Page 26 of Bedding the Marquess
Oftenderman, she reminded herself as he offered her his gentle, lopsided smile of encouragement.
“I came to apologize.” His dark brows rose at that, but he remained silent and allowed her to continue. “I may have displayed a slight overreaction earlier. You were infinitely patient with me and I am sorry if I seemed ungrateful of your support. You must have thought me such a ninny for crying like I did. I—I do not know what came over me, but I could not help it. I am sorry.” His long, square-tipped fingers barely grazed the underside of her jaw, unleashing a shiver of pleasure from the nape of her neck down to her bare toes.
“While I appreciate the apology, it was not necessary. Nothing was broken—inanimate or otherwise—so I shall consider no harm done.”
Caroline had to bite back her smile as she dug her fingers into his sides and made him bark in laughter. “Can you take one thing seriously—just one? I am busy apologizing for my irrational behavior.”
“And I accepted your apology, though it was unnecessary. I may be a man, I may be woefully unprepared and undereducated, but I am trying. What I saw was nothing above what I was told I might expect. If you display a bit of irrationalityfrom time to time, then so be it. I would prefer there be no tears, but I understand it cannot always be helped.”
“Are you asking me not to cry?” she snorted incredulously.
“No. I only say that because it wounds me to see you in such a state.”
Caroline’s heart stuttered, reminding her how very, very close they were. Tired of fighting her impulses, she slid her hands up the hard wall of his chest and wound them around his neck, pulling Gideon’s lips down to meet hers.
Pinwheels of sensationand light burst behind Gideon’s eyes the second Caroline’s mouth grazed his. The well of concern he’d felt at waking to find her standing over him with her eyes red rimmed and puffy evaporated along with the world around them until there was only her lips on his. His body reacted with instantaneous ferocity, hardening with such swiftness that it made his knees weak. She pulled them closer, pressing her unbound breasts against his chest until her pebbled nipples teased him through the thin fabric of their remaining clothing, and the firm curve of her belly grazed the hard ridge of his cock. He ached to grasp her delectable bottom and yank her more closely together so he could grind against her until there were no doubts as to the voracity of his desire.
His restraint wore thinner and thinner with every pass of her tongue on his, every stroke of her nails in the short hair at the nape of his neck. He trembled with it. He ached from it. Something primal roared to life within him, demanding that he pull her to the bed and claim her. She washis. She carriedhischild. She would never belong to another. Never.
Gideon held himself in check, but just barely. Even when she arched into him and whimpered at the friction of her breasts on the hard wall of his chest, even when she nipped at his lowerlip, even when she gasped and shivered as his fingers traced the outline of her perfect curves.
She breathed his name like a plea.
“Hmm?” was his reply, too absorbed in every point of contact between them to break away and form a coherent question.
“Might we…please…make…love again…?” she asked, each pause punctuated by another kiss. God’s wounds, what her words did to him. Her request was like angels’ song to his forsaken ears. For months, he’d been without a woman’s touch. No one had quite lived up to her since their night; no one had driven him mad with naked desire. Oh, he’d tried to hold up his bargain that they would share one night and one night only, but he’d desired her for so bloody long that he’d been unable to stomach the fact that the only way he’d have her again was in his dreams. It was what had driven him to Lady Night’s the evening he’d met Oliver and Emily.
Following two generous glasses of whiskey, he’d made his way to the exclusive Covent Garden location in an attempt to slake is ceaseless lust for the woman he could not have. His attempts had been half-hearted and, of course, failed. But he did not regret it. He did not miss the novelty of new women in his bed. He’d discovered the intimacy to be had with one person who knew him the best in the world, and there was no earthly way to top that. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he fought it.
He broke their kiss and gazed down at her delicate features, her cinnamon constellations of freckles, her passion-glazed emerald eyes, her kiss-plumped lips. His chest heaved with his every breath, struggling to pull in enough air when faced with her honest beauty.
