Page 93 of The Baron Takes a Bet
He felt a rush of triumph, knowing he was responsible for the pleasure she was feeling. Her building orgasm washis,as would be every one that came after.
“Keep going,” he said shakily.
“I… I…”
“Say my name,” he whispered as his own body began to tense. “Holly. Oh god, Holly.”
“Gavin!”
The convulsions around his manhood tore through his body at the same time as she shook, tense in his arms before dropping entirely onto his chest. Breathing heavily, Gavin wrapped his arms around her back and held her as tightly as he could, vowing silently to never let her enter any danger again.
After several silent moments, their breathing returned to normal. Gavin helped a prone Holly remove what was left of her gown and underthings while he kicked off the pants that were still wrapped around his ankle. How ridiculous that they hadn’t even been able to get fully undressed, but then, laying naked together beneath the counterpane of his bed, Gavin could barely find fault with the moment.
Except that, as his senses returned, so did his worries about what had happened. Squeezing her, he spoke.
“I never want you to do something so ridiculous ever again. Do you understand?”
Holly pulled back, her walnut-colored hair shining in the firelight.
“Me? What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You could have been killed,” she said with a frown. “I don’t ever want you to be in a situation like that again either.”
“I’m a man, Holly.”
“And that makes little difference to me. Man or not, Kilmann could have murdered you.”
Her worry for him did something to his heart. She cared about him, and while he doubted whether she could ever fully love him, due to the beginning of their marriage, it gave him pause.
“Promise me you’ll never do anything like that again,” he said.
“You’re being unfair.”
“Am I? It’s unfair that I should want my wife to avoid cutthroats, gamblers, and villains?” he asked, noting the pink hue that flushed her cheeks at using the wordwife. “What were you thinking, following us to that place? Surely you must have known how dangerous it was.”
“I was incensed. After what Mr. Mannion told me, I didn’t know what to do. But then you and Derek came storming out of St. James into that hackney, just as I was taking a bit of fresh air. When I saw you, I was overcome, so I had the driver follow you.”
Gavin shook his head.
“Whatever Mr. Mannion told you was a lie. Your brother hasn’t signed anything.”
“No, but he’s entertaining the idea. And you facilitated it, even though you knew I didn’t wish for it.”
Gavin had done that, but then he had only been trying to help Jasper figure out how to govern himself. He disagreed with Jasper’s wish to sell Felton Manor but understood it. Still, perhaps his wife’s feelings should have come first.
“I was trying to help your brother. He lacks a certain confidence in decision making and I thought it would be beneficial for him if I supported him, regardless of his decision.”
“But letting him make poor decisions would only hurt him.”
“A little, perhaps, but it would make him learn to think critically. If he never learns to fall on his own, he’ll never learn to walk on his own either.”
Holly bit her bottom lip, and he could tell that she had already considered this by the glimmer in her eye. Still, Holly wasn’t the type of woman to callously toss her brother out into the world without any defenses. She had only wanted to protect him, and Gavin respected that.
“I suppose I should step aside then and let him make the mistake,” she said meekly, shifting to focus on the hand on his bare chest. “I cannot stop it anyway.”
Gavin’s arm tightened around her. He should tell her his intentions about buying Felton, but sleep seemed eager to take her, for in the next moment, she drifted off.
