A Taste of Temptation (25 page)

He slid one of his hands between them down to her womanly mound; her hair was soft. With ease he slipped one finger to her core and massaged her. She lifted her hips in satisfaction. His stomach tightened. She was moist and throbbing. He smiled against her lips.

“Oh God, I want you as if I’d never had you.”

“I’m ready,” she whispered and lifted her legs and wrapped them around his back.

He withdrew and then penetrated her wet silkiness with one long push, going in as deeply as he could with the first thrust. Her muscles tightened around him and he thought he might lose himself in her again with one stroke, but he held off.

He had to move slowly, very slowly so as not to end too fast. She moved with him, intensifying his pleasure. He groaned with a pleasure that superceded all that came before Olivia.

“Move with me. Stay with me,” he murmured against her lips.

“I’m feeling it again,” she whispered.

“Yes, Olivia, let it come. Take it.” He kissed her more tenderly than he ever had, wanting her to feel the way he felt.

She cried out her release at the same time he spilled himself into her for the second time.

Andrew slipped his arms under her back and pulled her tightly to him. He’d never felt more satisfied, more gratified by a woman.

In that moment he knew he didn’t give a damn about what she had done to marry him. He only knew that no other woman had ever made him feel as complete and contented as Olivia had, and she was his.

No woman had ever touched his heart like she had.

Heart?

Andrew shook those thoughts away as he buried his nose in the crook of her neck and inhaled her womanly scent. He wasn’t ready to think about anything having to do with feelings of the heart.

27239_ch01.001-297.qxd 9/19/05 6:09 PM Page 218

Sixteen

8

O
livia’s eyes fluttered
open. It was daylight. She immediately looked over at the other side of the bed.

Andrew was gone.

The pillow still had the indentation where his head lay.

Had he been gone long? She reached over and touched the sheets.

They were cold.

When had she drifted to sleep? The last thing she remembered was Andrew stretched out beside her, cuddling her in his arms. Her cheek lay on his warm, strong chest and their bodies touched all the way down to her toes.

In a rush of memory all the kisses, touches, and mating of their bodies flooded her mind. She smiled contentedly.

Had she really touched him with such abandon? Had he really moaned with such pleasure that her very soul felt connected to his?

Or had it all been just a wonderful dream?

Olivia looked over at the pillow again. He had definitely lain on it.

Last night was not a dream.

It was real.

Her husband had not only been skillful at pleasing her, he had been masterful at teaching her how to give him pleasure. Such undeniable pleasure.

And there was no doubt in her mind that she had pleased him.

Feeling languid, she stretched her arms up and over her head and suddenly realized she was naked beneath the covers. Suddenly, she put her hand to her throat. That is, she was completely nude except for her pearl necklace. That was the only thing Andrew hadn’t taken off her during the night.

She sat up in bed and looked around the room. All her clothing had been draped over her slipper chair. Andrew must have picked up her clothes. She remembered him taking his time in disrobing her and throwing each piece to the floor.

Olivia lifted her hands up to her breasts. They were tender to her touch and there was a slight discomfort between her legs, but inside her heart she had never felt better in her life. She truly felt the happiness inside herself that Agatha had talked about.

But was Andrew happy?

She glanced at the clock on her dressing table and saw that it was half past one in the afternoon. She never slept past noon. But then she had never spent the night in a man’s arms before.

Suddenly Olivia scrambled off the bed and over to her dressing table and poured cold water from the pitcher into the basin. If she hurried, maybe she could catch Andrew before he left for the day.

Within minutes she had washed, dressed, and put her hair in a neat chignon. After picking up her copy of
Murder
on the Thames
she headed to the dining room, slowing down only as she approached the doorway.

She took in a deep breath, put a comfortable smile on her face, and walked inside. Her heart fluttered with the warm feeling of love.

Andrew sat at the table reading his paper. Clean shaven, hair neatly combed, neckcloth tied in a simple bow. He looked so handsome, so dashing. In that moment she knew that all the loving feelings she’d felt for him last night were still with her this afternoon and they were not going to go away. They had started the first night she’d seen him standing in the doorway of his home. Across the space they had connected.

He had captured her heart and it now belonged to him.

Andrew lowered the news paper when he heard her walk inside the room. Their eyes met.

She had an overwhelming desire to rush over and throw her arms around him and kiss him with all the passion she had discovered last night. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him and how much she wanted to be a good wife to him. All she needed were more opportunities like last night to show him.

“Good morning, Olivia.”

His eyes had searched hers but his tone held no warmth and his lips had no smile.

She swallowed hard and her smile faded. There was no sign of the lover who’d been in her bed last night. A deep disappointment settled over her.

After all the lovemaking they had shared, she still wanted more from him. She wanted his love, his respect, his attention. She wanted him to believe that she hadn’t trapped him into marriage. She wanted him to believe she wasn’t trying to trick the Marquis into marrying Lynette.

Olivia wanted him to believe she was worthy of his love.

But if he didn’t know that after the way she responded to him last night, a few more words from her would not change his mind.

“Good morning, Andrew,” she said, sounding a little stiffer than she had intended.

She laid her book on the table and walked over to the buffet to pour tea.

Andrew rose and helped her with her chair but didn’t touch her. She had expected more from him. Last night might have changed everything for her, but it was clear it had changed nothing for him.

An ache formed in her chest. Only Andrew could stop the pain.

Didn’t he know that she could have never responded to him as she did if she didn’t love him? How could he not know how she felt about him? Could it be that he knew and didn’t care?

She immediately opened her book and started reading, but after only a few words, her gaze stayed on the page but didn’t move. Her mind replayed the intimacies she and Andrew had shared last night.

How could
Murder on the Thames
compete with memories of her night in bed with Andrew?

