As his kisses moved farther down, her back arched over his supportive arm, putting her breasts on display. He flicked one nipple with his tongue while he palmed her other breast. His night beard rasped against the delicate skin. Yet another sensation overwhelming her and making her more aware of the demanding pulse between her legs.
He moaned around her nipple and moved with a suddenness that startled a yelp from her. He surged up from the chair to carry her to the rug in front of the fire and lay her on her back. The heat from the fire made her stretch like a basking cat with her arms above her head.
On his knees beside her, he watched her with shadowy eyes, a rumble coming from his chest. Yes, he was more experienced, but she wasn’t powerless. She could bring him to his knees.
He stripped off his dressing gown and shirt. With two older brothers, she’d seen the male form enough to recognize Cole was beautifully formed. His chest was thick with muscles earned. Dark hair sprang across the hard upper planes and narrowed to a line that disappeared into his trousers. She pushed up on her elbow and ran her hand from his shoulder, down his flat brown nipple and taut abdomen, stopping only when encountering the barrier of cloth.
His fingers went to the buttoned placard in front. “Would you like to help me?”
A familiar tease in his voice grounded her. This was the same Cole who had fished and played and shared meals with her. Nothing had to change. By morning, this night would be merely a dream. Perhaps it was a dream now? Was she still in bed asleep?
If she was, she planned to take full advantage. She sat up, tangling her fingers with his as she worked the first disk free. The flap opened, and the flared tip of his hardness poked out. Fluid leaked from the tip. Curiosity overcame her, and she rubbed her thumb over the slit at the very end. The slickness enticed her to taste it, but she was afraid to do something wrong, so she only ran her tongue over her bottom lip instead. His smile faded into an expression of torment.
She snatched her hand away. “Am I hurting you?”
“It’s a pleasurable pain. A pressure that will be relieved when I’m inside you.”
“Yes. A pressure. I feel it too. Will mine be relieved?”
A breath stuttered out of him. “It would be my honor to relieve you, love.”
Even though she knew the endearment was a result of the situation, hearing it settled her nerves. “How?”
“There are many ways.” A slow, devilish smile spread over Cole’s face.
His answer was frustratingly vague, but as he freed more disks, she forgot her ire. “Can I touch you?” she asked.
“Of course. Sate your curiosity with my body.” The wicked invitation was too much for her to deny.
She slipped her hand inside his trousers, grasped him, and gasped. He was longer and thicker than she’d imagined. Smooth, soft skin over a length of steel. Running her hand up and down, she finally gave in to temptation, gathering the slick fluid on her finger, touching it to her tongue, and humming in satisfaction. He tasted of the woods and sea. Earth and salt. Elemental and arousing.
“You are deliberately provoking me.” His voice was a low growl, but she could hear the tease underneath.
She tipped her head back to smile at him as he stripped his trousers off, revealing the whole of the hard, jutting thing between his legs and the sacs beneath. She had no time for trepidation, because as soon as he’d stripped, he tugged her night rail free of her hips, tossed it aside, and lay on his side. Patting the rug, his hand cradling his head, he said, “Come.”
“I’m not a hound,” she said tartly but lay down next to him.
Cole maneuvered her hands above her head. “No, not a hound. A beautiful woman.”
He trailed his fingers from her neck down between her breasts to cover her belly, his fingertips teasing the hair of her mons. Her legs clamped together. “You’re confusing me with Rose. She’s the beauty.”
He tutted. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“Not a liar, but you may need spectacles.”
His laugh warmed her. “My eyesight is perfect. I tracked a hare in the mist not two days ago.”
“Then what do you see that no one else does?” Not even me, she wanted to add.
“Do not doubt that others see your beauty, but it scares them.”
“How so?” she asked skeptically.
“Because it’s not merely the pleasing shape of your face or your full lips or your graceful neck.” As he reeled off her attributes, he touched each with his lips. “It’s the beauty of your spirit. It threatens to burn any man who gets too close.”
