by Stella Riley
‘He’s offered me a house and a carriage and – oh, all the usual things. I refused, of course … but now I’m wondering if --’
‘No,’ said Ashley, before he could stop himself.
‘No?’ She waited and, when he said nothing, ‘The Vicomte is really quite kind and has the most beautiful manners, so I think I could grow to like him. And, since … well, since you and I seem to be at an impasse, it occurred to me that perhaps now might be a good time to settle for financial security – not to mention added protection from d’Auxerre. What do you think?’
A knife twisted in his gut and he had to clamp his lips together to stop himself saying No and no and no. Never in this life. You’ll prostitute yourself over my dead body.
He recognised that she might be trying to manipulate him … but after what he’d told her about himself, there was a distinct possibility that she wasn’t. His throat ached and something clawed at the inside of his chest. He tried telling himself that, if he was serious about not complicating her life, he ought to tell her to do as she thought fit. The problem was that he thought the words would choke him.
Athenais turned too quickly for him to guard his expression.
For a moment, stark grey eyes met tormented green ones. Then, a tiny smile quivering at the edges of her mouth, she said simply, ‘I see.’
He knew that she did but still he unlocked his jaws to say, ‘What do you see?’
‘Everything you’re refusing to say.’ She walked to him and laid her palm gently against his taut cheek. ‘Everything I’d sell my soul to hear.’
And that was when Ashley unravelled.
He pulled her against him, wrapping his arms about her as if he couldn’t ever let go. He said desperately, ‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I meant it for the best – and I tried. I really did. But it’s no good, is it? I can’t … I can’t … God, Athenais. I love you so much, I don’t know how to tell you.’
Sliding her hands around his neck, she stood on tiptoe to kiss his jaw and, trying to contain the wild emotions that were rushing through her, said unsteadily, ‘That was a very good first attempt.’
‘I’ll do better in time,’ he murmured, shifting the position of his hands. ‘Actually, I could do better now.’ And he took her mouth in a lingering, sinfully tempting kiss.
Athenais gave a tiny moan and plunged her fingers into his hair. Her heart was knocking against her ribs and her senses were already alight. He was hers. He had finally stopped trying to be noble and admitted it. He was hers … and the joy of it blazed through her like a comet.
Long minutes later, he said, ‘I apologise for the way I spoke to you earlier.’ He traced the line of her clavicle and beyond. ‘It was just that the idea of you and d’Auxerre – or, indeed, you and any man at all – was more than I could stomach.’ His tongue dipped into an unexpectedly sensitive spot beneath her ear. ‘But I could have used less intemperate language.’
‘Yes.’ She nipped his throat and tugged at the laces of his shirt until she could find the smooth hardness of his chest. ‘Intemperate. Yes.’
‘Athenais.’ His breath was suddenly very ragged. ‘You’ll need to stop doing that.’
‘You don’t like it?’
‘I like it too much.’ He trapped her exploring hand and held her away from him. ‘I want … I would like to make love to you. But --’
She batted at his hands, trying to lean close again. ‘Oh yes. Please.’
‘But I think you’re entitled to some sort of courtship before I take you to bed. So --’
She stopped struggling and impaled him on a very direct gaze.
‘Ashley, I love you. I’ve loved you for quite a long time. I think it began that day you carried me upstairs from the kitchen – though of course I didn’t know it then. I – I also want you in a way I never thought would be possible for me. So I don’t need to be courted. Although …’ A glimmer of mischief appeared. ‘It would be very romantic if you carried me up to my room again.’
‘Romantic.’ A quiver of laughter stirred. ‘Really?’
She nodded. ‘But if your leg is too sore --’
Ashley swept her off her feet and into his arms.
‘Bugger my leg,’ he said succinctly. And, with a swift, heart-stopping grin, ‘Romantic enough for you?’
