17. Caroline

17

Caroline

I n many ways, Caroline was grateful for David’s intransigence on this issue. Their evening had begun in a private dining room in the first-class restaurant, before moving to the opening ball of the voyage, held beneath the skylight in the Wintergarden. The dress she wore was nothing as daringly short as last night at Sian’s cocktail party—for a very good reason.

In other ways, however, she almost wished she had already given her innocence away.

Because then there wouldn’t be all this interminable waiting .

After their first dance in the ballroom, Caroline thought that would surely be the moment he swept her away to their cabin.

But there was a second dance. And a third. And a fourth.

Just as David twirled her into the fifth dance, she decided to pull out her ace—and play dirty. She could so easily say her feet were beginning to hurt after yesterday’s ordeal, but she didn’t want to disarm him out of pity. With her supple leather pumps tapping their way across the dance floor, Caroline leant in. “You know you were talking earlier about how you very much liked a particular item of my clothing. And how you suggested I go without it?”

David missed a step. “Yes?”

She tried not to smile at his reaction. He knew exactly what she referred to: her underwear .

“Well...” Caroline stretched out the word, enjoying teasing the confession out. “I decided to take your advice tonight. I was keen to experience all those… benefits you hinted at.”

His eyes flared with a predatorial focus. Throat bobbing, he leant in to whisper, “And have you been like that all night ?”

She fluttered her eyes at him. “I didn’t think we were going to be out this long.”

He didn’t bother to respond, rushing her off the dance floor with considerably less grace than he’d escorted her onto it. Caroline stifled a giggle as they departed the ballroom, rapidly arriving at the lifts—right as the doors opened, and a gaggle of richly dressed older women streamed out of it.

But then of course they were richly dressed. Unlike the Crypt, the elevators on the Berengaria weren’t free to be used by just anyone. The elevators here were solely for the use of the first-class passengers.

The elevator operator, a tall, thin man suited in the same blue-and-white livery as the man who delivered their suitcases earlier, smiled as they entered. “Good evening, sir. Good evening, madam. What deck are you wishing to travel to?”

David answered for them, short and sharp. “A Deck.”

Oh dear . She had really thrown him off balance if he wasn’t even being polite. “Please,” she added, pursing her lips and giving David a chiding look.

“Closing doors,” the operator warned them, his polite smile never fading as the elevator climbed up to A Deck. “How are you finding the first night of your voyage? I hope everything has been to your liking.”

“Everything’s been wonderful, thank you.” She took the lead on their conversation. The New York trip had her feeling lighter and more energised than she had in months. Years, really. Oliver was alive . Even now she had to pinch herself to believe it. For all his faults, however cataclysmic they may be, she still loved her brother.

Even so, she knew she wouldn’t keep it a secret. She couldn’t . Caroline loved Emmeline like a sister, just as much as she loved Oliver as her brother. She wouldn’t choose sides.

Emmeline had started off Caroline’s process of healing—and David had finished it.

She remembered how terrified she used to be before balls and parties, panicking about how pudgy she looked. Her mother’s voice constantly sniping in her ear.

How dare she? Caroline compared how her mother used to speak to her versus how Emmeline spoke to her daughters. It was night and day, and Caroline was ready to step into the light. She knew which one she wanted to emulate with her own children.

The only thing she worried about when selecting a dress for this evening was how difficult they would be to take off and, most importantly, whether they were long enough to conceal her lack of underwear.

But it was more than just confidence. David made her feel desired. He made her feel how a woman deserved to feel.

Heavens, she now felt confident enough to go out dancing without any underwear on.

“You only get one life ,” Sian had whispered in her ear when bidding them farewell. David had been shaking Roscoe’s hand, making plans for future visits, but Sian had some words of wisdom to impart. “Live it with the man who makes you happy.”

“Opening doors,” the elevator operator said. “I hope you have a pleasant evening, and please let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with.”

She hoped the rest of her evening would be pleasant as well.

“Thank you.” Caroline smiled, rounding into a giggle as David tugged her out of the elevator. A quick glance showed that the hallways were deserted, with nothing impeding their view, all the way down to the door to the library at the ship’s bow.

They turned off the main corridor almost immediately, rushing along the narrow hallway down to their room. David unlocked their cabin—only to pin her to the door instead of opening it, furiously taking her lips in a harsh, biting kiss. He dived beneath her dress with one hand, laying it against her inner thigh and slowly sliding upwards as she sighed in relief.

