Noble Scoundrel (Peril & Persuasion Book 1)

by Amy Sandas

  He’d already shown her how to free herself from a few frontal holds, including one where he wrapped his hands around her throat. Feeling his large hands against her rapid pulse as he stood close towering over her had been a singular experience.

  Singular and confusing.

  Because in the moment before he’d started explaining how she could strike at his elbows or jab his throat to loosen his grip, she actually felt a strange rush of sexual exhilaration.

  Up until that moment, she’d had no trouble focusing on the task at hand.

  After that moment, however...

  “Come on, duchess,” he said with a cocky wave of his hand. “Don’t tell me you’re giving up?”

  She nearly growled but held it back, stepping toward him before turning in place to give him her back. But the second he stepped up behind her to wrap his great arms around her shoulders, crossing them over her breasts...she lost all rational thought.

  Her senses became instantly overwhelmed by the strength of him standing so solid behind her, the heat of him surrounding her, the thud of his heartbeat, the stir of his breath. The raw, masculine sound he made when her buttocks bumped against his groin as she shifted her stance.

  She also had to combat the tingle of her own skin—so sensitive and hot. The weakness in her knees. The tightness in her chest making it difficult to draw a full breath. The swirl in her belly and the insistent awakening pulse between her legs.

  “Whenever you’re ready, luv,” he murmured huskily against her temple.

  That did it. His use of the endearment sent a wave of sensual longing through her body. She sagged in surrender, which only allowed for more contact between their bodies. “I can’t.”

  “You just need more practice. You’ve almost got it.”

  “No,” she nearly shouted, tugging fiercely at his wrists to release his grip. “I need a moment.”

  He let her go but didn’t back away from her. “D’you expect your enemy to give you a chance to think or rest?”

  The derision in his voice had her whipping to face him, anger heating her face even more. “I’m not an idiot. I just need a second.”

  “I should’ve known this’d be too much for you.”

  “The training is not too much for me, you arrogant beast,” she said with a two-handed shove against his chest that didn’t budge him an inch. Putting all she had into her next shove, she pressed her palms to his solid chest as she nearly shouted, “You are too much for me.”

  She realized what she’d admitted as his eyes flashed with understanding and his mouth widened into an infuriating grin. Releasing a raw sound of utter frustration and more than a hint of embarrassment, she spun around, intending to walk out of there as quickly as her tired legs could move.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” Hale replied as he snaked an arm around her middle, drawing her back against him.

  Her senses were instantly consumed by him—the solid warmth of his muscles, the smell of his skin, earthy and masculine, and his heavy voice in her ear and in her blood. It was exactly what she’d been trying to escape. Sparks tingled along her sensitized nerves and another wave of heat flooded her intimate flesh.

  All of it magnified by a hundred.

  Spinning in place before he could react, she tucked her foot behind his calf while shoving hard into his midsection. If he hadn’t already been a bit off-balance in his lunge to grab her, the desperate move never would have worked. As it was, it worked too well, instantly sending him toward the floor.

  The only problem was that he still had a hold of her.

  He landed on his back with a hard oomph while Katherine ended up sprawled atop him. As soon as he caught his breath, he started laughing.

  “You’re unbelievable,” Katherine muttered as she tried to push herself away from him to rise back to her feet. Her attempts only caused him to tighten his arm around her back as he brought his other hand to the back of her thigh, probably to guide her shifting knee away from his groin. Though she realized his intention was nothing more than self-preservation, it didn’t stop the way his warm, heavy palm resting close to the curve of her rear had her insides twisting in an alarming way.

  Lifting his head from the floor, he met her wide-eyed gaze with an appreciative smile. “Well done.”

  She immediately closed her eyes and tried harder to break his hold.

  “Hold on,” he muttered before he lifted his hand to palm the back of head at the same time that he rolled them both over. In the span of a breath, she found herself laid out beneath his heavy male body.

  Every thought left her in a rush.

  She went painfully still.

