“How dare you?” Charmaine said icily to her husband, outraged over his impoliteness toward her admirers. “They wanted nothing more than to converse and maybe dance a little. You know, what normal persons do, socialize!”
“Hell, no,” Sin sneered, lowering his voice so only she could hear. “If you think socializing was all they wanted, you are too naïve for your own good. No, my dear wife, all they want to do is to rip your expensive gown from your delicious body and bury themselves deep inside of you.”
She felt her cheeks burn hot as he spoke, as if they were on fire.
“Y-you…” She knew not what to say in response to such brutal honesty, and he laughed coldly at her.
“Come on, Charmaine, your sweet ears must have heard worse from all those men who have been hovering around you.”
She shook her head, numb, and he snorted with disbelief.
“I don’t believe you. At least one of all those men you have been flirting with must have whispered more than odes to your beauty. Someone must have told you exactly how much he would like to fondle those swelling breasts of yours?”
She shook her head again, her cheeks burning even more fiercely at his outspokenness.
“No.” Her voice was only a meek shadow of a whisper, and he snorted again, although with a bit less heat than before.
“I don’t believe you. I’ve been standing there for years, watching you at different parties. You have always been surrounded by men fighting for a place by your side. I find it hard to believe none of them has ever told you what he wants to do to you.”
So he had watched her?
She liked that thought—Sin standing aside, his dark eyes never leaving her person. It made her feel more powerful, knowing he had been interested enough to seek her out in a crowd. Straightening her back, she pushed her embarrassment away.
“Exactly,” she hissed through her teeth. “As you just said, I was never alone. I was always surrounded by too many men, who searched for anything that could give them an inkling I had a special interest in them.”
“Aha!” Sin scowled at her. “You admit it, then? You admit I was right and you’re not as innocent as you’d like us to believe?”
“Sin…”
“Who was it?” The vein in his temple pulsated angrily, and she took a step back with surprise.
He was still jealous!
Her indifferent husband, who didn’t care about her at all and who had been against her and their marriage all along, was jealous. Suddenly everything changed, including his present brazen accusations of her, and she clenched her jaws to avoid gloating too openly.
So he didn’t care about her?
Maybe he didn’t love her as much as she wanted him to—as much as she yearned for him to do—but he still cared enough for her to stand in the midst of a curious crowd and demand that she tell him whom she had let remove her innocence.
“It was Dane, wasn’t it? Don’t deny it, the way you used to look at him is answer enough. So how was it, throwing away your decency on a man who left you to marry another woman? It must have been devastating for you to find out how little your virginity meant to him. How little your honor meant to him.”
“You told me you believed me, the other day. You told me you knew I’m as innocent as I claim.”
“Why don’t you just admit the truth?” he said, ignoring her pleasing voice, too caught up in his jealousy to recognize how badly he was behaving. “Sooner or later I will find out the answer, so why deny me the pleasure of knowing who?”
She blushed again, as the image of them together in bed filled her mind’s eye—not side by side, as far away from each other as possible, as it had been up until now. No, instead he was close to her, his skin against hers. His hot mouth kissing hers, craving her so much he made her weak with the need of him.
She shivered with anticipation as she took a step closer to him, looking up into his dark eyes, the knowledge of his jealousy brazening her. He stiffened when she put her hand lightly against his chest.
“So why don’t you?”
Her husky whisper had him frowning suspiciously. “Why don’t I what?”
“Find out.”
“Find out what? What are you talking ab—”
He broke off as he caught her game, and she felt his heart start to pound faster under her hand.
“Find out if I’m a virgin or not.”
“My God, Charmaine. You don’t know what you’re asking of me.”
For the first time ever she thanked her lucky star she was used to keeping her facial expression under control, and she maintained the seductiveness of her smile. She felt more embarrassed than ever before, but she had to see this through.
This was Sin—her husband.
The man she wanted to fall in love with and spend the rest of her life in obscure happiness with.
“I’m asking you to rip off my dress.”
He stopped breathing for a second as his eyes turned even darker.
“Charmaine…”
“I’m asking you to fondle my breasts.”
“For goodness’ sake…”
She lifted her face to his ear, and whispered into it, “I’m asking you to bury yourself…”
He clamped his hand over her mouth. “Stop it.”
She shook her head, unable to speak behind his hand, and he laughed hoarsely. “You don’t know what you’re asking me to do.”
Still with his hand over her mouth, she nodded.
He closed his eyes briefly before looking at her again, and she knew she had won. Somehow she had reached through his prejudice regarding her person.
“Come.”
He let go of her mouth and instead grabbed her hand, hauling her behind him as he stalked out of the ballroom, not stopping for anything or anyone until they were inside their bedroom, the door firmly locked.
His fingers shivered as he tried to unbutton her dress, and feeling strangely frivolous she grabbed the delicate fabric and tugged it hard, so all the small buttons flew all over the room.
“Didn’t I ask you to rip it?” she breathed and did the same to his shirt, sending more buttons flying.
