Desire Me Now (14 page)

Nick managed to keep himself poised at her entrance. His hands held each of her buttocks,
spreading the cheeks apart as he held her tightly enough that she wouldn’t be able
to pull away from him a second time.

“If I could take away the pain, I would,” he said.

Fundamentally, she’d known it might hurt to be taken by a man, and she’d not worried
about it until those words passed his lips. When she tried to move away from him,
he steadied her hips.

“Do you still want this, Amelia? You can ask me to stop.”

“I want this,” she said, her voice muffled by the blanket. She repeated her words
over and over again, knowing he needed her permission.

She realized too late that she should have said no. He thrust so hard and so true
through the barrier of her virginity that she tried to pull away from the assault
of his body finally claiming hers. Nick’s hands never once let up at her hips, keeping
him buried deep inside her and holding them still where they were joined, even when
she rose from the bed to kneel in the position she’d been in before, though that made
it hurt more, so she went on her hands and knees in front of him.

He didn’t move inside her as tears slipped down her cheeks, droplets falling on the
bed in front of her.

When she proved she had no desire to either move closer or away from him, Nick released
her hips, his fingers sliding over her sides eliciting a shiver from her before he
cupped both her breasts. As he leaned over her, his cock slid slightly from her tight
sheath, which made her wince.

“The pain is temporary. It will get better.”

There was a promise in his words she wanted to believe, so she relaxed, marginally.
Nick moved his hand from her breast and over her stomach, rubbing in small circles
from her navel down to the crisp hair between her thighs. Finally, he cupped her sex
again. Spreading the folds to find the spot that had given her so much pleasure before,
he circled the bud there. He kept rolling his finger around that sensitive part of
her until her breaths came shorter and faster.

Kissing the shell of her ear, he said. “Now you will feel nothing but pleasure. Do
you trust me?”

She nodded. She did trust him more than she ought, considering the length of time
they’d known each other, but he’d done nothing to give her reason to doubt him.

“I need to hear it from your lips, Amelia.”

He pulled her earlobe into her mouth and nibbled the end of it. She arched back in
surprise, turning her pelvis up to him, pulling him deeper into her body. The burn
from his originally seating himself within her was ebbing and her desire rekindling.

“I trust you,” she whispered, just as he sucked her lower lip into his mouth.

Nick kissed the column of her neck, nibbling between each soft caress, never once
letting up on the rotation of his fingers. Gradually, the sensation of complete abandonment
came back, and she started to move against his hand, allowing the thick erection between
her thighs to move inside her, and which, to her surprise, was not at all an unpleasant
feeling. Her back arched and her body grew pliant yet desperate to feel the release
she’d felt with only his hands.

The thrust of his penis was a new and different feeling, now that she was edging toward
another release. He was slow as he pulled out and pushed back into her, careful with
her, even though she felt the whipcord strength in him ready to be unleashed and given
free rein of her body.

They were both wet with sweat as they moved and slid together. He pinched her nipple,
twisting it to the point of pain before letting up and soothing the pleasurable hurt
by massaging her whole breast with his big hands.

For each press of his penis forward, her pelvis arched back, trying to take him in
deeper. As their pace increased, Amelia was forced to hold on to the blankets beneath
her so she wouldn’t slide farther away from him. She wanted to grind that private
part of herself hard against him, to feel him so fully inside her that he would be
stamped into her skin and body as firmly as he was stamped into her mind.

“I will be the only one to ever play with this little clit of yours.” The promise
in his words made her moan. “You belong to me, Amelia.”

She wanted to belong to Nick Riley. She wanted to please him in any way she could.

Nick stole her full attention again when he took her clit between his fingers and
squeezed it. She let out a hoarse cry of pleasure, torn between grinding that part
of her body against his hand and pushing back to take him in deeper. Her body felt
on fire, ready for another climax. She curled her hands tighter around the bedding
for purchase, desperate for any sort of leverage as she pushed and pulled away from
him in equal measure.

The pace of his body moving in hers increased, making it hard for her to concentrate
on any one aspect of their joining, of giving herself fully to him without thought
to the repercussions. She didn’t care about that right now; she cared only about giving
him the same pleasure she felt. His hands grew rougher the faster he pumped in and
out of her, never letting up, unforgiving in letting her reach her peak.

When she climaxed this time, her whole body stilled in his hold, the slam of his body
against her backside only adding to the pleasure she felt as she exploded around his
hand. A rush of fluid gushed out of her and seeped down her leg as he fucked her at
a pace she no longer had the energy to reciprocate.