His eyes dilated when he reached the wispy blonde curls between her legs. Did he think she was lying about not wearing underwear? Paying the main corridor a brief glance, he pushed his knee between her thighs to spread them. “Is this what you wanted?” he murmured in her ear, as his touch met the wet mess she’d made for him. “You wanted to tease me in public?”

The feeling of finally being touched had her shivering in relief. His fingers grazed her clitoris, and she stifled a moan. She nodded, resting her head against the wall and biting her lip. But then—

“David!” Her eyes blew wide when she felt him not just touching her, but penetrating her. Caroline’s cry was a hushed whisper, her spine arching as he pushed his finger deeper inside her, quickly followed by a second.

“I thought this was what you wanted.” David nibbled her earlobe, before fluttering his fingers in a move that had him clapping his free hand over her mouth to stop her voice echoing down the corridor. Even then, he didn’t stop, the heel of his hand working over her clitoris. “Do you know how good you feel? How hot? How tight? How slick?”

Pleasure slammed her eyes closed, but David only gave her more of it.

“Do you know how easy it would be for me to claim you here and now? Where anyone could see you. Would you like an audience, Starling? ”

Five minutes ago, she would have said no.

But there was something about being in public that had her rethinking her earlier position. The risk involved heightening her senses—and the pleasure along with them. Her entire world centred in on his touch as he thrust into her in one imposing, magnificent stroke.

Caroline panted as she nodded. The risk of being caught was positively delicious, pushing her closer and closer to release.

Distant voices reached their ears, creeping up the corridor. Instead of entering their cabin, David just smirked, his voice low and sensual. “You’re going to come on my hand without making a single sound. Is that clear?”

A shiver of arousal took hold of her body at his command. The slick sounds of her own ardour could be heard as he pumped into her. At any other moment, she would have been mortified, but somehow, they only spurred her on.

The voices were getting louder, just as tremors of lust quaked around David’s fingers. How could she possibly remain silent?

Her approaching release had no such qualms. She fought the urge to moan, unsure of whether she could remain on her feet.

The voices were now so close she could hear what they were saying, but still David plunged his fingers inside her. “If you don’t come now,” he whispered, “they’re going to see you, Starling.”

Fiery rapture exploded between her legs, coursing through her veins. She clung to his neck with all of her strength, her spine arching and solidifying in place. Her breath came as hard and as fast as the waves of her climax, riding her hard as their uninvited guests approached. Her body clenched around him, wondering if it would ever end—and simultaneously praying that it never would.

Seconds before the voices materialised into people, David opened the door to their cabin. Slipping his hand from between her thighs, he guided her inside, walking her over to the bed and throwing the door closed behind him.

He captured her lips, swallowing the moans she could at last let loose. Her climax had receded, but need still clawed within her—need for him .

“I want to see you,” she pleaded, her eyes closing as he laved at her neck. “I’ve waited and waited.”

David’s answering grin was full of self-deprecating wickedness. “You have already seen me.”

“For half a second before I turned away, whilst you have all but explored me with a magnifying glass.” Even she had never seen herself in the way he had.

Radiating smugness, he held his arms wide in invitation. “I’m yours to explore.”

Her hands went to his buttons, frantically wanting to unveil him. She wanted more than the half-glance she’d already obtained. When she had freed all of his shirt buttons from their constraints, she slid it off his shoulders to reveal his undershirt—but she was even less careful with that, simply tugging it over his head to reveal everything hidden beneath.

Caroline exhaled a hushed breath, finally sliding her hands up his bare torso. The heated masculinity held within his muscular frame had her mouth watering. A network of dark hair only enhanced his virility, starting at his chest and climbing downwards, farther and farther until it disappeared into the band of his trousers.

Her touch traced the breadth of his densely-packed shoulders. They were saturated with strength, and she bit her lip imagining what they could do. “You’re magnificent,” she admitted, glued to watching her hand curve over his musculature—and the way it moved as his breaths heaved through him .

He cupped both sides of her face, tilting it up to receive his kiss. “I could say the same about you.”

Even now, a small part of her wanted to deny it; the part of her that had once listened to her mother’s abuse. The same part that had fed on the cruel remarks of the bastard who had insulted her figure at the London ball last year.

But that was the thing about small parts. They were small enough to be ignored.

Instead, Caroline listened to the man in front of her, purring into his kiss as her trembling hands played around the band of his trousers. Do it , she told herself. Just touch him .

