A light breeze flitted by. “If you listen hard,” Gwen instructed, “the wind sounds musical.”
“We never did have our dance that night, did we?”
She shook her head.
“Dance with me now, Duchess.”
Gwen turned to face her husband before proclaiming with pride, “It would be my pleasure.”
They danced in perfect harmony to the soft murmur of the wind winding its way through the trees and brush. Sebastian realized he had gotten his wish at last.
It seemed like ages since he had first yearned for Gwen to glide across the dance floor with him. They’d come full circle and the devotion displayed in his wife’s loving gaze made his heart soar. No matter how many years passed, he would never forget the expression of open adoration on her face or the feelings of joy that hammered within his chest.
Gwen shivered under his tender touch.
“Are you cold?” he asked, caressing the bare flesh around her neck.
Her soft skin quivered in response.
“Here,” he shrugged off his jacket then placed it over her shoulders. “That ought to warm you, or would you like to go inside?”
“I would, but not for the reasons you think.” Gwen flicked at an imaginary speck on Sebastian’s jacket.
“Oh.” He understood her meaning and it left him speechless.
“But we can stay out here … or go inside,” Gwen blurted then paused before speaking again. “Good God, I sound like a complete dolt.” She took a deep, audible breath before admitting, “I’m just going to admit to it. I don’t quite know what’s expected on one’s wedding night.”
Sebastian smiled. Only his wife would have the courage to tackle her fear without pretense.
“I feel foolish confessing to such naiveté,” her brow furrowed.
He nuzzled the tip of his nose to hers. “Don’t ever feel foolish with me. I want you to ask me anything, without any restraint.”
Gwen remained silent. Sebastian tipped her chin up. “I mean it, Gwendolyn, you have nothing to be ashamed of.”
She nodded.
“As for what’s expected tonight,” Sebastian kissed the tip of her patrician nose. “We are going to give ourselves completely to each other. It’s nothing for you to fear or be self-conscious about.”
“I love you, Sebastian.” Gwen’s expression was as soft as her tone. “I could never be afraid of you.”
He pressed his lips against hers, his mouth imploring hers for entrance as he crushed his wife against his full length. Gwen returned his kiss with reckless abandon, giving him full access as her fingers grasped his thick tresses.
Sebastian found the play of her tongue against his own tantalizing, shocked by the sensations wracking his body. Desire ebbed and flowed with each thrust of her tongue until he thought he would go mad.
His loins throbbed for her. “Are you ready to go upstairs?” His raspy voice sliced through the still, quiet air.
She nodded.
With one final kiss, the Duke of Davenport led his wife up the main staircase to their adjoining suites. Sebastian opened the door to his wife’s bedchamber. “Ring for Jane to help you undress. I’ll wait for you in my rooms.”
“Must I?” Gwen tilted her head to the side, shifting her weight so she now leaned against the door jamb. “Must I call for Jane, I meant to ask.”
It was as if she could read his mind. Sebastian steadied himself by placing his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to him. “Only if you want to.”
Gwen placed her hand against his chest. Was she aware of his erratic heartbeat?
“I don’t,” she whispered.
“Are you certain?” Even to his own ears, his voice sounded husky from his desire.
“I’ve never been more certain of anything.”
Sebastian took her hand and led her into her luxurious bedchamber, shutting the door behind them. Fit for a duchess, he had the suite decorated in an ice blue and silver motif. In preparation for this night, wall sconces had been lit, adding a silver hue to the room.
Gwen stopped short in mid-step. “Sebastian, my room is beautiful.”
“I know.” Sebastian pulled her closer to him. “I see it in your eyes.”
Sebastian traced his wife’s delicate lips with his tongue. She opened her mouth to him, her tongue seeking his as his jacket slid off her shoulders and fell to the floor. Their gentle kiss turned seductive as Gwen’s hands trailed up his shirtfront, to his throat then to the crook of his neck. She then pulled him closer toward her, further molding her body against his.
