Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

“ W hat are you thinking?” Frederick asked Gemma, his voice low and his tone intimate.

The warmth of the wine buzzed softly in Gemma’s veins. His voice was a deep, rich, and comforting presence. She found herself captivated by him; the way he leaned forward as he spoke, his hands strong yet graceful, the slight curve of his lips…

She could feel his gaze like a ray of sunlight each time it passed over her skin. When his dark blue eyes met hers, she felt the ignition of another dormant ember in her heart that she could not ignore.

Her fingers lightly traced the rim of her wine glass as she tried to focus, but her eyes were far more interested in wandering over the sharp line of his jaw and his broad shoulders, and her nose was too eager to inhale the faint, masculine scent of leather and whiskey that drifted her way whenever he moved.

The five senses of her body had become tuned to respond to him.

He caught her staring at him again and his eyes crinkled as he smiled at her.

She hastily tried to compose herself. “I was just thinking that… perhaps you are not as intimidating as you let on.”

His eyebrows arched and he leaned a bit closer to her to ascertain what she had meant by her remark. “Is that so?”

Her breath caught but she returned his stare, feeling bolder than she had before. “Yes. Maybe you are secretly even… charming.”

His quizzical expression quickly changed into a smile. The way he studied her made her feel completely exposed, but she didn’t look away.

“Is that so?” he half-asked, half-chuckled.

Another sip of wine emboldened her further and she deliberately moved ever so slightly, watching as his eyes traced each of her movements.

“Yes. Quite charming, actually,” she replied.

The air felt charged, every glance a touch, every word a caress, and Gemma found herself longing for something more, something she had no experience with, yet instinctively wanted.

She watched him, her gaze lowering to his lips as he took another sip of wine. She ached to reach out, to touch him, to feel his hands upon her skin. The urge was maddening, and she felt herself trembling slightly as she looked his way, unable to mask the longing in her eyes.

Frederick set down his glass, his movements deliberate and rose from his seat at the same time she did.

“Miss Brad—Gemma,” he murmured, his tone like a command and a plea all at once. “I cannot… I need to… I do not think I can hold back any longer.”

She could barely breathe, her heart pounding as he took a step toward her.

“Then do not,” she simply said.

Without any more hesitation, he closed the distance between them and captured her lips in a fierce and consuming kiss.

His hands were firm, one slipping around her waist, drawing her closer until there was nothing between them. She melted into his embrace, feeling as if she had been waiting for this moment her entire life.

When he finally pulled back his gaze was intense and his breathing was heavy with want.

He held out his hand, his eyes never leaving hers. “Come.”

Gemma’s heart raced as she took his hand, feeling the steady strength of his grip as he led her from the dining room, through the hallways and up the stairs toward his chambers.

The anticipation was electric, each step sending a quiver of elation through her until they reached his room.

Once inside, he turned to her, his gaze burning as he pulled her close again, his lips finding hers with renewed urgency. His hands roamed over her back while she clung to him, his touch leaving an electrically charged trail. Gemma believed that she would burst from the intensity of it all.

Frederick’s voice was infused with a degree of need that she had never heard before. “I have wanted you, Gemma… from the moment I first laid eyes on you.”

She shivered, her breath catching as she looked up at him, the weight of his words settling over her.

He began to trace his fingers over the line of her collarbone, his hand lingering on the edge of her dress, but he paused, searching her face for an answer.

“You must be certain,” he said, his tone gentle. “I would never do anything you did not also wish to do.”

Gemma smiled, her voice soft but resolute as she looked up at him. “I am already a spinster, Your G— Frederick . I do not care to wait for a husband to tell me what I can and cannot feel. Go ahead,” she whispered, her gaze daring, “ Ruin me .”

Her offer ignited something within him. He held her close, his hands beginning to move with a degree of confidence and tenderness that set her skin aflame. In that moment Gemma knew she was exactly where she was meant to be, with no thought to tomorrow or to the world beyond the room they now shared.

“Take off your clothes,” he ordered, sitting on the edge of the bed.

