Page 40 of The Baron Takes a Bet
Gavin.
Holly’s eyes flew open, and she fought the urge to bolt away from him, knowing the jerky movement would surely wake him. Instead, she inhaled a careful breath and held it as she stared at her husband’s sleeping face.
Exhaling shakily, she watched as his chest rose and fell gently. Really, there was no reason to be startled. She remembered falling asleep, her body pinned straight, as close to her side of the bed as possible without falling off the edge. But her heart was racing. She had never woken up next to a man before, and to see him so close and unaware of her made her pulse flutter.
The longer she watched him, the more relaxed her tense muscles became. He was really quite handsome, with an upturned, full mouth. It almost looked as though he was smirking in his sleep, and Holly wondered if his facial muscles were stuck like that. He was always grinning at everyone, and she was curious why he should do so. He was certainly friendly, but there seemed something intentional about it.
Her eyes drifted upward, landing on the locks of his auburn hair hanging over his forehead. They covered his eyes, and her fingers twitched and rubbed together at the sudden desire to push his hair back.
The heat emanating from him was remarkable, and she vaguely wondered if she would ever need a fire again with him sleeping beside her. Not that they would be sleeping next to one another again. This was a simple mistake; indeed, they would resume keeping their rooms separate once in London of course. But still, he radiatedsucha heat. The fire had burned out during the night, and she was tempted to get closer to him, but she remained still.
The strong line of his nose, the high planes of his cheeks, and the soft, slightly parted mouth enchanted her. Something about this sleeping man reminded Holly of stories from her childhood about knights falling asleep in fairy rings and being held captive by fae queens. Holly always thought it was rather awful that those knights should be kidnapped, but staring at Gavin at this moment, she found herself somewhat sympathetic to the fairy queens. Unable to look away, she noted his steady breathing and wondered if he was dreaming.
His eyelids flickered and twitched beneath the edge of his hair. Not wanting him disturbed, Holly brought her hand up. Hesitating a moment, she gently tucked the tips of her fingers between his hair and his eyes, pushing it back softly. He inhaleddeeply, turning his face in her direction as she quickly removed her hand, only to see his eyes open slightly.
She had wakened him, and she froze beneath his hazy glance. He smiled momentarily, closing his eyes once more before they opened wide again as if just realizing that she was there. She felt her heart flip, and his eyes focused on her.
His mouth parted, as if he were to speak but then he slowly raised one of his hands and brought it to her cheek. Embarrassingly, her eyes closed automatically, enjoying the heat from his fingers, and she was suddenly transported back to the brewery.
His fingers moved to the back of her head, curling into her hair. She thought wildly that he was going to kiss her, and it frightened her to realize just how much she wanted him to.
With painstaking slowness, Gavin pulled her towards him but hesitated for a fraction of a second. Holly sensed his reluctance but wanted him to continue. Bending forward slowly, she stopped just as her lips grazed his, and without any rhyme or reason, she gently nipped at his bottom lip, causing him to inhale sharply. Gavin’s grip tightened suddenly in her hair, and he lifted her body, pressing his mouth to hers.
Holly felt her insides melt the moment their lips met. She kissed him back, the gentleness quickly replaced by a desperate eagerness. He tasted vaguely of mint, and Holly pressed against him as his arms moved to her sides. In a single, impressive motion, he hoisted her body up as if she weighed nothing and settled her onto his hard chest. Holly might have gasped if she wasn’t so keen on keeping her mouth on his as his tongue swept into her mouth.
All reasonable thought had drifted from her mind like the cold of winter swept away by a spring breeze as Gavin’s hands flexed into her back. The softness of her body seemed wholly opposite to the solidness of his. A moan escaped her lips ashe held her, her breasts straining against him. Shockingly, she found herself wanting his hands to move down her body, to places she would never speak about out loud, but her mind could hardly focus, for in the next moment, Gavin’s entire body moved upwards, pressing the firm length of his manhood into the inside of her thigh.
Holly had never been with a man, let alone held by one like this, but the desperate ache in her seemed to call out in a way that made it clear exactly how it would go. She wanted to rid them of their clothes, sheets, and coverings and feel his skin against hers. Her fingers gripped at his shirt as desire swept over her. She might have ripped it if not for the faint knocking sound that echoed around her.
Gavin’s hands came up to her arms, stopping Holly’s unschooled ravishment just as her senses returned.
“Holly!” She could hear the muffled voice of her sister sounding through the wooden door. “Are you almost ready?”
Lost for words, Holly’s mouth hung open as she stared into Gavin’s dizzyingly heated eyes. He nodded, urging her to answer.
“Y-yes!” she called out, turning her head. “Only another moment.”
The distinct sound of girlish giggles faded as the two lay perfectly still. For a moment, Holly wondered if they would continue their interrupted activity but then Gavin lifted her up and rolled her to the side. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Holly watched his back rise and fall, his ragged breath slowly steadying. Without thinking, she reached out and touched his shoulder, but he flinched and stood up, seemingly unable to bear her touch.
“Oh. I’m sorry,” she said quickly, but he held out his arm.
“No. No, love, you didn’t do anything to be sorry for,” he insisted, his tone husky and laced with something that set herheart ablaze. He peered over his shoulder. “But we should get dressed.”
“Yes,” Holly said, stunned for a moment.
That was twice that she had kissed him, and he had stopped it. Even though she wasn’t the type of woman to doubt herself, Holly felt a sudden surge of humiliation. There was obviously something about her that Gavin found appealing, and yet it seemed not appealing enough to fully lose control. Was he just being considerate of the situation? Perhaps he had more self-restraint than she did.
Well, that was a humbling thing to consider.
Aware that he was still watching her, Holly whipped the sheets off her as she launched herself out of bed as quickly as she could. Going to her valise, she pulled out a carriage gown, a simple one that tied in the front, and began dressing.
Holly outfitted herself faster than she ever had, with her back towards Gavin as he did the same. A stilted tension hovered between them, and she feared they might carry it with them all the way to London. Just as they were about to exit the room, Gavin reached for her wrist, stopping her mad dash.
“Before we go, I think we should talk, Holly,” he said, more to himself than to her, as her eyes remained low. “I know you want an annulment—”
“We both do,” she said firmly. “Don’t we?”
He hesitated, and Holly wasn’t sure why she was so glad until he nodded, and her hopes dropped again.