~ * * ~ * * ~
SEVEN
Once in her room, Ashley pushed the door shut with his foot and set Athenais down so he could shoot the bolt. Then, imprisoning her between his body and the sturdy oak panels, he solicited her senses with another mind-stealing kiss while his fingers made short work of the laces of her gown. Then, when it dropped from her shoulders, giving him new areas to explore, he murmured, ‘You have no idea how long I’ve fantasised about this. I imagined spending hours removing your clothes, piece by piece, and discovering every delectable inch of you.’
‘Oh,’ said Athenais faintly as hot pulses stirred deep inside her. ‘Well …’
‘Yes.’ He trailed his mouth from jaw to collar-bone and started on her corset. ‘But I didn’t bargain for wanting you quite this much … so hours might be … difficult.’
His shirt was already half unfastened. Athenais finished the job and resumed her exploration of his chest. ‘Difficult?’
The corset finally yielded to his assault and he pushed both it and her gown away. Her chemise was of fine, almost transparent lawn threaded through with pale blue ribbons. For a moment, he forgot to breathe.
‘Mm. I don’t think … I’m not sure I can last that long.’
He ran his hands over her arms and shoulders to cup her breasts. Athenais gasped and responded by tracing the muscles of his abdomen with her fingertips. Everything in him tightened and his arousal spiralled upwards.
It was at this point that his brain finally managed to indicate that it was fighting a losing battle with his body. He’d always known that the merest touch caused an immediate and intense physical reaction … but he realised that now was no time to let it run away with him. This lovely girl had known only rape. It was his privilege to obliterate that memory; to make her first time with him as damned near perfect as it could possibly be … to give her every vestige of pleasure of which he was capable. And that wasn’t going to happen if he let his own desires set the pace.
He thought a shade desperately, Even if it kills me – and it feels as though it might – I will get this right .And then, bracingly, So find some control and slow down, you randy bastard … otherwise you don’t deserve her.
Drawing a deep, steadying breath, he said, ‘That is a very inviting shift. I like the ribbons.’
God. You ass. I like the ribbons? Is that really the best you can do? You’re lucky she’s not doubled up, laughing herself silly.
Perhaps fortunately, Athenais ignored him.
‘Your shirt,’ she grumbled against his throat, ‘is in the way.’
‘Is it? Then I’ll remove it … presently.’
‘Now, please.’
This time, doing a little better, he said, ‘Presently. We have all night … and you’ll enjoy it more if we take our time.’
The ribbon had slipped out of her hair which was now straying wildly about her shoulders. Shaking it back so that she could look at him, she said not without a touch of anxiety, ‘Am I doing this wrong?’
‘No.’ Smiling, he ran his fingers gently through the tumbled mane. ‘You’re doing it exactly right. But I have plans – one of which is to get as far as the bed.’
She was startled into an uncertain laugh.
‘Oh. You mean … oh. The alternative sounds rather wicked.’
‘A little, perhaps. And one day we’ll try it. But not tonight. Tonight you’re going to let me love you properly and trust me to show you how it should be. Will you do that?’
Her breath seized and her insides turned liquid. ‘Yes. Only …’
‘Only what?’
‘Your shirt … please?’
Ashley shook his head at her.
�
��Very well, you stubborn wench. But you’ll have to let go of me for a moment.’
Reluctantly, she withdrew her hands while he tugged the shirt over his head and tossed it aside. Then on a sigh, she murmured, ‘I love your chest. And your arms and your shoulders … but, most of all your chest. It’s so … so …’
‘Stop. I’m blushing.’
Amusement fused with mild embarrassment as she stared at him in wide-eyed, wordless admiration, so he drew her back into his arms and prevented her saying anything else by sealing her lips with his own. She melted against him and he took the opportunity to untie the tapes of her petticoats. Then, as they slid from her hips, he grasped her waist, lifted her from the pool of taffeta and cambric and set her down again two steps from the bed.
‘Now,’ he murmured huskily, toying lazily with the drawstring of her shift. ‘I’m woefully out of practice … so tell me what these pretty ribbons do?’
Impatient, oddly anxious and already half-consumed by the wildfire in her blood, Athenais said, ‘Would you like me to show you?’
