Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

H er question, heavy with unspoken desire, hung in the air. Amelia herself could hardly believe the salacious words that had tumbled from her lips. At this moment, however, propriety was lost on her. Overwhelmed by a burning need, it took everything to not simply surrender to the temptation of claiming his lips with her own.

Gideon's wicked grin consumed her final good senses, driving away any lingering seeds of doubt planted in her mind. He didn't respond with words, only closed the distance until his lips collided with hers in a searing kiss. Amelia felt every nerve in her body set aflame, her limbs all but trembling from need. His fingers entwined with hers, pulling her closer. Amelia followed his lead as she rose, drawn to him like a moth to a flame, before finally straddling herself on his lap. Her earlier fantasies began to take form.

Their tongues tangled with a symphony of tenderness and his fingers traced delicate patterns along her spine. She shuddered and he smiled against her lips.

"You're a naughty little temptress, aren't you?" he murmured.

Amelia was tempted to nod, but he didn't give her the chance when his hand boldly claimed her breast, causing her to gasp. Her body arched toward his cold touch. The fabric of her nightdress did little to protect her from his probing hand and Amelia was grateful for it. She ached to feel his skin against hers, needed to satiate what felt like an incurable longing to be closer to him. She'd never felt anything like this before with anyone. This desperation, this overwhelming craving. All she could think was more, more, more .

Gideon seemed to know precisely what she was hoping for because, in one swift and fluid motion, he lifted her nightdress over her head, leaving her exposed and at the mercy of his torching gaze. Amelia straddled him as bare as the day she'd been born but she felt no shame. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps she was rather naughty. As his lips blazed a trail down her earlobe and his hands worshiped the curves of her breasts, Amelia felt nothing but pleasure, as though she belonged to this moment. To him.

"You're—" His lips found her collarbone. "So—" A hot, open-mouthed kiss pressed between her breasts. "Perfect." He captured her nipple between his teeth. The soft flick of his tongue had a bolt of ecstasy shooting through her, shattering her composure and leaving her gasping for breath.

She'd fantasized about this moment for so long, yearning for the moment he would touch her like this again. Now that the time had come, Amelia hardly had the wherewithal to hold herself together. His heady scent, a mix of brandy and tobacco, dazed her, and she squirmed and panted in his lap, her hips unconsciously grinding against the hard bulge she felt beneath her there. Gideon growled, biting her nipple gently before he pulled at it with his teeth. He wrapped his arm around her waist possessively as if he too needed her as close as possible.

She wanted to touch him. The urge to do so grew so unbearable that she couldn't keep herself still. Reluctantly, Amelia pulled away from him, feeling a shiver run through her body now that he no longer had his lips on her. Question shadowed his eyes but she softly brushed the pad of her thumb across his brow to smooth away the lines of his frown.

"What is the matter?" he asked, breathlessly. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, you were perfect," she whispered. "I just… I just want to touch you."

Surprise flashed in his eyes before it melted into a deep, carnal lust. He caught his lower lip between his teeth, rolling his eyes to the ceiling as if he could hardly believe what he'd just heard. Somehow, that sight alone was enough to drive her to the brink of desperation.

"Touch me however you'd like," he rasped, his eyes dark and intense, never leaving hers. His intense scrutiny didn't scare her though; it spurred her on. Amelia swallowed, then, with bated breath, slowly brushed her fingers over the sculpted expanse of his chest, gliding against the rockhard surface before trailing to his nipples. She delighted in the tremor that passed through him, but he remained silent, watching her closely.

Driven by a newfound boldness, Amelia's touch wandered to his other nipple, before caressing its way down the defined planes of his abdominals. She brushed the dark curls that lay right below the base of his stomach, but before she could venture further, he caught her hand.

"I may not be able to hold myself back," he whispered, his voice a husky rasp.

"Is it… is it bad if I don't want you to." The words slipped from her lips unbidden. She didn't know where those words came from. They didn't sound like her, the woman who had never found herself in a position like this—never wanted to. No, the person who spoke presently knew exactly what she wanted and it was Gideon. Only him. All of him.

Gently, she pried her hand from his grip and ran her fingers through the first brush of curls sitting at the top of his bulge. In her peripheral, she saw his fingers close around the edge of the chair. The realization that she held the power to unravel him completely filled her with a heady, intoxicating sense of power.

Her heart pounded wildly in her chest as she daringly unbuttoned the flap of his breeches and slipped her hand inside. The very instant her fingers made contact around his girthy, impressive length, Gideon's breath caught, and a raw, guttural curse escaped his lips. "Christ, Amelia."

An innocent smile flitted across her lips but she was too enraptured by what she'd discovered to register his words. She gripped him gently, the mere touch filling her with such need that she couldn't help grinding her womanhood against him at the same time. Her fingertips brushed his tip and he shuddered. Now she wanted more. Now, she wanted every piece of him. In a swift and daring move, she pulled back and unleashed his length from his breeches entirely, in perfect awe of it.

