Chapter 7

“Is this common?” Edward called out, unsure if she would even be able to hear him over the pounding horse’s hooves, the rain falling in torrents around them, or the thunder that crashed through the air at alarmingly more frequent intervals.

“Yes,” she yelled back. “Especially in spring. Follow me, I know a place we can go.”

He put his trust in her and allowed her to lead. It wasn’t long before they were riding beneath a rocky overhang, a hollowed-out cave in the hills beyond.

The noise didn’t disappear, but it did become more muted, as the rain hit the rock above and the thunder was slightly muffled.

“How long will this last, do you suppose?”’ Edward asked.

“Likely no more than an hour,” she said. “The storms leave as quickly as they come upon us. Not to worry. We will have ourselves a quick lunch and then continue.”

He nodded, even as he wanted to say what was truly on his mind – that he was hungry, but not for food. Seeing her wet garments clinging to her, her hair now down around her face in unruly curls, he was having difficulty keeping his thoughts under control.

They slid off of the horses, tying them underneath the overhang so they wouldn’t get soaked in the rain before wandering slightly farther back in the cave themselves. Mariana opened the saddlebag on her horse and pulled out a blanket and then a bag, which Edward could only guess was filled with food.

She whipped open the blanket, letting it fall on the rocky ground, and Edward sat first, pleased to find it was thicker than he had imagined.

He held out a hand to help her down, and she sank beside him in a pile of skirts. She wore a green waistcoat today, fully enclosed over her generous green skirt below, yet somehow, despite the multitudes of wet fabric, she managed to sit rather gracefully.

She shivered slightly, and he became much more attuned to the slight trembling of her lips.

“Are you cold?” he asked, and she bit her lip.

“Somewhat,” she said, and he could tell she was trying not to shake. “I know it’s warm, but the rain has seeped beneath all of my layers.”

“You could…” he swallowed thickly as he realized just what he was about to say, “take some off.”

She looked up slowly, her eyes finally meeting his, before she nodded almost imperceptibly. “Very well,” she said, turning around, pushing the food to the side as it no longer seemed necessary. She tilted her head and began to loosen each button on the front of her waistcoat. Even though Edward couldn’t see the front of her body, he couldn’t help but close his eyes and imagine her long, slender fingers slipping each button through its hole.

He tried to look away, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from her. His desperation for her had grown to an overwhelming ache, even though he knew that not only did she seem to want nothing to do with him in turn, but he had no time to give to her. He was here for one thing and one thing only. The riches of the San Juan. Except, somewhere along the way, his aim had changed. For the more time he spent with this woman, the more he began to think that even if he never located the treasure, he would be happy just to have her.

She began to shake out of her jacket, and when she appeared to be struggling, he reached out, just inches away from helping her when he paused.

“Do you want help?” he asked, needing to clear the thickness in his throat. When she nodded, he tugged on the sleeves of her jacket, sliding it off her arms to show the waistcoat and shirt underneath. She seemed inclined to remove the waistcoat as well, and the time it took her to undo each of the buttons on the front seemed torturously long. She finally slid that off, leaving her in her shirt which was plastered to her skin, translucent enough that he could see the stays beneath.

“That’s better,” she said with a sigh, and Edward had to shift slightly so that she didn’t see what she was doing to him.

When she turned her head over her shoulder to look at him, there was an impish mischievousness in her eye, and she tilted her head back, leaning awfully close to him. All he had to do was incline his head ever so slightly and his lips would touch hers – but whether she wanted that or not was hard to say.

But when she leaned her back against his chest and her eyes remained locked on his, he took a chance and lifted a hand, allowing his fingers to lightly trail over her neck.

“Mariana,” he said softly, testing, waiting, and she closed her eyes for just a moment.

“Kiss me,” she whispered, and that was all Edward needed to hear as he bent his neck and his lips landed upon hers. As much as he wanted to take her with the fiery passion she usually met him with, he was slow, tender, until she lifted her hand and sank her fingers into his hair, pulling him closer.

That was when he lost any restraint he had started with.

