Page 49 of What a Courtesan Wants
Shaking her head, she reached up to cup his cheek, riveted by the way the glow of the streetlamp illuminated the water slicking his face, tiny rivulets running down his brow, the bridge of his nose, his chin. He stiffened in her hold but didn’t pull away, his searching gaze brimming with curiosity and wariness.
He furrowed his brow, but before he could speak she raised up on tiptoe and closed the distance between them. A muffled sound of shock emanated from him as their lips met, a light, tentative press, a sweet overture to more. Then, he was reacting as if unseen shackles had just been struck from him. The sudden clench of his arms around her stole her breath, and her feet were leaving the ground as he hauled her up against his body. Her every nerve ending came alive beginning with her lips, electricity crackling over the surface of her skin and traveling down her chin and throat, arching over her breasts, racing down her belly and stabbing right between her thighs.
Aubrey devoured her mouth as if he were drowning and only through her could he find his last breath, as if he’d unearthed the thing he’d been searching for his entire life within the seam of her lips. His hands traveled up her back and shoulders, then he was cradling her head, fingers tangling in her hair as he probed at her with his tongue. Her body sagged, going weak at the taste of him, the feel of his velvety tongue stroking along the inside of her lower lip, then plunging deep to engage hers. She tangled with him with a groan, flames of longing and need flaring in her belly and licking at her insides as she forgot about the rain and the cold and became aware of only Aubrey—the taste of him, the feel of him, his solid body hard and hot against her despite the chill in the air.
Pulling back for a moment, he rested his forehead against her and drew in deep gulps of air, reaching up to strum his knuckles lightly over her cheek.
“Lucy,” he whispered, her name falling from his lips with a heavy measure of awe and wonder. “My Lucy.”
“Yes,” she replied, cupping his face and smoothing her thumb over his lips. “Yes, Aubrey.”
With a groan, he lowered his head and claimed her mouth again, slowly this time, gently. He allowed her to slide down his body and onto her feet, the wet friction of their soaked clothes sending sparks of tingling heat through her.
The sweetness of this second kiss after his initial assault had her melting into him, her hands dipping into his coat to find the hardness of his chest and abdomen. He hadn’t donned his waistcoat after leaving her, so she was treated to the feel of every ridge and bulge through his shirt, his heart thudding wildly against his breastbone. He shuddered, nibbling and sucking at her lips while his hands smoothed down her back and cupped her buttocks, running up her front to the undersides of her breasts, his thumbs strumming at the hardened nipples puckering against her bodice.
Water battered them from above, running down their faces and seeping into the openings between their mouths. Lucinda fed off it, tasting Aubrey in the rain, smelling him in the air, pulling him in through her every pore just as she did the cold night air. The kiss slowed even more, becoming languid, his teeth tugging gently at her swollen lower lip.
It ended with a tentative separation of mouths, though they remained locked together, Aubrey’s forehead resting against hers and his harsh breaths tickling her cheek. Lucinda closed her eyes, content to linger in the moment. There would be time enough for talk, but just now she felt Aubrey in a way she never had and wanted to savor the lingering taste of him on her lips, the warm swelling of her lips from the hard press of his.
She crackled with sensation, with light and life, as fat raindrops clung to her eyelids before trickling down her cheeks. But no, there weren’t just raindrops; tears leaked from the corners of her eyes to mingle with the water, a deluge that cleansed her from the inside out. Hands fisted in Aubrey’s lapels, she tilted her head back to the sky and let the rain rinse it all away. Her chest felt heavy and full as if she might burst, and she found herself craving another kiss. This was life. This was love. And she was no longer afraid.
“Lucy.”
She opened her eyes to find Aubrey looking at her, all the ice that had encased him the past weeks melted away. He was a hot coal now, simmering with warmth and desire and something else … something that made her pulse flutter and her chest ache with the intensity of it.
“Lucy, I—”
He was cut short by the clatter of carriage wheels moving way too fast, as well as a muffled shout and string of curses. The world around her tilted sideways so suddenly, her heart dropped into her stomach, her head spinning as if it had fallen free of her shoulders. One moment she stood in Aubrey’s arms, and the next he was shoving her away from him, his body thrown as if by some jolting force.
The wind was knocked from her, and she felt as if she drowned in the rainwater pelting her from above as she fell to her back, rebounding just fast enough to keep from bashing her head. Struggling to breathe, she forced herself upright only to find that Aubrey had not fared so well. He lay in an unmoving heap in the street, curled onto his side.
The runaway carriage continued down the road, careening onto two wheels as it took another wild turn, bumping up over the curb and nearly taking out a streetlamp as it went.
Lucinda let out a cry of dismay, rage swelling in her as she realized the reckless driver intended to flee without stopping to ensure Aubrey hadn’t been injured.
She whirled and dashed to Aubrey’s side, dropping to her knees on the ground and reaching for him. He did not respond when she turned him onto his back, his eyes shut and his lips parted on grating breaths that sent worry flaring through her. Perhaps his ribs had been injured, thus the harshness of his breaths. But it was the dark stain spreading from beneath his head that worried her, the metallic scent of blood filling the air as rainwater washed it away in hypnotic swirls.
“Aubrey?” she whispered, hardly able to force words past the knot of terror swelling in her throat. “Aubrey!”
He remained unresponsive as she shook him, his head lolling on his shoulders and his chest swelling and falling with an irregularity that sent panic unfurling from deep within her gut. Lucinda quickly squelched the emotion. She would not fall apart, not now. Her life with Magnus had trained her for moments such as these, teaching her to have a level head and think quickly. It wasn’t until Aubrey was safe, warm, dry, and inspected by a doctor that she would give in to the fear and worry tearing her apart. For now, she must hold herself together.
More carriage wheels sounded, and she glanced up to find a conveyance barreling toward them, its mounted lanterns swinging as it rolled to a halt.
“Please … help us!” she called out as the shadow of a man peered at her through the window. “He’s terribly hurt!”
Lifting his head to rest it in her lap, she paid no heed to the blood soaking her skirts. The sounds of the carriage door opening and heavy footsteps brought her even more relief, and she stroked his cheek, finding his skin still warm—an encouraging sign.
“You’re going to be all right,” she crooned. “I’m going to take you home and send for a doctor, and you’ll be fine.”
She would accept no other outcome. Without being able to assess the full scope of his injuries, she could only hope that it wouldn’t be enough to take him away from her. She couldn’t lose him now, not when she’d only just allowed herself to belong to him.
“I love you,” she said, lowering her head to press her lips to his brow. “You have to live so I can prove to you just how much. I love you.”
“What happened?” called out a familiar voice, as a man’s shadow blotted out the faint glow of the lamps.
She glanced up to find Benedict, his mouth so tight it had gone white at the corners and his eyes wide with the same panic she felt. It was his carriage that had happened upon them, and she faintly remembered Aubrey mentioning that the two had an engagement this evening, so Benedict must have just arrived to collect him.
“A carriage took a reckless turn and barreled over the curb, I think. Aubrey pushed me out of the way, but he … he was hit. His head is injured, and I believe his ribs are as well.”