“Then why are you here with me?”
“Because I want to go up in flames with you.”
His voice had lulled her, and he slipped his hand between her relaxed legs. When she jerked, he shushed her and took her mouth in a kiss. Any remaining resistance to his intimate touch crumbled as his fingers worked alchemy on her body.
“You’re so wonderfully wet for me, love. So soft and sweet.” He took her earlobe and nipped it between his teeth, his hot breath inciting a shiver even though she was anything but cold.
She had no room for embarrassment. Her focus had shifted to an urgent call to appease the need making her writhe her hips. When his hand disappeared, she wanted to scream. Instead, she spread her legs wider and begged in a voice she hardly recognized as her own. “Cole. Please. Touch me again.”
He gave a throaty hum of satisfaction and shifted his mouth to her breast, sucking her nipple into his mouth. “While hearing you beg for my touch is acutely arousing, before I appease you, I must partake of the sweetest of desserts.”
Her passion burned toward frustration. She fisted her hand in his hair and tugged his head up from her breast. “How can you possibly be thinking of food at a time like this?”
His smile held a tender humor that made her stomach squirm. “Not food but I’ll certainly be sampling a delicacy.”
“You speak in riddles.” She arched her back as he flicked her nipple with his tongue, then scraped across it with his teeth. Never could she have imagined the pleasure he had already brought her.
“Riddles that will soon be answered.” He slid farther down her body, positioning himself between her legs, his shoulders pushing her knees apart.
She tensed and covered her secret place before she could consider the fact she had begged him not a minute earlier to keep touching her there. But now he could not only feel her, he could see her. What did she look like?
She raised her head and looked down her body. Her breasts quivered with each of her quick, shallow breaths, her nipples peaked. Cole’s dark head was close to her mons, his gaze fixated on the place between her legs. Without having to exert himself, he shifted her hands to the side.
“No need to be shy with me. I promised to bring you pleasure, didn’t I?” He locked gazes with her, then ever so slowly touched his tongue to the place between her legs.
With his gaze still pinning her, he daubed and wiggled his warm tongue through her folds to the apex. There, he sucked her into his mouth. The sensations overwhelmed her. As much as she wanted to continue to watch him, she couldn’t. Her eyes closed, and her head fell back. A moan rose up unbidden as his lips and tongue continued to ply her folds, lapping and pressing and sucking.
“You taste of flowers and honey.” His words were warm and arousing against her sensitive skin. Her hands found their way into his hair, and she pressed him even closer, needing something more.
As he pulled at the apex of her sex with his lips and teeth, his fingers returned. One digit pressed inside her, the pressure making her hips rise off the floor.
He retreated. “Too much?”
“Not enough. Please, Cole.” She didn’t know what she begged for, but it was just beyond her reach, like a sweet kept behind the glass.
His laugh was warm and vibrated against her sensitive skin. He pressed for entrance once more, this time not stopping until his finger was deep within her. When she thought she might bre
ak into a thousand pieces, he began to move, driving his finger in and out of her. At the same time, he sucked the apex of her sensation into his mouth.
She tumbled into a pleasure she had never known. It wasn’t gentle, but wracked her body. She clawed at Cole’s shoulders, wanting him closer. Her lungs worked like the bellows hanging near the fireplace. Throughout it all, his finger pressed in and out of her, but it only whetted her desire for more, and now she understood what the more was. After her shudders subsided, she sat up, forcing him back onto his haunches.
Her focus was between his legs. If possible, he was harder and bigger than he’d been before. All shyness had been burned away by her pleasure. She grasped his heavy length and rubbed her thumb across the fluid at the tip.
“What’s it called?” she asked.
“A cock.” He jerked his hips, thrusting into her hand.
“Like a proud, strutting rooster? How apropos.” She laughed breathlessly, and he smiled, but it was tight and short-lived.
