“No, Brianna you are wrong. I trust you. Do not question it. And do not think to dismiss it.”
Taken aback, she nodded silently.
His fingers slipped from her chin, but his eyes stayed on hers. “What can I do to make you trust me, Brianna?” His voice was earnest, truly wanting an answer from her.
“I know it is not what you want to hear, Seb. But there is nothing. I cannot trust.”
He nodded, slowly. “I understand. But is it a cannot, or a will not?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes. A cannot means there is no hope, Brianna.” He grabbed her right hand, clasping it between his palms. “But a will not means I have a chance to alter your mind. Alter your will. You trust Lily, and you trust—even if only partially—Wynne and Rowe. So I think that means there is hope. That you are capable of trusting me.”
Brianna took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart. “Why do you continue to push this, Seb? I know I cannot be what you want me to be.”
“I think differently. I think you know what you are today. But today is not tomorrow. And tomorrow can be very different.”
The fingers of his top hand slid onto her wrist, pushing the cuff of her sleeve upward as he traced the fine bone in her forearm. “I think I have a wife that wants, somewhere deep inside, to have a life with a marriage and children and laughter and fun. I have seen glimpses of it—you, unbridled. I saw it today. I think you are capable of doing anything you decide you truly want to, including trusting me.”
Brianna closed her eyes, her chin dropping as her head shook, fighting. Fighting Seb’s words. Fighting thoughts and dreams that she had long since killed. “Do not do this to me, Seb. I cannot. You do not know what you ask of me.”
His hand went to her chin, slipping along her jaw and tilting her face to him. “I only ask that you open your eyes, Brianna. Open them.”
Brianna let her eyes open a sliver to him, her breath held.
“Do not trust me today, Brianna. Do not trust me tomorrow. I am willing to accept that. But give me a crack. The slightest way into you.”
Her breath exhaled, shaking her voice. “What do you want of me?”
“If your mind will not trust me, maybe your body can.” His fingers tightened along her jaw. “I have seen how your mind pulls away from me, while your body leans in. How your skin vibrates under my touch. How your muscles ache to awaken.”
Her eyes went wide. “You said you would not touch me. Not until…”
“You were ready. I did say that.” He leaned in, his lips to her ear, voice soft. “I think you are ready. You can tell me no, Brianna, but I think you are ready. You hide everything from the world, but you cannot hide how your body reacts to my touch. Not from me.”
Brianna’s eyes slipped closed as his breath sent shivers down her neck. Her body a statue, she could neither lean in nor pull away from him.
“Trust in this very moment, instead of the past, instead of the future.” His lips brushed her neck right below her earlobe. “Just trust in right here, right now. Trust what your body wants.”
Her chest tightened, sending her breath shallow. She could only afford a whisper. “You are trying to seduce me?”
His face moved from her neck so he could meet her eyes, and he smiled, slow and lascivious. His other hand came up, cradling her face. “Yes. I am trying to seduce my wife. My beautiful wife. No apologies. I want you, Brianna, and I am not going anywhere. I am your husband, and I am not leaving your side. Not going to disappear.”
Words abandoned Brianna. She had no logic against this. No defenses to call upon. He was her husband—he had every right.
And not only her husband, a man that wanted her in the most basic way. A man that had already sent her stomach plummeting, lighting the fire burning deep within her. A man that found her beautiful and desirable. Her husband.
“Let me kiss you, Bree.”
Trepidation swamped her mind, but she slowly gave him one nod.
His lips met hers, gentle, exploring. Warm lips that sent tingles along her skin. His hand slid from her jaw, moving to the base of her neck, his fingers entwining into her hair.
Her upsweep only precariously held together after the breakneck ride, it fell almost immediately with a few tugs from Sebastian. Her hair free, he dug his hand deep, weaving strands along his fingers, tightening his hold until he could tilt her head, deepening the kiss.
