by Donna Grant
Elle stood transfixed, unable to move or utter a sound. She had no reason to be jealous if another caught Roderick’s attention, but she never expected to hurt so desperately at seeing it. When the woman pulled away, she saw Roderick’s lips move as he spoke to her. Then, to make matters worse, the woman threw him a look of promise as she walked away.
She tried to turn away, really she did, but it wasn’t in time. Roderick’s gaze caught her before she was able to flee. The pain that lanced through her body was unbearable, giving her the push she needed to turn and rush up the stairs.
“Elle,” she heard him call after her.
But she didn’t stop. She wished she had never kissed him, never felt his hands on her body, and never wished and hoped there might be more.
She reached her room and slammed the door just before he reached it. She turned and stared at the door, then began to back away as she noticed she hadn’t locked it. But she wasn’t fool enough to try. Lock or no, Roderick would get in the room if he wanted.
“Elle?”
She didn’t stop backing away until she hit the wall behind her. She didn’t answer him, didn’t trust her voice not to betray her.
“Please open the door.”
She shook her head, not caring that he couldn’t see through the thick wooden door.
Roderick stared at the door barring his way. He had seen the anguish on Elle’s face as the serving woman had walked away. Despite how he felt about himself, he could not allow her to think he was meeting that woman later.
He didn’t expect to understand women. Why Elle would be hurt to find him with another when she herself didn’t want him didn’t matter. All he knew was that he couldn’t allow her to think him so womanizing that he would go from one to another in so short a time.
With just a kick or a shove he could have the door open, barred or not, but he didn’t wish to explain to Hugh why the door needed to be fixed. He reached for the handle and pushed. The door opened easily, and he found Elle across the chamber from him against the wall.
“Elle,” he began.
She shook her head. “I don’t want to hear anything.”
All his life he had thought what women wanted was simple, but Elle had changed A KIND OF MAGIC
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all that in a short time. Now, he no longer trusted what he thought he knew of women.
“Why are you upset?”
She laughed hysterically and crossed her arms over her chest.
“What is humorous? I am here to protect you, same as Val. If you are upset, we need to know.”
“I was just shocked to see you with that woman,” she said, refusing to meet his eyes.
“Why?”
Her head jerked around, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Why?”
“Aye, why?” he asked again and advanced toward her.
He had told himself to stay away because he had known his body would react to hers in a way that left him panting and so passion filled that he couldn’t see straight, yet what did he do? He walked into her chamber. Alone.
The hurt in her clear blue eyes made him feel disgusting. Elle was a good person, she didn’t deserve to be hurt. She deserved to be cherished, loved until she was sated and lying naked across his body. That image had his blood rushing toward his rod. He knew just how passionate a woman Elle was, and it was too much of a temptation not to experience it again.
“It’s my fault,” she said.
Her words halted him just before he reached her. “What do you mean?”
“I have been alone for so long, and the few men I have dated weren’t very nice.”
Anger bubbled up from nowhere at her words. He wanted to find those men and pummel them into the ground, right after he kissed her.
“Gorgeous men like you don’t pay attention to women like me,” she whispered, her head bowed. “When you … kissed me, I … I… thought .… Never mind,” she finished and tried to turn away.
But Roderick brought his hands up and braced them against her shoulders to keep her still. Her eyes rose to him, questioning and a little fearful.
“By the gods, you have no idea, do you?”
“What?” she asked.
Could he have been wrong? What he thought was regret in her eyes at the passion they had shared earlier might have been something else. Regardless, being this close to her and touching or kissing her was driving him wild with a need so intense he wondered if it was real.
Her head cocked to the side, and her brows drew together. “What do I have no idea about?”
He stepped closer to where her body was pressed tightly between him and the wall. “The allure you have.” He purposefully lowered his voice, and when her eyes moved to his mouth he all but smiled.
“’Tis in your eyes,” he continued in his low voice and kissed each eye. “Where innocence meets the fire burning inside.”
His knees bent until his mouth touched her chin in a light nip. “The way your chin turns up with stubbornness and your refusal to give in.”
Next, his mouth moved to just over her left breast where her heart was. “You A KIND OF MAGIC
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have more giving and kindness than I have seen in a very long time,” he whispered before he rose and looked down at her.
Her eyes had darkened, and her chest rose and fell rapidly as if she had run a great distance. He had purposefully left her mouth for last. Now, he leaned close and saw her eyes close.
“But this,” he said and lightly licked the corner of her mouth. Her lips parted instantly, but he didn’t taste more of her. Yet.
