Page 44 of The Earl's Secret
“What about here?” he asked, moving lower, his large hands and long fingers spanning her ribcage beneath her breasts.
“Yes.”
“And here?” he continued as he slid his hands around her, cupping her backside, and she shifted against him again, feeling ever the wanton for being the one to ask him to continue but unable to stop her body from taking what he offered.
Finally, he shifted back away from her and released the fastening of his breeches. He leaned down and kissed her, not finishing the job of removing his clothing, so she worked her hands between them to do it for him.
Meanwhile she continued to kiss him, needing him more than she would ever want to admit to him, certainly, but even to herself.
“We shouldn’t do this,” she murmured again, and he leaned back away from her, his eyes intent upon hers.
“Tell me to stop, and I will. I promise you that. I will honor your wishes, but I will make you mine in spirit. And if you do not want me today, then tomorrow I will do all I can to prove I’m worthy of you. And the day after that. The week after that. The month after that. You are the only woman for me, and I will do all that is within my power to be the man for you, the man you need, the man you want, the man you love. I need you, Cassandra, with all of me, and no matter what it takes – as long as you say the word – I will have you.”
Did he truly mean all of that or was he just trying to win her over with flattery? Cassandra lost the ability to breathe at his words, as his hand rose, gliding over her cheek to cup her face in his hand. She stared into the depths of his dark brown eyes, which seemed to now be full of promises, full of desire, full of everything she had thought she would never want from him but now wasn’t sure how she could ever live without.
“My role as earl demands that I find an appropriate young woman to marry, to bear my children, to give me an heir as I work to fulfill my duty and destiny and look after all who are under my care. However, if you will not have me, there will be no other, just as there never was before. I cannot marry any young lady just because she might fit what society expects. I want only you. You are the woman who has captured my heart, my soul, my body, my affection.”
Cassandra had no idea just what to say to such a profound declaration, how to match the poetry of his words, so instead she didn’t say anything at all.
She pushed his breeches the rest of the way down as once again she took his mouth with hers, wrapped her legs around his waist, and pulled him down so that his bare cock was resting against her core.
He was here, with her, and she was going to take his promises, take what he offered, and, for once, believe in him. Trust him.
Even if she had told herself she never would again.
He pushed at her entrance, his crown finding itself home with her. Cassandra opened her legs wider, welcoming him in, as her hips thrust upward and her nails bit into his shoulders.
“Yes, Devon!” she cried out, and he pulled back and then kissed her neck as he reached down and stroked her bud of desire while she rocked into his hand.
He leaned his head down and took the tip of her breast into his mouth, and she couldn’t help but lace her fingers into his hair as she held his head against her while his tongue swirled. Every sensation was working together to build her desire deep within, and she yearned to feel all of him, needed him back inside her.
“Please, Devon,” she moaned, hating that she was begging but unable to form any other words.
“Do you like this?” he asked, ignoring her as he moved to the other breast.
“Yes, but—”
She jerked her hips up into him again as her hands gripped his shoulders so tightly she wondered if she would leave bruises upon them.
“What do you want from me?” he asked, his voice low and raspy. “Better yet,howdo you want me? From behind? From above you? From beneath you?”
She gasped at the images his words provoked, positions that she hadn’t known were possible, but now made her want to try all of them.
At the moment, however, she didn’t have any preference as long as he was within her and was willing to allow him – just this one time, in this one situation – to take control.
“Any way,” she said, reaching out and stroking his cock from top to bottom, deciding that the one way to have him get on with this was bringing him as close to the edge as she currently was. “As long as you get inside menow.” He looked at her with an eyebrow cocked, and she sighed heavily before finally adding. “Please.”
“Well, with such manners, how could I possibly resist?” he said with a grin that sent shivers down her spine. He surprised her by standing beside the bed, lifting her knees, and then sliding her forward before he positioned himself between her legs, leaning down to kiss her again as he pressed himself into her, finding home.
They rocked together, back and forth, skin against skin, Devon’s gaze intent as he drove into her, over and over. It wasn’t smooth, it wasn’t finessed, but Cassandra didn’t care. His need, his want for her was evident, and that meant more than anything else ever could.
“I’m sorry this is fast,” he said, gasping hard, and she shook her head as her hips rose and fell, meeting his.
“I do not care,” she said as sensation began to build in her, sensation that she couldn’t hold back, that she didn’t want to prevent. “I want you, and that is all.Devon.”
She cried his name as she began to pulse from deep within, pulses that radiated through her body, driving her mad. It must have triggered his own climax as his eyes closed and he bucked within her, once, twice, the waves of pleasure so intense that Cassandra never wanted it to end.
Finally they both stilled, stopping and staring at one another in wonder.
