His Ruthless Bite | Historical Paranormal Romance: Vampires (Scandals With Bite Book 4) (20 page)

Once more, he considered telling Lenore more about the rogues, as well as the possibility that there could be a vampire hunter in the area. But he held off, not wanting to frighten her for one thing, for another, he wanted to know more about the situation before he said anything.

Perhaps if there was a hunter about, he would solve Gavin’s problem and kill the rogues.

He sneered. If only he would be so lucky.

He found Lenore in the parlor, sitting by the fire with one of his shirts on her lap. Her deft fingers wielded a needle, mending a tear with diligent care.

The picture of tranquil domesticity she presented made his heart ache. None of his previous brides had bothered to do something so simple and thoughtful as to mend his clothes. Why would they, when he could always buy new garments?

“How was your evening?” she asked, her needle poised between her tiny fingers.

“Not as successful as I would have liked.” Before she could prod, he looked at the clock. “It will be dawn in little more than an hour. We had best hunt now.”

As they ventured outside, Lenore gave him constant inquiring glances, as if she wanted to ask him a question. Gavin held back from asking her to come out with whatever was on her mind, despite his curiosity. If she wanted to know more about the rogues, that would have to wait.

They found their prey with a young couple just finishing a tumble in a barn. Gavin recognized the man as Lady Chatterton’s stable master. The young miss appeared to be a maid of some sort.

By the time they were sated and returned home, exhaustion weighted his muscles like lead. Rogues invading his lands, some mysterious person or persons attempting to stir up hysteria on vampires… his maddening attraction to his baroness, and myriad thoughts tumbled in his head to the point where there was nothing he wanted to do but escape the torment in sleep.

Leading Lenore to their adjoining chambers, he resisted the urge to claim her lips in a mindless kiss. Instead, he gave her a chaste peck on her smooth brow and shrugged out of his coat. “I will see you at dusk, my lady wife.”

Once more, a question flared in her large eyes, but still she did not ask. Perhaps it could wait until nightfall. “Goodnight, my lord.” She curtsied and left his room, closing the door behind her.

The separation felt like miles.

Before he gave in to the temptation to follow her, Gavin undressed and went to bed.

His eyelids were just drifting shut when he heard the sound of a doorknob turning. Gavin opened his eyes to see Lenore standing in the doorway of their adjoining rooms. In the dark chamber, he could barely make out the shape of her. But what a beautiful shape it was, all the same. An angel in a long white night gown, dark hair tumbled around her shoulders.

“I cannot sleep,” she said softly, clasping her arms and looking achingly vulnerable. “May I… that is, would it be all right if I…”

“Stay with me,” he finished, pulling the coverlet aside and making room for her.

“Thank you,” she whispered, slipping into bed beside him, filling the former emptiness with her warmth.

Gavin reached over and lit a candle on the bedside. Likely she’d been locked up in the darkness during her captivity, so perhaps a little light would give her comfort.

That, and he could see her beauty more clearly. With that silken mahogany hair, dark, soulful eyes, and decadent, full lips, he wanted to throttle all those who had called her mousy and plain.

Slowly, to give her time to pull away, he took her into his arms, inhaling her soft hair that smelled like lavender. Lenore’s contented sigh made warmth flow through his heart. But the feel of her body pressed close to his made rampant lust unfurl within him.

She shifted back, close to him and he sucked in a breath as her rounded backside brushed against his hardness.

“Does it hurt?” she asked with touching worry.

“Yes,” he admitted before thinking better of it. “But I can take care of it myself later.” Truly he was a fool for not having done so before she’d come to his bed.

“How do you… take care of it?” She rolled over to face him, her eyes wide and curious in the candlelight.

“With my hand,” he answered plainly, not knowing what else to say but the truth.

Silence stretched the air between them until she spoke again. “Well, why don’t you?”

His jaw dropped and it took a moment to recover his words. “I beg your pardon?”

“Why don’t you ah, take care of your ache now? I do not wish for you to remain in pain.”

“I do not think that would be proper,” he said. “To do that in front of you.” Though he could not deny the appeal. To behold her while he pleasured himself would be the next best thing to touching her.

Unbelievably, Lenore chuckled. “You used to take pride in impropriety. Why the sudden modesty?” Her eyes glittered as she peered at him through a curtain of dark hair. “Besides, we’re married. We were supposed to be engaging in activities that are far more intimate.”

He bit back a groan as her words intensified his aching lust.

“I can, ah, turn away if that makes you more comfortable,” she said quietly.

Cursing himself for a reprehensible beast, he slowly lowered the coverlet, exposing the outline of his turgid length beneath his bedclothes. He knew he should make her look away, but instead, he voiced his desires aloud. Grasping himself, he said, “I want to look upon you.”

As he gripped himself through the satin of his bed robe, Lenore sat up and then knelt beside him. The sight of her tousled hair and her high rounded breasts at the verge of spilling from the low cut night dress was certainly arousing, but it was the rapt fascination in her large dark eyes and lush parted lips, which was so erotic, that made his blood sing.

“I want to look upon you as well,” she whispered. “I’ve never seen a man’s form… that is…” she trailed off with a furious blush.

“Very well, I shall indulge your curiosity.” He fought to keep his voice level even as trepidation coursed through his veins. What if she recoiled at the sight of his swollen length? Would it bring to mind the ones that had violated her?

Slowly, he untied the sash on his robe. He used to take pride in the fact that all of his lovers always declared him to be well endowed. But now he wished that he was not so large and intimidating.

Her audible intake of breath made him move to cover himself once more, but she stopped him, placing her hand on his.

“You’re… beautiful.” She studied his body as if it were a rare work of art. “Like that painting in the library, except for…” Her gaze trailed down to his erect cock and her blush deepened. “Well, that.”

