Page 28 of The Bastard Heir
“Are you a virgin, Carolina?” He kept up a gentle rhythm, but he didn’t try to fit another finger inside her.
“Yes.” It came out more as a breath than a formed word.
He mumbled something. It had to be cursing with the way he growled it, though he spoke Spanish and she couldn’t say for sure. Before she could respond, his mouth covered hers once more, and his finger found her clitoris again. He alternated between touching her there and stroking deep. When her body began to tremble from the pleasure, he spoke to her, his words soft and encouraging. The fact that they were in Spanish only somehow increased her pleasure. She didn’t need to understand them. It was enough that his smooth, deep voice was saying them to her.
Finally, everything within her narrowed to his touch on her body until she exploded. Waves of pleasure rushed over her, and he kissed her to keep her silent. When she finally stopped trembling, he took his hand away and pulled down her nightrail. She was breathing hard and her limbs were leaden, but she wasn’t finished. She wanted to touch him. When he moved to her side, she reached for the sheet, but he stopped her with his hand on hers. She wasn’t willing to give him up just yet, though, so she ran her palms over his chest, savoring her ability to touch him. He closed his eyes and shivered as he leaned into her touch. Her fingers delved into the hair on the back of his head to pull him back to her. He kissed her hard, his hand going back to cover her breast. She sighed against his lips.
“We can’t go further, Carolina.” His voice was low and rough, raking across her senses. “That was already too far.”
“But I want to touch you.”
“No.” He said it with such authority, it brought her up short and she pulled her hand from his chest. “If you touch me, I’ll go too far.”
Her heart raced at the implications of that. They should stop. Somewhere in her mind, she knew that. He was saying that if she touched him, he’d take her. Her body woke up to a brand new state of desire just from the thought of that, but he was right.
He sat up on the side of the bed and took her hand to help her sit beside him. Uncertain of what to do or say, she tensed to rise, but he reached over and touched her face. His palm was warm and her skin prickled beneath his fingertips, longing for more of his touch. “Thank you. For what you gave me just now and for releasing me from our agreement.”
She nodded. “I’m sorry things can’t be different between us. I like you, Castillo. I…I like you very much.” It was true. She admired his dedication to his grandfather and his drive for justice. She appreciated that he seemed to understand her own ambition, when almost everyone else didn’t. She relished the way he’d stood up to Mr. Bonham on her behalf. Suddenly it dawned on her. He was everything she’d ever thoughtshe wanted in a husband. Strong but kind, intelligent and compassionate, honorable yet passionate.
Oh, God. If given half the chance, she could love him. But that couldn’t be. Her future was in Boston. His was in Texas or maybe even here. She actually had no idea what he planned to do after he found Derringer, which only proved it wouldn’t work out. None of that even included the fact that he was a dangerous man. Loving him was sure to bring her heartache. The very idea of it terrified her, but the logic didn’t do anything to stop her heart from opening up and letting him in.
Since she couldn’t rely on her perfectly logical brain to protect her, she decided that distance was the only thing that could. Pulling her wrapper around her body, she murmured a hasty, “Goodnight,” and fled the room before he could stop her.
Chapter Eleven
Caroline spent the next morning in a daze. Part of it was that she couldn’t stop reliving the night with Castillo. She’d never imagined that such pleasure could be had with a man. Between all the whispers and giggles of the women of her acquaintance, she’d assumed that it could be pleasant, but Castillo’s touch had been so much more than that. And the connection between them went far deeper than pleasure. He touched her and it felt like she was rediscovering a part of herself she’d lost, or maybe never even known about. He looked into her eyes and saw who she was, not who he wanted her to be.
Nothing had changed overnight. She was still going back to Boston and he was still searching for Derringer, so her brooding was quite pointless, but she couldn’t seem to snap herself out of it. Castillo and Hunter had already left when she came down for breakfast that morning. Mr. Jameson had said they had some business in town to attend to, and she could only assume that meant Derringer. In addition to brooding, that meant she was worrying about him, too. That worry was a perfect reminder ofwhy they’d never work out together. She’d end up hurt in the end.
“Caro?” Aunt Prudie stood in the doorway of the parlor, a frown on her face. “Are you all right?”
Caroline had been staring off into the cold fireplace, a book forgotten on her lap. “Yes, of course. Why do you ask?”
“You didn’t hear the bell? Your mother is arriving.”
The housekeeper had taken to ringing a bell located near the front door whenever new guests had been spotted coming down the long driveway. Since the parlor was located just off the front hallway, Caroline should’ve heard it. She would’ve heard it had she not been lost in thoughts of Castillo. “Oh, I suppose I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Is this about Castillo Jameson? When you said this morning that you’d both decided it best not to continue your flirtation, I wasn’t happy but agreed. He doesn’t live in Boston, so I’m not certain how that would’ve turned out.” Aunt Prudie walked over and put her hand on Caroline’s shoulder. “But you seem sad, dear. Did he mean more to you than you let on?”
Lying to her aunt had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done. When she answered she tried to stay as close to the truth as possible. “He does mean something to me. It’s strange because I’ve only known him for such a short time, and yet I feel as if I do know him. But I also know we don’t have a future.” She was coming to realize that what she felt for him was on the cusp of being so much deeper than she let on. She feared that if she blinked she might fall right into those feelings…especially after last night.
Aunt Prudie clucked her tongue and cupped Caroline’s cheek. “I’m sorry, dear. I like him, too. I think sometimes we just have to have faith that everything works out as it’s meant to be.”
Caroline nodded, though she wasn’t entirely sure how she was supposed to find comfort in the fact that she and Castillo weren’tmeant to be. The front door opened and people could be heard coming inside. It was probably for the best. She’d have spent the day moping and pretending to read if left to her own devices. Placing her book on the table beside the chair, she plastered on a smile and followed Aunt Prudie into the foyer.
“Caroline!” Her mother squealed and rushed over to pull her into an embrace. A familiar rose scent met her nose as Caroline hugged her. When her mother pulled back, her smile was so radiant and full of love and happiness that Caroline immediately felt awful for the uncharitable thoughts she’d been having about her mother. Perhaps after a chat they’d be able to come to an agreement about school. Perhaps if she simply agreed to marry within the next year. But even that compromise made her stomach churn.
“Hello, Mother, how was your trip?”
“Wonderful, darling. I can’t wait to tell you all the things we did in New York. The shopping was marvelous. I bought you some things and I’ll show you as soon as our bags are brought in.” Then she turned to Aunt Prudie. “Prudence, it’s lovely to see you.”
As her aunt and mother spoke, Mr. Jameson made his way into the foyer. Emmy was upstairs undergoing a final dress fitting, so probably wouldn’t be down for a while.
Isabelle, Hunter’s mother and Mr. Jameson’s estranged wife, swept in behind Caroline’s mother. Her blond hair was streaked with strands of silver, swept up elegantly onto the crown of her head and topped with a black velvet hat that matched her traveling dress. Caroline walked forward and greeted her. The woman responded with a very cold and bland, “Good afternoon, Caroline. Lovely to see you.” Her gaze lit on Aunt Prudie before moving back to her estranged husband. “Wilhelmina!”
Willy stepped out of the shadow of the stairs where she’d stood unobtrusively observing the gathering. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Jameson. It’s good to have you back.”
“Have our bags unloaded and I’d like a bath immediately. The dust out here is insufferable.” Walking toward the stairs, she paused at her husband. “Where is my son?”