Her face was so close to his length that with each breath she exhaled now, he seemed to feel it and shudder in response. Understanding now how to utterly unravel her husband, she leaned closer to his manhood before pressing a chaste kiss to its tip. If his words could not betray his pleasure, his body could, as it throbbed ferociously with every pulse. She kissed it once more, and he snarled in return, his hand grasping the back of her head, though visibly straining from pushing her to do anything she might not want to.

Entranced by the pleasure she was surging through him, her kisses grew bolder, and she began to feather his entire length in open-mouthed kisses, while his moans grew audible and heavy.

She found a sensitive spot just below his tip and sucked at his skin there, and Gideon whispered a curse under his breath that made her blush furiously. Without warning, he wrapped an arm around her back and swept her off her feet as he stood. Amelia yelped in surprise as he spun her around and lowered her into the chair, so that he was kneeling before her instead.

"My turn," he growled and Amelia nodded wordlessly. At that moment, she would have surrendered anything he asked for, but the realization that he craved her, that he desired her as much as she did him, left her utterly breathless.

His lips found her skin once again, igniting a trail of fiery kisses that started at her neck and blazed a path downward. A strong hand gripped her thigh, both tender and commanding. That hand began at the underside of her knee, before lifting her leg over an armrest of the chair, and then creeping up it ever so teasingly. Amelia couldn't keep herself still. With his lips grazing her heated skin, his hand probing to places no other man had ever been, she was close to losing her mind.

Amelia acutely felt the moment his rough fingers slipped between her thighs. Only then did she feel a bout of shyness, realizing through her hazy thoughts what she was in the midst of allowing to happen. This certainly wasn't in the plan. She had promised herself restraint, a low profile until her inheritance was securely in her hands. Yet, here she was, completely undone by him once more.

Gideon must have sensed her inner turmoil for he paused, lifting his gaze to meet hers, a small frown furrowing his brow. His hand, which had been weaving a spell between her thighs, stilled. "Tell me if you want me to stop."

Amelia couldn't find her words. All she could do was drink in the intoxicating sight of him.

His hand resumed its exploration, venturing further, a finger brushing the soft thatch of curls that lay there. "Do you?" he asked again, his voice now a breathy whisper.

Amelia gasped, eyes rolling to the back of her head when his finger delicately parted her folds. "More," was all she could manage to say.

She didn't have to open her eyes to know that he was smiling as she surrendered her body to him wholly and completely. The first faint touch threatened to drive her insane. His finger began to trace slow, exquisite circles over her most sensitive spot. Amelia gasped, but then she heard nothing, utterly unaware of sounds she might have been making. She was only focused on the fact that he had his arm around her waist, holding her in place as she arched against him, his fingers continuing those slow torturous circles against her sensitive pearl.

She'd never known pleasure like this, had never imagined that being touched like this could feel so… blissful. Gideon was relentless in his pursuit for her release, yet his fingers remained tender, coaxing. He kissed her on her neck, her collarbone, her breasts. He murmured sweet encouragements to her and that alone was enough to drive her through the ceiling. His lips danced a trail lower, below her navel, then lower still, before pressing themselves against her slickness.

His arm caught the crook of her elbow before wandering lower to capture her wrist and hand that had found itself tightly woven amidst his hair. Deftly, he extracted her hand from there and guided it down, until she found her fingers encircling his firm manhood. With his guidance, it wasn't difficult to understand what he wished her to do, and so she began rubbing at it, as his fingers braced the entrance of her folds.

"Gideon!" Amelia gasped, digging her nails into his back as her pleasure seized her. Her legs began to shake as he held her down, his tongue working wonders against her delicate pearl. Suddenly, her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she began shaking viciously in release.

"Yes, darling, that's it," Gideon murmured, his breath a sensual caress against her womanhood, deepening her climax. "Just like that..."

The pleasure was a maelstrom, intense and all-consuming, leaving her utterly spent in its wake. Amelia collapsed against the chair, her breaths coming in heavy pants, her body still quivering from the aftershocks of her release. Gideon chuckled as he shuffled up to stroke her hair.

"You must be quite exhausted now, my darling," he observed and she hadn't the strength to do anything other than nod. "Let's get you to bed then, shall we?"

"What about you?" Amelia managed to whisper, her voice hoarse from her earlier cries of pleasure.

Gideon chuckled again and the deep rumble soothed her into a state of semi-sleep. "There is no need to worry about me, darling."

Amelia didn't protest. With surprising ease, Gideon pushed himself off of the armchair, scooping Amelia in his embrace. One arm strapped under her knees while his other arm supported her back. Amelia nestled her head against his shoulder, surrendering to the sweet pull of sleep.

She was vaguely aware of the moment he lowered her into her bed. She murmured something unintelligible and he laughed, but when she reached for his hand, Gideon was already leaving. Amelia watched through heavy-lidded eyes as her husband retreated from the room and left her all alone.