  Hale loomed over her, larger than life. He was propped up on his elbows, with one of his hands beneath her head and the other tucked into the small of her back. Though his shoulders were lifted, his hard belly was flush to hers and one of his thighs pressed between her legs. His hair had loosened from its queue and fell in tousled flaxen waves around his face—his handsome, harsh-angled face. The green of his eyes was more intense than she’d ever seen, and his mouth was shaped into that infuriatingly wicked, self-satisfied grin.

  “Better?” he asked in a thick murmur.

  She nearly groaned her annoyance, but she couldn’t get the sound past the swirl of sensation welling inside her. All she could do was force her breath to continue in and out as desire infused every inch of her.

  Because it was better. Immensely so. As though her body was finally getting exactly what it had been straining toward over the last quarter hour.

  Him. Hard, strong, heavy against the most sensitive parts of her.

  On instinct she sought more of the delicious feel of him. Her hands had gripped at his upper arms when he’d rolled her to her back, and now, she curled her fingers around the bulging muscles of his triceps, testing their hardness. A soft arching of her spine brought her beasts into brief contact with the hard planes of his chest. A subtle shift of her legs and a tilt of her hips allowed the weight of his thigh to settle more intimately to her core.

  His harsh groan rumbled in her ear.

  Though he held his body rigid, his head lung low beside hers. Veins stood out in the thick length of his neck, and the muscles that ran out to his shoulders were bunched with tension.

  She was well aware of how shameless she was behaving, but she’d just spent the last hour fighting him and her reaction to him. She was exhausted. And right now, all she wanted to do was give herself over to the feelings coursing through her.

  If he’d said anything then—if he’d laughed or given her a knowing smirk—she might have found the will somewhere inside her to break free of him.

  But he didn’t.

  What he did do was far more devastating. And absolutely perfect.

  A slight turn of his head brought his mouth to the side of her throat right below her ear. The kiss was firm, intentional, needful, but soft. He pressed another velvet kiss beneath her jaw, urging her head back. Then another against the heavy pulse in her throat.

  Katherine bit her lower lip as tingling sparks coursed through her. She didn’t want to think about how this shouldn’t be happening. She didn’t want to do or say anything that might stop it. She wanted it to go on and on.

  Another kiss to the crest of her collarbone had her arching her back again, seeking closer contact.

  The sound he made, similar to that low, gravelly hum but different—hotter and more erotic—angled straight through her to the sensitive throbbing between her legs. She tipped her hips, pressing herself to his thigh, desperate to ease the aching.

  With another growling sound, he shifted a hand to palm the curve of her buttocks. Taking command, he began moving her hips in a subtle rocking rhythm against his thigh.

  Pleasure flooded her limbs. Her body became molten desire. She curled her fingertips hard into the muscles of his arms as her gaze went hazy.

  “I should’ve known your passion would be sparked by your anger. Such a lovely surrender,” he murmur
ed in praise.

  “This is not a surrender,” she argued. Breathless.

  Unfazed by the rebellion in her gaze, he smiled—soft and sensual. “Trust me, luv.” The curve of his lips turned wicked. “I’ll make it worth every second.”

  Of course he would. She had no doubt of that. Not after the brief taste she’d gotten last night. But she didn’t fool herself for a moment into thinking he was speaking of anything more than physical pleasures. Was it enough?

  She stared up at him, holding her breath. The shape of his mouth melted the most intimate parts of her while the glinting sparks in his gorgeous eyes emboldened and inspired her.

  Why resist the fire inside her? Why deny the hunger?

  She wanted him. Needed him. It was that simple.

  As soon as she acknowledged it, something tugged inside her. Tugged. Stretched breathlessly. Then settled into place with a sultry sigh. It was enough. For now. She’d worry about the rest later.

  Sliding her hands up over his insanely taut shoulders, she released a breath that was more ragged than soft. His eyes flashed with fire when she smoothed her palms up the length of his throat then slowly dove her fingers back through the silky hair at his nape. The masculine hum of pleasure issuing from his throat urged her to draw his head down.

