Page 87 of The Lady Was Lying
What did she expect him to say? Or do? How could she be so confident and so unsure at the same time. “I seduced you yesterday.”
“You did.”
She bit her lip.
“I kidnapped you so I could marry you,” he added.
She chuckled and placed her hands on his shoulders. “You liked being seduced?”
“You like being kidnapped?” he countered.
She smiled almost shyly and nodded.
He studied her closely, eyes tracking down her face and her body. Could he read her? Did he understand what she couldn’t seem to put into words? “I like knowing you are mine,” he said.
“I am yours,” she agreed. “And you are mine.”
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. The questions and doubts that had been swirling in her brain disappeared. Demanding a room hadn’t been subtle, but she hadn’t been required to do anything else to get him to kiss her. She was even more reassured of his attraction to her when he pushed her back onto the mattress and plastered his body on top of hers.
He nipped at her lips and traced her neck with soft wet kisses while his hand crumpled her skirt and chemise until it was rucked around her waist. The cool air was a stark contrast to her fevered flesh. His finger, the one that had a callous along the inner edge, trailed over the sensitive skin on her lower abdomen. Featherlight touches were somehow more impactful than bold ones, and her body quivered beneath the onslaught, even though he wasn’t touching her anywhere forbidden.
“James,” she groaned. “More.”
He kept the same torturous pace and let all of his fingers brush the crease of her hip.
In reaction, her body arched.
“You’re so responsive,” he murmured against her mouth.
“Only with you,” she revealed, causing him to groan and then shift.
A moment later, his lips touched her hip bone, and she was completely lost. Every place he kissed was more sensitive than the last. His mouth explored the inner part of her thighs as his finger slid through her wet folds and into her tightness. He stroked her with one finger and then two, but even though he rubbed the little nub that was the source of her pleasure, it wasn’t enough.
She squirmed with unfulfilled desire, and yet she didn’t beg him for more. Some part of her liked being at his mercy. Every time she’d pleasured herself, she was solely focused on achieving an orgasm, but with James she could simply enjoy. His mouth joined his fingers, lapping at her soft folds with reverence.
Before long, the constant stimulation had her back bowing and her body clenching. Her orgasm tore through her, and with it, her heart cracked open.
By the time he slid inside her body, she was floating in her pleasure. Her legs were bent and splayed to the sides because she didn’t have the energy to lift them and wrap them around him. He didn’t seem to mind as he rocked into her, slowly at first and then increasing his rhythm when he leaned over and tugged on her bottom lip.
She poured every emotion swirling inside of her into the kiss. Awe. Joy. Relief. Surprise. Excitement.
It was probably impossible for him to identify all of them, but he kissed her back with the same reckless abandon as he pulled out of her sheath. His body tightened and his seed spilled onto her crumpled gown and partly exposed stomach.
He collapsed, his body blanketing hers.
Her heart rate slowed, and peace surrounded her. He wanted her whether she played the temptress or not, and the fact that they’d both found satisfaction while partly dressed further assured her that she didn’t have to play a role with him. As she started to drift off, there was something still nagging at her, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, and while she was snug in the safety of his arms, she didn’t have the energy to worry.
The rain battering the window invaded James’s sleep.
Snuggled under a pile of blankets with Belinda’s leg thrown haphazardly over his thighs and her body plastered along his side, he was too content to make any attempt to rise.
“It’s raining,” Belinda mumbled into his chest sometime later, stirring but not putting any distance between them.
“It must have started while we slept.” It certainly hadn’t rained while they were awake. They had wasted hours of dry, pleasant travel time the previous afternoon, and he wasn’t even slightly irritated about it. “If it keeps raining, Edward and I might have to join you in the carriage when we leave.”
“Will have to,” she corrected.
Something about her tone made him ask, “Do you want me in the carriage with you?”
