His lips sank into the curve of her neck, kissing the sensitive skin. He weaved a path of kisses along the hollow dip of her collarbone. His hands cupped and molded her breasts, tormenting the pliant peaks until she writhed and moaned in delicious agony. His mouth was hot and wet as he teased one breast, suckled her thoroughly before moving over to lavish the other with his attention. She arched, small moans escaping her as her hands clutched his head to her.
She caressed the curve of his back, sweat slicked and smooth beneath her palms and…a frown creased her brow. His trousers barred further exploration of his glorious skin. This would not do. The trousers had to go. She tugged on a strand of his hair, pulling his head back until he looked at her with passion-glazed eyes.
“What? What is it?” He struggled to focus, his breathing rapid, his voice hoarse.
“I think…I feel,” she hastened to clarify, “too many clothes. I feel”—she shifted her hips suggestively against his hard erection and lifted her leg to run her foot down his trousers leg—“that is a problem. And I want,” she emphasized, “them off. Now.” She slid her hand beneath his trousers, sliding it over his buttock and pinching him.
He jerked, then flashed her a wicked grin. When she removed her hand, he caught it and pressed a quick kiss to her palm. “Done.” He rolled to the side and shed his trousers so quickly she barely had time to draw breath before he yanked her back to him. The feel of his hot erection, hard and pulsing against her thigh, had her pulse racing.
He slid his hand over the curve of her hip, her belly, and then lower, slipping between her legs and drawing a gasp from her as his fingers stroked the moist folds between her legs. “Garrett.” She sighed again, her cheeks burning.
“Is this what you want?” His fingers moved with more deliberation, and she groaned, digging her nails into his arms.
“Yes, oh, God, yes.”
Just when she thought she would tumble over the precipice and fall, he removed his hand. She cried out in protest. When his guttural laugh answered her, she opened her eyes, frowning as he lowered his head and rained a trail of wet kisses over her belly, moving lower and lower.
She gasped and grabbed his hair, tugging him up as she squirmed to close her legs. No, he couldn’t, he wouldn’t. It was indecent. A hot, mortified flush suffused her body. “No! I can’t!”
Garrett lifted his head and braced himself on his arms. His gaze met hers and he lifted his finger to press it against her lips, silencing her denial. “Shh. It’s all right. Trust me. You said you did.” He lowered his mouth to hers and his kiss was soft and gentle. “You’re safe with me. You’ll always be safe with me. I love you, Alex.”
She looked into his eyes and felt herself surrendering to him—again. “I do. I do trust you. Only you.”
He smiled and his head dipped. She gasped when his mouth closed over her moist center, her most private part, nearly bringing her bucking off the bed. Her hands fell limply to her sides, her fingers twisting into the bed linens. An intoxicating heat flooded her as he worked his magic on her, his tongue tasting, coaxing, and torturing her, his strong hands parting her thighs. Good Lord, it still couldn’t be decent…It wasn’t…Well, she didn’t know what it was. Could no longer think. Could only feel and trust in Garrett to catch her when she collapsed.
And wasn’t that the point?
She tossed her head back and forth, biting her lips as a molten heat climbed within her.
“Let go, Alex. Trust me.” Garrett’s breath was warm and teasing against her thigh. Suddenly he moved his hand and his fingers found the most sensitive tip of her feminine folds and he worked more magic, sending ripples of pleasure exploding throughout her body. “Oh, dear Lord.” She gasped.
The combined assault of his mouth and his fingers pushed her to the brink. She could only do as he requested and trust in him to catch her when she let go. Her breathing quickened and a while later, she cried out as her body jerked, and she tumbled off that precipice. Garrett lifted his head and moved up to snake his arms around her, holding tight to her limp, pliant body as she tumbled. The welcome weight of his body against hers, his smooth skin scalding hot, added to her pleasure, and her smile was drowsy.
“So much for slowly,” Garrett’s voice was a hoarse croak. “I can’t…I can’t wait.”
