by Merry Farmer
“The children are safe and as happy as can be,” she went on, continuing to put away toys.
Athos forced himself to take a deep breath and focus on what really mattered. “I hate not having them here, where they belong.”
“I know.” They were hunched over the same, shrinking pile of toys, so she squeezed his arm. Warmth radiated through him from her touch. “They’re not as miserable as I would have expected, though. I think Honoria is keeping them busy.”
“Honoria?” The single word came out rough, and it wasn’t even close to what he wanted to say. What he wanted to say was “Don’t ever leave me. I need you. The children need you. Let me make love to you.” He blinked and took a step back at the potency of his thoughts.
Elspeth’s grin grew mysterious. “The children behaved like perfect angels. Ivy and Heather even helped serve tea. But it seems as though strange things have been occurring at the Bonneville ranch this week.”
“Strange?” He picked up the books on the floor and began shelving them.
“Odd smells that no one can find the source of. Food that looks fine but tastes horrible when you bite into it. And Melinda told a long story about how there is a drip somewhere in her bedroom that kept her awake all night, nearly jumping out of her skin, but she can’t figure out the source, since it hasn’t rained in days and she doesn’t think the roof leaks. She managed to trip on a marble that mysteriously appeared on the stairs this morning too.”
“And you think the children have something to do with it?”
“I know the children have something to do with it. Honoria told me as much when we had thirty seconds to ourselves.” She let out a deliciously mischievous giggle and sent a wicked look his way.
That look sent fire through his blood like few things ever had before.
“So they’re enjoying their vacation after all.” He forced himself to turn back to the bookshelf so that he wouldn’t scare the stuffing out of her with the potency of how badly he wanted her right then.
“Enough.” Elspeth scooped up the last of the toys from the floor and moved to arrange them on the other shelf. “I think they want to come home, though. Of course they do.”
Before he could answer, there was a short cranking noise, followed by the tinkling strains of a music box. A wash of glittering memories swept through Athos. He stood and turned to find Elspeth smiling at blue, lacquered box.
“I haven’t heard that song in ages,” he said, shoulders relaxing.
“It’s lovely.” Elspeth gave the music box a few more winds. “We used to dance to this tune in London.”
“I remember dancing to it too when I was young.” The floor was completely clear for a change, so he crossed over to where Elspeth was smiling at the box. “Would you care to have this dance?” he asked with a short bow.
Elspeth glanced up, a look of pure delight coming to her bright eyes. She gave the music box a few more winds, then set it on the top of the shelf. “Why yes, sir, I would.” She executed a perfect curtsy.
Deep, old joy and dazzling new happiness pulsed through Athos as he took Elspeth in his arms the way he had many a dance partner in his much younger years. He glided easily into the steps of a waltz, whisking Elspeth around the decluttered room.
“I haven’t danced in years,” he sighed, holding her closer.
“You’re very good at it,” she answered, surprise in her voice and expression.
He laughed. “You didn’t think a tired, old stationmaster like me had it in him, did you?”
“I didn’t say that.” Her answering grin was both bashful and pleased.
“I used to love dancing.” The statement swelled up through him with an unmanly burst of emotion. “Some of my friends scoffed that it was a stupid waste of time, but I used to argue that it was the perfect way to spend an evening with the ladies.”
She laughed. “So you were a lady’s man when you were young, were you?”
“No.” He chuckled, stepping her through a turn. “Well, I suppose I would have been if I was one of those tall, handsome, dandy sorts.”
“Who said you weren’t?” She blinked, seeming genuinely surprised.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Modesty urged him to lower his head, but a deeper sort of longing kept his shoulders squared and his eyes fixed on her beautiful smile.
“Not at all,” she argued. “And if I had been a young lady at those long-ago balls, I would have scandalized every meddling mama in the room by standing up with you as many times as I could get away with.”
He beamed from ear to ear at the thought. “We didn’t have rules about how many times a couple could dance together back in those days. Then again, I always felt responsible for making sure the women that other men snubbed got at least one dance.”
Her expression transformed before him from simply smiling to nearly weeping. And yet, her eyes shone with happiness.
“What? Did I say something wrong?”
“You danced with the wallflowers.” Her voice was soft enough to be a whisper.
“They were more interesting anyhow.” He shrugged. Her arms shifted as their waltz continued, embracing him more closely. Their steps became smaller and they turned in a tighter circle. His heart beat faster, but he wasn’t sure why. “I…I always thought that that’s what a musketeer would do,” he said, intending to tease himself. “A hero should always show as much nobility of character to the less sought-after girls as to the popular ones, because every woman has the heart of a heroine beating inside of her.”
“Oh, Athos!” She stopped dancing. The music had stopped playing. He thought maybe it had stopped playing several minutes ago and neither of them had noticed. “Athos, you are the most wonderful, heroic man I’ve ever met.”
Her words surprised him, but not as much as the kiss that followed. She circled her arms fully around him, pulling him close so that she could press her lips to his. She didn’t seem satisfied with just that. Her lips parted against his and her tongue brushed against the seam of his closed mouth. It didn’t stay closed for long, though, and he didn’t remain a passive partner in the kiss. Desire surged through him and he opened his mouth to take charge of their kiss. He sighed with longing, pressing her against him, not caring that she could feel the sudden insistence of how badly he wanted her pressing against her hip. In fact, he wanted her to feel that. He wanted her to feel what she did to him. He wanted her.
