Breathless, Anne stood to the side of the barn enjoying the look of pleasure on all the faces, even Eliza. Her hair was hopelessly undone from her braid, the tie having fallen out long before.
“I’d wondered where you’d gone.”
The lazy, seductive tone of Addison’s voice sent the familiar tingle from the base of her spine up to the roots of her hair. The thump of her heart slammed her ribs, and the pool of heat settled down low.
He leaned against the open doorway, strong arms folded across his chest, the white sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
“Surprised to find me here, are you?”
He regarded here with sizzling gray eyes, and surprise was not the look he projected.
“I’d not expected to find you dancing with my workers, no.” His gaze wandered over her mess of hair, moved down to rest on her lips, and then his eyes met hers, an appreciative gleam in them. “Your curls are marvelous. To think you hide the fire of it in a braid.”
Had anyone given her a compliment prior to Addison, she would have scoffed. But, his eyes . . . his voice . . . had the uncanny ability to make her feel as if she were just a young girl and discovered her first tender stirrings of a crush.
Before her courage could desert her, she did the mock curtsy she’d been perfecting until his arrival, a grin playing about her mouth. “Would you care to dance, then? I’d not have you left out.”
The flashing of his smile, a secret smile just for her, charmed her to her toes. “I thought you’d never ask.”
For all of the lordly Englishman he was, he allowed them to just jog around the barn as the rest of the merrymakers were apt to do. He did not force her to the more rigid forms of typical dances of the day.
“All this time, I’ve overlooked the talents of my workers. I could have been enjoying their music.” Their movements jarred his speech.
“It reminds me of the music I used to hear in Barbados. It has been my experience that beautiful music can come from the most surprising places.”
“I would have to agree with you, but . . .” One dark brow rose. “Barbados?”
The heat of a blush crept up her cheeks, but she did not take her gaze from the dark centers of his silver eyes. She felt too free with him. “Not a lady. Remember?”
Her lips twitched at his firmly set jaw, but he continued to bounce along with her.
“I’ll try to remember that.” Heat radiated from the firm pressure of his hand at her waist. The way he pulled her in close to his chest and the laughter they enjoyed as they made their way around the dance floor combined to drive her adrenaline high, as if she’d been dueling with a sword.
Winded and needing refreshment, she broke away from Addison during a quick break in the music. When Beedee began to play his flute once more, he grabbed Delcie who lingered along the wall, and Anne had to grin at the surprised, and somewhat scandalized look Delcie threw Addison. The roar of his laughter filled the room. Delcie smacked at his shoulder. They, too, enjoyed the jaunt around the barn in time to the lively music.
Anne and Addison took turns as dance partners to several more of the slaves before everyone seemed ready to rest for the evening. While they all were breathing heavily, most everyone grinned like kids at Christmas, and Anne couldn’t have been happier.
Eliza had retired a little early, complaining of her knees. But, everyone else had stayed to enjoy the lord’s attention.
She was especially delighting in the lord’s attention, she admitted to herself.
Every now and again, she’d caught Addison’s gaze across the crowd of dancers, a hungry look in his eyes, as if he were devouring her.
She felt devoured. Ate up with passion and joy.
She tore her attention away from where he spoke with Beedee and Ezra, no doubt giving praise for their skill at their instruments.
Bloody hell, what was she doing?
Falling.
She likened the feeling to diving from the side of a ship, and the free-fall right before hitting the deep, blue water.
A warm hand pulled her up out of the depths, saving her. She looked up and found herself not drowning for real, but in a sea of silver with green flecks of light sprinkled throughout. Addison’s hand held hers with a firm, yet gentle grasp. One side of his mouth lifted.
“I would be remiss as a gentleman if I did not escort you home, you know.” Giving a tug, he propelled her along behind him as he exited the barn.
Too busy drowning in her thoughts to protest—and frankly, too anxious and happy to care—she followed, her hand fitting snugly in the heat of his palm.
“How do you know I am not escorting you?” Picking up speed, she pulled ahead of him.
He chuckled behind her. “Somehow I do not doubt that you would try.” Pulling up beside her, they walked side-by-side and hand-in-hand. It was almost simultaneous how they both slowed the pace, making it a casual stroll in the moonlight.
“I find it difficult not to lead on occasion.”
“You don’t say? I think the term is stubborn.”
She heard the laughter in his voice.
“That’s not the first time I’ve been called that.” She smiled up at the break in the trees, delighting in actually seeing the stars, instead of using their brightness to the guide a ship.
“Aye, and not likely to be the last, I’d gather.” He swung their entangled hands a bit, back and forth, a carefree action that tugged at her heart. Not one of the men she thought she’d loved—Jack, James Bonny, none of them—had ever given her such a small gesture of affection.
“I’d much rather be labeled stubborn than some other characteristics I’ve heard mentioned with my name.”
