If she shrugged Faith could have freed herself from the gown, but she waited for him to help her. When he’d unfastened the bows to the level of her hips, he lifted his hands to her shoulders. “Up,” he said.
She stood and let her arms straighten, her breath coming faster. He pushed the fabric apart and it slid down her arms and off over her hands. She didn’t watch it fall, but she heard the slither of silk and the soft thump. She kept her eyes on his face, watched his eyes widen. He looked down.
Faith wore only a fine lawn nightgown, a garment that tantalized and hid very little. She pushed away her doubts—was she too buxom, too short, did he prefer blondes?—as it was evident from his smile and the appreciation that he wasn’t thinking along those lines.
“You are lovely, Faith,” he said, his voice hardly above a sigh.
“Thank you. I’m glad I can give you something.”
“A great deal.” He took her hand and led her to the bed, where the covers were already drawn down. Gently he helped her up the step and into it, watching her all the time. When she made to remove her nightgown, he shook his head. “Let me do it,” he said. “A moment, love.”
He undid his sash and let his banyan fall. Underneath, his only garment was his underwear. His shaft was already erect, tenting the fabric. He gave her a wry grin. “No chance of hiding how I feel about you, is there?”
“You want me?” She shifted on to one elbow, knowing he watched her breasts move when she did so. Glancing at him through her lashes, she smiled. “Are you going to stand there all night?” Seeing his body, so vigorous, scenting his arousal and seeing his reaction to her, had given her courage and now only delicious apprehension remained.
“I’ll probably stand all night.” The small joke chipped at the tension moving like a tangible thing between them. He smiled back and moved to join her on the bed. Immediately she leaned towards him and he caught her lips in a kiss, the first since he’d entered her room.
Without any other distractions, Faith could fully immerse herself in the sensation, touch him and feel him touch her. His mouth moved over hers ravenously, a starving man discovering the perfect sustenance. His hands slid from her waist, up to touch her breasts. When she flinched, he would have moved away had she not moved forward to allow him better access. Her flinch came from extra sensitivity, not reluctance.
His groan filled her mouth. She drank it, opened her mouth wider and moved her arm so as not to impede his caresses. It brought her hand into contact with his bare shoulder.
Warm, smooth, male flesh. When he cupped her breast and circled her nipple with his thumb, she felt his muscles working, stretching gently under his skin. Life stirred inside her, and a sparkling tingle spread through her, sensitizing her, while her nipples peaked under his caresses.
His tongue touched hers and he stroked her breast with more purpose, less hesitation. He felt wonderful, strong and vigorous, his skin smooth beneath her hands. Not old and wrinkled, gathering in pouches under his arms and loose folds around his hips.
Faith shuddered. At once Gerard ended the kiss and pulled back. “What is it? Have I done something wrong?”
“Nothing.” She made to draw him back, but he braced his elbows, making it impossible.
“There was something. We agreed we wouldn’t use our gift, but I hoped for honesty, Faith. What was it?”
She paused. It would break the mood, perhaps spoil their time together. But she had to tell him. “Just for a moment, it crossed my mind. My husband, and his body, what he wanted me to do.”
His hand covering her breast remained perfectly still. “Will it continue to do so? Shall I stop?”
She shook her head, her hair rustling against the pillows. “I want you to make me forget, Gerard. Cover those memories, give me you instead.”
His smile was deliciously avaricious. “Your word is my command, my lady.”
He bent his head. Her nightgown fastened at the front with a single ribbon, the slash opening enough for her to get her head through the hole, but not enough for him to bare her breasts. With a growl of frustration, he tugged at the fabric. Faith sat up to let him pull the fine lawn garment over her head and toss it aside.
He gasped. “Oh, Faith!” He stayed where he was, sitting facing her. She let him look. His gaze swept over her, pearling her nipples even more, his attention as potent as a caress.
Reaching forward, he cupped one breast as if testing its weight. His thumb swept across the stiffly peaked nipple. “You are so lovely,” he murmured as he leaned forward to pay homage with his mouth.
Faith flung her hands back, propping herself against the pillows, and it was her turn to gasp when she felt his tongue, warm and wet, nuzzling her nipple. He half fell over her, forcing her back against the banked pillows, sucking her breast into his mouth. He used one hand to brace himself and the other to touch her right breast, massaging it, rubbing the sensitive tip. Faith could only cry out at the intensity of the sensations coursing from her breasts to the rest of her body. She clenched one hand in the sheets, then restlessly released the fabric and flung it across his back, feeling his strength, reined in for her pleasure. Her other hand curled around him and found the ribbon securing his hair. The velvet furred her fingers and, unable to resist, she pulled the end of the bow and freed his hair from its confinement.
Her fingers threaded through the thick, black length, needing an occupation, enhancing the sensation of being surrounded by strong, virile male.
The lingering image of her late husband melted away. Gerard dissipated the unpleasant memories with sheer, physical presence. Faith gave herself to him completely.
When she heard his soft sigh, she realized she was doing something that he enjoyed; massaging his shoulders through his hair, rubbing the strong sinews of his neck. He lay enjoying her breasts, relaxing into her. She worked the muscles under her hands, felt them relax when he allowed it.