Her thoughts tortured her with remembrance of his mouth on her lips, her breasts, and her most womanly part.

She remembered the full feeling of his body throbbing inside hers.

“Olivia?”

Olivia jumped and looked up at Andrew. “Oh, did you say something?”

He gave her a half smile and her heart fluttered again, offering a little hope. “I called your name three times.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

“That must be a very interesting book you’re reading.”

“Yes, it is.” She glanced down at the pages for a moment, feeling a bit guilty about her prevarication. “Did you want something?”

She looked into his eyes and for a moment thought just maybe he might be thinking about last night, too.

But he made no mention of it when he folded his paper and said, “I have several things to do today and I’m getting a late start.”

“I’ll have Whibbs get your breakfast right away,” she said and started to rise.

“No, don’t get up. I’ve already eaten. I was just waiting until you came down before I left.”

For the first time she looked down at his plate. “Oh, I see. Then don’t let me keep you,” she said coolly. “I’m sure you have a lot of things to do.”

“I probably won’t be back until it’s time to go to the first party.”

He sounded so formal she had no choice but to answer in the same tone. “I shall be ready at the usual time. I hope you have a good day.”

He rose and asked, “Will you go to your reading group today?”

“No, that was yesterday. I think I’ll visit my aunt later.”

“Give her my regards,” he said and walked out of the room.

Olivia’s heart sank to the floor. Andrew had made her his wife, but now she wanted to be a part of his life, too.

She wanted him to love her and want to be with her. Would he ever forgive her for the forced marriage?

After a walk in the garden, Olivia ate breakfast and went upstairs to change into a carriage dress. But before she made it out of the house Ellie announced that Lady Lynette was in the parlor and wanted to see her if she was available.

A few minutes later Olivia walked into the parlor.

“Lynette, I’m so glad you came by. I was just thinking about stopping by to see you after visiting Aunt Agatha.” Lynette rose from the settee and turned toward Olivia.

Olivia gasped in surprise as a smile stretched across her face. Lynette was wearing the flesh-colored paste from the apothecary over her birthmark and the dark red skin hardly showed at all. From a distance it looked as if the birthmark had disappeared. How wonderful for her friend.

“You look beautiful,” Olivia said sincerely as she stood in front of her friend.

Lynette laughed. “I do, don’t I,” she said.

“Yes, you do. Absolutely lovely. Your birthmark is gone.”

“Just hidden,” Lynette said. “I had a note from the apothecary waiting for me when I rose. He asked me to come at once. It was much too early to call on you so I went with just my maid. He put the cream on and when I saw myself in the looking glass I started crying.”

“Oh, Lynette, I hope they were tears of happiness.”

“Of course. I can’t thank you enough for all your help.

Long ago I gave up hope there was anything that could make this disappear.” She lightly touched her cheek. “But look what a few years have done.”

Lynette reached over and gave Olivia an unexpected hug.

Touched by her friend’s show of warmth, Olivia embraced her with enthusiasm and patted her affectionately on the back.

“I’m just so happy you have the confidence to wear the concoction outside your house where others can see you. It really covers the birthmark very well.”

“I think it’s miraculous,” Lynette said as they parted and sat down on the settee.

“Has your father seen you?”

“Yes, and all the servants, too, though none of them has had the courage to say a word to me,” she said and then finished with a girlish giggle.

“What did your father say?”

“What you would expect a father to say. That I’m beautiful just as I am and I don’t need anything to cover what God saw fit to give me.”

“Your father is right. You are beautiful inside and out and you always have been,” Olivia assured her.

“But I told him I want to do this. For the first time in my life I want people looking at me and not seeing my birthmark. I told my father that I’m going to wear the cream tonight.”

Now that Lynette actually was going to do it, Olivia felt apprehensive for her. “Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

“I was ready fifteen years ago.”

“You know people will question you about it and talk about you, and I just don’t want you to be upset by any of their comments.”

“No one could question me more than my father. I’m confident this is what I want to do. I’m ready for their comments. I want to know what they think about me without my birthmark.”

“Which party are you going to first? I want to be there in case you need a friend.”

“That would be lovely of you, Olivia. I’ll go to the Great Hall first. I might as well shock as many people as possible the first time I’m out.”

Lynette laughed and Olivia joined her.

“But speaking of parties, what happened to you last night? I never saw you at any of the parties.”

“I know. I—I, Andrew and I, well, we—” Olivia felt heat rise in her cheeks. She couldn’t believe how dreadfully she was stumbling over her words.

Lynette laughed again. “You don’t have to say anything more. I can see that you and your husband decided to spend the evening alone.”

“Yes,” Olivia said, quite happy to get off that subject.

“How was your evening?”

“Oh, lovely. Simply perfect,” she said with a teasing smile.

“And what made it perfect?” Olivia asked, though she had a feeling she knew.

“The Marquis of Musgrove Glenn asked me to dance again.”

“Lynette, how wonderful.”

“Yes, it was wonderful, magnificent, and breathtaking.” Her eyes turned dreamy. “It was heavenly. I don’t think I dance when I’m with him. I think I float on air the entire time we’re together. After the dance we talked about his children. He told me he was impressed I remembered their names.”

Olivia smiled. “Did he? How very nice of him to tell you.”

“And he’s very fond of my father, you know.” She stopped and sighed. “But he danced with several other ladies last night. All of them much younger and prettier than I, and two of them are absolutely beautiful.”

“I say nonsense to any of them being more beautiful than you. That is simply not true. And they certainly are not more knowledgeable of life and people and managing a house than you. They may be younger than you, but youth is not what the Marquis needs to take on the responsibilities of children. Besides, you are younger than the Marquis, are you not?”