His craving escalated as his dexterous fingers trailed to her back where he unbuttoned her magnificent wedding dress.
Gwen followed suit. With trembling fingers, she removed his sapphire shirt studs then parted his shirt, flattening her palms against his chest. She then traced the contours of his muscles with her fingertips.
He groaned then tore his mouth from hers, gazing into the depths of her brown eyes. They emanated an intensity – a hunger – that he had never before seen in them.
Sebastian pressed his forehead against hers and expelled a deep breath. “You are so beautiful.”
“So are you,” she admitted.
Sebastian smiled at her candor. “How can a man be beautiful?”
“How do stars shoot across a midnight sky?” she quizzed. “I don’t question it; I just know that in my eyes you are beautiful.”
“No one sees me as you do.”
“That is because no one knows you as I do.” Her silken tone was almost as smooth as her fingertips, which trailed underneath the fabric of his open shirtfront to his bare shoulders.
He traced the “v” of her upper lip with his tongue before following the path to her lower lip. He nipped it sensually. Gwen moaned with pleasure, clutching his bare shoulders, leaning closer against his length.
His skin tingled under her touch. Sebastian felt as if no woman had ever before touched him. His wife, this inexperienced virgin, made him feel sensations that no other woman had. He was in awe of her.
Sebastian withdrew his mouth from hers, his hands caressing the bare flesh of her back before working their way upward. He traced the outline of the fabric that still hid her shoulders then inched the garment off, exposing her smooth skin.
Gwen’s breathing quickened and he sensed her fear.
“There’s no need to hurry.” His hands stilled. “We can slow down if you’d like.” His voice sounded taut even to his own ears.
Her gaze locked with his and he swore he could see into her soul. She slid off one shoulder of the garment, then the other. Her gown slipped to the floor, a puddle of gauzy white chiffon. She then removed her undergarments.
A guttural moan escaped his throat as blood, hot and molten, coursed through his veins. Gwen stood an arm’s length away with her head held high, unashamed. Her silent message was clear. She had already given her heart to him.
On this night, she bequeathed her body to him.
He reached for his courageous, beautiful wife, the catch in her throat conveying to him that each touch sent shivers of excitement through her naked, inexperienced body.
Sebastian lifted her into his arms and effortlessly carried her to the bed. He turned down the satin periwinkle coverlet before placing her on the cool, satin sheets.
He then undressed for her.
As Sebastian removed his trousers, Gwen averted her gaze.
“Don’t look away,” he instructed in a hoarse voice. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
Gwen’s eyes roved his bronzed skin, as if his body was a work of art. She touched his abdominal muscles, causing each of them to become taut.
His wife’s naked form was more beautiful than he imagined. Oh, God, how he yearned for her, longing to lay claim to her in every way.
Sebastian lay beside her atop the cool sheets, his fingers tracing the outline of her silken curves. Her nipples immediately responded, two tight buds blooming from his nearness.
Gwen nodded. She wanted to touch him so badly that her hands trembled.
A lock of raven hair fell haphazardly over his forehead and Gwen brushed it aside before her hands trailed down to his chest. Her eyes explored him as much as her hands.
She reveled in the beauty of his body.
Her fingers twirled Sebastian’s dark, wispy chest hair then outlined his nipples. She heard the breath catch in his throat from her mere touch and it thrilled her.
Sebastian’s every caress made her feel superb, and she wanted him to feel the same. She continued her exploration downward, his every muscle trembling under her touch.
In response, Sebastian caressed her cheek before guiding her chin upwards. He then kissed her with an urgent sense of need, crushing her warm flesh against his.
Gwen moaned, instinctively wrapping her bare leg around his. That one natural shift heightened the urgency of his kiss.
His tongue traced a hot path from her mouth, down her neck to her breasts and she gasped when he encircled one of nipples with his tongue as heat pulsated throughout her body.
Sebastian then covered the bud with his mouth, suckling her swollen breast. She responded by arching her back, clutching a handful of his thick, wavy locks.