Gerard lifted up and stroked his hand down Faith’s body. He kept one hand on her breast, caressing and pinching her nipple gently, so she felt little shocks deep in her groin. “Sweet,” he murmured. “You taste wonderful, of apples and lemons and Faith.” He kissed her navel, paused to tease it with his tongue before kissing further down.
He flung the sheet away and lifted himself, flicking the hair straggling over his face with a careless toss of his head. He bent over her stomach and his lips continued their inventory. “Your skin is wonderfully soft, love.” Another lingering kiss, just below her navel.
Faith forced herself to relax. She’d promised him everything he wanted and it seemed he wanted this, whatever “this” turned out to be. His head descended, so when she reached down she could still touch it, but his shoulders were out of reach. She lay back against the bank of pillows and let him do whatever he wanted.
What he wanted was to slip his hands under her bottom and draw her to his waiting mouth.
No one had ever done this to Faith before. She hadn’t considered that anyone would or would want to, but at the first touch of his tongue she wondered how she’d lived without his intimate kiss for so long. When his lips closed around the tight little bud furled at the top of her crease, she thought she might die, such exquisite ecstasy suffused her body. When his tongue touched the bead of flesh, she shrieked and jerked away, but he had his hands around her hips and held her firmly for his explorations. His breath swept over her, stirred the curls between her legs, made her feminine juices flow free. He returned to his kisses, touching her everywhere, drinking her.
“Oh Gerard, oh Gerard, oh Gerard,” she sobbed, unable to say anything else, think of anything else but him and what he was doing to her.
Her body wracked by increasingly powerful waves, she gripped handfuls of his hair, holding on for dear life while he discovered her and what drove her wild. His tongue wickedly traced one side of her crease, then the other, then he took the bead between his teeth and sucked.
Faith exploded, extremely vocally. Gerard held her tight, not givin
g her a moment to recover before he pushed her on, driving her to another climax of dizzying intensity. She didn’t think she could bear any more, but if he stopped, she might have to kill him. His tongue drove inside her hungry body, and he sucked, swallowed and came back for more. She shrieked. Perhaps she could bear just a little more.
But not much. A third time he brought her to the heights, until she was gasping for air, her body suffused with brightness and whirling light. She wasn’t sure where she was anymore. She wasn’t sure she cared. She cried out in the throes of another blinding climax, her body alive as never before, pulsing around his hungry mouth.
When she came to herself, Faith opened her eyes to find him leaning on one elbow and watching her. His regard didn’t embarrass her, as she’d foolishly imagined it would, but warmed her. He moved closer to slip an arm around her waist.
She stared at him, a shaky smile curving her lips. “How did you know what to do? What made you do that?”
He traced a gentle line from her brow to her mouth before kissing her, a gentle tribute this time but a thorough one, his mouth evocatively reminding her where he’d just been. “I wanted to learn your body, to discover what you liked and to explore you. When I found out what you liked, I carried on doing it. That’s only the beginning, my sweet. Only the first voyage.”
She moved closer and her hand brushed the front of his drawers. Some of her spark returned, enough for her to say, in her best society manner, “You have me at a disadvantage, sir.”
He pulled her hand away, bringing it to his heart. “You don’t have to do anything for me.”
“I want to. I want to touch you, Gerard, to know you. Is it safe?”
“Yes. As long as my seed doesn’t enter your body, we’re safe, or so the doctor tells me.” He held her hand tightly, pressing it close. His heart thumped steadily, deep in his chest. It reassured her. “Faith, I know I can do this now. This is enough. I can love you, hold you and be content with that.”
“I can’t. You think I don’t want to please you? Touch you and know you as you know me?”
“I want you to.” He drew her close and kissed her, his mouth intimate, reminding her of what he’d just done. He laid her against the pillows and with her watching, he stripped off the final item of clothing that separated them.
Faith reached between them and took him into her hand. He sprang to attention, rising past her palm, harder than before. Strong but with incredibly baby soft skin, she stroked him, watching his face when he closed his eyes, only to open them again on a gasp.
“Dear Lord, how can you bring me so close, so fast?”
“My turn,” she murmured.
He reached across and cupped her breast in his big hand. “Sweetheart, that is wonderful—oh, Christ!” With delight, she watched him throw his head back in complete surrender. There was power in controlling a man like this, something Faith had never experienced before. She had persuaded men, asked favours of them, cajoled them, obeyed them, but she had never held the essence of a man in her hand and brought him to shivering ecstasy like this.
She learned from him, as he had from her. When he responded to her, moved against her or his hand tightened momentarily over her breast, she repeated the action. She found what would please him best and prolonged it, punctuating it with other caresses.
Intrigued, she felt the changes in his body, the way he tightened and hardened even more than when she first started. Her teasing caresses turned to a regular rhythm, up and down, moving the soft skin over the straining, gleaming head and back, stimulating the delicate tissue. So she knew when he was about to ejaculate, and moved closer, quickening her action, firming her hold still more. He dragged her close and kissed her, nothing gentle or considerate about his kiss, only blind, searching need. His tongue entered her mouth, as she yearned for him to enter her body. She was glad he had asked her not to open her mind to him. She didn’t want him to know how much her feelings were racing out of control.