Gathering her courage, she slid her hand down to feel his hardness. If she’d caught half a glance at his body on the day she walked in on him, she’d seen even less of his manhood—and so she gasped when she felt the thick, unyielding length grinding against her touch.

David’s low groan only spurred her on. Lust was a dangerous emotion, she was discovering, capable of pushing her to do things she’d never dreamt of. Things like hesitancy and self-consciousness fell by the wayside as she sought to learn how to give him pleasure.

Her hands scrambled to undo first his belt and then his trousers, shoving the fabric down to reveal the lines of his hips, the trail of hair she’d sighted earlier, and, finally, uncaging the brawn he kept contained within. She let her fingers grasp him, its fiery heat taking her by surprise.

David’s hand engulfed hers, and for a brief moment, she worried she’d hurt him—Emmeline had said that certain parts were sensitive, after all. But he only readjusted her fingers around his girth before guiding her to stroke up and down. “Like this,” he breathed, his chest heaving as she repeated the movement .

It was intoxicating to watch him, to see the evidence of her work on his face. Her thoughts from yesterday returned to her—she wanted to give him the kind of pleasure he’d given her after Sian’s cocktail party.

“Can I taste you?” Her words came out as a husky whisper. “Like you tasted me.”

His dark eyes blew wide as a smirk curved his lips. “And you say I’m the naughty one.” He walked her backwards, seizing her lips in a scandalous kiss. “Have you been thinking about sucking my cock, Starling?”

Her calves hit the bedframe. “I confess I have been…wondering about the mechanics of it.”

“Then sit, and I’ll give you a demonstration.”

She obeyed, coming face-to-face with his erection—and finding it was more intimidating than she’d realised. David stroked it, his grip tighter than hers had been, squeezing as he did so. A drop of clear liquid pooled at the tip. Was that his seed? What did it taste like?

Caroline bit her lip, fighting the urge to lean in and lick the droplet before it fell.

Pushing her hair back with his free hand, David’s voice was soft. “Let me know if y— fuck. ”

The urge won.

The salty taste of the liquid exploded across her tongue as she caressed the tip of his length. His cock , as he called it. She closed her lips over the head, the slickness between her legs making her thighs slip together.

“Starling,” David’s groan fell from his throat, galvanising her to take him deeper, to suck his cock . Her cheeks hollowed out as she drew back, savouring his taste. She needed more, she needed to take him deeper, she needed to give way to the hedonistic madness that possessed her.

His hands sifted through her curls, massaging her skull as she lapped at his glistening shaft. Whispered curses left him, his hips flexing as she worked. The strain of his muscles was almost as erotic as the sounds he made, low and raw and rough.

Caroline was almost annoyed when the tightness in her lungs forced her to pull back, the blood vessels in her eyes on the verge of popping. Her chest expanded as she sucked in the air she desperately needed—and not the cock she desperately wanted. “Give me a moment,” she panted.

David’s smirk came into view as he knelt before her. “For future reference, breathe through your nose.” His hands disappeared up the outer edges of her thighs. “Now lift your hips.”

She obeyed, despite her dismay. “I’m not finished.”

“I will be if you carry on.” He shifted her up the bed, briefly melding their lips together before pulling her dress over her head—and unhooking the brassiere beneath it.

Self-consciousness edged in, like an old injury twinging in the cold, but Caroline only had to watch his expression to know that it had no place here.

She was in bed with her husband’s father. And there was no place she’d rather be.

David straightened, the muscles in his chest shifting. He watched her with a predatorial, almost feral gaze that had heat building between her thighs once more. She thought her own desire had been slaked, but it reared its head again, stronger and more demanding than ever.

Swiping a tin off the bedside table, he cracked it open and pulled out something that resembled a balloon before being inflated. Is this really the time for celebration? But when he rolled it onto his cock, she blushed, grateful she hadn’t asked the question out loud. It was a condom, you numpty.

A thrill went through her when he prowled onto the bed, scattering kisses onto her skin. His movements seemed effortlessly powerful, a silent rhythm she couldn’t stop watching—but it was one thing to watch, and another to feel.

His wide hands skimmed her thighs, pushing them farther apart. Cool air rushed between her legs, chilling the moisture it found there. Unlike last night, she offered no protest when he settled between them, his shoulders filling the gap he’d created.

She didn’t remain silent for long.

