Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

" I –"

"Shh," Benedict murmured, still fixing her in place with his gaze. "Don't say anything just yet."

Thalia held her tongue as Benedict moved his hand from her cheek down to her neck, brushing his thumb across it and down to her collarbone. Her eyes fluttered closed, savoring the sensation.

His fingers trailed lower, and he brought both hands up to pull back her outer layer. Then, slowly, he unbuttoned the top of her nightgown.

When he stopped, Thalia frowned.

"Come," Benedict murmured. He cast a quick glance up at the sky. Then he took her hand in his. "I want to see you."

Confused, Thalia followed him into the maze. He wound around a corner, and then another, until they reached a section that was awash with moonlight.

There, Benedict pulled Thalia close once more. Reaching out again, he curled a finger around the silky knot that held her robe closed. With a quick flick, it came loose and the folds of fabric fell back, exposing the gown beneath.

Benedict's eyes roamed her hungrily as Thalia realized that the sheer fabric of her nightgown clung to her every curve. Slowly Benedict undid several more buttons at her neck and chest, until her nightgown fell open, parting down the middle to her navel.

She glanced up to see admiration in Benedict's eyes as he moved to place a hand on either side of her collarbone. Then in one smooth movement, he slipped her robe and nightgown down over her shoulders and off completely.

It fell to the ground with a whisper. Thalia's heart raced as Benedict took a step back, admiring her naked form.

She could hardly breathe as he drank her in, bathed in moonlight. And the desire in his eyes as he watched her, eyes roaming every part of her in eager expectation, was something she knew she would never forget.

Then, as if he could no longer resist, Benedict moved close once more. As he brought his mouth to her ear, Thalia shivered at the heat of his breath. "Do you know how long I have wanted to do this?" he murmured.

Before Thalia could answer, he had begun to show her just what he wished to do. Kissing down her neck, he left a trail of heat with hungry lips. He continued downward, bringing his hands up to cup her bare breasts in his palms.

His kisses stopped as he drew a thumb over her nipple, making her shudder in unexpected pleasure. Benedict glanced up at her quickly, grinning, before he lowered his head.

Then, taking her breast in his mouth, he began to run his tongue across its tender peak, flicking with quick, steady movements.

Heat raced between Thalia's thighs while a lightheaded, tingling sensation swept across her chest. She swayed a little and Benedict's arms circled around her waist, steadying her.

After a moment, he released her breasts and kissed back up her neck. He ran a hand behind Thalia's neck as he made it to her mouth. Without hesitation, he took her mouth in his, lips urgent and greedy.

As Thalia met his fever with her own, his fingers wound into her hair. He gripped the strands of loose waves – not so tightly it hurt, but enough that he could pull her head back a little, deepening their kiss.

His tongue slipped into her mouth and Thalia was overwhelmed with the sensation of his touch as his free hand returned to her breast, kneading, and once more stirring up that heady, tingling desire.

"How – how can you do that?" Thalia gasped when Benedict broke the kiss.

An eyebrow flicked skyward. "Do what?"

"How do you know what to do?" she continued. "Where to touch and what to do to make me feel…"

"To pleasure you?" Benedict watched her closely. Thalia swallowed hard, nodding. He grinned. "Experience, for one."

Thalia's cheeks burned. "Yes. Right. Of course."

"But knowledge is not a bad thing," he told her. "You can take what you've learned and use it, adapt it."

As if in explanation, Benedict drew a hand down her lower back, moving to take hold of the flesh of her backside, digging his fingers into her skin with just enough pressure that Thalia's eyes fluttered closed in appreciation. She sighed, savoring the delicious new sensation as his hands moved over her again, stroking and provoking her to a greater need.

As he moved to kiss her again, Thalia had a sudden, scandalous thought. But the idea made her heart race in anticipatory delight. "Can you teach me?" she asked, placing a hand on his chest to keep him at bay.

Benedict frowned slightly. "To…"

"Can you show me how to pleasure you?"

The wicked gleam in Benedict's eye made Thalia bite her lip. Wordlessly, he nodded. He took a step back and drew his shirt off over his head. Thalia realized that he was still wearing his clothing from dinner. Had he not gone to bed at all?

But she did not have long to ponder this as Benedict reached out and pulled her back to him. "Women and men have different places where they like to be touched. And where they like to touch."

His voice was low and soothing, as velvety as the night around them. To make his point, he drew a teasing line with his finger down from her neck to her breast. "Here," he murmured, kissing first the nape of her neck, "and here," he continued, moving to tease her nipple with his tongue again. Thalia gasped.

"Or even here," he added, taking her hand in his and flipping it over so that he could kiss the delicate skin on her wrist, just below her palm. "These are all places that, in my experience, women want to be touched."