“Oh, my God, Charmaine,” Sin breathed, with so much need in his voice she couldn’t wait longer for him to move. Bravely she grabbed his hands and put them on her breasts, almost fainting from the sensation of it.
“Didn’t I ask you to fondle them?”
Her outspoken question broke through the last of his resistance, and with a moan he did what she had yearned for all along: he kissed her.
Again and again his mouth ravished hers and his hands moved over her, and she forgot everything but him and the passion he woke inside her. The pain, when he finally entered her, brought her for a moment back to her senses, and she looked up at him.
“You asked for it.” He grinned as he met her eyes, and she laughed, too happy at finally being close to him to take offense at his outrageousness. She had, after all, started it with her own blunt behavior.
“What took you so long?” she purred, and with another growl he bent and kissed her hotly as he started to move inside her. She hadn’t known she was capable of such overwhelming desire and subsequent satisfaction.
“Did I hurt you?”
Lightly he caressed the soft skin of her cheek, and she shook her head, still dizzy from the explosions of sensation he had taken her through. “No, not much.”
“You are so beautiful.”
She heard the honesty in his raw voice and for once didn’t let the words pass. Instead she took it for what it was, an apology and an outstretched olive branch.
“I know,” she teased, and he laughed lightly, seeming almost relieved.
“I know you know.”
“That’s good to know.”
They shared a sated smile as he rolled off her, dragging her with him so she ended up as if glued to his side, her head on his arm. It was such an intimate position it brought tears to her eyes.
“Are you cry
ing?”
She shook her head. “No, not much.”
“No? Or not much?”
She giggled through her tears. “Not much, then, I guess.”
“Why?”
She let her hand caress his stomach, feeling his muscles flex under the gentle pressure of her hand. “I thought this would never happen.”
He hugged her closer to him, and she felt his hot breath in her hair as he planted a tender kiss on the top of her head.
“Well, all you had to do was ask.”
Something warm started to build inside her at the tenderness in his voice. She let her hand travel downwards, as far as she dared, bending her head backwards as she tried to look as inviting as she could.
“Please?”
He put his hand over her wandering one just as she was about to reach his most manly part, and his eyes narrowed. “Are you asking me what I think you are?”
She had no chance to reply as his hot mouth clamped down on hers, fulfilling her request. Eagerly she followed his lead, following him into a state of perfect bliss.
Chapter Ten
“If you don’t stop blushing soon, everyone will know what we have been doing all night.”
She threw a bun at him, and he ducked to the side, sending her an intimate smile that made her heart flutter in response.
What a night it had been!
Over and over again they had made sweet love, and when the morning sun found its way in through their window, they’d still been in each other’s arms, unable to fall asleep. She didn’t mind the drowsiness or the soreness between her legs that made it almost impossible for her to sit without pain. She was a new woman today.
She was Sin’s woman.
As if the knowledge of her being all his and his alone had released the last splinter of doubt in his mind, he had been more than loveable toward her ever since they’d got up from their bed.
He didn’t seem able to stop touching her.
She had lost count of all the times he had hauled her into his arms, kissing her until she was only a shivering pile of human flesh. It was almost as if he couldn’t stop kissing her now that he was allowed.
She didn’t mind.
“You missed,” he enlightened her unnecessarily, and she couldn’t hold back a giggle.
“Did I, now?”
“Uh-hum.”
“Sorry.”
He raised his eyebrows. “What have I said about being sorry?”
“That I shouldn’t be.”
“So stop it.”
She grabbed another bun and took a bite of it, staring at his mouth over the edge of it.
“Stop it,” he hissed hoarsely, and she arched her own eyebrows, mimicking his earlier move.
“Stop what?”
“Looking at me like that.”
“Like how?”
“Like you wish I was that bun.”
Oh.
She liked that thought and ripped a large chunk of it with her teeth.
“Ouch,” he growled, his eyes glistening with laughter. “That hurt.”
“I hope so.”
“What have I done to deserve this?”
“You still haven’t apologized to me for thinking what I hope you found out I hadn’t done.”
“Still dwelling on that?” He sighed, and she nodded.
“Yes. And still waiting for the apology.”
“I’m sorry.”
“All right.”
He chuckled over her quick acceptance. “You don’t even know what I’m sorry about.”
“I don’t care,” she admitted, sending him her brightest smile. “As long as you’ve told me that you are sorry, I can fill in the rest of it myself. Much more satisfying, I assure you.”
“A woman of my liking.”
“I salute that.”
She raised her cup of tea toward him, and he saluted her with his. “To my wife.”
“When I heard you two got married I didn’t believe a word of it, and yet here you sit making love to each other with your eyes.”
“Uncle Rake!”
Sin smiled broadly toward the elegant man who had approached their table unnoticed. Behind him stood Penelope, looking extremely happy, and Charmaine felt like the worst person alive.
“Penelope! My goodness, I forgot all about you yesterday. How are you? Oh, I’m the worst chaperone who ever set foot on this earth.”