It was as good the second time as it had been the first. Perhaps even more so. This time, Caroline wasn’t lost to shock or self-consciousness. She let herself enjoy it, arching her hips to meet his tongue. She was sensitive after her release in the hallway, but her fire wasn’t extinguished. She luxuriated in her pleasure, moaning his name when that oh-so-familiar sensation began to build.

“Don’t stop.” Her voice was a high whisper, constricted by her approaching release.

David didn’t let her down—and she knew he never would.

Arousal exploded beneath her navel, shattering her hold on reality. Caroline gave herself over to it, crying out with every wave. Her first orgasm had necessitated quiet, the second silence, but this time she could let it out, truly experiencing the freedom it gave her.

When her hips finally settled back on the bed, she watched David crawl up towards her, scattering kisses on her breasts and neck.

Caroline sucked in a shocked breath when his weight settled over hers, their naked bodies sliding together. He was startlingly hot, a furnace of male desire. She locked her arms over his head and met his kiss, feeling the hard barrel of his cock settle near her entrance.

With anyone else, she would have been nervous. Apprehensive, even.

“ There may be pain,” Emmeline had said, “but a loving partner will do all he can to minimise it. ”

The strong glow of affection unfurled in her chest like a flag, declaring who held it for all to see. Does he love me ? Caroline knew how she would answer the same question.

David slipped his erection through her folds, collecting the moisture he found there. She tried not to jump when it touched her clitoris. Quickly moving it away, his chuckle was soft. “Sensitive?”

“Very.”

“My apologies,” he murmured against her lips, rubbing the tip of his nose against hers. “Are you sure?”

She nodded, her anticipation rising. She wanted this. She wanted him . “I’m sure.”

David cradled her as his hips pushed forward, his searching eyes flicking between her own. The head of his cock began to move, sliding inside her inch by delicate inch. Her breathing faltered as he pulled back, only to bury himself a little farther each time. It was a slow, stretching invasion that she never wanted to end.

On the fourth thrust, a soft cry broke free from deep within her. She couldn’t keep it contained any longer. Her eyes were wide and bright as she held his gaze, absorbing every move he made.

“It’s so good,” she uttered in disbelief. Emmeline had said there might be pain , but this was the furthest thing from it. This was ecstasy and more.

He nodded, brushing his lips against hers in a gentle kiss. “Isn’t it just?”

Caroline held onto his shoulders, smoothing her touch over the hard muscle working above her. His strokes came quicker and harder, shaking the bedframe beneath them. She’d never imagined that sex would have such a wild, primitive edge, but now she was here she couldn’t imagine it having anything else. Sex wasn’t clean or soft or neat; it was hard and rough and wild, and she needed more of it .

Pressure rose within her, deep and rippling. It was so different to her earlier climax that she almost didn’t recognise it as the same beast. Again?! She let out harsh moans as it built and built—far quicker than before. So quick, in fact, that she almost wasn’t ready for it. “David,” she half-squeaked, half-moaned. “I think it’s happening again.”

“Let it happen.” His breath was rushed from exertion, his hips maintaining his steady pace. “Come around my cock, Starling.”

She came undone as he plunged into her, pulsing and writhing and arching. David’s lips devoured her moans, the stubble on his cheeks rasping against her skin. His body crashed against hers, his shaking thrusts becoming wilder and faster.

In the wake of her climax, exhaustion set upon her like a pack of hounds. It dogged her every move, to the point where it was an effort to even open her eyes, but she managed it.

He had witnessed her at the pinnacle of pleasure—but she had never seen him, and she wanted to savour every moment.

Caroline lay her hands against his cheeks, the shadow of his facial hair bristling against the sensitive skin on her palm. “I want to feel you explode inside me, David.”

He swore beneath his breath, his heavy thrusts quickening. His movements became more jagged with every one, until the sinewy ropes in his hips contracted, even as he drove his cock inside her. A hoarse roar ripped through the room as he shuddered through his pleasure, his thrusts driving deep.

For a moment, he let his forehead rest against hers, the air filled with their panting. Then he shifted, pulling out of her body and collapsing onto the bed. “Come here,” he whispered, guiding her to drape over his chest.

So this is what true happiness feels like .

This time, Caroline didn’t fight the exhaustion. She smiled to herself as David kissed the top of her head, letting her fingers trail over his chest as he caressed her shoulders. She wanted to memorise every wonderous second of tonight, eager to hide it within her soul—where she would cherish it forevermore.