Page 33 of A Promising Little Scandal (Sensual Scandals)

Chapter Twelve

Calliope was trembling, and it had more to do with just the spring chill in the air. She was anxious about the night ahead, but not in a dismissive way, as if it was a chore that she wished to quickly be over.

There was something about the viscount that made her yearn to be bold and daring, to go back in time to when she was that young girl who liked to climb trees. She giggled as he pulled her toward the shoreline. He didn’t even pause when they reached the water, but ran headlong into the surf, splashing water all around them.

It had been years since she’d felt so carefree. She had tried to hold on to that same spirit in London, but her sisters wanted to subdue that side of her. She hadn’t been able to embrace the true Calliope Bevelstroke fully, as it was too dangerous. There, she had to be proper and straightlaced. But tonight, on this deserted stretch of sand and rocks along the Lyme Regis shoreline, she could embrace that wild nature once more.

“Oh! It’s cold!” she exclaimed, as they waded out waist deep.

He pulled her close to him and said, “You’ll get used to it after a while.” He lifted a brow. “But if not, I am more than happy to find ways to keep you warm.”

With that, he kissed her.

Calliope pressed herself against him, and while the waves swirled and shifted around them, she was only aware of this man—and this moment. She wished it could go on forever.

He pulled away entirely too soon. However, the mischief on his face was worth it as he dove beneath the surface and disappeared.

“Sebastian!” She called out his name and shrieked when she felt something grab her leg. She took a deep breath and jumped forward and allowed the sea to envelope her.

It was too dark to see anything, so she reached out for him blindly. She thrilled when her hand was interlaced with his, and when he drew them together to kiss her beneath the waves, it was just as exciting as before.

They broke through the surface and treaded water for a time, still locked in the same sultry embrace. When he reached out and cupped her breast in his palm, his thumb flicking over her hardened nipple, she gasped.

He pulled back slightly. “Do you like it when I touch you?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

He disappeared under the water again, but this time, he didn’t move away from her. When she felt something hot and teasing against her breast, she moaned into the silence. When he reappeared, he said, “I can’t wait to taste all of you.” Calliope shivered at the very thought, but he must have mistaken the reason, for he added, “Are you cold?”

Before she could reply, his hand slipped beneath the water. When she could feel his fingers teasing the center of her, where she throbbed with desire, she let her head fall backward. On instinct she pressed down against his hand, desperate to gain more of that delicious pressure.

“You’re so damned beautiful,” he whispered, as he continued to stroke her.

Calliope’s heart was pounding, her blood running so hot through her veins that she was surprised the water didn’t steam. At least she no longer felt the cold.

She clutched his shoulders, but her fingers slipped against the slick surface of his wet skin. However, he kept one arm around her to hold her upright, as neither of them were touching solid ground. It gave her the sense of being suspended somewhere among the heavens. She certainly felt as though she wasn’t tethered to the earth.

A ripple that had nothing to do with the gentle waves crashing against them, caused her breathing to deepen. “Sebastian…”

“Give in to your desires,” he instructed in a husky whisper. “Let yourself go. I promise I will be there to catch you.”

It was all the encouragement her body needed to combust from the inside out. She closed her eyes as a rush of pleasure began in her core and spread throughout her entire body, until she didn’t know anything else but Sebastian. Her mind was solely focused on the continual slide of his wicked fingers as this extraordinary sensation enveloped her completely.

She was still floating in a haze when she realized she was moving. Sebastian was pulling her back toward the shore, but when she could feel the sand beneath her feet, her legs refused to support her weight. He easily lifted her into his arms and carried her to where his greatcoat had been spread out on the pavement of fossils.

He set her down, and then deftly whipped the soaked chemise from her body and tossed it aside. “I don’t think we’ll be needing that anymore,” he murmured, as he took in his fill of her naked body.

She might have been unnerved by his bold perusal if it wasn’t for the flare of his nostrils and the hooded glint of approval in his dark eyes. She might be an innocent, but it made her wonder who really had the power here.

She couldn’t resist glancing down and noting how the front of his smallclothes had expanded from the firm manhood beneath. She reached toward him and dared to run a palm down the length of him. He released a heavy breath and removed the garment in one fluid motion, kicking it to the side. “How about I make it easier for you?”

She bit her lip at the impressive length and girth of his cock. Granted, she hadn’t saw many in her lifetime. None, really, so she wasn’t sure what to expect, but something told her he was well endowed. And by the satisfied look on his face, he knew it as well.

She tentatively wound her hand around him and was surprised to find that it was soft to the touch, more so than the rest of his skin. And it was strong and hard, as if made from iron. However, the delicate sacs beneath were much more sensitive to her gentle ministrations.

“You’re amazing,” she breathed, in awe.

His mouth kicked up in one corner. “Wait until you see what I can do with it,” he murmured with a dark promise.

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