She fell to the bed, replete, out of breath, thrusting gently against his hand, trying
to wring every ounce of pleasure from his touch and not sure if she wanted it to end.
Nick let her go, grabbed her hips with both hands, and took her from behind like a
beast, rutting her with a vigor she could not match.

He let out a roar as he too found his end. She could feel the hot injection of his
seed filling her in a never-ending stream that pumped along her channel, until he
slammed hard into her, buried to the hilt, and let her sheath milk the rest of him
dry. He pressed into her periodically, as though making sure he was empty of his seed.

Her hips felt bruised where he’d gripped her. His hands trailed over her spine, the
sweat on her body cooling fast in the room around them. His touch made her shiver,
and her nipples peaked hard.

She wasn’t sure what to do—if she should move or pull away—so she let Nick explore
her in the aftermath of their lovemaking. Although the twitch of his cock subsided,
his hardness did not. She held him inside her, as though her body didn’t want to be
apart from him. But she also felt stretched and achy.

“I’m going to pull out,” Nick said. “Slowly, so you don’t feel too much pain.”

She nodded into the mattress, looking away in shame.

His hands cupped either of her buttocks as he pulled his still-hard length from her
in slow increments. Every inch was a mixture of pleasure and pain. When he was fully
out, she felt his seed trickle down the inside of her thigh in a hot stream.

She squeezed her legs together, curling them under her as she half sat up; to be seen
this way made her feel at a disadvantage. While he’d seen her through the whole of
their lovemaking, she hadn’t once seen him. She was too shy to turn around and face
him, too mortified to look him in the eye after what they’d just done.

Should she leave the bed and dress? She wasn’t sure she had the strength to even move,
let alone walk.

N
ick drew Amelia’s attention back to him with a kiss to her shoulder. The feather-light
press of his lips had her eyes closing and her body swaying closer to his.

She crossed her hands over her breasts. They were sore and tender from his attention.
When she turned to look at him, his face was a few inches away.

“What has you so skittish?” he asked.

“You,” she whispered.

He placed his hands around her waist. She thought it was to keep her from fleeing,
but she had no intention of running from what they’d just done.

“Are you hurt?” he asked.

She shook her head, but he was inspecting her body to make sure she was all right,
and that melted her heart a little.

“No,” she said. Mostly, she was starting to feel sore in places she had never felt
anything prior to their joining.

“Then why do you keep averting your eyes?” he asked. The tone in his voice made her
think she was hurting him by pulling back, so she met his gaze and held it.

“What am I meant to do?”

His hand cupped the side of her face, and he gave her a tender kiss on the mouth before
answering her. “Exactly what you are doing.”

“Is it always like that?”

He pulled her into his lap and held her. Parts of him poked at her, and it took everything
in her not to look down and take in the sight of him. “It only hurts the first time.
I won’t hurt you again.”

“I mean the other thing.” God, her cheeks were flaming. “The parts that felt good.”

He gave her a mischievous smile. “We need to get you in a warm bath before the pain
really settles in.”

Lifting her from his lap, he stood from the bed, his penis still hard. Her eyes were
glued to that part of him. The sight of him naked was primal and breathtaking. His
body was muscled everywhere, his stomach a series bumps and dents that moved like
a rippling machine as he pulled his trousers over his strong legs. It was a shame
he had to cover himself at all; she wanted to study him for hours.

Trousers donned, he snatched up her robe from the chair near her window and handed
it to her. “You can wear this to my room.” She realized she had to release her breasts
and show herself to him if she took the wrap, so she stayed where she was until Nick
leaned over the bed and kissed her full on the mouth. “Neither of us will be wearing
clothes for the rest of the night, so your modesty is for a lost cause.”

She took the robe and tied it around her waist as he pulled his shirt over his head
and covered the dark hair speckled across his chest. She wanted to run her fingers
over every part of his body.

Not bothering with the ties, the front gaped open and gave him a clear view of her
breasts. He held out his hand, which she didn’t hesitate to take.

Once her feet were on the floor, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her across
the room. “What if someone sees us?” she asked, genuinely worried they might be caught.

“It is late enough that everyone will be in bed.”

“Does Huxley ever sleep?”

Nick chuckled at that. “He’s not here and will not be back for a few days.”

She bit her bottom lip. Was she looking for an excuse to end their evening?

Nick opened the door, and after a cursory look down the hallway, he walked with purpose
toward his bedchamber doors, which felt so much farther than it actually was.

“What we did . . . what does this mean for us going forward?”

“I was serious when I said you were mine. I will not let you go, Amelia.”

