into her own hands.

  She had about given up when Ash finally addressed the throbbing need between her legs. His hand brushed the triangle of curls that protected her womanhood, and Georgina almost screamed, her desire was so great.

  He lifted his mouth from her breast. “Are you all right?” His voice sounded ragged.

  She couldn’t use hers at all. She only nodded in response.

  He said “Good,” and went back to feasting on her breast and probing the softness at the junction of her thighs. Thank goodness. While Georgina appreciated his concern, she also had feared for a second that he was still harboring reservations and might abruptly decide to end this ecstasy.

  He dipped a finger into her wetness, and her thoughts shattered like glass. Good heavens, was he supposed to be doing that? His finger moved, touching the nub of all her passions, and she decided not to try to second-guess him. He obviously knew exactly what he was doing.

  She, on the other hand didn’t. The way his fingers were making magic on her caused her to lift her hips. Was she supposed to be doing that? Was it shocking of her? A very few more strokes of Ash’s fingers made Georgina’s questions scatter like so much chaff in the wind. She’d never felt anything so wonderful in her l
ife.

  “That’s the way,” he murmured into her ear. “That’s the way, sweetheart.”

  Good. She was glad he’d clarified things for her. The pressure was building and building until she wasn’t sure she could stand it another second longer.

  “Come on, sweetheart. Show me that you like it. That’s the way.”

  His low, soothing voice distracted her for a second—and then her body exploded. With a small shriek, she convulsed under his touch.

  “Beautiful. Oh, God, you’re beautiful.”

  It took her a while to process the words he whispered as he watched her. She didn’t have time to savor them, because as soon as he uttered them, he kissed her again, threw his leg over hers, and guided himself to her wet passage. With a quick thrust, he entered her, and Georgina’s ecstasy came to a sudden, jarring halt. She uttered a small yelp of pain. Her cry of hurt wasn’t as loud as her cry of pleasure had been, but it stopped Ash cold, and a look of concern replaced the desire that had been in his eyes.

  “I know it hurts now, but I promise it will never hurt again, sweetheart.” He gazed down at Georgina with such tenderness that she almost melted.

  Georgina realized that she was getting used to the feel of him inside her. The pain had faded and been replaced by a sensation of fullness—strange, but not altogether unpleasant. He moved a little and she stiffened, then relaxed again.

  He ground out, “All right?” He sounded really quite concerned and also a bit desperate.

  Georgina gasped out her pleasure, unable once again to form a coherent thought, let alone a full sentence.

  He didn’t say another word, but thrust deep inside her with a groan. Georgina lifted her hips instinctively moving her body in time, with his. Ash kissed her hard and continued to bring Georgina to the crest of desire. She’d never felt so many emotions at once and she felt both thrilled and overwhelmed at one time.

  Abandoning herself to the delight of being in so intimate a situation with him, she kissed Ash back. Perhaps her grandmother wasn’t such a wanton, outrageous woman after all. For the first time since she had arrived, Georgina realized how much she respected her grandmother for following her heart and not paying attention to some nonsensical social structures.

  The thought occurred to her that she loved Ash Barrett, but she was too wrapped up in the moment to think about the ramifications and consequences of that. She simply wanted to enjoy the experience and revel in the attention Ash was showing her body. For all she knew, she’d never have another adventure this wonderful in her whole life.

  Ash’s concentration seemed to be intense as he thrust into her over and over again. The pain was but a memory now, and Georgina felt the pressure of pleasure building again with each stroke until she was sure she’d die. And then her world exploded again in a convulsion of release. With a loud cry. Ash’s release came too.

  He collapsed onto her body like a spent rag and panted like a racehorse for several seconds before he slid to her side wrapped his arms around her, and hugged her to his body as if he feared she was going to try to escape.

  “You’re wonderful,” he gasped into her ear.

  “Thank you.” Since she had no experience in these matter, Georgina wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say, if anything, but she decided it would only be fair to return the compliment, especially since she meant it. “So are you.”

  He hugged her again, pressing her so close to his chest that he drove the breath out of her. Georgina couldn’t have cared less—she was so happy to be in his arms that he could have squeezed her to kingdom come and she wouldn’t have given it a second thought. They lay wrapped in each other’s arms for long enough that she dozed off. She woke with a start, and had no idea how long she’d been asleep, but it was long enough for Ash to have unwrapped her and rolled onto his back.

  She was disappointed, wanting more than anything to have his arms around her still. She was even more disappointed when she glanced at him and saw him frowning at the ceiling. To her way of thinking, this occasion did not call for frowning.

  “What’s the matter, Ash?” She kept her voice gentle and sweet, unsure what the problem was exactly.

  He glanced at her, and his frown softened slightly. She felt vaguely encouraged, although she knew better than to expect much of anything of an optimistic nature from Ash Barrett. He always seemed to find the cloud behind the silver lining—especially when he was dealing with her.

  “Nothing’s the matter.” He turned on his side and began running a hand over her naked body.

