by Clee, Adele
He returned her kiss with slow, expert strokes, luring her deeper, holding her under his hypnotic spell. With a gentle slide of his tongue, he coaxed her lips apart and slipped inside her mouth.
Mother Mary!
Her blood turned molten. The sudden pulsing in her core mimicked every deep plunge. Bennet cupped her cheeks, drank like he was dying, desperate to quench his thirst.
He broke contact. “Am I the first man you’ve kissed?”
Embarrassment dampened her desire. “Is it so obvious?”
“Then you’ve never known a man’s touch?”
“Only my husband’s on our wedding night. A physical act merely to ensure we were married in the legal sense, though I didn’t know that at the time.”
It was a quick, cold affair. The memory of her lying rigid in the tester bed, used and unloved, chilled her to the bone. She wrapped her arms around Bennet’s waist and pressed her body to his, wishing she could crawl inside him so they need never part again.
“I don’t want to think about that now, Bennet.” She wanted to talk, to explore this undeniable passion that existed between them.
Hearing her silent plea, he kissed her again—a sensual melding of mouths and hearts that left her breathless.
She didn’t want this moment to end.
Fate had determined it invariably would.
Chapter 10
Bloody hell!
Bennet couldn’t kiss her deeply enough or passionately enough to satisfy his craving. He’d never wanted a woman the way he wanted her. They were connected. Their hearts and souls entwined in ways that defied logic. The need to cement their union with a rampant sexual act proved the driving force. Though he feared they would pay a hefty price for succumbing to their desires.
That didn’t stop him from wanting to free her breasts from the sagging neckline of her gown and feast like a king. From wanting to feel her hugging his cock, to see her riding him senseless while he bathed in all her wondrous glory.
Destiny had brought them together again. Were they destined to become lovers? Or would one mindless night of pleasure ruin a friendship that might span a lifetime?
Ignoring his desperate need to have her—to know her in every way a man could know a woman—Bennet dragged his mouth from Julianna’s and suppressed a frustrated groan.
“Something always prevents me from keeping my promises.”
In her glazed eyes, he saw his own restless yearning. “You speak of agreeing to be my protector? Mr Daventry won’t blame you for what happened tonight.”
Daventry might not blame him for Granger’s actions, but he would have much to say if Bennet bedded his agent.
He stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers, wondering if her thighs were as soft, if she’d sigh in the same way if he touched her there. “I speak of promising to light the fire and make tea.”
“It’s too late to worry about fires and tea.”
Too late because they were on the verge of stripping off their clothes and making love? Too late because they should part before they did something they might come to regret?
“I’ll not leave you here alone tonight.” A man would need the morals of a saint to stay. “Not when Granger might sneak back to Witherdeen and take his vengeance out on you.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “But he’d be a fool to come back.”
“Depraved men are undoubtedly fools.” A vision of her writhing helplessly beneath the rogue flashed into Bennet’s mind. He gritted his teeth. “I’ll murder the devil if he lays a hand on you again.”
“I shall murder the devil myself. Before Edward, I was used to fighting off lecherous louts and often turfed Giselle’s drunken lovers out into the street. It’s just a matter of finding my confidence.”
“You shouldn’t have to deal with degenerates.”
“We’re to have lessons in combat from Mr D’Angelo.”
Lessons in combat!
Dante D’Angelo certainly knew how to pummel a man senseless. The best fighters took risks, didn’t care if they lived or died. That’s what made him a ruthless enquiry agent. Julianna did not possess the same indomitable spirit. The thought of her tackling thieves in the rookeries chilled Bennet to the bone.
“You haven’t told me how you ended up penniless when your husband died. Eden must have given Giselle a substantial sum to purchase your hand in marriage.”
“I’m glad I got nothing. I’d rather die a pauper than be indebted to him.”
Edward Eden had hurt her deeply. The urge to know every intimate detail of her married life, to throttle a dead man and stamp on his rotting corpse, left Bennet seeking a distraction.
He glanced at the mud stains on her gown. “Why don’t you wash and change into your nightclothes, climb into bed? I’ll come up and light the fire in your room, sleep in the chair.”
“You don’t need to stay.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
“I’ll be fine.”
Did she honestly think he would abandon her after the terrifying attack? “You didn’t answer my question. You don’t need to pretend with me. And I can always use my privilege pass to force the truth from your lips.”
“A man of your size cannot sleep in a chair.” With evident admiration, she scanned the breadth of his shoulders. “We often shared a bed as children. We slept together in the tent you erected in the playroom, much to Mrs Hendrie’s dismay.”
The memory of those happy times rippled through him in pleasurable waves. He should remind her there was a second bedchamber upstairs, but remained tight-lipped.
“We’re not children anymore, Julianna. The kiss we shared proved that.” As did the swell of his cock straining against his breeches.
“We kissed more than once, Bennet.”
“And the urge to kiss you again burns in my veins.” The urge to do a host of other intimate things burned there, too. “Perhaps we should change the subject. Talking like this serves to feed my fantasies.”