“Why me?”

He looked her in the eye as he put her down on the edge of his high bed. His room
was dark, except for the small fire burning in the fireplace in the sitting area at
his back, so it was difficult to make out his expression.

“Why not you?” he returned.

He left her with those words as he went into the plunge bath, which was just off his
bedroom. A light flickered on in that room, and she could hear the water being turned
on.

Why would he choose her over a woman like Victoria, who was refined, beautiful, and
already a part of his world? She hugged her arms around herself, pulling the robe
tight around her body like a blanket. No, more like a shield.

Could she brave baring herself to him again? She was still coming down from the high
of being in his arms. And while she knew she needed to distance herself from him,
a larger part of her wanted the exact opposite. But how much could she insert herself
in his life before she crossed a line between personal and professional? Hadn’t she
already crossed that line? She nearly snorted at that but was distracted from giving
it further thought when Nick came back into the room, shirtless.

She hadn’t been free to explore him when they’d been in her room. She hadn’t seen
any of him and wouldn’t give up the opportunity, now that he was standing in front
of her, and she had more light to see him.

The hair speckling his chest was as black as his beard; it covered his pectorals and
trailed down his torso before stopping at his stomach. The trail picked up again beneath
his belly button in a V-shape that disappeared in the band of his trousers.

The muscled lines on his stomach spoke of vigorous exercise. She had lived in the
country all her life. Men took their shirts off on a hot summer day when they were
working in the fields, but they had nothing on Nick Riley. He was sculpted like a
Greek statue, every line of muscle defined, right down to his narrow hips. His arms
were roped with sinew too, and her mouth dropped open with an appreciative sigh.

Her gaze trailed back to his eyes, and she saw a measure of pride in those stormy
depths of his. “If you look at the rest of me that way, I won’t be able to keep my
hands off you much longer, Amelia.”

Her breathing grew erratic again. She closed her eyes as he approached her. When the
shush of his feet crossing the floor stopped, and she felt the heat radiating from
his body and reaching out toward her, she put her hand out. Her fingers pressed into
his chest as he leaned closer.

“I want to kiss every inch of your porcelain skin.” His hands reached for the tie
around her waist. Jerking the sash loose, the garment glided off her shoulders and
caught in the bend of her arms. Hastily, she slipped free of the material, desperate
to touch him again. Desperate to feel their bodies smashed together without any clothes.

She was no longer afraid of her nudity and hoped this newfound bravery didn’t abandon
her any time soon.

Trailing her hand over his chest, she traced along the line that cut cleanly down
the center of him before fanning out her fingers through the spatter of hair on his
chest.

“What happens tomorrow?” she asked, hating that she needed to know. “Do I become your
mistress? Or do we pretend none of this happened?”

“I promise you, this happened. And I will not let you forget it. You are a free woman,
to decide as you please, Amelia. I will never cage you like a songbird. But make no
mistake; you are still mine.”

“And what of the rest of the household?” She couldn’t help but worry what they would
think of her. She’d only just been hired, and now she was intimate with her employer.
They could never know what transpired between her and Nick.

“They have nothing to do with us.”

“They cannot know,” she whispered.

“I agree that secrecy is probably for the better. For the time being anyway.” He kissed
her shoulder before standing again. “Come,” he said giving her his hand yet giving
her the choice to go with him. “Your bath awaits.”

She didn’t hesitate to go with him and stood unashamed and feeling braver by the moment,
though she didn’t expect that bravery to last past tonight.

The bathing room was quite grand and tiled in beige marble on the floors and halfway
up the walls. The tub was bigger than any she’d ever seen, and its decorative brass-clawed
feet rested in the middle of the large room. There was a dressing table and sink on
one wall and a toilet on the other, all encased in blond wood. She’d never seen a
full bath in any house, and the luxury of it had her speechless. Water still filled
the bath, and Nick reached down to turn the taps off when it was three-quarters full.

Taking her hand once again, he helped her into the water, which was hot but not so
hot that it would burn her, just enough to soothe her.

Nick stayed outside the water, his trousers still in place and sitting low on his
hips. Though she could see the bulge of his penis straining against the material,
he didn’t seem to find any discomfort.

He reached down to gather a large sea sponge in his hand and soaked it with water.
When he sat on the rim of the tub and squeezed the water over her thighs, she was
mortified to see streaks of blood. She reached for the sponge and started to sink
into the water in an attempt to hide herself, but the water was crystal clear.