When Sebastian released her breast, Gwen moaned her disappointment only to discover that his tongue had trailed to her other breast, treating her to another wave of ecstasy.
His hand explored her abdomen and down over the triangle of hair at the heart of her womanhood. In reflex, her entire body tensed.
He released her breast from his mouth. “Relax,” he murmured as he massaged her upper thighs.
Gwen acquiesced, relaxing her legs as she sought his mouth with hers, her hands cradling his face, pulling him closer to her. She probed for entrance with her tongue. He was quick to oblige as he continued to massage her thighs.
With every melding of their tongues, Sebastian’s hand moved closer to her dark triangle until he touched the sensitive flesh, probing the entrance to her core.
Gwen gasped and arched against him.
Her wet warmth sent his yearning to its highest level. She was ready for him, Sebastian noted with a thrill as he eased himself onto his wife, bracing most of his weight on his elbows. He ran his fingers through her silken tresses.
“This may hurt, but just for a moment.” His voice was raspy with a hunger for her.
Gwen spread her legs for him, the fact that her trust in him was so complete making his heart sing as he entered her slowly, gently, her fingers tightening around his shoulders. He eased deeper, reaching her maidenhood.
Gwen cried out.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his words thick with emotion as he penetrated fully. He then froze, waiting for her pain to ease, for her muscles to relax.
“Make me yours,” she whispered in his ear.
Her statement was one of the most beautiful he had ever heard, falling just short of his wife’s I love you.
Sebastian quickened his pace sensing the fiery passion building within his wife as her entrance tightened around his throbbing shaft, sending waves of heat coursing throughout his body.
He loved this woman more than life and he wanted her to know it, to feel it. He further stoked the passionate inferno that now raged within her. Closer and closer she came to a sweet climax as flames of desire swept over her.
Gwen sensed it coming but didn’t know what to expect until she abandoned herself to the tidal waves pulsating throughout her body. It was then that she found her heaven. It was a throbbing passion radiating from her joining with Sebastian that released tremors throughout her body. At the same time, her husband found his release, spilling his liquid seed into her.
She could feel their hearts and souls become one as their bodies awakened to each other. It was an ecstasy unlike any she thought possible.
Sebastian eased onto his side, cradling her in his warm embrace. Gwen responded in turn by nestling against the crook of his neck. “Do you believe in fate?”
“I never did, but then I bumped into you.” He idly caressed her cheek. “That one encounter has changed my mind.”
A lazy smile touched the corners of her lips and she closed her eyes, savoring the heat emanating from his naked form and the intimacy they now shared.
Sebastian kissed her hair. “I love you, Gwendolyn Montgomery, Duchess of Davenport.”
“Oh, I like the sound of that.”
“I love you, Gwendolyn Montgomery, Duchess of Davenport,” Sebastian repeated himself into her mass of auburn curls.
His wife giggled, “It sounded even better the second time.”
She traced the veins in his neck as she added, “Sebastian, I think a guardian angel placed me in your path that night at the Stocktons’ ball.”
“And I think”, he mused, “that you were destined to find your way into my arms and into my heart.”
“And into your bed?” Gwen teased.
With a throaty chuckle, Sebastian replied, “especially my bed.” He wrapped his long, muscular legs around hers while his warm arms protectively encircled her torso and bosom. His voice became rough with emotion. “Destiny knew you should be my Duchess.”
Encouraged by the depth of emotion emanating from his words and by his fiery flesh sheathing hers, Gwen initiated their next bout of lovemaking. Sebastian proceeded slower this time. As her feminine wall tightened around his hard shaft, he teased her, heightening her ecstasy while he quivered in her welcoming wet warmth.
She arched her back in an effort to bring him deeper inside of her and the room began to spin. Both surrendered to passionate abandon as he filled her once again with his precious seed.
