Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

“ I told you to be careful, wife. You shouldn’t be here.”

Louisa knew she should reply, but she was too busy trying to catch her breath and enjoying the feel of his body against hers to answer. He was so hard and so warm, his body heat seeping through the light layers of her nightgown and robe, disarming her of all logical thought.

He smelled like sweat and something distinctly male that had her inhaling deeper. It made her heady, and she wanted to get even closer to him just to breathe in his delicious scent.

“Louisa.”

His voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she scrambled to get out of his arms, finally remembering that she was scantily dressed and that he had no doubt heard her sniffing him.

“I am sorry,” she mumbled.

His eyes roamed over her body, and the heat in them made her tingle in her most intimate places. An all too recently familiar liquid heat pooled between her legs, and her nipples hardened as she saw his eyes darken.

It was obvious that he was attracted to her, but the damned man would not act on it. Her eyes roamed down his body, and true enough, she saw the evidence of his desire straining against his breeches, causing her eyes to widen. She reddened as he caught her staring at him.

“You should head back to your chambers,” he urged, turning away from her.

Panic flared inside her as she thought he was pushing her away once again. “Why?”

His back stiffened, and he muttered a curse under his breath.

“What do you mean, why?” he asked, still not looking at her. “It is late, and you shouldn’t be here.”

She took a step closer to him and then another. If he insisted on being stubborn, she was not going to make it easy for him.

“You are here.”

“It is my private space.”

“You made a vow that whatever was yours was mine.”

He turned to her then, his eyes flashing as they roamed over her again. “You do not intend to hold me to that, do you?”

“Only when you insist on being stubborn.”

“Which I choose to do to protect you.”

“From what? I am fairly safe here.”

“You do not know that.”

“You won’t hurt me,” she murmured. “You won’t even touch me, so I do not see how you could possibly be a threat to me.”

He chuckled under his breath. “You have no idea how hard I am trying.”

The words were said so softly that she almost didn’t hear them.

She dared take another step closer, placing a hand on his arm. He flinched as though he had been burned, but she understood as she felt the similar line of heat climb up her arms. His reaction excited her as the flames licking up her arm, spread through her entire body, arousing her further.

“Then stop trying,” she told him, meeting his eyes. “Touch me.”

The words seemed to shatter something inside him, and before she could blink, he pulled her back in his arms and took her lips in a punishing kiss. A moan escaped her, eliciting a groan from him, and his fingers tightened on her hip such that she feared she would have bruises in the morning.

His hands roamed over her body, gripping her punishingly wherever they stopped, and she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why instead of pain, she felt only pleasure.

Had she somehow become a masochist without her knowledge?

“Percival,” she begged when his teeth nipped her neck.

“You started this,” he reminded her, a predatory glint in his eyes. “Now, you’ll face the consequences.”

His hands roamed down her back to cup her buttocks, effectively lifting her so she had to wrap her legs around his waist. Her eyes went wide as he led her to a small cot at the far end of the room. She hadn’t even noticed it during her brief examination of the room.

He laid her down more gently than she could have expected and covered her body with his. Instantly, she felt the difference between their sizes. He was much bigger than her, so she had to spread her legs wide to accommodate him. Her nightgown slid down her thighs, and she was achingly aware that if he looked down, he would see her sex.

She bit her lip, suddenly feeling shy, and tried to tug up her nightgown to cover herself, but the annoying man snatched her hands and pinned them above her head.

She seemed to have awoken the beast in him, she noted.

He looked nothing like the man who exercised self-restraint around her and avoided touching her with everything in him. Now, his hands couldn’t seem to stop touching her.

She wondered briefly if he had longed to do it for as long as she had.

“What are you thinking?” he asked suddenly, startling her out of her thoughts.

His eyes weren’t on her. Rather, they were closed as he nipped a line down the valley between her breasts and down to her stomach. He kissed the curve of her hip, which made her squirm, and her back arched off the bed when his teeth clamped down on her.

“Percival,” she hissed.

“A pound for your thoughts, dear wife,” he said against her clothed hip.