Her sister laughed and threw her arms around Rake’s waist. “Oh, I don’t mind, as Rake arrived shortly after Sin dragged you away from the ballroom. We got married!”
Charmaine squealed with delight, throwing herself at her sister and Rake, the latter moaning as the force of her body hit them.
“Oh, my, Penny, how fantastic! I’m so happy for you!”
Rake sent Sin an amused grin over the heads of the laughing and crying sisters in his arms. “I must say, it makes it a bit easier to get married when the love of your life runs away to Gretna Green.”
“Penny is a smart girl and knew she would have to act quickly when you finally gave in,” Sin mocked, and his uncle raised an eyebrow.
“I gave in? Who do you think has been keeping at least an arm’s length between us the last couple of years? Not I, I assure you.”
He let go of the teary-eyed sisters and sat down in the chair Charmaine had vacated. With a wave of his hand he sent a starry-eyed serving wench for two more cups.
“You look tired,” Sin said, noticing the dark smudges under his uncle’s eyes, and Rake nodded, for once without a mocking grin.
“I am. It’s been...hard...for a while. But now I can rest. She’s my wife—finally—and now I know she will be where I want her to be and nowhere else.”
Penelope walked over to her husband and sat down beside him, grabbing his hand in hers as if afraid he would disappear if she let go of him for more than a minute. The look Rake gave her was so filled with love that more tears filled Charmaine’s eyes out of sheer happiness.
And maybe just a little bit of envy.
She met Sin’s warm eyes, and he beckoned her to come to him. She sat down beside him with her hands in her lap, as close to him as she dared without being scandalous.
Rake and Penelope might not care about what the surrounding people thought, but for Charmaine it had always been most important to behave according to all the rules of etiquette, down to the letter. All her life, until now, she had been desperate to behave correctly, because just one wrong move would have her stepfather at her immediately, lecturing her for her mistake and trying to touch her wherever he could as long as he had her alone.
Luckily her mother had always had a sixth sense when it came to Lord Nester’s infatuation for Charmaine, always knowing when to arrive and save her daughter from his unwelcome advances.
She felt Sin’s glance, but she held her pose, noticing how the others in the room looked their way, all because of the lovesick couple across the table. Rake didn’t seem able to stop sending his wife smoldering looks, and Penelope looked as smug as a cat with a fresh-caught mouse.
“It’s good to see you,” Sin admitted warmly, and Rake gave a brief nod, without words telling the nephew two years his junior that he felt the same way.
“I was just about to give up on you,” Penelope told her husband sweetly, and he raised his infamous eyebrow toward her.
“Really?”
“We have been here for almost a month now, and Sin has duties which await him. It’s not his fault you took your time getting here.”
Rake chuckled, and Charmaine noticed how all the ladies nearby looked ready to faint as they watched the handsome man. He had such charisma, this Lord Richard Darling, and he knew exactly how to use it. The only woman he had never been able to coax into whatever he wanted was Penelope, all because she was too much in love with him—and knew him too well—to fall for it.
As Rake caught Charmaine watching him, he winked to her with a smile filled with wicked amusement, and she shook her head lightly. He was such a
scoundrel, but a very loveable one.
He, who flirted with all women, had never flirted with her, something she always had been grateful for. It had been a relief to know he didn’t have to conquer every woman around. Maybe he had avoided her because she was Penelope’s sister.
“I must admit it was a surprise to hear you two had gotten married. As far as I knew, you two were never an item.”
Sin moved his hand under the table and put it lightly on Charmaine’s knee, as if he wanted to offer her some strength. She should have known Rake would be curious. He had not been in Chester Park when they were found in the guestroom, as he had been heading toward London at that moment, to save Penelope.
“Our marriage was forced by my parents, something I think you are well aware of.”
“I am.” Rake grinned. “But that you were obliged to marry doesn’t mean there isn’t a story behind it. You two were, after all, found in bed together, as I heard it.”
“We are married. That’s it.”
“Ah,” Rake breathed. “There is a story.”
“There is?” Penelope glanced curiously at her sister. “Have you been hiding something from me, Charmaine? Here I’ve been telling you everything about my feelings for Rake, wrenching my heart inside out, and not once have you mentioned you might have feelings for Sin. Not once. Should I be upset?”
Charmaine felt Sin stiffen beside her, and she wanted desperately to stuff a bun into her sister’s too-large mouth.
Bloody hell!
Why couldn’t Penelope just be quiet? So she might not have spoken much of Sin, but then again, she had never spoken much about anyone during their small chats.
Not even Lord Dane.
Mostly because her sister had been chatting constantly about her love for Rake, and Charmaine had not had the heart to interrupt her. But also because Charmaine had been too afraid she might by mistake mention her problem with their stepfather.
“If I know you right, my love, you probably ranted on and on constantly about how wonderful I am and never gave your poor sister a chance to come clean about it,” Rake teased his wife, and Charmaine could have kissed him as Penelope glared at him, removing her attention from her sister.
The Beauty of You Page 11