Spasms continued to wrack Sebastian’s body for some time as he lay beside her, his hands buried in his wife’s damp hair as he kissed her neck and earlobes.
Long after Gwen had fallen asleep, Sebastian remained awake, his hands in her hair, his legs entwined with hers.
He had found his home. It lay deep within his wife.
This, he supposed, was how divine intervention worked.
Two days after her wedding ceremony, Gwen decided she should visit her father and present him with a peace offering. Victoria joined her on an expedition to the gardens in search of the perfect bouquet.
Ominous gray clouds had rolled overhead some time after breakfast however the lack of sunshine didn’t dampen their spirits.
“I still can’t believe we are truly sisters now.” Victoria carried her basket of gardening tools in her left hand and linked her right arm with Gwen’s free one. “It’s almost too good to be true!”
“It’s perfect!” Gwen squeezed her sister-in-law’s arm. “I’ve always wanted a sister.”
“Me too,” Tori added, but her bright smile soon lost some of its warmth. “Are you apprehensive about visiting your father today?”
Gwen contemplated the matter with a sigh. “I’m not looking forward to it.”
“Will Sebastian be accompanying you?”
“No,” Gwen answered with certainty. “I’m not sure when, if ever, they’ll be able to tolerate one another.”
Victoria studied Gwen, “Then how does Sebastian feel about you going to Ainsley today?”
“He doesn’t know yet. I didn’t want to ruin our breakfast by bringing it up.”
In response to Gwen’s admission, Victoria’s lips parted with surprise.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Gwen was quick to defend herself. “As I said, I didn’t want to ruin his morning.”
“So it’s better to ruin his afternoon?” Victoria arched her brow.
Gwen froze in mid-step. “Point well taken.” She then caught sight of a vivid yellow rose bush. “What do you think of yellow roses?”
Tori shook her head in opposition then surveyed the vibrant bushes. “I think white roses are a better peace offering.”
; “Brilliant! White it is, then.” Gwen crouched before the blooming white roses as Tori walked over to a patch of multi-colored tulips.
“What do you think of a bouquet for …” Tori’s voice trailed as something drew her attention away from the patch of bright blooms. “Gwen, isn’t that your father?”
Gwen whipped her head in the direction of Victoria’s gaze, her heart sinking at the sight of his determined features. “Yes, it is.”
“He doesn’t appear happy, does he?” Tori turned to Gwen, her features clouded with uneasiness.
A feeling of foreboding crept up Gwen’s spine as she studied her father’s stern expression. “No, he most certainly does not.”
Her eyes surveyed him. His cheeks were pink, his eyes were bright and his walk was brusque. The picture of robust health, he carried a book of some sort in his right hand.
Gwen stood, shaking her skirts before walking towards her father, her tone airy. “Goodmorning, Papa. I was just clipping some flowers for you.”
Her father hadn’t yet acknowledged her, Gwen noticed. Instead, the man continued to walk toward her, his expression resembling that of a messenger of doom.
“How are you feeling this morning, Papa?
He gave her a toothy, insincere smile. “I am wonderful, as I’m presenting your wedding gift to you before I depart for Scotland.”
“You’re leaving Ainsley?” Gwen’s brow furrowed, before asking, “When?”
“This afternoon. Norris is staying behind per my instructions as I have ordered the estate to be closed indefinitely.” His words lingered before he added, “I have no desire to ever return.”
“But why?” she asked, a frown deepening in her forehead as her pace quickened. Even before the words were out of her mouth, she predicted that his answer would be unpleasant.
Her father halted in mid-step. “Why would I ever want to return here?”
Warning bells rang in Gwen’s ears as she attempted to process the information her father was providing her. “Papa, you needn’t leave because of my marriage to Sebastian.”
Lachlan’s intense stare shot from his daughter to Victoria, raking the young woman from head to foot with his disapproval. “Leave us.”
Dance with Deception: Scandalous Secrets, Book 1 - Exclusive Edition (Scandalous Secrets - Exclusive Edition) Page 18