Chapter Forty-Four

P ippa couldn't contain her excitement. She was in the pavilion. The Temple of Sin.

Delicious goosebumps sent a shiver over her shoulders.

Me.

In the pavilion.

With the most handsome man ever to walk the Earth.

Her hands explored his muscular chest, and he gave her access. Their mouths found one another with a ravishing passion. The experience wasn't as new as it had been in the country house. And she wasn't shy this time. The thrill of knowing his body took control over her and Pippa reached for his waistband.

He let out a guttural, manly groan, that couldn't have been a better compliment for her. His hands came to her breasts, and she stretched her back to push against his palms. He reached into her cleavage and found his way expertly.

It was scandalous and wonderful, forbidden and perfect.

Nick released her mouth and dipped his head. He kissed a trail down from her chin, along her jaw to the curve her neck and then descended. When his head reached her cleavage, hands on her breasts, she inhaled, readying herself, but when his mouth took her nipple, she gasped. It was an explosive pleasure, rippling through her so much that she arched her back and nearly lost her footing. Nick supported her waist, holding her tightly while he continued the sensual onslaught. Pippa wanted to scream with pleasure, but she didn't dare lest someone hear her. She was in the notorious pavilion after all.

The heady feeling of the gorgeous man kissing her nipples such, in the pavilion… she was engaged to him. It all became so real, so different from what her life had been only a few weeks ago. She could no longer contain her excitement; her heart pounded in her chest, and she wanted to lie down.

So that's what the cushions on the floor were for.

Nick held the small of her back, but she was overcome with the need for him where she'd felt him only days ago. Deep inside of her.

She searched for something to hold on to and rested her right arm on the shelf with the tablecloths.

She pushed her core against Nick in need and he grabbed her behind.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" he asked her, mouth open and glistening with desire. The light that came in from the bottom crack under the door and the windows was enough for Pippa to see that his eyes were black with desire. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark, but she could make out his hair, mussed again so adorably as it had been at her country house that morning.

"Please!" She panted, fumbling for the buttons of his breeches.

But then she didn't need to. He freed his large and hot member for her and laid it in her hand. Oh, and she loved it, gave it a squeeze, and reveled in the groan he let out in response.

Then he dropped to his knees and lifted her petticoat up.

His hands trailed up her legs. Higher along her calves. He moved slowly and with such reverence, that Pippa could barely catch her breath when he came to the hollow of her knees and kissed her thighs.

First, a small kiss on each side. But then he went higher.

His movements were deliberate and slow, but she could feel that he cherished her with every little contact. His hand cradled her womanhood and she twitched with need.

Now that she knew how he could make her feel, nothing else mattered. She wanted him so badly, so deeply, and with all of her heart and body.

"You're ready," he whispered, when his finger slipped between her folds.

Pippa had no words, and an odd sound came out of her as she sought to press her hips against his member.

He rose and stood in front of her, lifting her skirts and bunching them up around her waist. Then he grabbed her thigh from beneath it, and raised it so that she wrapped her leg around him. He was in her space but still too far away.

Pippa didn't know when, but Nick had lowered his breeches. Her left hand was still holding on to the shelf but with her right, she grabbed his taut bottom, then caressed his hips and found the dimple just above where his belly muscles were so amazingly bulky that every groove between his perfectly sculpted body made her lick her lips. Her appetite for him was insatiable.

As if he'd known, his mouth took hers again. She opened up willingly and melted backward.

Oh, so that's what that was for.

He grabbed her behind, lifting her center toward his. Then, her left hand wrapped around her neck, and she drove her fingers into his hair, the golden luxury she loved more than any riches in the world.

He lifted her higher, his other hand at the side of her waist.

Pippa grew restless, eager for his entry.

She fumbled and searched for something to reach, unable to lie down. Oh, why did she have to be in this pavilion. Why weren't there beds?

And then, Nick helped her. He gently took her hand from the back of his neck and lifted it, reaching up over his head. There was the odd ring hanging from a chain in the center of the ceiling. He led the way, bringing her fingers to the ring and pressing her fingers to grab it.

Pippa frowned, unsure what he was doing.

"I think I figured out why this pavilion is so special," he whispered, amusement coloring his voice.

Pippa's heart lurched.

He grabbed her other leg from below her waist, trailed his hand to the hollow of her knee and lifted it up. "Put your weight here." He positioned her foot against the frame of the door. "Hold on tight."

Every surface of this small room was perfect for trysts, providing seclusion, hold, and cushioning. She did as she was told, willingly and eagerly.

One leg still curled around him, the other pressed against the door frame, her weight was firmly supported by his strong hands. And then she felt the blunt tip of his smooth but hard member pressing against her entrance, so wonderfully hard as he pushed. She cherished the moment he slowly exerted pressure until he'd penetrated deep into her.

Her heart beat so vehemently that she thought he must feel it, too.

And then she understood the allure of the pavilion.

Pippa adjusted her grip on the ring suspended from the ceiling and her arm on the shelf.

It was a tight space, a perfect space to hold on and make love upright.

And that's what they did.

Nick slid into her, so deeply, so deliciously, and so fully that she let out a little scream.

"Pippa!" Nick feigned admonishing her, but he smirked. In the dim light she could see that his face was bright with mirth and so close that she could kiss the tip of his nose.

"This is so good!" she moaned.

"Someone could hear us," Nick said with a tone that should have alarmed her, but she could hear that it was all in good fun. "Does this still feel good?" He pushed harder.

"Oh!" Pippa cried in bliss. She bit her lower lip.

"That's my job." Nick brought his delicious, big white teeth to her lip and nibbled at her lower lip, then plunged his tongue into her mouth when she opened up wide. At the same time, he slipped into her.

"This is the perfect angle!" She screamed when he pulled out and slid back in.

"My love," Nick whispered half laughing, half strained.

"It is so perfect, it's just that, the angle—" Pippa's voice was strained and then failed when Nick pumped into her, his muscles rippling in the dim light, and she looked down at her legs spread wide and his sculpted body uniting with hers. A cry emerged. It was her again and she laughed, but then her muscles twitched, and Nick pushed deep. That was the end of her last bit of self-control.

Another cry echoed from her throat when Nick's tongue swished through her mouth while below his thrusts hit a spot so perfectly within her that she convulsed.

Then he withdrew and pushed back to that spot.

Pippa held on tight to the ring, however she was overwhelmed with pleasure. A wave caught her from the inside and rushed through her from the center of that magical spot to the roots of her hair. Nick held her waist tight and pumped.

It was marvelous. Easy. Perfect.

Then he pushed so deep that Pippa convulsed with pleasure. He cried out as he followed her.

When they regained their breath, the room was even darker and they held each other.

"Thank you for opening my eyes to life," Pippa said, her cheek resting on Nick's shoulder.

He moved and took her face in his hands.

"You taught me that there's another perspective on life than the one I had. I was locked up, the clumsy goose. I always felt lonely and ugly, but you showed me that life can be so beautiful. I didn't see it until you made me see."

Nick kissed her gently on the mouth. "You are a sight to behold."

*