Page 28 of Bedding the Marquess
“Yes, Gideon!” she screamed over and over until she could only mouth the words, too overcome by the blinding pleasure of her climax to continue.
It took everything in him not to spill as her body tightened and tensed around his. He continued pounding into her, never breaking his rhythm, continuing to drag out wave after wave of her release. Every smack of his thighs on her bottom, every trembling breath drove him higher. Her arms alternated between pushing him away from her highly sensitized body and clutching him close for more, more, more. He was only too happy to oblige, continuing until they were both slick with sweat.
Finally, Caro raked her nails along his ribs and he was lost. His orgasm built from the base of his spine, humming with white-hot ferocity, climbing higher and higher until he was consumed by it. Unleashing a curse, his hips gave a few more deep, grinding thrusts until every muscle seized. Their bodies pressed flush together, his climax ripped through him with a roar. The knowledge that each pulse filled her with more of his seed, marked her further as his, dragged out the pulsations until he was too weak to hold himself aloft.
He dropped to the mattress as a sweating, panting mess, but he’d never been happier than when Caroline took no coaxing to wrap herself around him. They held each other tightly, reveling in the warmth and comfort of one another’s arms, and were lulled to sleep by the gentle metronome of their heartbeats.
Chapter Thirteen
Another week passed,and the morning of Gideon’s surprise birthday party dawned sunny and warm, promising a fortuitous day of gorgeous summer weather. Caroline was proud of herself for having made it this far without alerting Gideon to any of their preparations. Disaster had nearly occurred when a vase was knocked over in the process of the floral delivery, but she’d quickly explained the sound away and challenged Gideon to a game of cards rather than investigate. Having prepared extensive checklists and met countless times with the butler, housekeeper, and cook over the course of her planning, she was confident that they would be able to pull this off without Gideon knowing.
One thing, however, remained solidly on her mind.
She had yet to receive a definite answer regarding Emily and Oliver’s attendance at the party. She’d sent a note along with the formal engraved invitation offering them a room at Bray Castle should they be able to make the journey. Emily had sent an immediate reply indicating that she would try her best, but there had been no word since then. Caroline remained determinedly optimistic and hoped for a surprise appearance of Emily and her husband. She desired little above forming a bridge between the half brothers and granting Gideon the relationship she knew he longed for.
The hours ticked on, and Caroline kept a mental tally of all the things that, according to her carefully crafted timetable,had been completed, were still in progress, and were left to do. Food preparations had begun the day before, but the kitchens were still overflowing with organized chaos. She did her best to keep Gideon from the areas in which most of the party would take place—the front of the house and great hall, the long formal dining room, and a few smaller chambers that had been requisitioned as retiring rooms or filled with gaming tables (because it most certainly could not be a party for Gideon without a bit of gambling). She did what she could to periodically slip away and receive updates from the staff. All seemed to be going relatively well, but her task became more difficult as the evening approached.
“Supper is delayed this evening,” she sighed, injecting as much regret into her tone as might be believable.
“Oh?” Gideon looked at her over the edge of his book. It surprised her to no end how content he seemed to waste quiet hours in her presence. She’d never witnessed him so sedentary. Of course, he went on long, hard rides almost daily, but, other than that, he displayed not so much as a hint of restlessness. This Gideon—the new husband, expectant father, Gideon of Bray Castle—was unlike anything she’d ever encountered. In town, he was normally flitting from one engagement to the next, almost constantly surrounded by one or more of his friends and eager to sniff out excitement. It was not uncommon for him to spend the afternoon at the races and then participate in races of his own, where the wager involved one participant to perform some absurd or mortifying act. His evenings were spent drinking and flirting, cutting a swath through London’s Society, returning home just as the sun rose from a night of dancing, carousing, or gambling. Why, then, did he seem so content? She was perplexed by his complacency—this new, domestic side of him—not because it concerned her, but because it was so unexpected. She’d known her own lifestyle would need to change, but she’dnever really asked it of Gideon. The fact that he’d done so without question and merely stepped into the role of doting husband and present partner…it unleashed butterflies in her stomach. Not once had he ever seemed put out by her requests; in fact, he often sought her out wherever she was enjoying a few quiet moments. For a man who’d had no model for marriage, his instincts were impeccable.
He hadn’t questioned it when she invited him to join her in her private sitting room while she worked on the pillow cover she’d been embroidering (purely out of necessity because it was one of the farthest rooms from the great hall without a view of the front drive). She’d been concerned that he might decline, but he’d merely pressed his lips to the back of her hand, retrieved his book from the library, and escorted her up the stairs.
Caroline flinched at every small sound from below. If he noticed that she’d made little progress with her sewing thanks to her preoccupation, then he said nothing.
“Indeed,” she answered. “Something about the venison being off.”