When she opened her eyes and collected her scattered thoughts, she noted the intensity of his expression, the sweat beading his temple. It took all her strength to lift her hand and cup his cheek. “Then don’t,” she whispered and ran her thumb over his full bottom lip.
His eyes flashed, and he caught her hand, linked their fingers together, and stretched her arms high above her head, causing her to arch into him. His eyes locked with hers, and she felt the warmth of his pulsing shaft, hard and powerful, probing against her slick, wet folds. Moistening her lips, she lifted her hips in invitation. With one smooth thrust, he slid home, embedding himself deeply within her body. His hands squeezed hers, and her heart thundered.
“Oh, God, you feel so good. Better than good.” He gasped, moving his hips slowly, his gray eyes almost black. “I love you, Alex.”
“I love you, too.” She gasped.
He kissed her, and she tasted herself as his tongue parried with hers. His hips lifted and sank as he thrust into her, deep and hard. She found herself straining upward, reaching again for the climax of moments before. He lifted his head, and the bright, feral look in his eyes as he watched her writhe against him was as erotic as his movements.
A guttural groan emerged from deep within him when she wrapped her legs around his hips, his fingers squeezing her hands tighter as she arched against him, meeting his deep, powerful thrust. He fully withdrew from her and then slid deep, repeating the movements again and again in a slow, delicious rhythm. She was not surprised when the first whimper escaped her, for he had said he would turn her into a whimpering pool of need. “Please.” He had reduced her to begging.
He released her hands and slid them beneath her to cup her buttocks, burying himself deeper within her as the heat climbed between them. His movements and thrusts became deeper, swifter, and more savage. His breathing quickened and his back arched. “Garrett!” His name ripped from her and she tightened her muscles to hold him inside as her climax exploded from her.
“Oh, God, I can’t…I…” He gasped. He closed his eyes as his body shuddered again and again with the force of his release, triggering another response from her. She felt the warm liquid of his climax explode through her, his hips pressed to hers as his body sagged, small spasms still shaking him.
A while later, he drew an unsteady breath. Folding her body into his, he gathered her close and collapsed beside her.
She curled her fingers into his damp hair, his head cradled against her breast, his mouth pressed to her pounding heart. “Actually, I think you can,” she whispered, once she recovered her voice. “And very well indeed.”
He emitted a sound that was more grunt than laugh. “Always thinking.”
“Not always.” She smiled. “I’ve learned the pleasures of just feeling.” His lips curved against her breast as a companionable silence settled between them. She played with his hair, lifting a black, silken strand and sliding it around her fingers.
She stretched beneath him, utterly content with her abduction, her seduction, and her captor. “I’m sorry your plans were slowed down, but catching up does have its merits.”
“So does ravishment.” He lifted his head and leered at her.
She laughed. “So it does. Another lesson learned. Pity it took us so long.”
“Actually, the timing worked beautifully because you had me puzzled, and I’ve never been good at puzzles.” Garrett shifted onto his side next to her, propping his head on his elbow, a teasing glint in his eyes.
“I was a puzzle?” She frowned. “How so?”
“You had rejected my offer of a horse and made it clear you would not accept any gifts from me. Then you kept reminding me of our blasted busin
ess arrangement. I feared you didn’t want anything from me, while I had decided I craved everything from you.” His voice lowered and he ran his finger down her cheek and over her now-tender lips.
“I finally understood what you needed from me. It wasn’t something I could put a price on or gamble away or sell. It took me a while to realize it because they were things I never thought I’d give to anyone. As of a few months ago, I believed they had no value. That no one would want them…until you.”
“What?” she whispered, mesmerized by the husky timbre of his voice.
He lay down and gathered her into his arms, cradling her against his chest. “My heart. My soul. My love.”