She wasn’t going to let him find an excuse not to consummate their marriage or chicken out, like she suspected he had done at least once before. Elspeth’s body was on fire, the ache in her heart furious, the need in her core desperate. She knew what she wanted from him, knew how to make sure that desire was fulfilled.
“Take me to bed, Athos,” she whispered, nipping at his earlobe as she did. “Take me to bed right now.” She lowered her grasping hands to tug the hem of his shirt out of his trousers, to let him know she meant what she said.
For a brief moment she pulled back, staring into his eyes. They were wide with disbelief. A moment later they flashed with a desire that was at least equal to her own.
He slanted his mouth possessively over hers in a kiss that took her by surprise. A scintillating hum rose up from his chest as his tongue danced with hers. He smoothed a hand down her back, reaching lower to grab a handful of her backside. He managed to find just the right angle to squeeze her even with the copious fabric of her bustle. He knew exactly how to spread his hand across her thigh and coax her to lift her leg to his hip, just how to support her so that she wouldn’t lose her balance, and just how to grind against her to send a jolt of pleasure through her core. She gasped as she realized that, in fact, Athos knew exactly how to make her body sing.
He took that even further by lifting her against him, balancing her in his strong arms as she wrapped her legs around him. He took a few steps only, pressing her up against the wall next to the open doorway leading to the hall. His hips pinned her and he moved his hands swiftly up to undo the row of buttons that ran fr
om her high collar down the front of her dress. The mad thought hit her that she should help him, but all she could do was grip the wall behind her, trying to find some purchase.
At last, he managed to completely unbutton her bodice, then spread it open, pushing the top aside and partway down her arms. It exposed her shoulder, but also bound her arms more tightly to her side. The sensation was scintillating, especially when he leaned into kiss her neck and shoulders. Not just kiss either, lick, nip, and suckle as well. She pressed her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, sighing with pleasure…and he hadn’t even touched anything truly sensitive yet.
That changed in a matter of seconds as he rained kisses down to the top of her breasts. She arched forward, feeling her nipples harden against the constraint of her corset and chemise. She wanted to feel his mouth and hands on her, imagined how amazing it would feel if he would rake his tongue across her sensitive flesh.
Some part of him must have heard her. He pulled back, breathing deeply, only to unhook the fastenings of her corset. His hips still held her fast against the wall, the pressure of his staff clear through the layers of fabric around her legs. Her arms might have been constricted, but as he worked her corset loose, she gathered up handful after handful of her skirts, tugging them higher and struggling to remove as many layers of barrier between their bodies as she could.
As soon as her corset was as loose as it could get in their current position, he tugged the ribbon holding the front of her chemise, then pushed it aside. He flicked the chemise straps off her shoulders, and with a swift tug pulled the entire top of her dress down several inches. Her arms were further trapped at her sides, but her breasts slipped free of all restrains. A longing cry escaped from her. The muscles of her core twitched in anticipation, the ache there reaching dizzying strength, and she arched her chest forward.
He took up her invitation with heated intensity, cupping both of her breasts in his large hands. She hadn’t realized how large his hands were, with long, strong fingers, until they were surrounding her.
“So beautiful,” he whispered, stroking his thumbs across her nipples.
Her core tightened with pleasure in response. She squeezed her thighs around him, and he pressed into her harder as a reward. She bit her lip over a pleading cry, wanting him so badly she could hardly bring herself to breathe.
He responded by hoisting her higher and bending forward to close his mouth around her right breast. As his tongue flicked her nipple, she felt a jolt of pleasure so intense that for a moment she thought she might climax. She’d never done such a thing simply from her lover suckling her breast before. Then again, she hadn’t felt even a fraction of the passion, of the love, for Craig as she felt for Athos now. And Craig had used her, whereas Athos’s every touch and movement fired her blood. She gasped outright as he raked his teeth gently across the hardened nub of her nipple.
“Athos.” She breathed out his name as a plea and a prayer. She wanted to reach for him, to thread her fingers through his hair and encourage him to go on, but her arms were held fast by her sides. She continued to draw her skirts up inch by inch as much as possible, but the fabric was caught between the two of them.
He inched back, then blew on her wet, inflamed nipple. She gasped and shuddered and squirmed at the sudden shock of cold when the rest of her was burning. “Let me help you.” His voice was a liquid purr, sending even more tremors pulsing through her.
Holding her carefully, first with one arm, then the other, he worked her skirts up until they bunched around her waist with her bodice in front and hung loose in the back. One hand continued to search as soon as the barrier was removed, testing the cotton of her drawers, finding the split in the center, and delving inside. He raked his fingernails against the tender flesh of her thigh. She had never been so grateful for split drawers in her life.