His tongue parted her lips, brushing inside, and at the very touch, her core sparked, aching, wanting very much what he was doing to her body.
Her mind railed against the pleasure consuming her, fighting to the surface, but she forced it to blankness. Forced it to shove all reason—all thoughts of everything except what Sebastian was doing to her—into the abyss.
At least for this moment. She could do it for this moment.
Her mouth ravaged, his head dropped, tasting the skin on her neck as he unbuttoned her shirt, tugging wide the fabric and tracing his teeth along the lines of her shoulder. Hungry, he made his way back up her neck until his mouth was against hers once more.
One hand holding the back of her head, the other moving down her ribcage, he pulled slightly away, his forehead on hers, and took a deep breath.
“I want nothing more than to strip you down and take you so hard, you are screaming for release, Bree.” His voice went low, gravelly. “But it is not what you need.”
Her mind foggy from his onslaught, his words sifted, floating erratically through her brain. She opened her eyes to him. “No?”
“No. You need to be in charge, Bree.” His fingers pushed back the loose hair on her temple. “I will touch you where you want me to touch you. Kiss you where you want me to. Move how you need me to. Every demand is yours to make, Bree.”
Her heart swelled, thudding in her chest. She had been lost in what he was making her feel. And now he wanted her to tell him...she swallowed hard.
True, she was no innocent, but she was far from experienced.
But that she could control him—that he would give her that—it awakened something deep and raw in her soul.
“Tell me where to start, Bree. I am yours,” he said, voice rough.
She took a deep breath, her eyes going downward and stopping at the first thing she saw. “Your shirt.”
He silently nodded, then gave himself enough space to yank his white linen shirt off his torso.
Her eyes ran down his body.
Every muscle along his chest, along his stomach was taut, hard. She had recognized he wasn’t flabby beneath the usual dark jackets she saw him in, but the sight forced a sharp intake of breath. The man was molded as finely as a Greek statue. Her eyes stopped just short of his buckskin breeches, flipping up to his face.
Her voice shook, nearly failing her. “My shirt.”
He silently nodded, his fingers going to the rest of the pearl buttons lining her silk shirt. Slowly, his fingers dragged along her skin, teasing as he slipped the shirt down one arm and then the other.
She leaned her head back, exposing her neck. Her hand came up, trembling, landing at the junction of her neck and shoulder. “Here. Your lips. And the rest of it. The shift, the stays.”
He nodded silently, his mouth going to her neck, setting fire to her skin as he unlaced her short stays and slipped her shift down.
Unnaturally bared to the wide-open air, Brianna took solace in the fact that Sebastian’s torso shrouded hers, his hard chest pressing against her breasts. She set her hands on his shoulders, letting them slip down his back, pulling him closer to her.
His breath heavy, his lips did not leave her as his words came out guttural. “Tell me I can go downward, Bree. Give me permission.”
“Yes.”
With a half growl, Sebastian moved downwards, his hands going up her ribcage, fingers moving to cup her breasts. He took her right nipple into his mouth, rolling it around his tongue before sucking until it strained into his mouth.
Brianna gasped, he
r head falling back as he moved on to her left breast.
The onslaught to her senses continued until Brianna could no longer take it, her body demanding so much more. She grabbed his face, pulling him from her chest. Her palms scratched on the stubble lining his jaw as she brought his eyes into view. “I want this, Seb. The rest of it. Your clothes, my skirt. You under me.”
A heated smile came to his face, and he nodded silently, his hands going down to her waist, fingers sliding underneath the wool fabric of her skirt. Within a minute, he had disposed of both of their clothes and was pulling her onto his lap.
Brianna kept her eyes on his face, both wanting to look down but refusing to do so. Her hands tightened on his shoulders. It had been so long since she had last touched a man—since a man had touched her. And the last time this had happened—
“Stop. Do not leave me, Bree.” His hands captured her face, his brown eyes right before hers. “Stay with me. Stay right here. This moment. You are in charge. I will not do anything you do not want me to.”