“I have thought of little else…” Gideon replied, his voice rough as gravel. “I’d once fooled myself into believing what I felt was a purely physical attraction to a beautiful woman, but theyears only transformed my attraction into a desire. You drew me like a flame, Caro, and I told myself I was content to have you in my life and remain at arm’s length, so our friendship was not affected. But when you asked for a night in my bed…” He groaned, his abdomen clenching at the memories that were unleashed. “That fanned my desire rather than slaking it.” Her lips parted on a trembling sigh and he had to rip his eyes away from her mouth before he began devouring her all over again. “It was terrifying to finally fulfill my fantasies—all the things I’d imagined doing with you…toyou—but the worst part came days later when I finally admitted to myself that I would never stop wanting more of you. That is unnerving for a man who never learned how to open himself up to a real relationship because you and I both know I’ve only had the worst sort of example to follow.”
“Oh, Gideon,” Caro sighed and nestled into his throat, pressing her lips to the hammering pulse she discovered there. “I’ve wanted this too…for so long.”
That was all he needed to hear. With a feral noise bursting forth from his chest, Gideon hauled Caro into his arms and dragged her onto the bed. Enough sense remained that he did so with enough care that he did not injure the babe in her womb, but he vowed as soon as she was able, he would remind her just what he was capable of. He’d pin her down and spread her wide until she was at his mercy. He’d make her sob with pleasure again and again until she begged him to allow her relief. He’d haul her astride him and let her use him for her own enjoyment, as her toy.
Each one of his imaginings was more erotic than the last; he could feel the head of his cock growing slick with beads of moisture as his body pulsated with desire.
Despite the force of his need, Gideon was determined to display the patience and restraint he should have during theirfirst coupling. Even in the moment, he’d regretted allowing his desire to spur him on. Despite Caro’s enthusiastic participation, he knew it could have been better.Hecould have been better for her. Now, he would be.
He took his time kissing her, tasting her. He learned her all over again and he encouraged her to do the same. They knelt together on the bed, hands roaming and exploring, relearning the planes and dips and hollows of one another’s bodies. His teeth teased the sensitive lobe of her ear; his tongue sampled the hollow of her collarbone; his hands slowly, deftly untied her nightshift and began to separate the panels.
Caro’s hands were performing a survey of their own and sent chills of awareness rippling back and forth across every inch of his body. “Take off your sodding shirt,” she growled against his mouth before giving his lower lip a little nip.
Anything for you…his mind purred.
It took him less than half a second to break their kiss and rip the garment off over his head. He would have swooped back in to reclaim her mouth, but she stopped him with a gentle palm to the center of his naked chest.
“Now…the breeches.”
Gideon lifted a brow. Though her nightshift was undone, it still provided her a measure of modesty despite the filmy fabric clinging to her dark, erect nipples. She wanted him quite literally laid bare before her, and he would gladly comply. He would do anything she required of him. It mattered not if the request was made out of desire or if it was to help her feel more comfortable placing her trust in him, Gideon was long past the point of denying her anything.
It wasn’t graceful—he was too aroused for that—but he shucked his breeches and resumed his kneeling position. Caroline leaned back, her feline green eyes raking him up and down, lingering on the bulging curves of his arms honed fromregular pugilism practice, the swells of his chest and carved ladder of his abdomen, the vee of his pelvis and the muscular thighs honed from years of riding hard and fast, the thick, ruddy column of his sex jutting from the nest of dark curls between his legs. Ah, yes, that bit appeared to interest her a great deal.
“I did not have the opportunity to see all of you the last time we…”
“The last time we made love?” Color crested Caro’s cheeks as she nodded. They’d been practically frantic with need that night, only taking the time to remove half their clothing before they collapsed into a writhing heap upon the bed. “You may touch me anywhere that pleases you,” Gideon added hoarsely. He prayed she would. He saw her fingers flex in indecision, and he gently took her hand in his and guided it to the center of his chest. He held her loosely enough that she could have pulled away if she’d wanted, but she did not—thank God. He helped her trace the lines of his pectoral muscles, his breath hissing through his teeth as she grazed his hard nipple again and again. His cock bobbed between them and begged for her attention as her nails tickled the ridges of his abdomen. He could read in her eyes how badly she desired to hold him, but she didn’t take him in hand. “Caro, please…” he groaned, more vulnerable than he could ever remember being in his life.