Without a lick of hesitation, he trailed his fingers right up into the wet heat of her opening. She started to gasp, and then shouted outright as he plunged a finger inside of her. The move was so unexpected that again she thought her body would burst into completion. She was sure she would have if Athos had moved or stroked or caused any further friction at all, but he didn’t. He stayed perfectly still as they were. The mad intimacy of his finger inside of her as she panted, chest heaving, and fought not to bear down on him to find her own pleasure was dizzying.
He leaned closer and whispered, “Do you want it?” so close that his breath tickled her ear.
She wanted his mouth on her breasts again. She wanted him to tickle her inner walls and rub his thumb across the hard, pulsing point of pleasure between her legs. He was so close to touching her there already. She wanted him naked above her, below her, behind her, it didn’t matter. She wanted him to take her in every way possible, even the ones she hadn’t particularly enjoyed before, all at the same time and then again in succession. She wanted everything and more.”
“This isn’t enough?” he murmured, teasing her earlobe with his tongue. Even that simple gesture ratcheted up her pulse. “You want more?”
Her heart burst as though he had heard her most wicked thoughts. “Yes,” she panted, digging her nails into the wallpaper behind her. It was the only motion she was capable of right then.
He withdrew his hand from her, and for a moment she sagged in disappointment. Only a moment, though. She felt his hand moving, felt him swivel his hips, and then seconds later the hot, flared tip of his staff pressed into the molten folds of her sex.
She barely had time to open her mouth in shock before he thrust into her. It was quick and hard, forceful, and yet infinitely tender at the same time. And he was large. She shouted out of pure, primal instinct, pleasure building in her so fast that she was certain she would lose her mind. She jerked her hips, bearing down on him in restless, frantic movement as he held her against the wall and thrust hard and fast, growling with deep, male abandon as he did. There was no way she could hold on, and with cries in time to each of his powerful thrusts, she broke apart, her core convulsing with blinding strength around him.
Even after her passion had spent itself, she was still alive and pulsing with need. He continued to thrust in her until with one uncontrollable movement he surged harder, calling out, “Elspeth,” then began to slow to a stop.
He leaned into her, using the angle of his body as much as his muscle to keep them both upright, wedged against the wall. Elspeth couldn’t have moved if she’d tried. All she could do was feel the heat and weight and strength of him. Above all, she was acutely aware that he was still inside of her. He touched his forehead to the wall beside her, breathing heavily. She turned her head to him and smiled, beamed from the center of her soul. In no way had she ever imagined their first time would be as sizzling or as unusual as this. And crazy as it felt, she still wanted more.
As soon as his breathing began to steady, he lifted his head enough to look in her eyes. Uncertainty shone in his eyes at first, but he must have seen the excitement and continued hunger in her. His hesitance vanished, replaced by a renewed flame, and he shifted so that he could kiss her. This kiss was ten times as searing as the first ones. It was the kiss of a lover. His hands slipped down to her breasts again, and this time when he pinned her to the wall with his hips, he was inside of her.
“All right,” he panted, breaking their kiss only to press his forehead to hers. His hands continued to knead and tease and own her breasts. “This is what we’re going to do.”
She hummed to let him know that she was listening.
“I’m going to slide out of you and then I’m going to set you on your feet.”
“Mmm hmm.” She licked her lips, moving her hips enough to tease him.
“After that,” he resumed, his voice thick with continued desire, “we’re going to our own bedroom.”
“We are?” She breathed deeply, her chest thrusting forward into his hands. His gaze darted down to the swell of her breasts, her nipples still firm and pink as he played with them.
/> “And then we’re going to get completely naked, because I want to see all of you.”
“There are a few things I want to get a look at too,” she panted. If her hands were free, she would have reached for those things right then and there.
He groaned and stole a hot kiss before going on with his plan. “Then I want you on your back in our bed, where I intend to kiss my way from your lips to your breasts to your stomach to your treasure chest. And then I plan to pick your lock with my tongue until you come about three more times.”
“Oh,” she sighed, giggling and mewling at the same time. Her hips twitched, and if she wasn’t mistaken, he jumped and tightened inside of her.
“And after that—” His voice dropped to a roguish rumble. “—I’m going to sink so deep inside of you and take you so completely that you’ll cry with bliss and shout out my name.”
“Dear heavens, yes,” she moaned, hips working as if she wanted to start right then.
“And then,” he whispered, so sultry that she held her body rigid in anticipation.
“Yes?” she panted when he didn’t go on.
“And then,” he brushed his lips over hers, then kissed her with enough passion to draw her soul up from the deepest part of her. “And then you’ll probably end up pregnant with triplets.”
She burst into laughter, but it was a kind of silky, sensual laughter that she’d never felt before. He was so…Athos. So absolutely perfect in such wildly unexpected ways, and so devastatingly sweet at the same time.
“I tell you truly, husband of mine,” she murmured, squeezing her inner muscles to hold him and surging forward to nip at his lips. “There are things I want you to do to me right now that I doubt the Bonneville sisters have the slightest inclination of.”
“Naughty things?” He chuckled, the sparkle in his eyes equal parts humor, lust, and…and love.
“Very naughty things,” she whimpered, exaggerating her already raging desire for him.
“I’m good at naughty things.” He began to move subtly inside of her, hardening once more. “You have no idea how good at them I am.”