“This mouth of yours is the sweetest part of you. Despite all that you have been through,” he paused and kissed the other side of her mouth, “you have not cursed anyone.” His lips kissed all around her mouth but never fully on. “Only given, sharing your life and any ideas you might have.”
She shook her head. “I’m not good. All I have thought about was having you kiss me again.”
It was Roderick’s undoing. He had wanted to tease her until she begged for him, then he would love her until she couldn’t move. But instead of him having the upper hand, she had gained it without even knowing it.
“Elle,” he whispered just before he crushed her against him and wrapped his arms tightly around her while his mouth gently coaxed and teased some more.
“Please,” she begged, her hands clawing at his shoulders.
He knew what she wanted. He wanted it, too. Desperately.
With a firm grip of control over his body, he pulled away from Elle until she looked at him. “No more misunderstandings. I want you.”
She swallowed and licked her lips that were swollen from his kisses.
Possessiveness overtook him in a raging storm. He would defend her to the death. Not because it was his duty as a Shield, but because of the way she made him feel—as if he were almost whole again. Something he hadn’t felt since before his brother’s death.
“I want you as well.” Her voice broke over the words, but it was the sweetest thing she could have told him.
“There will be no stopping this time,” he warned. “I was barely able to the first time, but now that I’ve had a taste of you, I want it all.”
She shivered in his embrace. “I’m offering it all. Take what you want.”
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Chapter Twenty-Two
Elle couldn’t believe it was happening. Roderick wanted her, really wanted her.
He, the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on, wanted her, plain old Elle.
It had to be a dream.
Yet, when he laid her down on the bed and his weight fell on top of her, all she could do was sigh. Loudly.
“By the gods, you feel good,” he murmured against her neck as his mouth placed delicious kisses along her throat and jaw.
She wanted to tell him how good he felt on top of her, but her words lodged in her
throat as his legs moved to either side of her and he rose up on his knees to move his mouth down her chest. Her breasts grew heavy just knowing he was about to touch her.
Then his hands cupped her breasts. His mouth placed kisses everywhere but her aching nipples.
“You’ve too many clothes on.”
She agreed, but had no wish to move to discard them. When he moved away from her, she reached for him to stop him. Gingerly, he dodged her hand, a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips.
“Impatient are you?” he asked as he removed his jerkin.
Elle would never tire of looking at his chest. It was picture perfect, what men at gyms worldwide tried to achieve, Roderick had naturally. Her hands itched to run along the silken skin, to feel his chest hair spring against her hands and his muscles bunch and flex.
When his hands went to his pants, she bit her bottom lip in anticipation. She knew just how muscular his legs were from riding with him on the motorcycle and the horse, but to see them bare, now that was something she was dying to see. Not to mention the most sexual part of him—his rod.
Her tongue grew thick in her mouth, her palms began to sweet, her nipples hardened, and liquid heat pooled between her thighs when he discarded his pants and stood before her in all his glory.
“Oh, my,” she managed as he walked closer to her. She reached for him, but he took her hands and shook his head.
“If you touched me now it would be all over. I want this to last at least a little while.”
And who was she to argue. “Later?”
“Later,” he promised and pulled her to her feet. His fingers reached for her gown, but she quickly halted him. “My turn,” she said and pushed him down onto the bed.
She had never stripped in front of anyone before, but the idea had taken root at seeing him disrobe. She wanted to see the desire burning brightly in his eyes.
Deftly, her hands began to unlace the back of her gown. She bared one shoulder A KIND OF MAGIC
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and saw him take a deep breath. With a gentle tug, the gown slid from her other shoulder. Her hands were locked over her breasts, so the material couldn’t go lower.
His gaze lingered on the straps of her bra. Elle wasn’t afraid to try new things, but she liked her bra and panties and preferred those to what was worn at the time. She glanced at the apricot straps of her bra and then lowered her eyes to catch just a hint of lace showing at her breasts. She lowered her arms and the gown fell to her hips, exposing her upper body.
When Roderick licked his lips, Elle grew bolder at the knowledge she turned him on. Thanks to the belly dancing DVDs she had ordered, she knew just how to jerk her hips to send the gown falling into a pool of material to her feet.
He rose, but she raised a finger to stop him. Roderick sank back onto the bed with a small curse, though his eyes never left her.
The only thing between her and Roderick was the expensive Italian lace bra and panty set she had bought from Victoria’s Secret. It was a secret pleasure she indulged in often and something she was going to miss dearly.