Her arresting blue eyes sparkled. “Then I shouldn’t tell you I’m addicted to the taste of your mouth. That you’re the only man I have ever wanted to kiss.”
“Such talk is unwise.” Hell, his heart thumped louder than a blacksmith’s hammer. “Just as I shouldn’t say I long to slip that gown off your shoulders, set my mouth to the swell of your breasts.”
She smoothed her hand over his bicep. “I’ll not tell you I’m desperate to know what you look like beneath these clothes.”
“Most definitely not.” He could be naked in seconds.
“You’re the only man who has ever wanted me, Bennet.”
His lust spiralled. “Then the world is full of imbeciles.” He glanced at the cottage door. “Shall I go back to my cold, lonely bed, Julianna?” Restraint was for better men. “Or do you desire my company tonight?”
“Logic says we should abstain from anything but lighting fires and drinking tea.” So why did she continue stroking his arm as if it were his cock?
“Living in the moment has a certain allure.”
The temptress trailed her fingers over his chest. “Hard realities are best left for tomorrow.” She turned away, climbed the first few stairs, and cast him a coy glance. “Stay with me tonight. Stay in my bed.” He saw the promise in her eyes—a promise she intended to keep. “Come up in five minutes.”
Hell, he almost dropped to his knees and thanked the Lord. “You may come to regret it, Julianna.”
“I could never regret a moment spent with you.”
Five minutes felt like five hours.
The creak of the upstairs boards preceded the creak of the bed.
Mindless with lust but not wishing to scare her, Bennet mounted the stairs slowly and entered the dark room. It was so damn cold he hoped the frigid air didn’t hinder his performance.
“We should have lit the fire.” She’d pulled the blankets over her shoulders, leaving nothing but a pale face and a mass of red curls visible above the coverlet. “But don’t b
other with it now.”
A quick glance at the discarded garments on the floor said she was naked, but for the bangle he’d given her as a gift. “I doubt either of us will be cold for long.” Her nerves were so palpable he shivered, too. “While I undress, tell me what happened after Edward died.” He started slipping the buttons on his waistcoat.
“A week after our marriage, we moved to a small manor house near Hastings. I thought Edward owned the house but later discovered it belonged to Justin.”
Bennet casually shrugged out of his waistcoat, though his blood pumped so fast he wanted to rip the damn thing off his back. “Did Justin ask you to leave?”
“Yes, on the day of the funeral. He said I’d been a burden for too long.”
“And Eden made no provision for you in his will?” Bennet removed his cravat and tossed it onto the chair. “Not even a small allowance?”
“Nothing.” She inhaled sharply when he dragged his shirt over his head. “Do we have to talk about Edward? Can we not talk about you?”
“I merely sought to distract you while I undressed.” To distract himself, for he could think of nothing but pushing into her warmth, of having the only woman he’d dreamed of for God knows how many years.
“If you’re embarrassed, I can turn my back,” she teased.
“And yet the truth is you want to gawp and stare.”
She did more than stare. Those brazen eyes widened as he stripped off his breeches and palmed his erection. Julianna raised the covers in open invitation, gave him a glimpse of her porcelain skin, the flare of her hips, the soft curve of her breasts.
“I don’t remember ever being naked when we were children.” He climbed into bed, drew the covers over them, and turned to face her. “We used to invent stories of running away from Witherdeen, and yet there is no place I would rather be than here with you.”
Her palm came to rest on his chest, so light, yet so damnably arousing. “Your skin is so hot there was no need to light the fire.”
“Then move closer, and I’ll keep you warm.”
She hesitated. “Whatever happens between us tonight, it’s an experience we cannot repeat. It’s one night. One night to forget the rest of the world exists, for I must leave tomorrow.”
One night he would remember until he drew his last breath.
“One night,” he echoed but wouldn’t swear to it if prompted, and he would do everything in his power to persuade her to stay.
She bit down on her lip. “I don’t know how to please you.”
“If we did nothing but sleep, I’d be satisfied beyond measure.”
She edged closer. “But you want to do more than sleep.”
“A great deal more.”
She cupped his neck. “Show me.”
Hell, her sultry tone made his cock weep. She watched him beneath heavy lids. He took a few seconds to drink in the sight of her wild red curls splayed over the pillow, of those kissable lips parted in anticipation. Took a moment to say a prayer of thanks to fate, to God, the Devil. He didn’t care who.
“You do want me, Bennet?”
“Love, I’ve never wanted anything more.” Surely the raging erection nudging her thigh proved how much. He tried not to think about that bastard Edward Eden, hoped to erase the memories of her wedding night, of the tortuous sounds coming from Justin’s chamber, even if he had to howl his pleasure.
Not wanting to rush, he kissed her slowly, his mouth gliding over hers in a sensual caress that left every muscle taut. The need to push inside her in any form had him tracing his tongue over the seam of her lips, teasing his way into her wet mouth.
God, he’d imagined this so many times it hardly seemed real.
She tasted sweet, like orchard apples picked from the treetop. A man would risk life and limb to steal another. Unable to stem his hunger, he twined his tongue with hers, a seductive mating that soon became an insatiable need to plunder.