  Georgina was surprised to discover this bold action on his part didn’t embarrass her at all. In fact, her body responded instantly to his touch. Sort of like a sulfur match. Or a firecracker. By Jupiter, she’d had no idea love-making could be so spectacular.

  His petting her did not however, answer her question. Something was the matter, and she aimed to get to the bottom of it. “Ash, you don’t look happy.”

  She was happy. Under the circumstances she considered it a bad sign that he wasn’t. After all, it was she who was no longer the virgin here, not he.

  “I’m fine.” He sighed, deeply and soulfully, although he continued to make magic on her body.

  It was interesting, Georgina thought, to discover how very delicious a man’s work-roughened hand could feel on her naked flesh. She had a notion not any man’s hand would do, however. She yanked her attention from the small fires Ash was reigniting with his hand roaming her naked body and back to his downcast mood with some difficulty. “You’re not looking fine.”

  Bother! He removed his hand from her stomach, turned onto his back again, and flung the back of his wrist over his eyes. Georgina didn’t know why he couldn’t stroke her and think at the same time. Surely he was a man of some intellect, even if it was disordered some of the time. He couldn’t need all of his bodily functions to concentrate on one simple question, could he? She decided he was merely being selfish.

  “I was just wondering how soon I could talk the preacher into marrying us.”

  For the second time that day, Georgina reacted to something Ash did suddenly and spontaneously—only this time, it didn’t feel good. A shock jolted her from her head to her toes. She sat up and stared at him. Clearly, she must have misunderstood.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  He opened his eyes and peered at her through his fingers. “We’ll have to get married now.” He didn’t sound glad about it. Not one little bit.

  A chill crept through Georgina’s body which, only seconds before, had been warm as toast and tingly with newly discovered delights. Her grandmother and Devlin crept into her brain as ice invaded her veins.

  If this is how that damned Irishman had proposed to Maybelle, Georgina no longer wondered at her grandmother’s refusal to marry him.

  “My, what an interesting proposal of marriage.” The chill Georgina felt was nothing compared to the frost in her voice.

  Ash’s hand fell away from his eyes, and he turned his head. “What?” he said as if her tone offended him. “What did I say? Hell, I asked you to marry me, didn’t I?”

  “Did you?” She flung her feet over the side of the bed.

  He flung his feet over the other side. He still watched her “Yes, I did. You heard me, didn’t you?”

  She had already stood and was stamping around the room, looking for items of clothing that had been flung thither and yon when his question made her stop short. She spun around, more furious than she could ever remember being. While he had made her incredibly angry before with his biting comments and insults, nothing could compare to this slight. “No, actually, I did not hear anything resembling a proposal, Mr. Ashley Barrett. What I heard sounded like the whining of a man who knows he’s gone too far and now fears he’ll have to pay for it.” She saw her skirt and pounced on it, shaking it as she’d like to be shaking him.

  “Confound it, that’s not true!”

  “It is, too.” Georgina was feeling crabbier with every second that pas
sed. Since she couldn’t very well put on her skirt before she put on the rest of her underthings, she draped it over a chair and resumed looking. If she ever did this again, she aimed to be careful with her clothes, since it was distracting to have to search for them while trying to conduct an argument.

  “Listen, Georgina, we have to get married now. You know that as well as I do.” He got up and began stomping around collecting fallen pieces of clothing as well. He found her chemise and handed it to her.

  She snatched it out of his hands “Thank you.” She slipped it over her head and wriggled it down and around her body. “We absolutely do not have to get married now.”

  When she was through dealing with her chemise, she noticed Ash’s eyes were fixed on her bosom and had gone hot again. So had the tool between his legs. She glared pointedly at him and then down to his erect member, her meaning clear.

  He turned around, apparently embarrassed.

  “Yes, we do. For God’s sake, we went to bed together. You’re just being stubborn.”

  “I am not just being stubborn.”

  He threw her shirtwaist at her. She caught it in midair jammed her arms into its sleeves. “You are too! Dammit, you drive me crazy!”

  He’d driven her crazy, too, but she thought she’d better not mention it. Her body, however, remembered, and flushed. Oh, my, he had made her feel wonderfully, splendidly crazy.

  That, however, was nothing to the purpose, and she didn’t aim to allow herself to become distracted. This discussion was too important to her future happiness and well-being. “I’m sorry about your lack of sanity, Ash, but unless you can ask me to marry you in a tone that leads me to believe you actually want to do so, you’re destined to remain a bachelor.”

  She thought that was a good line, and smiled as she recovered one of her stockings. Where the blasted garter had got itself off to was another matter. She surveyed the room, scowling, and pounced on the other stocking.

  “I can’t believe this.”

  “You’d better believe, it, because it’s true.”

  When she eyed a garter, picked it up, and sat on the straight-backed chair in front of the dressing table, Ash had resumed storming around the room, picking up his own clothes. He glared at her as he shoved a long, hairy leg into his trousers. He really had splendid legs. Long and strong and bulging with, muscles, they’d felt quite exciting rubbing against her own legs. Georgina sighed, remembering, caught herself doing it, and with some difficulty returned her attention to her garter.