She sighed, her body warming at his words. They were better than poetry. Blinking at the moisture in her eyes, she had to swallow before she could respond. “It’s a fair exchange, considering you have mine.” Against her ear, she listened to the beat of his heart. “Gifts from the heart are the most valuable. Much better than a horse.” She smiled at his rumble of laughter, closing her eyes as his hand swept through her hair.
For the first time in her life, she understood why her mother never cared when cherished possessions disappeared to pay a debt, a favorite horse was sold, or rooms were emptied of furniture. For should fate again steal her fortune, she’d still be rich. As long as she held Garrett’s heart, she was in possession of all she ever needed to secure her happiness. After a year of hunger, she was full. After months of fear and uncertainty, she felt safe. After so much poverty, she was rich. For tonight, she possessed everything she could ever want.
Her arms lifted to encircle his neck, and Garrett gasped when she nearly strangled him in her hold. Untangling her arms, he pressed a kiss into each of her palms, and lowered her arms to encircle his waist. Once again, she clung tight, desperately seeking to hold him to her, to push away the blackness hovering over their happily-ever-after and threatening to take Garrett away from her.
She’d think about it tomorrow.
Tonight was theirs, and she was taking it.
It was a long while later that her eyes fluttered closed and she fell asleep to the slow, even beat of Garrett’s heart against her cheek.
Chapter Twenty-eight
FOUR sharp knocks on the door in rapid succession had Garrett jerking awake. The war had trained him to be a light sleeper, ever on alert. Upon his return home…well, there wasn’t much sleep to be had then, either. He bolted up, tense and disoriented, disturbed at how deeply he had slept and how erotic his dreams had been. A curse at Havers and his signature knock formed on Garrett’s lips, but the sudden awareness of warmth against his side distracted him. Relief flooded him and he relaxed. He knew exactly where he was and for the first time since his return home, it was right where he wished to be.
Memories swarmed over him, supplanting his dream, the images vivid and all involving Alex. His eyes dropped to her sleeping beside him and his heart skipped. It wasn’t often a man awoke to paradise, complete with his own angel, so he took a moment to savor it. The supplies Havers had left for him would still be sitting outside the door when he was ready to collect them.
He propped his head on his hand and watched her. Her lips were parted and her cheek rested on her hand. Romeo’s words drifted to him, O, that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch— He blinked. Christ, he was getting soft and it wouldn’t do. His eyes fastened on a bare breast and his body stirred, aroused.
Not all of him was soft.
Grinning, he leaned over and kissed her, gently at first and then with purpose, coaxing her into wakefulness, wanting her again with a desperation that surprised him. He feared he’d never get enough of her, would crave her in his grave. He heard her sigh as her fingers slid into the hair at his nape. She was so damn responsive. Her surrender to him so sweet.
She loved him. No one, with the exception of Kit, had ever loved him as honestly as Alex. When women had declared their love for him, it had amused him, for the man they claimed to love was but an illusion he had made of himself. Only Alex had he trusted enough to reveal all his broken pieces. She knew his nightmares and hadn’t turned away, but rather took him into her heart and claimed him for her own.
Closing his eyes, he lowered his mouth to the slim column of her neck, burying his face in her soft skin and breathing her in. He needed a moment, just a moment.
A sharp tug on his hair had him lifting his head in protest.
“What happened at my uncle’s? What did he say? Did you see my cousins?”
Damn. His moment was up.
He had wanted Alex to waken, but this was not the response he had desired. He groaned. She never stopped her infernal thinking unless he kissed her senseless. There’s a thought. He dipped his face to hers, but she yanked harder on his hair.
“Oh, no, you don’t. I want answers.”
“What about what I want?” He wiggled his hips against her.
Her eyes widened. “Mmh, I feel your want.”
“Well?”
“We’ll take care of it later.” She shoved his shoulder and scrambled out from beneath him.
Growling, he rolled onto his back and swore under his breath when she scooped up his shirt and slipped it over her head. She turned and knelt before him expectantly. Her hair was disheveled, her lips swollen, and her cheeks flushed pink. She had never looked more delectable. Or more determined.