She felt the sudden throb and the deep pulses, one after the other, quickening in pace when he groaned into her mouth. Grasping a fold of the sheet, she held it over him to take his seed, wishing it could be her body instead. She waited, then lifted her mouth from his. He lay beneath her, helpless, his eyes closed, his mouth slightly open, and Faith realized what a woman felt like after pleasuring a man. Powerful, in control. Not all her emotions were good ones, altruistic ones, some were sheer pleasure at being able to control another person like this.
Especially Gerard.
He opened his eyes, soft, the iris almost consumed in the dilated pupil, and they stared at each other for a fraught moment before Gerard pulled her down for a long, sweet, kiss. His tongue entered her mouth to caress her, to share the pleasure she had just given him. Before she realized what she was doing, she opened her mind to him.
He welcomed her in, bathed her in warmth and gratitude. They used no words—none were needed. He showed her his pleasure, and she showed him her delight. If a mind could smile, he did so, then drew away from her.
Some of the candles had gone out, but there enough remained alight for her to see his eyes, darkly gleaming. “I’ve never met a woman as generous as you before.”
“You’ve never met a woman you can let into your mind before.”
He smiled. “Except for Deborah, no. There might be another woman as generous, as lovely as you, but I don’t think there could be such perfection anywhere else.”
“I’m not a saint.” She tried to hide her face behind her hair, falling over her face in an unruly tangle, but he pushed it back with a gentle hand.
“No, you’re not, and thank God for it. How would I ever live up to that?” He paused, met her eyes. “Faith, is this enough for you? Can you live like this, never knowing the ultimate intimacy? Will you marry me truly and put paid to any pretence?”
She saw images of their lovemaking in her mind, images he sent to her, reminders of what he could do for her and by omission, what he could not. She opened her mouth to give him her answer.
Before she could say a word, a streak of lightning went through her mind and through his. She watched him, their eyes locking, shock arcing where desire had been a moment before. Don’t do anything else tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow.
The voice went, and Gerard and Faith were left staring at each other. They spoke the same word at the same time. “Stretton.”
Chapter Eleven
Faith rolled off Gerard, but he still held her close. She felt herself trembling. After that fraught moment she’d slammed her mental door on the image, on the intruder. They lay huddled close, absorbing what had just happened. Gerard held her tightly, and Faith was glad of it, needing the comfort of his presence.
Gerard was the first to speak. “Was he the person you felt before, at the theatre?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “It sounds like him, his mental voice and his usual voice. I just didn’t connect the two. How stupid of me.”
He stroked her hair. “No, not stupid. You only heard him briefly, and you’d only just become aware of your new power. Do you think he was ever mad?”
“He was raving in Bedlam.” Faith recalled that painful time, when she had spared a moment to be sorry for the poor nobleman, brought so low so quickly. “He certainly appeared mad. It might have been drink.”
“He drinks wine copiously,” Gerard said thoughtfully, “but I’ve never seen him completely incapable. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him drunk.”
“Do you think he planned all this?”
“If he did, I owe him a favour.” Gerard turned his head and pressed his lips to Faith’s. “But no, I don’t think he planned you and George, love. Did you speak to him much in Bedlam before we arrived?”
“I tried to make him a little more comfortable.” Now that the initial shock had passed, Faith’s brain clicked back into action. She rapidly recalled that time, and how Stretton had come into her life. “I gave him some of the food I’d brought and asked h
im his name. I could see his clothes had once been fine, although the lace and buttons had been ripped off, probably the turnkeys wanting something to sell. I thought he might have some relatives who would be glad to know where he was, and I admit, I thought of appealing to them for help, but mostly I just felt sorry for him. I didn’t have time to do more than that.”
“He’s been here all this time. He must be clever, to have prevented us from detecting him. It must mean he has a great deal of skill.” He drew her closer, and she rested her head on his shoulder. “One thing’s for certain. I’m not leaving your side until we discover what he’s about.”
Faith recognized what he meant. “You can’t stay here all night.”
“Can’t I? I don’t see what else I can do.”
“But your father, your sister, the servants! The rumours will be all around London by midday.” Faith propped herself up on one elbow. “You know how it goes. My maid will tell the kitchen staff, who will tell the kitchen staff next door and so on until everyone knows that Lord Ellesmere spent the night in his mistress’s bed. A mistress who lives in the same house as his father and his sister.”
He reached up to smooth her tangled hair away from her forehead. “That will be difficult for you.”
“Yes. A story like that could bring things tumbling all around us. They could say that I’m too immoral, not a fit guardian for George.” Meditatively he cupped her breast, gently stroking it. Faith felt her senses melt. He could do that, just with a gentle caress. The man was dangerous. “Gerard, please.”
He glanced at her from his contemplation of her body, his eyes bright. “Please what? Carry on?” He chuckled at her expression of exasperation and drew her down to lie next to him again. “Very well.” Faith couldn’t well tell him she was sorry he’d stopped. “I’ll return to my room.”
Lightning Unbound: Even Gods Fall in Love, Book 1 Page 12