She turned until her back was to Roderick, then she reached around and unclasped her bra, sending him what she hoped was a seductive smile over her shoulder. His eyes smoldered, and his rod jerked in reaction. A thrill raced through her as a delicious heat began to pulse at her core. She turned toward him, her hands cupping her breasts to keep her bra in place as the straps slowly fell from her now bare shoulders.
When his lips parted and his breathing increased, she became bolder. A seductress she was not, but apparently she was doing something right. She followed what she wanted to do, what felt right, and had hit the mark so far.
With a roll of her shoulder, she removed one arm from within her bra, careful to keep her breasts covered. She replaced that arm, and with the other she let the bra dangle from her fingers before dropping to the floor.
“I cannot stand much more,” Roderick warned.
She repressed her giggle of excitement. “There isn’t much left.”
With a deep breath for reassurance, Elle dropped her arms. She hadn’t known what he would do, but the painful moan that came from him wasn’t it. If it wasn’t for his bulging rod reaching up to the sky and his eyes such a dark blue they looked nearly black, she wouldn’t know if he liked what he saw or not.
“More?” she asked and gave him a wink.
“You’re going to kill me, woman.”
She laughed. “Not likely.”
“Elle,” his voice warned.
She knew he wouldn’t stay on the bed much longer, but she really wanted to finish undressing. Watching him watch her was a new excitement, and one she wanted to repeat very soon.
With her fingers hooked in her panties, she ran her fingers around the edge, skimming her stomach and hips. Since the panties were a thong, she realized he might never have seen one before, and she wanted to see his reaction. She turned around until her backside faced him, and instantly his hands reached out to touch her.
His finger scorched a trail from her lower back over one cheek and then the other.
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“Very … beautiful.” His voice was thick, as if he found it difficult to speak. With his eyes downcast, he watched his finger play over her derrière.
“More?” she asked over her shoulder.
He nodded and raised his gaze to her face. “I want to see all of you.”
She easily slipped her thong off and then turned to face him. He kneeled before her, his hands tracing a line from her waist, down her legs, and back again. His touch was light, admiring, and she wanted more.
Much
more.
“Spread your legs,” he said as he bent down and placed a kiss next to her belly button.
Elle was quick to obey. The throbbing at her sex doubled, and her breasts cried out for attention as she wondered where he would touch her and what he would do.
“Wider.”
She was afraid if she opened them too far she wouldn’t be able to hold herself up if he did touch her, yet she did as requested and spread her legs wider.
His hands never left her. If they weren’t skimming over her legs, they cupped her backside or her waist, learning her as she wished to learn him. His hand caressed her breasts many times, but never did he fondle them or touch her nipples that were so hard they hurt.
Nor did he touch her sex. And she ached as she had never ached before. The need for release continued to grow, and he hadn’t even touched her yet.
When his finger ran up her leg toward her core, she eagerly waited to feel him dip into her, yet he left her waiting. His finger grazed her nether lips as he explored the flesh between her thigh and her sex.
“So soft,” he mumbled and blew his hot breath on her.
She jumped and sighed at the sensation.
“So responsive, and I haven’t touched you yet.”
She wanted to say ‘I know’, but it was lost on a moan as he blew on her again.
Moisture ran down her legs, and instead of wiping it away, he leaned down and licked it from her thigh.
“Oh, God,” she whimpered.
And then finally he gave her some relief. One hand reached up and found her breast and her aching nipple while his other hand continued to fondle her behind.
He rolled her nipple in his fingers making it even harder than before. With his mouth, he licked and kissed around her stomach, thighs, and inner thighs, but never touched the place that ached for him the most.
She was so wrapped up on if his tongue would find her that when his finger skimmed between her butt cheeks and lightly touched her delicate bud of her anus, she gasped. But she wasn’t given long to think about it as his tongue reached out and flicked over her swollen clitty.
“Roderick,” she cried as her legs gave out on her.
He easily caught her and rose to place her on the bed. “It’s just
beginning,” he said with a twinkle in his dark blue eyes.
He didn’t waste any more time talking. Sitting on his knees between her legs as A KIND OF MAGIC
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she lay on her back, Elle found herself completely exposed to him. She should have been embarrassed, but instead she found herself feeling sexy, alive.
His finger traced the sensitive skin between the juncture of her legs and her sex and sighed with pleasure as he continued the assault. Every once in awhile his finger might touch one of her lips or the bud that strained for attention, but it was just the slightest of touches that left her aching for more, wondering when he might touch her again.