His mouth went dry. If there was a fantasy more erotic than the ones he’d dreamed up himself, this was it. ‘Please.’
He watched with rapt attention as her fingers slowly teased the ribbon undone, and loosening the neckline. Then, even more tantalisingly, she slid the chemise first off one white shoulder and, with only the merest suggestion of a shrug, encouraged it to slither from the other. Maddeningly provocative, the beribboned cambric came to rest just above the peak of her breasts. Ashley’s body – already rock hard and ready – responded accordingly and, unable to help himself, he pushed the flimsy fabric away and closed his hand over her warm flesh.
Athenais’s head fell back and she trembled. His thumb moved around, then over her nipple and a piercing spear of sensation shot down into her belly and blossomed there. She gave a shocked, involuntary moan. She hadn’t known it was possible to feel like this. The thought that this was only the prelude … that he had other pleasures in store, was both a little alarming and utterly enticing. She didn’t know how her body would bear it … but she wanted – oh God, she really wanted – find out.
He lifted her to sit on the bed and freed her arms so that the chemise pooled around her hips. He said, ‘You are so beautiful. How is it that you’re more beautiful every time I look at you?’
She shook her head so that her hair screened her body and said, ‘Now I’m blushing.’ And, when he dropped to one knee in front of her and took her foot in his hands, ‘What are you doing?’
He glanced up for just long enough for her to see that the green-gold eyes were hot and dark. ‘Enjoying myself.’
His hands slid up her calf and on past her knee to her garter; then, entirely without haste but shaking a little as they encountered the silken skin of her thigh, they drew both garter and stocking from her leg. He raised her bare foot to his lips and kissed her instep. Athenais’s breath caught and she shut her eyes … leaving them shut while he performed the same ritual with her other leg. When she felt him settle on the bed at her side, she opened them again and turned into him … and was totally unprepared for the explosion of sensation as her skin met his.
Ashley pushed her down against the pillows, kissing her ever more deeply while his palms trailed over her leaving fire in their wake. Her fingers tangled in his hair and she pulled him closer, until he shifted to let his mouth follow the pattern woven by his fingers. Athenais gasped as he licked and then closed his lips around the tip of her breast, sending sparks rushing through every vein and nerve. Sensation overlaid sensation until it seemed that everything inside her was dissolving into hunger and heat.
She said helplessly, ‘Ashley … please.’
And gave a tiny sob when he rolled away and left her.
He smiled. ‘A moment.’ And, without moving from the side of the bed, proceeded to shed the rest of his clothing.
Breathing hard, Athenais watched out of wide, dark eyes. She had seen him naked once before and the perfection of his body had stopped her breath – but then he had been bloodied and semi-conscious. Now, standing before her whole and fully erect, his beauty brought a lump to her throat; and since there were no words for how he made her feel, she held out a hand in supplication.
Ashley lay down beside her and drew her against the length of his body. A tremor ran through her and he rejoiced. Although still acutely aware of his own desire, his focus had shifted. He found there was exquisite pleasure to be had from watching her arousal build … from every sigh and sob and moment when she could no longer remain still. The sweetness of her response was a miraculous gift which awed and overwhelmed him. For the first time in a very long while, she made him feel that he had something to offer her after all.
Athenais’s hands raced over him in their own voyage of discovery, learning the contours of hard muscle beneath slick, smooth skin. And when he progressed to the most intimate caress of all, she gave a shuddering moan and felt pulses throb in places she hadn’t known existed. She twisted, writhing against him and clutched at his shoulders. Without really knowing what she was asking for, she gasped, ‘I can’t … oh please.’
And knowing that it was finally time, Ashley settled over her and very, very slowly joined his body with hers. Just for an instant, Athenais’s eyes flew wide and then her face filled with an expression of utter bliss before her arms closed tight around him … which was when Ashley realised that, if ever anything had been worth waiting for, it was this. And when he brought her to rapturous fulfilment and was free to seek his own release, he knew that all the riches in the world were as nothing beside this one perfect moment.