Thalia did not need any convincing. Her blood ran hot, her skin alight with the lingering sensation of his touch.

With a grin that made Thalia's heart skip a beat, Benedict brought her hand to his lips. One by one he kissed her fingers. Then, he drew her pointer finger across his lips. "I enjoy kissing you because I want to feel you against my lips," he told her.

He brought her hand to his chest and Thalia marveled at the sculpted body that lay beneath her touch. He smiled as he allowed her to freely trace the lines of his muscles. "I enjoy touching you with my hands," he continued. "And I enjoy your touch. But there is one place where I desire it the most."

Thalia's head spun with giddy anticipation.

Taking her hand in his once more, Benedict moved her touch down farther. Guiding her, he moved her hand over the top of his trousers to where Thalia felt a large bulge.

"Here."

Instinctually, curiously, she drew her hand up and down slowly, trying to understand the shape of this part of him. As she did so, Benedict let out a low moan, his eyes closing as his head tilted back.

"You know more than you think," Benedict grinned, eyes still closed in indulgence.

Thalia continued the movement. Then, a moment later, Thalia felt something else. She gasped a little in astonishment. She had heard of such things but never…

Thalia felt him grow and harden beneath her touch. When Benedict groaned again, Thalia glanced up at him. The look on his face was a strange melding of pleasurable agony. It was beautiful.

She paused and Benedict opened his eyes.

"Tell me what to do." Her request was soft and hesitant, but Thalia could see in an instant that he understood what she was asking. Order me, she silently begged him. Order me to do whatever you desire.

The duke nodded.

He narrowed his eyes at her as he issued his first command. "Unbutton my trousers."

Thalia did as he asked. She sucked in her breath as the garment fell to the ground and she witnessed his nakedness for the first time. He was incredible. Her body was alight just looking at him. Here was the physical evidence of his desire for her.

She wanted more.

"Touch me again," he ordered.

Guessing what he meant, Thalia reached between his legs to take him in her hand once more. For a moment, Benedict's hand came over hers, showing her how to stroke him up and down.

It was gratifying to see the immediate reward of her actions. Benedict's face was raised to the sky again, savoring the stir of her touch.

But he was not done. "Get on your knees," he growled, seeming to fight against a wave of desire.

Thalia hesitated. "What?"

Looking down at her, Benedict's lips twisted into a half-grin. "Get on your knees," he repeated, his voice raw with a thrilling hunger.

A shiver of delight ran down her spine as she obeyed.

He nodded. "Open your mouth."

She opened her mouth.

"Good girl."

Two words and she was his. She did not know what control this man had over her, but she shook with desire for him.

As she obeyed, Benedict shifted. Guessing at what was to happen next, and eager to give him the pleasure that he had given her the last time they had met in the gardens, Thalia took him into her mouth.

The duke let out a loud moan and she could feel him shudder in satisfaction. A similar tremor raced through her. They moved together for a moment, his hand on the back of her head, guiding her.

It was a strange sensation, like nothing Thalia had ever experienced before. But she did not dislike it. The thrill of obeying him, of giving him pleasure, made her work harder to fit him into her mouth, to bring him deeper.

As another heated groan rumbled in the duke's chest, Benedict pulled away. Thalia glanced up in distress. "Have I done something wrong?"

Chuckling, Benedict shook his head. Then, leaning down, he wrapped his arms around her. Before she knew it, Thalia was on her back in the grass. "No," he murmured, moving so that he was above her, his body was pressing down against hers. He moved to nip her ear with his teeth. "You obeyed me almost too well. Before I lose myself completely, I should reward you. So now it's your turn."

Thalia's skin tingled in anticipation. When Benedict touched her this time, there was a fervor in his movements. A hunger. His lust for her could not be contained, and Thalia found that she wanted him just as badly.

His kisses were like fire. His hands grasped her, pulling her even closer to him as if he would meld their two bodies together. He kissed her navel as his hand found the heat between her legs.

Thalia gasped. She squirmed in delight against his ministrations. This time her desire came thundering through her even faster than before. He rubbed against her, both outside and in. His fingers seemed to know exactly where to tease, where to stroke, to make her quake with a frenzy of building heat. Her body pulsed with waves of pleasure, each one coming more quickly than the next.

Then, Benedict stopped. His fingers teased her delicately, eyes watching her with amusement.

Thalia whimpered as he touched her again and then withdrew once more.

Benedict clicked his tongue, shaking his head. He leaned close again. "Beg me," he told her. His words were cold, chilling water down her burning spine. "Tell me how much you want me."

The pleasure was almost too much to bear. But so, too, was her need.

"Please," she gasped. "I want you."