Leaving behind the gentle and uncertain kiss, his tongue demanded entrance into her mouth, finding her tongue ready to tangle with his. He drank in the moan that emerged from her throat, his hand sliding up the softness of her shirt, brushing over her generous bosom before rising to hold her head against his, exploring every part of her mouth with his tongue before finally lifting and breaking away from her, meeting her stare, knowing, deep within him, that this was going to be more than some tryst that would never again be repeated.

She spoke to something within him, a place that he hadn’t known existed, but suddenly he wanted to explore it further.

“You’re exquisite,” he found himself muttering. “Is this what you want? I’m not sure I can take this slowly with you.”

Her lips curled up into a smile, her eyes dark and smoky. “I am not scared of you, Your Grace,” she said. “You have no need to be gentle. In fact, I’d rather you weren’t.”

He lifted her in his arms then, to which she responded with a gasp of delight, before he turned her around and had her lying back on the blanket beneath them. He removed his jacket, lifting her to place it beneath her back for softness, before lying her back down, shifting so that he was between her legs, which were now solidly wrapped around his waist. He held himself up above her, pausing, not kissing her but allowing their breaths to intermingle.

His fingers found her ankle, pushing back her skirts as they crept up her leg, until her dress was pooled around her waist, her body shaking again. But instead of her trembles being due to the cold, it seemed she was just as affected as he was.

Edward gazed down, finding her bare before him, and he groaned aloud before looking up at her instead, catching her eye as he slowly circled his thumb over her center. She moaned and he leaned in, capturing the sound with his mouth as he rubbed against her while she arched up into him in a rhythm that nearly had him replacing his fingers – but he couldn’t. Not yet. He wanted to make sure she was ready and sated first.

She tilted her head to the side and, understanding what she wanted, Edward rained kisses down over her neck, smiling as she continued to lift her hips up against him, seeking more. He squeezed her bottom between his hands, pulling her in, closer toward him, but not giving in just yet.

He followed the path he had kissed back up until he came to her ear, and when he nipped the lobe, she hissed, and he brought his lips to the shell of her ear.

“You are mine now,” he found himself growling, surprised at his own possession, but she wrinkled her nose at him as she shook her head, her eyes fierce.

“I am no man’s,” she countered, but he continued to play with her, showing her that wasn’t entirely true.

“You are mine in this moment,” he said. “Admit it.”

She kept her lips clamped shut, and he removed his hand, waiting for her to give in.

But of course, she didn’t. Instead, she held his gaze, her jaw firm, until she said, “Is that all you have to offer?”

Mariana knewshe was playing with fire. A man like the duke was used to getting what he wanted, and here she was, taunting him. But she would give in to no man, would never again allow herself to be possessed by another.

It seemed that her risk was worth it, for he paused only a moment before he growled and replaced his hand between her legs, as his other lifted her shirt from her skirt and trailed it up until it covered her breast, filling it as he caressed her nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

“Touch me again,” she commanded, and when he slipped one finger inside her, she had to reach out and clasp his shoulders to hold on to any control she had left.

“Fuck,” he groaned, before adding another finger inside, beginning to thrust into her, harder, faster. Mariana didn’t want this to be over yet, but never before had a man taken any time to ensure that she had her fill first. When his mouth came down upon hers once more, her world came apart, the pleasure that had built inside spilling over and spiralling out of control.

“Your—” she shouted, which he interrupted in a rough voice, “Edward. Call me Edward.”

“Edward,” she repeated, even as it caused her heart to turn over in her chest. As much as she had wanted this, a bit of worry began to creep in. Worry because as much as she knew this would be a one-time event, she couldn’t help but want to do it again, and knew that feelings for this man were invading her heart, feelings that she had promised herself would never enter her chest. But there they were, anyway.

His hand grazed over her cheek, bringing her attention back toward him, and she blinked, remembering where she was.

“Are you all right?” he asked, concern in his eyes. “I’m sorry if I?—”

“I am fine,” she said, smiling at him. “Wonderful, really.”

“Good,” he said, relief covering his face. “I must ask you something.”

“Of course.”

“Why do you smell like oranges?”

She laughed then, thinking of the soaps that she used, made by one of the women in the village.

“It is my own scent,” she teased, and he rolled his eyes but didn’t question her.

“You’re impossible.”

“It’s part of my charm.”

“Well, it makes me want to eat you up,” he said, a gleam in his eye. “All of you.”