He flung an arm over his eyes and blew out a breath. He had forgotten about that irritating mettle of hers. He admired it, but there was a time and place for one to exert their steely resolve. Once they were married, he’d make damn clear it wasn’t when they were naked and he was fully aroused.
“Ouch!” He jerked at the hard poke to his ribs and lowered his arm to glower at her.
“Well?” She glowered back.
Muttering about bossy, ornery females under his breath, he sat up and rolled to his feet, searching for his trousers. Locating them, he snatched them up and yanked them on. “If I’m discussing your uncle, I’m not doing it on an empty stomach. I’m having trouble swallowing the fact that he lives.”
He buttoned his trousers and planted his hands on his hips, regarding Alex as she peered up at him. He studied his shirt, the sleeves rolled up, the tails covering her bare thighs. Unable to resist, he crouched before her. “It’s chilly; perhaps I should put on my shirt?” He laughed when she slapped his roving hand away. “Fine, I’ll light the fire.” He stood, but looking back, he narrowed his eyes and lifted a finger to wag it at her, his expression one of mock severity. “Don’t try escaping. You have my shirt and my heart, and I will come after both.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not leaving until I get answers.”
“You’re a relentless woman,” he muttered as he retrieved the basket from outside. He carried it over to Alex, answering her unasked question. “Havers delivered it. He also advised Brandon and Kit not to worry about us. I had him explain that I was abducting you, and we wouldn’t be returning until you were thoroughly compromised.”
“You didn’t!” She gasped.
“I did!” He laughed at her expression. “Perhaps not in those exact words, but I had to forestall Kit sending out a search party. So now we are at liberty to remain here indefinitely.”
“I see. So I’ve been indefinitely abducted?”
“And thoroughly compromised. Don’t forget that. It’s the best part. Now you have to marry me. You yourself stated that you refused to be my mistress.”
She shook her head. “However, we’re prevaricating. My uncle?” She cocked an imperious brow.
Smiling, he turned to the hearth. Indefinitely abducted. He liked the ring of it. He’d have to do it more often. The compromising part was pleasant, too.
His mood improved as he worked to build a fire. He blew on the smoldering embers, coaxing them to catch on the logs, the old editions of the Times crumpling as they ignited. He sat back on his heels and watched the fire lick the wood until it eventually caught and climbed in an
undulating dance of flames. At the touch on his shoulder, he turned to accept the mug Alex handed him. “Cider?”
“Cider,” she confirmed. “I’ve made up a plate for you.”
He nodded and stood to follow Alex to sit beside her on the sofa. While he had made the fire, she had dragged the table before it and prepared two plates of food. She handed him one, piled high with bread, meats, and cheeses. While his appetite craved something more carnal, this would have to suffice. For now.
“So my uncle?” Alex prodded.
There went his appetite. He struggled not to choke on his bite of bread, taking a swig of his cider to wash it down.
“You were gone over a week. What took you so long?”
His light mood darkened at the memory of his confrontation with her uncle. The combed-over strands of her uncle’s hair had done little to hide his gleaming scalp. The man’s head was as round as the rest of him. Garrett could not fathom his relation to Alex until he looked into the bastard’s vivid blue eyes, magnified behind his wire-rimmed spectacles. He had Alex’s eyes and Garrett damned him for it.
He shifted, shaking off the disconcerting portrait. “Murdering him would have been faster, but Brandon had another plan. His plan took longer because we had to track down your former estate manager, Edward Marks, prior tenants of the estate, various merchants, as well as your uncle’s banker.”
“Marks! However did you find him?” she exclaimed. “And what did you want with all these people?”
“To have leverage in our negotiations. We knew your uncle would bargain over the betrothal contract.” Rather, gouge him for coin to silence her uncle’s slander. “We anticipated his settlement price would be steep.”
For the Love of a Soldier Page 29