Page 26 of A Lady Igniting Wicked Passions
Aaron was tugging his shirt from his breeches, his face tight with desire.
“Show me,” he commanded.
Arabella raised her hands to stroke either side of her neck, pressing into the skin with her nails and then drawing her hands down until they covered her breasts. The neckline of her nightdress was tugged down by the motion, causing one of her breasts to slip free.
Tossing his own shirt aside, Aaron reached out and casually tore the front of the nightdress to expose both. Arabella gasped, pressing her hands over her breasts. Then she pinched her nipples between her fingers and moaned softly, stretching them out.
“I can guess what came next,” Aaron said, putting his hand to her side, where the silk of her nightdress still clung.
His hand tightened, bringing forth a gasp from her. Then with one strong, smooth motion he ripped the garment from her body. It tore with a long, slow, soft sound, revealing her an inch at a time. Until she was bare before him. He placed his hands upon her hips, then traced a path inwards from both sides until his hands met in the middle, at her navel.
Arabella’s eyes were bright, catching the moonlight. Her lips parted and her naked chest heaved. She nodded slowly as Aaron delved lower, reaching the part of her that had brought her so much pleasure when she had lain in her bed, thinking of him.
He kissed her lips as she gasped his name, swallowing the sound as he tasted her mouth. With one hand he touched her at the core of her womanhood, moving with expert precision and rhythm. She seemed to swoon and he encircled her waist with one arm, his hand stroking and kneading her pert behind.
They had but a moment’s warning. The sound of heavy boots hurrying up a stone staircase. Aaron sprang away from Arabella, standing between her and the door as it burst open. She screamed, pulling her torn nightgown back around her body as a group of men burst in, armed with swords. Leading that was the Earl of Eversden, face livid.
“Seize him!” He cried.
Before Aaron could move, his arms were seized and pinioned behind him.
“Aaron!” Arabella screamed as he was dragged away.
“Arabella!” He shouted, unable to reach back for her.
“Hang him!” Eversden barked.
Helena appeared in the doorway, a vulpine smile on her face and a noose in her hand.
“Arabella,” Aaron whispered once more.
***
Aaron opened his eyes and stared blankly up at an ornately moulded ceiling. Turning his head he saw gold-inlaid furniture and silver-worked panelling. The sheets around him were silk. The room looked as though it belonged at Versailles. This was no home of his.
He would rather sleep on the bare earth beneath burlap than in the midst of such opulence. His head pounded and his mouth was dry, as though he had not drunk for a number of hours. Sitting up made the room spin.
That was nothing compared to the flash of white-hot pain that lanced into his side when he drew too deep a breath. His torso was tightly bound with bandages, and he knew from the feel of it that ribs had been cracked, if not broken.
But the why of it eluded him. He had a vague memory of horses. And Arabella.
“Arabella,” he said aloud.
There came a sound from beyond the room, the other side of an open door. Frowning, he swung his legs out of the bed. Though he was naked from the waist up, except for the bandaging, he still wore breeches and stockings. No shoes, however. Standing nearly floored him as his pounding head felt as though it were tipping one way and then another. Somehow, he crossed the room to the doorway and looked through.
“Arabella?” he said as he saw her on the other side of the room, peering out of a door.
She jumped, whirling to face him, and pressing her back to the door at the same time. It clicked shut. She looked startled, her chest was heaving and her cheeks flushed. An image of her biting her lip, kneeling on the edge of a bed swam to the forefront of his mind. As though the effort of that recollection were too much, his balance deserted him.
Suddenly, the floor was rushing to meet him. It never reached him. Arabella darted forward and caught him. But his weight was too much for her. She fell back, with Aaron on top of her. For a moment they were both still. Aaron looked into her wide, azure eyes and found himself utterly lost there. Arabella raised her head and kissed him.
Chapter 16
Arabella could think of nothing but the feel of Aaron’s hard, muscular body atop hers. She felt helpless beneath him, her body fragile and delicate compared to his sculpted masculinity. The smell of him filled her, in an almost physical sense. His cologne remained strong, musky and with tones of wood and leather.
But over that was the tang of sweat, churned earth, and horse. It was an outside smell that was overwhelmingly masculine and devilishly appealing. The idea entered her head that in the position they were in, she could part her legs and put her arms around him and his loins would form a perfect match with hers. She would feel the hard pressure of his manhood against her.
That thought almost made her moan aloud. A thrill ran through her that originated somewhere deep inside and sent tingles, jangling to her fingertips and her toes. A pressure was building inside her, demanding release. She didn’t know what to do to achieve that release so…She lifted her head and pressed her lips against his.
