Chapter 18

CHAPTER18

Kiss me, Red.

There were gentlemen who had stolen kisses from her—or tried to—and she had shown them that she was not someone they should trifle with. Men like Lord Caraway, who would force themselves on unwilling ladies.

But Andrew, as unpleasant as he had been for most of the time she had known him, was not one of them.

She had meant to press her lips softly to his, unsure of how to initiate the kiss herself. Should she go slow and let him take the lead? Or should she be as bold as she always portrayed herself to be?

Those thoughts hardly mattered when she felt herself being swept away in a storm of fierce desire as Andrew kissed her back, his lips sliding possessively over hers. She reached up to his shoulders, feeling the muscles flex and bunch beneath her fingertips as he held her close to him. She barely registered the hard floor at her back as he pushed her down, pressing against her pliant body insistently.

His lips moved over hers with languid grace, shifting subtly as she followed his lead in this intimate dance she had initiated at his urging. When she let out a soft moan, his tongue delved into her mouth, dancing with her own, delighting her in a way that was both shocking and exhilarating.

Julia had known that kissing Andrew would be an adventure all on its own—she had not anticipated just how correct she had been in that assumption.

She trembled slightly in his arms, feeling herself being pulled out of reality as she sank deeper into the fantasy he had spun around her. She touched her tongue lightly to his and heard—felt—the rumble in his chest, the releasing of the pent-up desire he had barricaded with great control, all of it rushing towards her as his arms tightened around her like steel bands.

And she never wanted him to let go of her.

He broke the kiss, his harsh breaths mingling with hers even as she let out a soft sound of protest.

“I shall be damned if I have my way with you on the floor,” he muttered.

Julia could only laugh hoarsely as he swept her off her feet—and the carpeted floor—and carried her over to his bed, laying her softly on it as if he were depositing some priceless treasure. Her mirth soon gave way to fierce desire as his lips trailed hotly down her jaw to her neck.

“Something funny, Red?” he growled, nipping the sensitive skin where her neck met her shoulder.

She shook her head, writhing against him as her body begged for more. Of what exactly, she had no idea. All she knew was that whatever he was doing, she wanted more of it.

Neededmore of it.

“Andrew…” she gasped as his large hand swept over her chest. Her body arched instinctively into his touch.

“Easy, Red,” he crooned, running a soothing hand down her back.

Moments later, she felt the line of buttons at the back of her dress popping open as his mouth wandered past her neckline to the soft mounds above her chemise. A swift tug, and she felt as if she would burst from the confines of her undergarments, his warm breath fanning over her bare skin.

She peeked at him from beneath her lashes and watched as he held her gaze while his palms boldly caressed her aching flesh, his hands squeezing the firm mounds and releasing them until her breath started to come out in short gasps. When his fingers flicked over the twin peaks, she let out a sound that was not a sob or a gasp but one of pure, unadulterated desire.

“Andrew,” she sighed.

She supposed he took great pleasure in tormenting her like this, his hands exerting an almost masterful amount of pressure as he took her flesh and used her own body to wring out another pleasured gasp from her lips. He lightly tweaked the highly sensitive buds that strained for more of his touch.

“Do you like that, Red?” he asked, his voice low as his warm breath swept over the hollow of her ear. “Do you like how I am touching you right now?”

“Oh, God, yes!”

Her ardent declaration seemed to have pleased Andrew, for he smiled at her before ducking his head to the swell of her breasts. Gently, he flicked his tongue over a nipple, wringing a surprised gasp from her.

From beneath her flickering lashes, she saw him smiling deviously as he flicked his tongue over her flesh once more, slowly this time. Deliberately. Watching as her body arched into him in absolute surrender.

Only then did he take that rosy bud into his mouth and suckle.

She let out a soft cry as her nails dug into his shoulders while he intensified his onslaught against her breasts. His mouth wreaked havoc in tandem with his hands until she was practically breathless, roiling in want.

She was only vaguely aware of the sudden shifting of his hands until she felt her skirts and petticoats slowly being drawn up. She could feel his fingers tracing lacy patterns up her bare calves, dancing seductively on her inner thighs before they found the curls that shielded her most intimate of places.

She let out a loud moan when she felt his finger slip in deftly where no one else had ever touched her before, igniting something fierce within her.

“Open your legs for me, Red,” he urged. “I am not going to hurt you. I promise.”

She believed him, trusting in the exquisite mastery of his movements as he boldly caressed her in her most intimate place. That one finger, sliding expertly into her slick folds, wrung out a soft scream for her as she clutched at him.

“Andrew… Andrew!”

But he seemed to relish in the satisfaction as his name fell from her lips like a prayer, blessing him as he continued his exploration of her body, laying claim to every hill and valley, every nook and cranny.

His tongue flicked purposefully against her nipple as his finger pressed against something at the apex of her folds. Then, he was circling that most pleasurable spot between her legs, teasing her until she thought she would go mad from what he was doing to her.

She had known that he was going to be all sorts of trouble—no gentleman would suggest to a lady that they find mutual pleasure for one night. Yet, she had no idea—absolutely no idea—the sort of pleasurable havoc he could wreak on her senses.

He parted her folds as his finger probed her more insistently. Somehow, she sensed that he was beyond teasing her now, that he had gone from exploring to boldly laying conquest with every languid stroke. He was pushing her beyond the limits her poor mind could conceive.

“Andrew… dear God…” she moaned as he curled his finger inside her, lightly pressing against a spot she had never known existed within her.

“I know, Red.” He slid his finger down her center as she let out a loud cry, her need echoing off the walls of his bedchamber.