Unable to stop himself, his fingers wrapped around his shaft, squeezing and stroking. His gaze held Lenore’s daring her to look away, at the same time, pleading her not to.

“Would you like me to help?” she asked.

Help?
Oh yes, she could help by lying down and hiking her nightdress up to her waist. “Sweet Christ, woman! Are you trying to torment me?”

She shook her head. “No. You have done so much to please me that I only want to please you in return.”

He seized her hand, gripping it tightly. “If you think to do this as some misplaced sense of obligation—”

“No.” She shook her head vigorously, making her breasts quiver in the most delightful manner. “That is, I do wish to please you as you’ve pleased me, but I also wish to touch you, to know what you feel like.”

Her words shocked him to the core. As he considered her offer, a tendril of hope curled within his heart. Could it be possible to undo the damage that had been done to her? Gavin hid his dangerous thoughts with a languid smile. “Ah, but nothing pleases me more than
your
pleasure. So you may touch me, but only if you also touch yourself.”
Or let me touch you
, he almost added.

She blinked. “Do you mean…” She looked down at her lap. “There?”

“Yes, there.” Still holding her hand, he guided her fingers between her thighs and pressed them against her mons, searching until he found that special spot. Her pupils dilated and she let out a small gasp that hardened him further. “Now did that please you?”

“I think so,” she panted, reaching for him with her free hand. As her delicate fingers curled around his shaft, it was his turn to gasp. “Did that please you?”

“God, yes,” he groaned as she gently squeezed and stroked his full length. While he still maintained a semblance of sense, he quickly reassured her. “Remember, you hold all of the power. If you become uncomfortable, you may stop at any time.”

In answer, she quickened her strokes, a small gasp escaping her lips as she continued to fondle herself. The raw pleasure on her countenance pleasured him almost more than her touch. Unable to stop himself, he thrust himself into her hand.

Lenore echoed his movements, her hips undulating as she found a rhythm that tantalized them both. Her shallow pants quickly turned to moans, sensual music to his ears.

As they moved together, Gavin couldn’t stop watching her. She looked like a nymph, a patron goddess of lust. His breath quickened as her soft hands wrought unfathomable ecstasy to his body.

Suddenly, her hips quivered and fine trembles wracked her form. Lenore’s eyes opened wide in astonishment, and for a moment she froze.

“Don’t stop,” he rasped. “Let it happen.”

Trust and reassurance filled her eyes before she resumed her intoxicating strokes. She threw back her head and cried out as the climax overtook her. The sight of her above him with one hand between her thighs and the other wrapped around his cock was so erotic that Gavin couldn’t hold back his own orgasm any longer.

Only after his release spilled on his belly did he worry that she might be repulsed.

And she had frozen, but not with horror. Instead, her face was rapt with awe and fascination.

“I never knew…” she gasped, “that it could be so…”

“Yes,” he finished, cleaning himself with his robe. He reached for her hand to wipe it as well, but she snatched it back, looking at it with curiosity.

Though he was relieved to see no hint of revulsion in her eyes, his face still burned with embarrassment as he grabbed a handkerchief from the bedside table and handed it to her.

Once she was cleaned up, he snuffed the candle and gathered her in his arms.

“Did I please you?” she asked.

“Only if you were pleased,” he answered.

“Oh, I was,” she whispered, cuddling closer to him. “I’d never imagined such sensations were possible.”

“They are.” He placed a gentle kiss on the back of her neck. “And so many more.”

As they drifted off to sleep, he prayed he would be able to show her more.

Lenore awoke with a languorous stretch, a smile tugging at her lips. Gavin was already awake and dressed, looking devastatingly handsome in a charcoal gray frock coat and a navy waistcoat.

“I must meet with my tenants,” he said, tying his cravat. “Perhaps you can hunt with Elena.”

“I planned on paying a few calls,” she said evasively. “I can hunt then.”

“Very well, as long as you are sated. I will count the hours until I see you again” He bent down and his lips claimed hers in a gentle, teasing kiss.

Immediately, frissons of electric heat flared between her thighs, leaving her breathless and unable to form the words for a simple goodbye.

When he closed the door, she fell back on the bed with wide eyes, gasping as her female center continued to throb, a faint echo of the cataclysmic sensations she’d experienced before their day sleep.

He’d awoken something within her, a strange hunger that was exhilarating and frightening all at once. Yet in the throes of their simultaneous pleasure, Lenore learned the truth of Gavin’s words. She
was
powerful. To give and receive such pleasure made her feel like a mighty sorceress.

Momentarily, her hand crept between her thighs before she snatched it back, feeling shamefully naughty. She would be late meeting Dr. Elliotson if she indulged in such antics. Besides, it would be much better to savor the anticipation for the dawn. Would Gavin want to do that again? She hoped so. And to her surprise, she most fervently hoped that this time, he would touch her.

A voice deep within asked a question she’d long suppressed. Would she be able to abide with more than that?

The usual terror did not surface at the thought. Only a maddening uncertainty. She wanted more of what she’d experienced with Gavin last night… but she didn’t want him to hurt her.

Lenore closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She would think of Gavin later. Now there were women who needed her help.

She met Dr. Elliotson at the village market, which was closed, aside from a few vendors selling hot pies, ale, and some other ware cried out in such gibberish she could not discern what the toothless man was selling.

Four women sat across from the doctor on a table reserved for the market-goers to take luncheon. From their chapped hands and faint aroma of hay, they seemed to be farmers’ wives. When they saw Lenore, they rose from the bench and curtsied reverently, though she could see suspicion glinting in their weary eyes. However, there was something else, a faint glimmer of hope.