She inhaled with a nod, the intensity of him overtaking her senses, overtaking her sudden panic.
He searched her face until satisfied with what he saw and then slipped his palm alongside the back of her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. “Feel me, Bree. Feel how much I want you.” Before she could resist, he moved her hand downward from his shoulder, wrapping her fingers around his member.
A guttural intake of breath, and he groaned, his eyes closed. “You do this to me, Bree. You.”
His free hand went to her leg, moving along her inner thigh until he reached her core. “And this is what I can do to you, Bree. Make you feel.” His fingers dove, caressing. Exploring. Teasing her into a pitch.
She did want this. He was right. In this moment, she wanted this. Desperately. Wanted to feel like a woman. Wanted to be desired. Wanted to give satisfaction.
She shifted her legs, straddling his lap fully, moving forward until her chest touched his.
Her hand squeezing the lean muscle of his hardness, she dragged her fingers slowly up the smooth skin, and then abandoned it to settle both of her forearms on his shoulders, her palms solid on his back.
She had to force the words, thick, from her throat. “I do want this, Seb. Lift me. Put me on you. You in me.”
His hands were on her hips in an instant, lifting her, and then he set her gently down, his shaft sliding into her tightness. He dropped her painstakingly slow, letting her body open completely to him before lowering her further.
Fully filled, her body meeting his, Brianna exhaled a quivering breath, her nails digging into his back. “Again.”
He nodded, silent, lifting her just as slowly, and repeating.
“Again. Faster. And do not stop.”
This time his nod was not silent. A tortured groan rumbled from his chest. But Sebastian continued on, bringing her up and down, his muscles straining, his breath heavy.
He grimaced, battling against his own body as he looked up at her, desperate. “Tell me not to come, Bree. Tell me you are close.”
Her right hand curled into the back of his hair. “I want you to, Seb. Do it now. I want to feel you deep inside me. Feel you fill me. Feel you shudder. Now.”
“Dammit, Bree.”
“Do it, Seb.” She pushed downward, fighting his hands on her hips that held her high. “Do it.”
Growling, he let her slide down on him, his body violently quaking with the last stroke. He buried his face into her chest, his mouth on her skin. Brianna could feel him expand wide within her, the waves ripping through his body and emptying into hers.
Still pulsating deep inside her, he tore his head backward, looking up at her. “Hell, Bree. I am not about to accept that. You did not join me.” His hands ran up from her hips, his fingers going to her breasts. “Give me permission, Bree.”
“Permission for what?”
“To do to you what I want. What you need me to do. Give me the control. If only for a few minutes. I will stop if you demand it.” He grabbed the back of her head, pushing her mouth down to his, his voice a low rumble. “But you will not demand to stop, Bree. I will make sure of it. Just give up control, Bree. Let it go. Let me have it.”
Her eyes went wide, watching his face, staring into the brown eyes that she knew, quite honestly, had only comforted her.
She could do this. She had to. For the very need he had awakened, but she had not allowed to be satisfied. She had to. Her soul needed this.
“You have my permission.”
“I will only do this if you swear you will not hold back, Bree.”
She nodded.
“Swear it.”
“I do.”
He attacked her lips, his mouth demanding, taking control of her, nipping her skin as his tongue consumed. Her mouth battered, sated, he yanked away, grabbing her around her lower back and flipping them. She landed on the cool pebbles, the smooth stones clinking underneath her backside.
He moved his legs between hers, sending her thighs apart. For a second, his body left her as he went upright on his knees. He looked down, his eyes travelling over her body, and Brianna could see quite clearly that he wanted to attack every line of her skin.
His left hand went down, slipping beneath her right knee and bending it upward. He bent, his eyes not leaving hers, and set his mouth on her calf. Leisurely—agonizingly so—he moved upward along her leg, each touch of his mouth only a hair away from the last touch of his mouth. Past her knee, he continued the assault, teasing the curve of her inner thigh.