  He might think it surrendering, but she knew better. She was simply claiming what she’d wanted all along. Narrowing her gaze, she replied in a husky tone, “You’d better.” Then she pressed her mouth to his.

  He reacted instantly. Tightening his grip on her skull and tilting his head to fit his mouth more aggressively to hers.

  Katherine parted her lips, seeking the taste of him. He obliged with a bold thrust of his tongue. It was invasive and demanding and unbelievably erotic. Her heavy moan encouraged another languid thrust, and this time, her tongue was ready and eager to meet his with a twirling caress.

  Just as she began to lose herself in the rich, sultry attention of his mouth, his hand shifted from her rear. After a brief and heady squeeze at the inner curve of her waist, he slid his hand up along her rib cage until his thumb brushed across the crest of her breast, flattened beneath the snug fit of her waistcoat.

  She broke from his kiss with a gasp at the first pass over her nipple. When he did it again, she arched into his touch. How could such a simple caress create such an intense spread of sensation? Her nipple tightened, becoming even more sensitive in readiness for the moment his large hand moved to cover the soft mound completely. His fingers gently kneaded before he circled the peak with his forefinger.

  It was amazing. Sparks of pleasure shot through her, tingling across her skin, dancing through her blood, intensifying her desire. The need inside her was overwhelming. In a wonderful way.

  She didn’t realize she’d been fisting her hand in his hair until she released him to press her palms against his chest. “Wait,” she gasped. “Stop.”

  A growl slid from his lips, but he lifted his hand from her breast to press it flat to the floor beside her. His expression was fierce with lust raging hot and unfettered in his gaze as he allowed her to push him until her arms could move freely between them. Her eyes flickered closed for a second as his new position caused his thigh to fit more tightly to her sex, inspiring a rush of tingling heat.

  But then she remembered why she’d stopped him.

  Her fingers flew to the buttons of her waistcoat, releasing them quickly.

  As soon as he realized what she was doing, a wonderfully animalistic sound vibrated from his throat.

  Katherine’s fingers moved faster.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Mason straightened his arms to lift his weight from her soft warmth while she hastily shrugged free of the woolen waistcoat. Grasping the garment, he tugged it free from beneath her before tossing it carelessly aside. His gaze feasted hungrily on her increasingly exposed skin—flushed a pretty pink—as she opened the fastenings of her shirt.

  “No corset?” His voice was unsteady.

  Her eyes lifted to his. “Corsets are the exact opposite of comfortable.”

  He chuckled at her dry tone.

  Once she had the shirt open nearly to her navel, he couldn’t wait any more. Grasping the material at her shoulder, he pulled it down until one full breast was exposed. A soft mound of pale flesh, crested with a rose-colored nipple already tightly puckered.

  With a growl, he lowered his head to the peak, closing his mouth around it in full.

  She gasped then sighed throatily, a sound that made his stomach tighten. Her hands dove into his hair to grip his skull and her back bowed in a deep arch. With the first swirl of his tongue over the pebbled little rosebud, her fingernails scored his scalp.

  What a fierce, demanding creature she was.

  He suckled deep, drawing her harshly into his mouth.

  She groaned—a thick, sultry sound—while the tension in her thighs went momentarily slack.

  Mason didn’t hesitate. In a moment, he adjusted to settle more properly between her legs. On the next hard pull of his mouth on her breast, he rolled his hips, pressing his hard, aching length to her core. He craved the feel of her heat against him. Around him.

  But not yet. First, he wanted to explore her. Taste her.

  Giving another lavish swirl of his tongue before offering just a subtle scrape of his teeth, he tugged at her shirt again until he had it pulled down to where it caught at her elbows. Both breasts were bared to his gaze. Lovely, pert, modest swells. And his for the taking.

  As he lowered his head to take the second peak into his mouth, he looked at her face.