He slipped a finger into her and then out. He brought his lips to her neck. Then, drawing back, he drank her in, eyes soaking up every part of her pained expression. "Do you need me?" His voice was husky with desire.

The words were out of her in an instant. There was no hesitation. No doubt. "I need you," she begged him.

That was all he needed to hear. Suddenly, Thalia was flooded with heat as Benedict sank himself into her. He stretched her in the most overwhelming way. And then, like his fingers, he continued to stroke her from the inside, his member filling her up, creating delicious friction along every inch of both him and her. She cried out in delight as he moved in and out with steady, commanding vigor. Thalia felt her body tightening hungrily around him.

Benedict's lips were at her neck as he groaned, guttural pleasure rumbling in his chest. The sound made Thalia's head spin. His hands were on her, pulling her closer, holding her so that each thrust could go deeper into her.

The waves of desire that built within Thalia now were like nothing she had ever experienced. She clung to Benedict, her frenzy threatening to overwhelm her.

But Benedict was unrelenting. He drove into her, making her cry out with each new thrust. As her body began to shake, Thalia gave way to an all-encompassing sensation which raced through her in a split second. It made her legs shake and her head was thrown back as she let out a cry of pure ecstasy.

Even as the climax lingered in her, Benedict reached his own peak. He moaned, thrusting one last time, his body shuddering in release.

Collapsing onto her, Thalia held him while they both rode out the surge of bliss. She gasped, the pleasure bringing her nearly to the brink of unconsciousness as the corners of her vision grew dark.

Then, finally, the demanding pulsing within her began to slow. With a chuckle, Benedict rolled over and let out a contented sigh. He was now on his back in the grass beside her. He reached out an arm to pull Thalia into his side. Willingly, Thalia allowed herself to be moved, melting into the length of his body.

After a moment, he rolled onto his side and rested his head on his hand, regarding her with evident satisfaction. "Well done," he grinned. Reaching out a hand, he brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, eyes drinking her in. " Very well done."

Benedict held an angel in his arms. She looked up at him, bathed in moonlight, her perfect, delicious body still exposed to the heavens.

He was amazed. Dumbfounded and beyond words. He had never before experienced anything like what they had just shared. It was as if they were of one mind, one body.

Moved, Benedict reached out to touch her, gently running his fingers down from her brow to her cheek, then down her long neck. He watched with amusement as Thalia's eyes flickered closed, savoring the sensation.

Gone were the days when she hid her desire from him. Now he could watch her react to his touch without hindrance. He could see how much she craved his touch, and where. It was captivating.

She had hidden nothing from him here, in the secrecy of the gardens. Nor had he hidden anything from her. He swallowed a groan of satisfaction as he recalled her touch. Her mouth . It was nearly enough to rouse him into taking her again.

But she looked so peaceful as she was, curled into his side, face toward the heavens. He would not provoke her just yet.

However…

Benedict shifted so that he could cradle her cheek in his hand. Then, ever so slowly, ever so gently, he kissed her.

Thalia kissed him back, meeting his touch with a delicate desire of her own.

Benedict pulled back, gazing into the deep pools of her eyes. "Thalia…I –"

He stopped. In an instant, it was as if he had come back into his own body. As if he had been enjoying everything up until this moment as a different man, unhindered by responsibility or expectation.

But now he was the duke once more. And with the reminder of his position, came an overwhelming sense of dread. That kiss had been different than any he had shared before. Very different. It had not been lustful. No, it had been…loving.

He shifted, brow furrowing. He quickly sat up.

"Is something the matter?" Thalia asked, pressing up so that she could sit too.

Benedict shook his head. "We should return." His tone was sharper than he had intended. But he couldn't help it. Standing, he reached for his clothing, dressing quickly.

Thalia, looking confused, did the same. But she dressed slowly, watching him with concern. "Are you certain that everything –"

"I will leave first." Benedict buttoned his trousers and pulled on his shirt. He glanced around. "Wait a little while before you come back to the manor. That way, in case anyone were to see us, they would not suspect that we were together."

Looking a little hurt, Thalia nodded. As Benedict felt a pang of guilt upon seeing her expression, he knew he should leave her be. He should walk away. But he couldn't leave her looking like this. "I'm sorry," he murmured, finding it impossible to say anything else. He shook his head, ashamed. "I…goodnight, Lady Thalia."

She said nothing as he turned and started away. What was there for her to say?

He was a cad and a rogue. She knew that full well. What she didn't know was how panicked Benedict now felt. What they had shared – that kiss, too – had quickly turned from lust to something far more dangerous.

There was a plan. There was much that was expected of him. Benedict could not risk getting so attached to Thalia. The only problem? Deep down, he was beginning to suspect that he already was.