“You have nothing for which you should be ashamed, Amelia. I should have been gentler.”
Now that she was sitting in the water, he squeezed streams of water over her breasts,
making her nipples peak. There were a few abrasions and scuff marks from his beard
blotted across her pale skin. Nick thumbed the scratches he’d left on her body. “I
like seeing my marks on you.”

She liked it too but couldn’t admit as much. What was wrong with her to want a stamp
of ownership marking her skin? It was so she wouldn’t forget tonight when morning
finally arrived. So she would know this had actually happened and hadn’t been a dream.

“The water is more soothing than I thought it would be,” she said, drawing his eyes
back to hers. His gaze was pure hunger. She swallowed, not sure what to say, not sure
what to do. She took the sponge from him and let it fall into the water.

“I have changed my mind,” he said, standing suddenly to undo his trousers so he could
pull them down his legs. The sight that greeted her caused her breath to catch in
her throat, and her heart paused for a full second in her chest.

When he tossed his trousers aside and stood proudly before her, she took the opportunity
to study his form. She’d never seen a man naked before tonight. Never seen that part
of a man’s body in any state or form, though she imagined men didn’t walk around with
a bulging piece of flesh day in and day out; she would have noticed it. In fact, it
was as thick as her wrist, and she wasn’t at all surprised that it had hurt so much
when he’d entered her. The tip of it was a deep plum, and the heavy column was closer
to his tanned skin tone. The hair at the base was clipped short and was the same color
as the trail of hair snaking down the center of his abdomen.

Noticing where her attention was focused, Nick’s hand curled around the base of his
penis. “This is what you do to me, Amelia. Do you know how many times I have thought
of tossing you on my desk, throwing your skirts over your head, and fucking you senseless
whenever we are alone?” His words were crass and raw, and they made her sheath throb
to have him inside her again. That was a new sensation for her, for she’d never felt
it before tonight.

“And now?” she dared to ask.

The faintest of smiles tilted his lips. To her surprise, he stepped into the water
with her, his feet between her legs. She scooted back in the water to give him more
room until she was stopped by the curved backrest. Nick’s hands curled around the
edge of the bathing tub, and he leaned in close to her face, as though he planned
to kiss her.

“Right now, all I can think of doing is having you wrap your legs around my hips so
I can bury my cock deep inside you.”

With his words, her knees spread wider, stopped only by the width of the tub. If that
wasn’t an invitation, she didn’t know what was. Nick moved closer, the head of his
penis brushing the curls of her sex. His arms surrounded her as he leaned over her.

“What if I also want that?” It was a challenge and a dare. Even though she felt a
tinge of soreness in her nether region, she wanted this too badly to say no.

Hands holding tightly to the edge of the tub, she dared herself to be bold, to take
what she wanted just once. Just
this
once. Curling one leg around his hip, she dug her heel into his backside to pull
him into the V of her thighs. Still, he held back enough that he didn’t enter her,
his penis teasing her and just out of reach from its ultimate goal.

“I want to feel you inside me again. I want you to make me feel what I felt before.”
Amelia nibbled on her lower lip. “Before . . . when you were inside me, I never wanted
it to end.”

Her admission must have driven Nick over the edge, for he roughly grabbed her buttocks
so he could tilt her pelvis toward him, and he slid inside her. He didn’t slam deep
and hard as he had the first time. This time he was slow, letting her get used to
the welcome intrusion and adjusting to the size of him. He groaned when he was fully
seated. Amelia wrapped both her legs around his hips, her hands on the edge of the
tub the only thing keeping her afloat in the water.

Nick’s mouth was harsh and brutal as it smashed against hers in a drugging, all-consuming
kiss. His teeth scraped against her lips, and he sucked at her tongue so violently
that their teeth clanked with every thrust of his tongue into her mouth.

Being with Nick this way felt . . . right.

She knew if she asked to stop at any point, Nick would have respected that decision.
But she wanted to be reckless, carefree. She wanted to be the type of woman who had
the world at her fingertips. As did the other women who had been at dinner tonight.
But she was only playing part of that role now, indulging in intimacy she’d never
before experienced. Lavishing in every new sensation Nick let her feel.

Her focus turned solely to Nick as his mouth landed on hers again, gentler this time.
His knees found purchase between her legs, while his hands curled over the rim of
the tub and offered support for her head as he slid in and out of her at a much slower
pace. Being in the water, her breasts floated on the surface in their position, the
wetness all around them lapping at her nipples like hundreds of tongues. Nick periodically
dipped his head to suck one of her hard nipples into his mouth, eliciting moan after
moan from her. Every time he did that, she felt her sheath tighten around his cock
in exquisite pleasure.