  Her eyes were closed beneath her slightly furrowed brow, and her thick lashes were an elegant fan against her skin. Her lips were parted and glistening, as if she’d just run her tongue over them. The pulse at the side of her throat was visible and rapid.

  She was stunning.

  He teased her swollen nipple with little flicks of his tongue. After a moment, he was rewarded with a gentle flutter of her lashes as she opened her eyes. Her gaze was fierce as she met his. Her breath shallow and ragged. The gentle prick of her fingernails on his scalp told him she wanted more. She needed more.

  He waited. His mouth hovered above her breast while just his tongue played over the tip.

  She watched him with glittering eyes, her focus avid and entrancing. As though the sight of his mouth at her breast was nearly as exciting as the feel of it.

  How long would she allow the teasing?

  Last night, he’d mentioned how he’d fantasized various ways he’d love to torment her, and he’d seen the way her eyes had brightened at the thought. Damn, there were so many ways he wanted to bring her to pleasure.

  Pursing his lips, he blew a soft stream of air across her nipple, loving the way it puckered even more. Loving the way she shivered. Her legs shifted, tensing and squeezing his hips. Her shoulders pressed back and her hands curled into fists in his hair.

  The tug of pain in his scalp pulled a low growl from his chest, and he extended his tongue in a swift little flick over her pink bud.

  Her fists tightened even more and he laughed. Teasing her was more enjoyable than he’d expected, but he wanted more. And he knew she did too. “Don’t say you’ve suddenly gotten shy about telling me what to do,” he taunted gently.

  Her gaze narrowed as her tongue slid across her lower lip. “Take me in your mouth.” Her voice was firm and hot.

  “With pleasure,” he murmured as he closed his mouth over her breast. He sucked hard on her flesh and she arched off the floor, giving him more. Demanding more.

  The next draw of his mouth was accompanied by the edge of his teeth sinking gently into her softness. The sound she made in response went straight to his painfully hardened cock, making it swell and throb against her cleft. He reached down between them to run his palm along his length in a hard stroke before he adjusted himself to a better angle within his breeches. Then he aligned himself with her core once again and gave a rolling thrust that had h
er lips lifting off the floor.

  Ah, if she were fully naked right now, that thrust would have put him inside her. Just the thought hardened him to nearly bursting. Releasing her breast, he clenched his back teeth to keep himself from coming, but nothing could stop him from giving another hard thrust.

  Fuck. He needed to stop before he lost it. Gathering every bit of self-control he still possessed, he lifted his hips away.

  With a ragged sound of protest, she released his hair and reached down to grab his arse in both hands. Tilting her hips toward him, she whispered a raw command, “Don’t stop.”

  Groaning, he tensed his buttocks to rock into her again. Heavy. Hard. Grinding against her core.

  Her knees bent alongside his hips as she pressed her bare feet into the floor, leveraging herself to receive more of him. A pretty pink flush covered her chest and crept up her throat. Her nipples were tight buds, and though he enjoyed tormenting her there, he suddenly needed the taste of her mouth.

  Trailing a path up her neck with his tongue and teeth, he nipped sharply at her jaw before claiming her parted lips with a bold thrust of his tongue.

  She welcomed the invasion, sucking his tongue deeper into her mouth. Drawing on him in a way that had him thinking of her tight, hot sex doing the same to his cock. His groan was heavy as his blood rushed south. Grinding his hips in a circular motion against her, he forgot any reason to hold back.

  She arched and writhed. Her hands stayed firmly gripping his arse, keeping him in place, demanding the relentless rhythm of his hips pumping between her thighs.

  His stomach dipped and his balls tightened with an approaching climax.

  He should stop. He wasn’t going to.

  Deliriously intent upon claiming her own pleasure, she wouldn’t have allowed him to anyway. The rough little gasping breaths she released into his mouth told him she was close, though he would have known it anyway by her tightly squeezed eyes and the heated wetness soaking into his breeches.