“Well, that’s rather disappointing.” She almost felt guilty for the deep frown knitting his brows together. Venison was one of his favorite dishes, and she’d specifically planned for it to take a place of prominence as the main course that evening. She had to bite her lip and turn her face to hide her smile. All her weeks of planning were nearly ready to pay off; she buzzed with excitement to see his reaction. She longed to bring him joy, to let him know that she saw him and he saw her. If anyone deserved it, it was this man who consistently went out of his way to bring her joy, show her acceptance, and lend support.
Suddenly, the screech of a horse and loud jangle of tack was abruptly followed by a man’s shout. The noise instantly drew Gideon’s attention.
“What in God’s name was that?”
Before he could stand, however, Caroline threw her sewing aside and closed the gap between them. As predicted, Gideon relaxed as soon as she lifted her skirts and straddled his narrow hips, resting her bottom on his strong thighs. His book fell to the floor with a soft thud; his concern for the sounds outside melted away. He made a low, appreciative sound deep in his throat.
“I am certain it was nothing,” Caroline said lightly, slightly breathless as her body instantly came alive with the feel of him beneath her and the sensation of his wide palms running along her hips and thighs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed the tip of his nose. “Unless…you wish me to stop so you might investigate.”
“Not a chance,” Gideon murmured as he leaned his head against the back of the sofa to gaze up at her. “Not when my gorgeous wife is on top of me.”
They’d not spent a single night apart since she’d gone to him in his bedchamber following their failed cribbage game. Beyond the blinding pleasure and the deep, sated sleep they enjoyed after their bouts of lovemaking and draining climaxes, they learned and explored. Gideon showed her that she could be comfortable asking for what she desired; he gave her the space and the confidence to test her limitations in the face of her traumatic past. Patiently, he guided her in overcoming her insecurities, taking great pains to let her know that she had her own agency. He did all of this while showing her new pinnacles of pleasure she’d never imagined. For the past two weeks, Caroline had been existing in a near-constant state of bliss. Now, it was her turn to reciprocate.
“Then I wonder how we shall pass the time,” she murmured as she ran her hands up the hard expanse of his chest. Already, she could feel the rapid thunder of his heartbeat, the insistent ridge of his burgeoning arousal pressing up into the cradle of her sex.
“I wonder…” he echoed suggestively. His hands trailed up her sides and cupped her breasts through her gown. His thumbs rubbed the taut buds of her nipples, and she moaned in response. He knew precisely how to stroke her there to take advantage of her newfound sensitivity. Her breasts had become so responsive since her pregnancy that he’d even managed to bring her to climax by teasing them, alone. It had been glorious. And his touch was igniting that same spark inside of her all over again. “You like that?” he purred, and Caroline nearly shuddered from his velvet voice.
“You know I do.” The rumble low in his throat could only be described as appreciative. “And you like it, too.” A wicked smile curled her lips. “But I believe I know something you might enjoy even more.” Without giving Gideon time to respond, she reached beneath her skirts and blindly located the falls of his breeches; they were already strained taut against his impressive arousal. With a few flicks of her fingers—a task she’d practiced several times over the preceding days—his cock was freed from the confines of his clothing.
He gasped her name as she took him in hand, running the broad, blunt head into the slit in her drawers and through her folds already slick with desire. These days, it took very little for her to reach such a state, but neither of them would ever dream of complaining. She didn’t hesitate to notch him in place and slowly sink onto his length, savoring the stretch as her body strove to accommodate his girth. She moaned at the pressure, the hot, hard heat of him inside of her as he filled her to the lips of her womb.
“This is heaven,” Gideon gasped. “You are heaven.” He grasped her hips once more and began to rock her. The position took some adjustments to account for her growing belly, but they managed.
Oh, how they managed.
The combination of grinding rolls and small, bouncing thrusts quickly worked them into a frenzy. Their bodies met with wet smacks of flesh on flesh, sucking and sliding, stoking their desire to unholy heights. Caroline leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his. Their tongues stroked in time to their thrusts, overwhelming her with the layers of sensations unleashed within her body. Everything shimmered and throbbed. Her every nerve felt raw and exposed. The chafing of the cups of her stays against her sensitive nipples, the way the pearl of her sex rubbed against Gideon’s pelvis, the sensation of his strong hands gripping her bottom with deliciously bruising force, his unique flavor of sweetened tea and something indescribably masculine… She loved this. She loved him. She loved knowing he cared for her, desired her, trusted her, believed in her.
She sobbed against his lips, the myriad sensations becoming too much for her sensitized body. Her muscles began to quake, her hands clamped down on his broad shoulders for purchase; she held him deep, deep inside of her as the ripples of blinding pleasure spread throughout her body. Her thighs gripped his narrow hips and she arched into him as her orgasm broke over her in shocks of delight. Gideon held perfectly still beneath her, allowing the rhythmic pulsations of her climax to milk his own from his body. The liquid fire of his seed filled her as his head dropped back and he groaned, deep and guttural, as if he’d relinquished a part of his very soul to her.
Caroline collapsed onto him, her forehead resting against the curve where his neck met his shoulder. Her racing heartbeat slowed as she gradually floated down from where she’d soared amongst the clouds. Gideon’s fingers were trailing a gentle path up and down her spine.