“Feisty? Obstinate? Temperamental?” He put his free hand to his chin as if contemplating his next words. “Let me see . . .”
Anne jerked his hand. He stumbled at the sudden movement, and their hands lost contact. The momentary surprise and widening of his eyes made her giggle, and it felt wonderful.
His eyes narrowed with intent, and she turned to flee as he reached for her. “Why you—”
Screeching, adrenaline and faux-terror hurtling her forward, she ran in the direction of the stable.
She turned in time to see his white teeth flashing as he growled with laughter, fast on her heels.
Bursting through the barn door, she ducked into the shadows.
He called after her. “Don’t make me find you in the dark, madam. I like to feel around with my hands.”
Anne figured she must be delirious.
Biting her lip, she ran directly for the darkest, empty stall.
Chapter 20
Addison’s heart thudded against his chest as he chased her through the swinging barn door. Horses whinnied and he allowed his eyes to adjust to the semi-darkness.
The smell of hay, horseflesh, and fresh manure filled his nostrils. But, there was a faint hint of lilacs on the air to his right, and with the help of the moonlight creeping in through a few cracks in the slats of the barn wall, he could make out a lightened section in the farthest stall. Grinning, he strode directly to where she crouched, her cream-colored gown glowing slightly to give her away.
Playful and elegant in a most unconventional way, she’d charmed just about every one of the slaves during the dance. Once he’d spied her laughing, bouncing about the barn, hanging onto men most women in the Charles Town area would be scandalized to even touch, he’d been enchanted.
Fiery, burnished hair had swirled around her head in a curly, unruly mess. The womanly curves with her full breasts and small waist were accentuated by her cotton gown. He hardened just imagining her . . .
“I’m afraid I’m blind here, madam. I’ll have to indeed use my hands to test the area. Let’s see . . .” Even though he could make out her crouched,
pale form, he thrust his hands out before him, smacking the wall that led directly to where she hid.
The telltale sound of a barely concealed giggle being cut off by the slap of her hand over her mouth made him smile. Could she could make out the white of his teeth in the near-darkness? They had to be moonlit, just as the color of her gown.
“I heard that.” She did not answer, but he could hear the steady sounds of her breath, could imagine the way her bosom lifted to strain above her gown with each intake of breath. Bloody hell, could he not have one thought that did not surround the virtues of her curvy figure?
He shuffled closer to where she crouched. “I can hear you, madam.” He lunged for her.
She squealed, jumped up, and sprinted to his left, delight sounding in the throaty giggles bursting from her lips. “I’ll not be captured so easily, sir.”
Addison’s heart felt as if it would burst from his chest, and the hum of anticipation rushing through his veins at the prospect of capturing and possessing her on the spot overwhelmed him. While she dodged his initial grasp, she was not so lucky on her next attempt. He anticipated her dash to the left.
Her booted foot slid upon the hay-covered ground. She let out a yelp as he tackled her around the waist, and they both slipped to the musty earth. Addison had the wherewithal to flip himself beneath her so she would not land directly onto the ground. Although hay-strewn, the floor of the barn was unforgiving, as his backside and upper back discovered as they landed in a thump, her vivacious figure sprawled all over him.
The delicious smell of lilacs overwhelmed his nostrils, her glorious hair falling forward onto his face as she laughed down at him from her position of power.
“Now who is captured?” The white of her teeth flashed and her sweet breath blew into his face, her voice shaking with the after effects of their fall. Her bottom rested snugly upon his mid-section, and her arms held her up on either side of his head. They’d been in this exact position on the riverbank.
He let his lust lead the way, suddenly grasping her hips, and positioning her bottom to slide firmly over his hardened lap. Moving his hips just so, he rubbed himself against her. The whites of her eyes grew larger, and he held her in place with firm hands.
“I believe, madam, you are.”
Any lady of his acquaintance would smack his hands away, slap his face, remove herself from him, and give him a good lesson in propriety and good manners.
Not Anne.
She leaned forward and traced his bottom lip with her tongue before sucking it into her mouth.
Unbridled, raw passion erupted from her when he behaved—well, not as a gentleman. She made him feel wild, to throw away any conventions or thoughts of normal, gentlemanly behavior.
And, the fire.
They fairly burned one another when they came together.
Envisioning steam rising from their bodies, he took full possession of her mouth, thrusting his tongue into her while his hands urged her hips to and fro.
Short moans tore from her as the friction of their clothing elevated the already scorching heat between his throbbing hardness and her soft core. If he didn’t slow the pace, he’d be deeply buried inside her in moments.
One of the horses whinnied, seemingly far away, and broke their heated passion. The innocuous sound forced Addison to think, to realize he’d be making love to Anne, once again, on a surface that was not the comfort of a feather mattress, or near the crackle of a fire.
Disengaging his tongue from hers, he righted them, but her bottom still rested delightfully on the hardness of his rod with her hands twinned behind his neck.
