Page 96 of Wicked Designs
Jonathan crumpled to the floor unconscious.
Penelope snarled at Godric, lunging for his Hessians as he turned on Emily. The little hound was determined to protect her mistress.
Cedric and Charles rushed into the room. Relief lightened their faces. “Emily, thank God we found you!” said Cedric
“Wait outside, and take that filthy hound with you and Penelope as well.” Cedric scooped up the pup while Charles dragged out the valet.
Godric slammed the door behind them, turned the lock and faced her. Water streamed down his clothes, and his dark hair curled against the collar of his neck.
The world ceased to move. Stars winked out in the distant cosmos, the wind and rain outside paled into mist. Emerging from the gloom, Godric was her beacon of light, the shelter from her storms.
Emily realized she could never do without him, never leave him again. Without him she would have faded into a shadow of her true self. It had already begun before he’d found her.
Emily choked back a sob.
But she’d abandoned him. Despite her reasons, the love that drove her, the hope that carried her, he wouldn’t forgive her now, perhaps ever. The pain in his eyes told her just what her departure had cost him.
All she had to do was explain. He’d listen, and maybe, if she was lucky, forgive her. He’d have to, once he knew what Evangeline had said.
He removed his cloak, overcoat and shirt, then took slow deep breaths as he stepped towards her. Emily’s heart quickened. She saw the animal lust in his eyes, and she knew her own gaze answered his.
Without a second thought Emily flung herself at him, pressing tight against him, arms banding about his neck. But he didn’t return her embrace. His arms hung at his sides. He was coiled tight, rigid and so impossibly cold.
“Godric, I’m so glad you’re here, but…” Godric pried her arms from around his neck and set her firmly away from him, the distance between them a vast ocean, dark and bottomless. She needed to explain. There was no other option. “You shouldn’t have come. I can’t protect you like this.”
“Do. Not. Speak.”
A rabbit trapped against a serpent’s gaze, Emily stood mesmerized and unable to move. He backed her into a wall, pinning her shoulders with his palms.
“You left me. You lied to me.”
“Listen to me! I had to.”
“Youabandonedme. So much for your love.” His voice harsh, his teeth gritted.
“You don’t understand, Blankenship was going to—”
He caught her chin with one hand and took her mouth with his. Took everything she offered. He left her no time for breath or thought. Emily gave in. The hard kiss turned soft and deep. His touch was full of tenderness as he stroked her body. He had forgiven her, he had to, otherwise he would not have been so gentle now.
Her breasts grew heavy, aching for his touch and the silken heat of his mouth. Everything she swore she could live without rushed back to her. No sooner could the moon abandon the earth than she could leave him. He would take her back, forgive her for breaking his heart. It was there in his kiss, that sweet emotion she craved.
“Godric, please… I need you.” Her plea was an aching whisper against his neck.
His breath grew ragged as he dug at his breeches, freeing himself. He thrust a hand between her legs, finding the wetness that pooled there for him, and sank two fingers deep between her folds. Emily moaned. He pleasured her with his hand, and each time she tried to shut her eyes, he demanded she look at him, so she did. His face was dark with shadows.
“You left me. Your room was empty. Do you have anyidea what that did to me?” The growls vibrated against her throat as he nuzzled her. “You are mine. Do you understand? I’ll never let you go. Never.”
Finally, when Emily was weak-kneed from desire, he snagged her left thigh and wrapped it around his hip. He was poised at her entrance, the tip of him barely inside. For one tense second, their breaths mingled, their eyes locked, and then he plunged inside. Emily cried out. Her head fell back against the wall and Godric fisted his free hand in her hair at the nape of her neck, holding her still. The fingers of his other hand sank into the skin of her thigh as he impaled her against the wall. He kissed her again, taking her lips, a conquering warrior.
Emily accepted it all, moving her hips into his, craving this new wildness. Her own hands scraped his back, marking him. Waves of pleasure rolled through her body as she neared her climax.
Emily raked a hand through his hair. Godric dragged his lips away from hers so he could bury his face in her neck. He pounded harder into her and his thrusts sent her careening over the edge of bliss. Crimson spirals of dark rapture flashed over her eyes. She whispered his name like a midnight prayer, weakening in his arms. With a roar of primal satisfaction, he came. His seed spilled deep into her.
Gasping for air, he sagged against her, keeping them both upright against the wall. Emily finally shut her eyes, stroking his hair, smoothing back the dark silky strands from his temples down to his neck, soothing him.
“God, I’m such a bloody fool.” He shrank away fromher. Emily’s knees buckled and she braced against the wall for support.
“What do you mean?” His tone worried her and fear gnawed at her insides. He wasn’t holding her, kissing her. This was not the reunion she’d imagined. Panic began to trickle through her, and her vision blurred with tears.