“Say you want me, Julianna. Say you want to feel me moving inside you.” Hungrily, he dragged his mouth to the sensitive spot below her ear, took to raining kisses down her neck, across her shoulder. “Tell me now because my control is hanging by a flimsy thread.”
“You’re the only man I’ve ever wanted.”
He locked gazes with her. “Say if you want me to stop.”
She shivered as he drew his fingers across her collarbone, gasped when he caressed her breast. He slipped lower, down the soft swell of her belly, into the damp curls to massage her sex in a slow, teasing rhythm.
Her enchanting blue eyes widened. “Don’t stop, Bennet.”
He would make her come like this, watching with utter fascination, listening to her little moans and pleas, loving her as no man had done before.
That would have been his plan had the minx not reached under the bedcovers and wrapped her hand around his shaft.
“Christ!”
“Tell me what to do.”
“Just touch me, love. Grip me tight and tell me how you’ve longed to return to Witherdeen.”
“I’ve visited many times in my … my dreams.” She arched her back, writhed against his fingers. “Oh! Being with you feels so good.”
“Have you missed me, Julianna?”
“Yes! Yes! More than you know.” She started stroking his shaft back and forth. The hesitant movements lacked experience, which made it all the more erotic.
Damn. He almost lost focus. But nothing was more important than being the first man to make her come. “Next time, when we’re lying before a roaring fire, it will be my mouth devouring your sex. Next time, we’ll be stretched naked, not be encumbered by bedsheets.”
“One night, Bennet, that’s what we s-said.” She was panting now. “Oh! That’s all we h-have.”
Like hell it was!
Now he’d found her, he had no intention of letting her go.
The dainty hand massaging his manhood stilled.
“Come for me, love.”
She closed her eyes. Her head fell back. Her mouth formed the perfect O. He felt her climax pulsing in her sex. She reached down and covered his hand, held him there while shuddering through her release.
God, she was beautiful. Watching her ride each pleasurable wave was a magnificent sight to behold. Sinking into her wetness could not come soon enough.
She opened her eyes and smiled. “That was divine.”
“A man does his best.” With luck, she’d want him again.
“I can barely catch my breath.”
“We don’t have to continue.” His cock jerked in protest.
A smile, shameless and suggestive, touched her lips. “Make love to me, Bennet.” Her words were like a potent aphrodisiac. She pulled him on top of her naked body, opened her legs so he would fit perfectly between her thighs. “You will be mindful of the fact I don’t want a child?”
The question caught him by surprise. Not because he hadn’t considered making a timely withdrawal, but he needed to know her thoughts before proceeding.
He was two inches away from pushing home. “Don’t you want children?” Or did she not want a child out of wedlock with him?
“Yes, but I don’t want any child to suffer as I have.” She gripped his back, opened her legs wider. “Just be mindful.”
Not wanting to think about who would father her children, Bennet kissed her deeply, driving his tongue into her mouth the way he wanted to drive his cock into her sweetness.
When he pushed inside her, he almost expired from a rush of pleasure. The first slide to the hilt was heavenly. Warmth encompassed him from head to root. She was so tight, so wet. She was finally his.
Julianna clung to him, tilting her hips, holding him there—loving him. “I always knew we’d fit perfectly.”
“Look at me, love. You’ll feel every thrust more keenly.”
Lust coursed through his veins, a raging hunger to slam into her so hard they’d rock the abbey’s foundations. But the look that passed between them went deeper than mere physical desire. He mad
e sure she felt the full depth of his devotion with each measured thrust. Pushed deep and long and hard, over and over and over, at just the right angle to make her come again.
She came apart, clawing his back, hugging his cock, crying his name.
A few fierce, frenzied thrusts, and he withdrew from her body, his seed exploding from him as if he’d abstained for years.
He fell back on the bed, his heart thumping wildly, and fought to catch his breath. Julianna threaded her fingers with his, brought his hand to her lips, and kissed him tenderly. He felt closer to her now than ever. The same thought that had been echoing in his mind since he climbed into bed surfaced again.
When it came to loving Julianna, one night would never be enough.
* * *
Bennet woke sometime later. It was dark outside, the room still bitterly cold. A wave of euphoria washed over him as he suddenly recalled why he lay naked in bed in the quaint little cottage.
God, she’d been magnificent. The sight of Julianna writhing beneath him, wearing nothing but his gift, had left him as stiff as a ramrod. The mere thought stirred his cock from slumber.
He contemplated the possibility of making love to her again, but the strange stillness captured his attention. He listened, expecting to hear her soft, rhythmical breathing, but heard nothing. The moment he sat bolt upright in bed, he knew he was alone. Through narrowed eyes he scanned the darkness, listened for any sign of movement downstairs.
Nothing.
Seized by a sickening sense of foreboding, he leapt out of bed, searched the drawers, the wardrobe. Empty. All empty. The torn gown lay in a puddle of silk, but the undergarments were missing, as was her valise.
Bennet quickly dressed and raced to the coach house. But he knew one thing with absolute certainty before he noted the absence of Lucius Daventry’s coach.
Julianna had left Witherdeen.