Her breath caught in her throat. He couldn’t mean?—

But apparently, he did.

Mariana had thought she was finished, that now she was sated, that would be all for her. But then he began to kiss his way down her body, finding bits of skin through her dishevelled clothing. His mouth landed on her breast, her hip, the inside of her thigh, before he pressed his tongue against the core of her and licked her to the top, his tongue doing dangerous things to her, tasting, swirling, sucking, and all she could do was hold on to the light waves of his hair as he lifted her legs over his shoulders while he relentlessly brought her back to the edge once more.

When she wasn’t sure she could take any more, she finally decided that she would just have to show him what she wanted from him. She used her legs to kick him off her, shoving him down so that he was the one on the blanket. He looked up at her in surprise as she climbed up his body, before finding the fastening of his breeches.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his breath coming in a pant, and she grinned wickedly.

“You are taking too long,” she said as she freed him and straddled his hips. Intent on seeing more of him, she helped him undress the rest of the way, until she could see the solid, firm muscles that had been hidden beneath the fabric.

“I was right. You certainly do not look like an English duke,” she managed again, and he laughed.

“I do not act like one either.”

“Thank goodness for that.”

She trailed her finger over his muscles until she followed the path of soft curls beneath his waistband.

“You have a beautiful body,” she said, and he choked out a chuckle.

“Cannot say I have ever been called beautiful before,” he said, but still, there was an amazement in his eyes that told her he was not unaffected by her words. “You are the one who is perfection, Mariana.”

He watched her with hooded lids as her hand moved lower, wrapping around his cock, and heat went straight to her thighs. Even so, as much as she wanted him, she paused for a moment, and he lifted a hand to cradle her cheek.

“It’s all right, Mariana,” he said. “Nothing more needs to happen here.”

She hated that he could see this indecision in her, the brief lapse of confidence, and she squeezed her eyes tight for a moment.

“I want to,” she said. “I truly do. It’s just… I’ve only ever done this with my husband and he… well… it wasn’t exactly enjoyable with him.”

Understanding filled his eyes, and he nodded. “I am fine with whatever you want to do, love, understand?”

She nodded, her chest constricting at the care he was showing her, a man who had met less than a week ago. Somehow, it was hard to believe that she hadn’t had knowledge of him beyond that, for it seemed that she had known him for a lifetime.

He gave himself up entirely to her, allowing her to move at the speed she wanted to – and at first, she was slow, unsure, as she wrapped her legs around him again, rubbing herself against him. He groaned, and she continued until she lifted herself up and then sank down upon him.

He hissed as she moved up and down, shallowly at first, until her need for him overcame her hesitation and she began to move with purpose, finding that she was brushing against him just perfectly to cause her desire to build all over again. He reached up, his hands wrapping around her hips, and he began to move her harder, faster, up and down as she threw her head back and enjoyed all that he was doing to her.

She leaned over, her nails digging into his muscular upper arms as she rolled against him, and then he reached up and brought her head down to his once more, his mouth finding hers, his tongue plundering inside, and their connection caused her to lose hold on all of the control that remained as she plunged down on him harder, faster, until she exploded around him.

He lifted her up, coming overtop of her once again, and held her still as he thrust into her deeper and harder, her body seemingly on fire while she floated down from the high he had taken her to. Mariana liked to be in control, enjoyed the power she now had over her own life, but in this, for this period of time, she was happy to allow Edward to do as he wished with her. Her hands slid over his back as his muscles spasmed beneath her palms, which she flattened them over his bottom, squeezing and holding him tight.

Finally, just as his face contorted into ecstasy, he pulled himself from her and spent onto the rocky floor beside them before he returned to the blanket, lying down next to her, his breath coming fast.

Mariana closed her eyes, wondering what would happen now. She felt connected to him in a way that she had never felt before, even with the man she had been married to. But what did she say to him after this? Thank you for the fun time, now goodbye and good luck on your fruitless treasure hunt?

He surprised her by reaching out and taking her hand in his, holding it tightly on his chest.

“Mariana.”

“Yes?”

“I think we have a problem.”

She turned her head to look at him, holding his gaze. “What’s that?”

“I am never going to be able to let you go now.”