“You want it.” Another stroke, another shuddering gasp as he pushed her ever closer to the edge.

She did not even know what it was. All she knew was that every fiber of her being was straining towards it.

“And I am going to let you have it.” He grinned at her as his finger slid mercilessly in and out of her core.

“Andrew, please…” she gasped, her words trailing off into moans.

She was coiled tight as if she was standing on the precipice of something she could not name.

“Let it go, Red,” Andrew urged. “Do not stand in the way of your own pleasure.”

Julia was never one to take directions from anyone, but she instinctively trusted him. Knew deep down that this—whatever this was—was what they both wanted.

This flaming, incandescent thing that burned between them.

She felt him press into her core as his finger sank deeper, scraping against something that broke through all her restraint. Julia felt herself hurtling towards the precipice, but instead of falling, she felt as if she was soaring, her very being exploding into a million fragments.

Moments later, her eyes fluttered open although she felt as if she was still in a daze.

“What was that?” she breathed.

“That.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Was your first taste of pleasure, Red.”

Julia detected a hint of pride in his voice, and she fought the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she buried her nose into his chest, sighing, luxuriating in his warm, spicy fragrance that wrapped around her like a cocoon.

“But what about you?” She flicked her gaze up to him suddenly.

He laughed hoarsely. “Do not worry too much about me. I can take care of myself.”

She scrunched her brow in confusion. “How?”

“There are… other ways.”

“Can you show me?” she asked.

“Good Lord,” he muttered, “I would want nothing more.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Then why did you not say anything?”

His smile appeared strained. “Let us just say that I was taking just as much pleasure watching you come apart on my hands like that.”

She felt warmth creep up her cheeks. “Very well, then. Teach me, and we shall see who does a better job at pleasuring who!”

She had always been a rather bright student, quick to pick up on her lessons. Whatever Andrew had to teach her, she had no doubt she would be able to learn it quickly.

“All right,” he groaned. “Kiss me, Red.”

“But I already did that earlier.”

“Yes, but you must also touch me this time.”

“On your chest?” she asked. She flicked her thumb over his nipple and watched in awe as he let out a sharp hiss.

“Amongst other things, yes.”

“What other things?” she pressed.

Andrew groaned and grabbed her hand, pressing her palm against the straining hardness in his pants. “Here.”

Her eyes widened as she carefully cupped him, running her hand over him through the layer of fabric that separated them. When Andrew moaned, she felt a thrill running down her spine.

Julia pressed her lips to his, running her tongue boldly over his bottom lip as she caressed him through his pants. She flicked her finger over his nipple and reveled in the harsh groan he let out.

“I shall be rid of these things, damn it,” he cursed.

Julia laughed as he hurriedly took off his pants and joined her back on the bed, marveling at the muscles of his back as they shifted and bunched with his every movement.

When he returned to her arms, pressing his lips to hers, she answered his kisses, twining her tongue with his as she ran her hands over the planes of his chest.

“Touch me, Red,” he groaned. “I’m dying here.”

Julia wrapped her hands around his length, her eyes widening when she realized just how… sizable he was.

“Damn,” Andrew muttered, his head thrown back. “Don’t stop now, Red. Don’t.”

Julia had never seen him like this—invincible yet vulnerable. The thought of holding his very pleasure in her hands was a thrill she never thought she could become wildly excited about.

Slowly, she began to move her hands all over his length, stroking him as he did to her earlier, urged on by his guttural moans. He grabbed the back of her head and crashed his lips onto hers, kissing her wildly as he thrust into her hands, allowing himself to be swept away by the sheer magnetism of his pleasure.

When his fingers found her core, found her dripping with the need for him once more, she let out a loud moan. Her body was still sensitive from her last release, and it did not take long before she was hurtling towards that now familiar peak.

“I’m so close,” he groaned into her neck. “Do not stop now, Red.”

She would not. Could not.

Their lips melded together once more, and when the pent-up tension in Julia’s core shattered, Andrew swallowed the cry of triumph that erupted from her lips, his own release exploding into her hands.

For a moment, they lay there in the quiet of the night, the only sound of their pants, their bodies spent. She instinctively curled into him as her eyes flickered shut, and his arms drew her in closer.

Julia was barely aware of the soft kiss he pressed to her temple as she drifted off to sleep, a dreamy smile curving her lips.

* * *

It was still dark when Julia awoke, only to find herself cradled securely in Andrew’s arms. She had never slept with anyone else in her bed, and the fact that his bed was much larger than the one she occupied at Powell Estate only made her even more keenly aware of her scantily dressed body pressed against his nakedness.

She looked up at him and found herself smiling wistfully at the sight of the peaceful expression on his face, the near-constant frown of disapproval nowhere to be seen. In the firelight, he was even more magnificently handsome, if that was even possible.

Julia reached out to tenderly sweep a lock of dark hair that had fallen over his face and then stopped herself.

What am I doing?

Alarm bells began ringing in her head as she stared at the profile of the sleeping man beside her. He might be holding her now, but what would happen if he was to wake up? Would he still look at her in that powerfully tender way that brought her to her knees last night?

He did say that this was just one night. One night for us to get over… whatever madness has come over us.

Andrew had no intention of marrying, and up until a few moments ago, neither did Julia.

Now, she was no longer as certain, and the thought that he would wake up and see things differently was a heartbreak she did not wish to linger around for.

Holding back her tears, she quietly extricated herself from his arms and began to pick up the clothes he had casually discarded in their fervor the night before.

Before the sun could rise over the horizon, before Andrew stirred into wakefulness, she ran out of his bedchamber and out of his townhouse.

Dear God in heaven, what have we done?