“I want to be inside you, Diana.” He pushed her back and settled his hips between her still spread legs, his cock grinding against the bud of sensation he’d revealed to her.
He kissed her deeply, his tongue playing with her. Heat flushed through her with the realization of where and what his mouth had been doing moments ago. She could taste herself on his tongue and lips, and the sensation was indescribably arousing.
“Yes.” The word came out strangled.
Propped on his elbows, he smoothed her hair back from her face. “Are you sure? There is no going back from here.”
“I’ve never been so sure of anything. I want this. I want you.” She wiggled her hips until the tip of him pressed where his finger had entered her. A streak of trepidation at the disparity in sizes gave her pause, but Cole silenced any doubts when he canted his hips and stretched her wide with his cock, not stopping until his hips were seated between her legs.
She bit the inside of her lip and closed her eyes. It wasn’t pain but discomfort she experienced. Instead of pulling away, she clung to his shoulders, wanting to give him the same pleasure he’d bestowed on her even if it hurt.
“Look at me, Diana,” he said.
Unable to deny the worry in his voice, she popped her eyes open. “Are you finished?”
His laugh was pained and devoid any humor. “I’ve not started yet.”
“How long will it take?”
“As wet and tight as you are, not long, I’m afraid.”
The thought cheered her. “That’s good news, isn’t it?”
“This first time may be uncomfortable, but your body will grow used to me and even crave the feel of my cock filling you and stroking you. At least I hope so.”
Diana puzzled over his words. How would she have the chance to crave him when their lives would soon veer in different directions? The questions disintegrated when he took a stroke, pulling almost all the way out of her, then pushing back in. Again and again, his hips pumped. As usual, Cole was right. The discomfort faded into an urgency that was both the same and different than before.
Instead of lying passively beneath him, she set her heels into the rug and lifted her hips to meet his stroke. Between his groan and her flare of pleasure, she continued to work her hips against his, grabbing hold of his bare buttock.
With a guttural curse that might have made her blush in other circumstances, Cole pushed himself to his knees, grasped her thighs, and spread her even wider, his thrusts growing rougher.
Diana reached over her head and grabbed the legs of the side table for purchase. The fire highlighted one side of Cole’s face and left the other in shadow. Tension seized his muscles, and Diana could imagine him as a marble statue come to life. He let go of one of her thighs and worked the bud between her legs.
“Can you come around my cock, love? I want to feel you squeeze me.”
Now that she recognized the sensation, it was easier to grab ahold and let it carry her over the cliff of pleasure. She writhed, and her body clamped around his cock. This is what she’d been missing before. He felt perfect inside her.
With a roar, he stilled, his cock pulsing. His gaze trailed over her nakedness, and the sudden urge to cover herself surprised her. He was still inside her, for goodness’ sake. But like the tide shifting, a sea change had occurred, and old worries rushed in.
He collapsed over her, his weight welcome and grounding. She tucked her face into his neck and took a deep, shuddery breath. He smelled exactly like himself, which was a comfort.
“You are incredible, Diana. More than I even imagined.” His lips glided along her cheek and jaw.
“I would return the compliment, but as I have no prior experience nor understood enough to imagine the act, I can’t. But it felt amazing.”
His laugh this time came easier and lighter. He rolled to her side and sat up. An embarrassing but thankfully brief moment passed where he cleaned her between her legs with his shirt. While she was languid and ready to curl up on the hearthrug before the fire and sleep, his movements were brisk and economical.
After he pulled on his trousers and dressing gown, he hauled her to her feet and redressed her in the night rail, the top gaping where he’d ripped the ribbon ties. Scooping her into his arms, he made for the library door.
“Quiet, now. If Lettie catches us, there will be hell to pay,” he said.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against him, craving his warmth and the feel of him against her. Tears sprang to her eyes. She wished she could relive the evening over and over again.