Her body burned, and even the flimsy garment she wore irritated her already raw nerves. The cotton fabric of her nightgown grazed her sensitive nipples and had her biting her lower lip to hold back a moan, yet he expected her to be able to make a full sentence?

“I do not like to wait, wife.” His warning was followed by a nip to that same spot on her hip.

She whimpered and shook, grateful for his weight over her, or she would have thrown herself off the small bed.

“I was thinking…”

“Yes?” he prompted in a lazy tone.

“My whole body feels like it’s on fire,” she began. “I feel like I might go mad if I don’t get these clothes off me.”

He cursed as though he hadn’t been expecting that. She felt the solid heat of his desire at her core and wondered how it would feel to be completely owned by this man.

Her sisters had said it would be painful at first and then it would become enjoyable, but she was still afraid. What if she wouldn’t be able to satisfy him?

“You certainly do know how to surprise a man.” He chuckled darkly.

“I…”

The words died in her throat as she felt his hand slide up the bare skin of her thigh to her hip and then her abdomen, before it stopped. Her eyes shot open, and she was embarrassed to see him watching her. His hand slid up higher, baring more of her skin till she was almost fully nude before him.

His eyes glazed over as he took in her bare body, and she couldn’t help but wonder if her too-generous curves displeased him. She had heard that men much preferred slimmer frames, but she had always been plumper than the average lady, which was why she chose to wear gowns that hid her figure as much as possible.

“Have I displeased you, Percival?” she asked vulnerably.

He shook his head before palming one of her breasts.

“On the contrary,” he muttered, leaning down to capture one of her nipples in his mouth.

Her back bowed off the bed as bolts of heat shot through her from where his teeth and tongue worked her nipples.

“You are beautiful,” he mumbled against her breasts.

“Percival,” she groaned, tangling her hand in his hair.

She had always wanted to do so, especially at breakfast when it kept falling over his eyes. It was silky soft, and she was glad that it was long enough that she could tug on it, since he seemed hell- bent on making her scream with the naughty things his tongue and teeth were doing.

He strummed her body like it was a well-tuned instrument he had been playing for years, eliciting sounds from her that she hadn’t known she could make. She was grateful to his previous lovers, who had no doubt given him all the practice he needed to be as proficient a lover as he was.

When his lips started to move lower, her eyes widened, and she tried to stop him, but he only fixed her with a searing look.

“I can smell the sweetness of your desire from here, wife . Wouldn’t it be wicked not to let me taste it?”

He had a very naughty mouth, that much she had noted about him, and the things that spewed out of it sent heat through her body. But she tried to relax into his caresses even as his tongue slid down her body.

She had thought herself prepared for anything, but she hadn’t expected the oddness of his tongue tasting her most intimately. His eyes met hers, a wicked gleam in them, and he groaned against her core as his tongue slid deeper between her folds, exploring her.

She squirmed against him, but his hands held her hips down. He groaned against her sex as if in appreciation, and more liquid heat pooled between her legs.

“You taste better than blueberries,” he murmured, sniffing her.

A hand slid down, and then he slid a finger into her. His eyes darkened in rapture as he watched his finger slide in and out of her. He moved deeper, slower, and then faster before he added another finger.

“You feel heavenly.”

Why he had to keep saying such damning words, she would never know.

She writhed, uncertain of the unfamiliar terrain they were traversing even as she felt pleasure build low in her belly. Her fingers dug into his hair when he nipped her pearl even as his fingers moved in and out of her.

“Please,” she begged.

But she didn’t know what she was begging for—she could barely hold back the sounds escaping her throat. The whole house must have been aware of what they were doing, but she didn’t care. It was increasingly difficult to make any rational decision, with him exploring her body so intimately.

The ball of pleasure in her belly grew and grew till she was clawing at his shoulders, and then the world exploded in a vision of white so bright that she thought perhaps she had died of pleasure. There was nothing but silence and a blissful feeling, as if she was floating.

She didn’t know how long she remained there, but when she finally remembered with whom and where she was, her body spasmed and jerked, and she wondered if this was how it always was between a man and a woman.