The intensity of his eyes as he looked over her face and body sent heat rushing through her veins.

“Yes, my lord,” she nodded, loosening the string from around her waist before unlacing the top half of her dress.

The sleeves fell over her shoulders, and she pulled down the petticoat to reveal her underdress.

He watched silently and intently as she continued, eventually stripping down to nothing but her corset and her linen shift.

“I need your help, my lord,” she said, turning slowly and pulling her hair over her shoulder towards the front. “The corset, the ribbon, my lord…”

He didn’t hesitate and strode to cover the short distance between them to untie the strings of her corset.

The corset came loose as his deft fingers unlaced it and slid it down her spine. It caught around her hips and he roughly shoved it down so it fell to her ankles.

She turned to look up at him, his hands going to his own neck as he pulled the tie and kerchief away before unbuttoning his waistcoat.

She stood silently, watching him eagerly as he pulled off the fine clothes to reveal his clean white undershirt.

“Take off my shirt,” he ordered, putting his hands on her hips.

“Yes…”

She untied the string and pulled open the shirt to reveal the downy black nest of hair that covered his chest. She ran her fingers through the tiny curls and smiled as she pulled his shirt off him, throwing it over her head and onto the floor.

“You’re so good for me, following my orders,” he said, his words delivering delicious shivers from the back of her neck down to the base of her spine and into her buttocks.

She looked down at his bare torso and slowly ran her right thumb from the hollow in his neck, down the ripples of his muscled abdomen, across his belly button and down to the place where his breeches interrupted her travels. He was built like a live version of the Greek statue of Adonis—all sinew, bones, taut muscles under soft, smooth skin, and downy expanses of soft fur.

Frederick lifted her in his arms, her legs wrapping around his hips as he moved them both to the bed. He lay her down in front of him and untied the string around his hips as he opened the front of his breeches.

Glimpsing the hair around his navel, her only desire was to see more of him. He smirked down at her, his hair wild and his eyes filled with lust as he leaned over her, his hands at either side of her hips.

“Open your legs.”

She complied as he slipped his breeches off and kneeled between her legs. She could feel him now, his hands slipping the hem of her gown over her knees and thighs. His rough hands made her shiver and he smirked again, pressing roughly between her legs.

“Mmm, very good.”

She whimpered as he placed the length of his body over hers. She could feel the rigidity of his member as it pushed against her inner thigh. Frederick repositioned himself. Gemma was shocked at the size and warmth of his erection as it pressed eagerly upon her most private and sensitive area.

She bit her lip when his fingers roamed up her hips and over her curves. He pulled down the collar of her gown, ardently kissing and licking her collarbone and shoulder before he plunged his face between the swell of her breasts. The roughness of his facial stubble electrified her as she combed her fingers impatiently through his thick, black hair.

“Touch me,” he demanded, leaning away from her breasts to stare into her eyes.

She was hesitant, unsure how to touch him, but he guided her, his eyes dark with want as her fingers roamed over his bare shoulders, through the hair on his chest, and over his stomach as he moaned lowly.

“Hurts?” she asked, surprised by the groan in his throat.

“No. It is good. Touch me…”

“I am…”

“There… touch me there .”

He pressed between her legs and pushed her hand down to his throbbing staff and she understood, seeing his full body now as he leaned back to allow her to take all of him in.

It was beautiful, her fingers tracing the swollen and rigid muscle and flesh. As her hand wrapped around him he bucked involuntarily, his face creased with unrestrained pleasure.

“Stroke, slowly.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Good girl.”

She grasped his thick girth lightly at first, realizing that its size was increasing as she stroked him more quickly and firmly.

She wondered if it would hurt her down there but was deeply aroused by the thought of having him inside her.

Gemma increased the grip on his engorged member as his hips gyrated with pleasure. Frederick’s lips captured hers in a rough kiss, then lowered his head to suckle at her nipples.

“Ah…”

“Does it feel good?

“Y-yes.”