* * *
When he woke, the sky outside was light and two specific aches in his body were making their presence felt. One, predictably, was in his right thigh; the other … wasn’t. Both were occasioned by the fact that he had slept curved around Athenais’s back. His face was lying amidst her hair, one of his arms was fastened around her waist and his loins were pressed against her firm, naked back-side. She was still fast asleep. Clearly, he wasn’t.
He lay still, resisting the urge to ease one or other of his discomforts. After what seemed quite a long time, she snuffled a little in her sleep and wriggled into a slightly different position. The first made him smile. The second … didn’t.
Drawing back the wild copper hair from her neck, he murmured her name. No reply. He tried again, a little louder and this time she stirred slightly, yawned and said vaguely, ‘Pauline?’ Before attempting to bury her head beneath the pillow.
In spite of everything, laughter rippled through him.
‘No. Most assuredly not Pauline.’
There was a short silence, followed by a scuffle to escape the pillow and a one-word curse. Finally, a pair of sleepy, smoky-grey eyes squinted at him before recognition dawned. She twisted round and tried to heave herself up on to one elbow.
‘Ashley?’
‘Were you expecting somebody else?’
She yawned again and shook her head.
‘I’m sorry. I’m not awake yet. What time is it?’
‘Probably a little after eight.’
‘Eight?’ She flopped down again, curling into his side with her head on his shoulder, draping an arm across his chest and unwittingly endangering a number of his good intentions by sliding a knee across his thigh. ‘Too early.’ And snuggling a little closer, ‘This is nice.’
Ashley was half-tempted to ask if it was nicer than sleeping with Pauline but she was already settling back towards sleep so he said, mildly, ‘If you think eight o’clock is early – what time would you consider reasonable?’
‘Mm? Oh. Ten.’
‘Ten. Right.’ He grinned, flipped her over on to her back and said, ‘Not if you’re going to sleep with me, darling.’
Her eyes opened again and she pummelled him with one half-hearted fist, before seemingly deciding that stroking his shoulder was preferable. More to see what response she could provoke than anything else
, she said, ‘I’m going back to sleep.’
‘Are you?’ He slid his thigh between hers and watched her eyes change as she realised exactly what was pressing against her hip. ‘Good luck with that.’
Her pulse tripped and she came fully awake, a smile trembling into being.
‘You – oh. That isn’t fair.’
‘No, love. It isn’t.’ He traced the curve of her waist with suggestive fingers. ‘But if you insist on starting the day by pressing your utterly delectable arse against my outstandingly virile …’ He paused, as if selecting the right word from the list available.
‘Your outstandingly virile what?’ demanded Athenais.
‘Masculine attributes,’ he replied smugly. And was rewarded with a peal of laughter. ‘As I was saying … if you do that, you’ll just have to abide by the consequences.’
* * *
On her way downstairs, Pauline hesitated briefly outside the door and then continued on her way, smiling wryly. If Athenais was not only awake at this hour but also laughing, there was only one likely explanation. Pauline was genuinely happy for them but couldn’t help hoping, for Athenais’s sake, that it wouldn’t end in tears. About her own future, she preferred not to think. Francis Langley was not at all the kind of man she would ever have imagined being drawn to … and he was exactly the kind of man who, even before her accident, she couldn’t possibly have expected to attract. Yet it would be ridiculously easy to fall in love with him. Indeed, she told herself firmly, it was a miracle she hadn’t done so already – which only went to show what a serious application of will-power could achieve under even the most challenging of circumstances.
Jem and Archie were in the kitchen, dutifully clearing away the pots from their own breakfast. Relieved that Francis wasn’t also downstairs yet, Pauline gave them a nod of approval and headed for the scullery in the hope they had left some bread in the crock.
‘Excuse, Madame,’ said Jem in his lamentable French. ‘Last night … Colonel Peverell go out?’
‘Not to my knowledge,’ she replied smoothly.