The mattress cradled her now, and he tucked the covers around her. She didn’t open her eyes, afraid to see an ending in his face. He lay a kiss on her forehead and then her lips before leaving. She turned away from the door, hugged a pillow close, and dreamed not of the loss of her maidenhead but nightmares where she ran along the cliff’s edge searching for Cole but was unable to find him.
Chapter 4
Cole woke to sunshine streaming through the panes to cast a pattern of light on his coverlet. The calm after the storm. It matched his mood. He stretched himself out of bed, anxious to see Diana and assure himself it hadn’t been a dream.
But never could his imagination have done the encounter justice. Honestly though, he shouldn’t be surprised Diana was bold and spirited in his arms. It had been her nature since she’d exited the womb, no doubt, and he loved her spirit.
There, he admitted the truth to himself. He loved her. Had always loved her. She would be his wife, and damn any objections from his uncle. Diana was from a suitable family. While she would come to him without a dowry, the estate wasn’t in need of funds. His father had managed things well, and the Linleys weren’t given to the excesses some peers indulged in.
He dressed without summoning his valet and bounded downstairs to the breakfast room. It was empty save for Lettie.
“Ah, your lordship, would you like toast and tea?” Lettie asked.
“Yes, please, but I would wait for Miss Grambling to join me. Has she awoken?”
Lettie’s brow furrowed. “Awoken and gone more than an hour past. She seemed rather anxious and furtive about slipping out, as a matter of fact. I trust the two of you didn’t quarrel?”
“Quarrel?” he repeated dumbly before clearing his throat. “No, of course not. I suppose she was merely anxious to relieve her family’s worries.”
Lettie harrumphed.
The cryptic response had Cole following her out of the breakfast room, not sure what he could ask without giving himself away. Lettie stopped, and Cole stumbled to keep from bumping into her.
“Is there something you require, my lord?” Her acerbic bite might have gotten her fired in any other household, but she’d changed Cole’s nappies and read him stories before bed. As his own mother had died birthing him, Lettie was the closest thing to family he had remaining.
“Did Diana say anything before she departed?” What message did he hope she’d entrusted to Lettie
? Tell Cole I had a rousing evening with him. Or tell Cole he left me sated and satisfied. Or even better, tell Cole I can’t wait to warm his bed again.
“She asked if her clothes were dry and thanked me for providing succor in her time of need.” She bustled away, her keys jangling, but turned back for one final salvo. “The night rail she borrowed was ripped. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you, my lord?”
The allegation in her tone drew heat to his face, but he only raised his chin and adopted his new persona of Lord Linley. “I have no idea, Lettie. Bring my toast and tea, please?”
They held gazes longer than was comfortable, but she finally spun around and left him alone. Cole’s appetite had vanished with his good humor and hope upon waking. Doubts assailed him. Why had Diana left without seeing him? Was she embarrassed? Regretful? Ashamed?
A sick, lumpy feeling took up residence in his stomach. Taking the stairs two at a time, he summoned his father’s former valet—yet another aspect of his inheritance—and dressed for paying calls. His first would be to talk to Diana and ask Mr. Grambling for his daughter’s hand in marriage.
He saddled his horse, Tucker, unable to cede the task to a groom as he ought to. He rode for Grambling Manor along the forest road, hoping he might meet Diana once more. A melancholy song played from the rustling branches of the trees.
He arrived at Grambling Manor to the sight of an unfamiliar black carriage. It was of fine quality, as were the matching bay horses harnessed to the front. He left Tucker saddled in the small stable, noted the absence of Piers’s and Liam’s horses, and strode to the house. Once upon a time, he would have walked in the front door and announced himself, as the Gramblings had never employed a butler.
He hesitated, cooling his heels before letting go of the latch and employing the knocker. Rose answered. Her smile was wide, and pink colored her fine cheekbones. She dropped a curtsy and inclined her head. “My lord. You are most welcome.”
Once Upon a Christmas Wedding Page 106