“Anne, I believe you win.”
She leaned back to stare into his eyes. The darkness afforded him no view of her sparkling, green orbs, but he could see the slight tilt of her lips.
“What did you say?” Her question hummed with a sultry purr, and she settled deeper against him.
He groaned. He’d be undone if they did not cease.
Grinding his teeth, he gave her hair a quick tug. “Madam, I assure you that you have won this round. And, should you persist, we will most definitely be spending the next several minutes here in the hay.”
“I had not complained of the bedding . . .” another movement of her hips, “. . . as it is quite adequate.”
“Minx.” He captured her lips again, but only allowed a small, yet agonizing, melding of tongues before he tore his lips away with another groan. “I’ll not make love to you again until we’re in a proper place.” He gave her a stern look, although in the darkened barn, he was sure it did not convey as such.
She sighed, raising herself to a standing position, “You keep spouting about this proper place, and yet, I’ve told you time and again, I’m no lady, obviously.”
Pushing off the hay-strewn ground, Addison stood and adjusted himself in his breeches. Uncomfortable. He was quite glad the night darkened his plight.
He grabbed her hand, sliding it over the front of his breeches. “I could easily take you here on the floor, madam.” He could see the whites of her eyes as she caressed him.
Throwing his head back, he swallowed, allowing her to run her fingers up and down the length of him. Had the fabric of his breeches not been a barrier, he would surely burst.
“Fascinating that such a hardened body part feels so silky and smooth.”
Addison grabbed her hand. “Seven hells, woman.” He turned to head out of the barn, towing Anne along behind him. “It’s no wonder I cannot contain myself from making love to you just anywhere.”
“I imagine you’re taking me to a proper place, then.” Her voice behind him dripped with sarcasm, but he could imagine the lopsided smile she bore.
“If you believe you can behave yourself, I may.” It was his turn to grin as they approached the rear of the house, all of the lanterns within illuminating the windows.
She snorted. “It is you that has misbehaved, sir. I mean, you nearly took me in the hay.”
Chuckling, they entered through the rear door, strode straight through the family dining area, and up the steps to the third level, where he knew a proper bed awaited them.
“Anne, I’m so glad you’ve returned.” Sarah’s stern, lined face greeted them at the top, her brown eyes narrowed in disapproval.
Addison ran his hand through his hair, releasing Anne’s hand as she stood next to him.
“What is it, Sarah? Is it the children?”
Concern marred his betrothed’s voice, and he realized his annoyance at Sarah was merely a result of his sexual frustration.
“Aye, they are fine, just a tad hungry. It appears the wet nurse had to leave a couple hours early to attend her own child.”
“Well, I’m glad we’ve returned then.”
Tracing the side of her cheek, he smoothed some of her wild locks behind her ear, smiling down at her. “Go on, the babies need their mother.” Anne turned to meet his gaze, her sparkling green eyes dominated by pupils still dilated with passion, her lips a rosy, chapped color from the kisses in the hay.
“Yes, thank you, Sarah.” She turned to the housekeeper, nodded, and headed to the nursery straight away, her shoulders thrown back.
“Yes, thank you, Sarah.” He turned on his heel, raising his voice so Anne could clearly hear him. “I’ll just be retiring to my large, comfortable, proper bed.”
The hour she spent with Frederica and Garrett eased the desire and frustration of nearly making love to Addison, and allowed her to focus on the importance of giving her children sustenance. It had been foolish of her to spend so long away from the house this evening, even though the wet nurse had been good about staying around just in case she was needed. No harm had been done, however, so Anne simply rocked and snuggled her babies.
Tucking the children snug into their blankets, s
he returned to her room, the shivers of anticipation flowing through her. She would freshen up, put on a dressing gown—with nothing beneath—and visit the lord of the house, with his obvious permission.
A tingling sensation seized her, beginning in her toes, traveling betwixt her thighs, up through her spine, and out through her fingers. What a delicious sensation, and one that seemed to be a regular occurrence whenever Addison was near, or even whilst she thought of him.
Thinking of the kisses they shared while his warmth buried deep within her sent the deep shivers coursing through her, all over again.
While Addison appeared scandalized, yet again, that he’d nearly made love to her in an uncivilized place, Anne found it quite exhilarating. Dropping from a rigging, or springing from the gangplank into the ocean deep seemed to pale in comparison to the adrenaline-filled lovemaking of Addison Blackhurst.
Fearing her heart already in the unfortunate place of falling for the enigmatic, arrogant, honorable lord, she prayed she’d make the proper decision. Proper? Ha!
Oh, how she hoped she could sufficiently and adequately crush the uncertainty and misadventures of her past. Her children would be raised in an environment conducive to learning, honesty, loyalty, and everything they deserved. Didn’t she deserve to be happy as well?
My Bonny Heart (Pirate's Progeny Book 1) Page 18