She flushed as she recalled where his mouth had been and what his hands had done to her, but she couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. There was still a void that needed to be filled, and she wondered if he would perhaps do it.

She opened one eye, stealing a glance at him, and was surprised to see him lying next to her so casually. He had one arm wrapped around her, the other over his eyes, and he looked in no hurry to move. She frowned, lowering her head back to his chest. She closed her eyes again, relishing the aftershocks of her climax.

That can’t be all, can it?

He hadn’t even undressed.

She couldn’t even ask the question, as she worried she would dampen the mood. Her eyes were still too heavy to open, and her legs felt like jelly. If she tried to stand up now, she would surely fall.

She smiled to herself, recalling how he had pleasured her, and she couldn’t help but wish he would do it again. Her sisters’ words hadn’t been enough to describe just how wonderful intimacy between a man and a woman was.

She sincerely hoped that what had happened would thaw the ice wall her husband was hell-bent on keeping between them because now that she had experienced pleasure at his hand, she knew there was no going back.

“You should get back to your chambers,” he announced suddenly, shocking her.

Her eyes shot open, and she realized she would have likely fallen asleep if he hadn’t spoken. She scrambled off him and righted her nightgown, feeling ashamed by how exposed she had been.

“Pardon?” she asked once she was covered, wondering if she heard wrong.

“You should head back to your chambers now,” he repeated tonelessly. “It is getting late.”

She nodded and rose from the cot, stumbling a little but then steadying herself on still wobbly legs. She was surprised that he led the way but said nothing. Perhaps there was still hope.

She was careful as they went down the dilapidated stairs, and she realized that she was indeed lucky she hadn’t hurt herself in her bid to find him.

When they finally stood outside her door, she turned to him.

“Will you be sleeping here?” she asked, smiling up at him shyly. “I do not know if my bed is big enough to?—”

“I won’t be joining you tonight or ever.”

She frowned, wrapping her arms around herself. “May I ask why?” she asked. “Did I do something wrong? Did I not… Did I not please you?”

“This was a mistake. It should have never happened,” he told her, not looking the least bit remorseful. “I took advantage of your innocence, and I am sorry. I hope you find it in yourself to forgive me for breaching our agreement.”

“You didn’t breach it. I gave my permission.”

“Have a good night.”

“We are not done talking.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Perc—”

He didn’t even let her finish—he turned on his heel and left.

Why was the bloody man so dense?

She walked into her chambers in a daze and climbed into bed, trying to understand how his mood could change so quickly. It almost felt as though she had dreamt the whole encounter. If her legs still didn’t quiver, she would have believed it was all a figment of her imagination.

A tear escaped her eye and then another till she was sobbing into her pillow.

“Damn you, Percival,” she cursed, grieving her dashed hopes.

She had hoped that, with how vulnerable she had been with him, they would at least develop some semblance of a friendship, but now she knew that wasn’t meant to be.

Anger flooded her, and she frowned, her heart heavy with grief at the hope she had felt had been dashed against the wall. She wasn’t even demanding that he love her, for the way he chose to avoid her. All she wanted was something that would benefit him too. Why couldn’t he see that?

She sighed and turned onto her other side, wondering how she could ever hope to seduce the stubborn man she had married.

Percival groaned, slapping the wall when he was sure he was far enough from Louisa’s chambers that wouldn’t hear him take out his frustration on his crumbling estate.

He made a terrible mistake by sampling his wife’s body the way he had, but she had presented herself to him, wrapped in a white nightgown that did nothing to hide her curves from his ravenous eyes. He was unable to resist the temptation, not when he had burned with lust for her since he caught her staring him down without a hint of fear all those weeks ago and when her lips had uttered those damning words.

“I do not know you well enough to have an opinion.”

“Dammit,” he cursed, slapping the wall again.

He had known that she desired him as well, or else she wouldn’t have dressed the way she had for dinner, when it was just the two of them. That accursed gown had shocked him.

He knew she was beautiful, but she had looked resplendent in that gown, and nothing had forewarned him that when she put in the effort, she could be stunning.