By the time he reached the top of her thigh, Brianna could barely breathe. And then he advanced.
Spreading her legs wide, he set his mouth to her core, his tongue sliding into the folds. Brianna buckled instantly at the touch, a breathless scream ripping from her mouth.
Circling, his tongue explored her, sending her body to pitch hard against him, her fingers going into his hair, grasping for stability. He sucked. He teased with his teeth. He thrust her body into writhing with the onslaught of his tongue delving deep into her.
And just when Brianna’s scream turned into pleading, demanding for release, he pulled up.
His lips left her for only a second until they landed on her belly, and he travelled up her body to take control of her left nipple.
Within seconds, his face was above her, hovering as unsatisfied frustration boiled in her.
Then realization hit Brianna. Her eyes went huge. “Again? You are…”
“Hell yes, I am ready, Bree. And you are too this time.”
He smiled as he plunged into her, no hesitation, and brought her back to the edge within three strokes.
Brianna screamed, nails ripping across his back. “Seb.”
He did not slow. “I am doing this to you, Bree. You will come for me.”
His words, a hard thrust, and Brianna crashed, her body vibrating, exploding in all directions. He continued through her tremors, pulling more out of her with each stroke. At the second she could take no more, he slammed into her, exploding and filling her again.
He dropped onto her and rolled, gripping her and pulling her with him, his body still connected with hers.
The movement made little sense in Brianna’s haze. Nothing made sense in her haze. The only thing in her head was wave after wave of release pounding through her brain.
Only one thought managed to make its way clear into her mind. This, what Sebastian had just done to her, was something she had never felt before.
And it scared her to the bottom of her soul.
{ Chapter 9 • Earl of Destiny }
Sebastian watched the long strand of hair, brown with a streak of blond in it, untwirl from his forefinger and drop onto his chest above Brianna’s head.
This, he could do all day. Brianna sprawled on top of him. Her head resting on the divot along his chest. The stream gurgling by. Summer sun warming his skin.
He picked up the strand again, threading it through his fingers.
> Brianna shifted on top of him, their skin, sticky hot between them, pulling. No matter. He had his wife in his arms. A wife that surprised him at every turn.
He had always sensed the depth in her, the passion being suffocated. But once she had committed, she had no reservations about how their bodies should meet, how Sebastian could touch her.
His hips moved under her, pebbles clinking as he readjusted. He didn’t think he could be ready again so soon, but he was quickly thinking himself to that point.
Distraction. He needed a distraction, lest his new wife think this was all her life was to become.
“What is in your mind right now, my wife?”
Her face toward the stream, her voice came out soft, lazy. “I was wondering why I always seem to end up naked or near-naked with you by a stream.”
Sebastian chuckled.
“Yes. And how unfair it was the last time when it was so innocent, but the repercussions were so enormous.”
“And this time?”
He could feel her smile against his skin. “So much more deserving of a forced marriage, as I had better be married to any man that is going to do what you just did to me.”
She shifted her head, her chin resting on his chest as her crystal blue eyes found his face.
“And if anyone caught us now, it would be awkward—a few red faces—but nothing more, no repercussions. It is freeing. I had not thought on how much freedom being married would actually afford me.”
“You thought you were to be captured?”
“Yes. And I am captured. I am no longer my own property.” She shrugged. “But I am not in a cage. This—at least today, has not been the worst day ever.”
“That is a compliment, I presume?” He freed a strand of hair that had matted onto her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. “And I doubt I could ever keep you in a cage, Bree. You have far too much will for that.”
His finger traced her cheekbone as he hid a sigh. She still resisted him. For all her body had given over to him, she still resisted their marriage—him. It had been too much to ask for, that this would change anything in her mind.
Lord of Fates: A Complete Historical Regency Romance Series (3-Book Box Set) Page 39