“Brace yourself, darling,” he ordered, his fingers slipping down over her hips as she stroked him.

He pulled her hands together, then curled his fingers around both of her wrists and pinned her arms above her head with one strong hand.

With an expectant sigh he slowly spread the lips of her waiting cavern, parting them gently and circling her outer folds. Gemma bucked and moaned with the shock of unexpected pleasure, the space between her legs growing moister with every circle of his fingers.

He moved to the center of her thighs and stroked lazy circles within them until his fingers touched her precious nub. He rubbed it with his thumb, slowly increasing his speed as Gemma cried out and writhed her hips forward to drive herself more firmly into his hand. The speed of his thumb increased again, rotating quickly across her nub as she let out a scream of ecstasy.

Gemma’s back arched at his touch, her breath coming from her in rough gasps, her heart racing and a coil of fire burning inside of her as she wrapped her legs around Frederick’s back and begged him not to stop.

Upon her demand to continue, he suddenly stopped and pulled away his fingers. Gemma howled inside at the sudden cessation of pleasure and looked at him imploringly, but Frederick remained still.

“Such a good girl, Gemma.”

“Frederick…”

“Yes… say my name again.”

“ Frederick .”

“I am going to take you now.”

Her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs encircled his hips, pulling him closer to feel his manhood and will it inside of her. He paused, his eyes searching hers, his face mere inches away as he spoke with surprising gentleness.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“No. Please… do not stop.”

“It will hurt.”

“Do not stop.”

He positioned himself between her thighs, slowly entering her wet tunnel. Gemma immediately felt his girth fill her as he drove himself more deeply inside of her. As he touched the final entrance into her depth, he hesitated and looked at her.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. I am yours, take me.”

Frederick braced his hips against hers and slid into her recesses. His throbbing shaft met the resistance of her maidenhood and he breached its walls as Gemma cried out from the sharp but brief pain.

He pulled out, then plunged himself into her again, this time more forcefully as the pleasure enveloped them both.

Gemma’s breath had become a frenetic rasp as her fingers dug into Frederick’s shoulder blades and her legs repeatedly pulled him into her.

The smell of him, the sound of his sighs, and the feel of his body surrounding her spurred her on. It was relentless but wonderful, a sensation she never imagined.

And she couldn’t get enough of it.

His every exhale, every low groan in her ear, sent tremors through her body, urging her to move faster, to match his pace.

Frederick’s hands roamed over her, memorizing her curves, as if he wanted to claim every part of her. The way his body pressed against hers, powerful yet controlled, was a sensation that bordered on overwhelming.

Her own nails dug lightly into his back as she wrapped herself around him, pulling him even closer, as though she feared he might drift away if she loosened her grip.

“Gemma…” he groaned, his voice heavy with desire, his eyes clouded yet focused intently on her face.

“Frederick,” she whispered, breathless, feeling a spark of fire that kept building inside her, urging her to go faster, deeper, her body lost in the tidal wave of sensation.

The friction, the heat, the sheer intensity of it—all of it sent her spiraling higher, her breath hitching with each thrust.

“Frederick, I… I…”

“Yes, darling. That’s it. Come for me,” he said, a wicked smile forming on his lips.

A tidal wave had gathered in her body and was slowly pulsing forward and gathering strength, threatening to sweep her away with its monumental force. She felt herself fall into the burgeoning tide and ride the uppermost wave of ecstasy until she exploded in rapture and cried out his name.

“Frederick,” she gasped his name as waves of pleasure crashed through her, leaving her trembling in his arms.

He soon followed her, groaning with the power of his climax, his entire body shuddering as he buried himself inside her and released his seed, his face pressed into the crook of her neck.

Panting and slick with sweat, he kissed Gemma fervently, carefully removed himself from her and rolled on his side next to her. Gemma lay on her back, spent and fulfilled beside him, her racing breath slowing as she savored the remaining moments of their passionate exchange.

Frederick turned his head and grinned at Gemma, who gazed at him with a satiated smile. “Get some rest, darling. Because I am not done with you.”