It was a miracle that she hadn’t been snatched by another gentleman long ago. But then again, the ton were a vain lot, so Percival wouldn’t have put it past them to relegate her to the wall because she had a scar.

He managed to get to his room but decided against trying to sleep, opting to indulge in his brother’s liquor cabinet. Michael had a fine taste for whiskey, and the sip Percival took confirmed it. He lay down on his couch by the fire, his mind wandering back to Louisa.

She would no doubt hate him now for the way he had dismissed her, but it was necessary that she did so she wouldn’t be tempted to repeat what she had done.

She looked beautiful, writhing beneath him. Her innocent response to his ministrations had aroused him painfully, and even now, the flames of desire still burned hotly in his body. And she had flushed just as beautifully everywhere. Even between her silken pale thighs.

He groaned again, picturing her softness. Her breasts were more than handfuls, made for kneading and caressing, tipped with pretty pink nipples that tasted sweeter than berries.

Her cries of pleasure would definitely haunt his waking and sleeping hours, that much he knew. The scent and taste of her were thoroughly branded on his tongue and nose.

In all his philandering years, he had never smelled something so sweet, and it was almost annoying how the one person he couldn’t have was the one his entire being craved.

When he chose to marry her, he knew he would be playing with fire, but he had thought it a small flame, not this conflagration that would consume him if he wasn’t careful.

Blood pounded painfully in his member, and if he hadn’t sworn off the act, he would have taken himself in his hands and relieved himself.

“Damn.”

He couldn’t lose himself too quickly just because his wife’s body happened to look like every man’s wet dream. He had a lot to accomplish, and he couldn’t let her consume too much of his thoughts, or else he wouldn’t get anything done.

It would be too easy to sink into her and let himself enjoy her silken heat, but at what cost?

If she got with child, could he live with himself, knowing that he would make a terrible father?

Even if she wasn’t with child, with time she would come to expect love and would start demanding more from him than he was willing to give. So, no. He would uphold their agreement and stay away from her even if it hurt her.

She would thank him eventually, but until then, he would do his best to avoid putting them in situations that would make him lose his self-control the way he had.

He sighed, as the alcohol in his system only made him less able to resist the thoughts of his beautiful wife. He was in trouble, and if he didn’t save himself soon, he would fall into a pit he wouldn’t be able to escape from.

He rung the call bell on the wall and waited till he heard the familiar knock on his door.

“Enter,” he called out.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“I need a cold bath.”

“You would have more luck swimming in the lake,” Tobias chided.

Percival raised an eyebrow at the man’s tone and noted the disapproval in his eyes. “What is it, Tobias?” he asked with a glare.

“What do you mean, Your Grace?”

“Do not play coy.” He frowned. “It doesn’t suit you.”

“I heard her crying.”

Percival frowned darkly. “And I should be concerned about that because…?”

“I heard other sounds before that,” Tobias stated. “I thought things were getting better between the two of you.”

“I remember that it was you who suggested I marry her to build my reputation. I don’t think making her happy was one of the things you mentioned.”

“You’re being a child.”

That was the second time someone had called him a child. He didn’t think he liked that very much.

“I’m only stating facts.”

“Why don’t you want to be happy?”

“I am perfectly happy,” Percival insisted. “I have everything I could possibly need. A beautiful wife with a dowry sufficient to repair my estate.”

Tobias shook his head. “I do hope you do not ruin everything good in your life before you decide to change.”

“Why are you suddenly giving me this lecture?” Percival asked the man who had been in his life since the day he was born. “You know me, not her. You have always been on my side.”

“That was when I thought you still had a conscience,” Tobias scoffed.

“This is not the first time I leave a woman after bedding her. You know that as well as I do.”

“Indeed, I do, but you’ve never hurt innocents.” He could feel the butler’s disapproval. “It was why I respected you.”

“I am sorry to disappoint you, then. But Louisa is my wife, and I will do with her as I see fit.”

“Then I believe it is time I sought employment elsewhere.”

“Tobias.”

“If you cannot make her happy, then I suggest you let her go without ruining her.”

The sound of the door slamming shut stunned him, and he frowned in anger.

Why couldn’t they see that was exactly what he was trying to do?