Love Is Blind (15 page)

Adrian groaned into her mouth, tangling his hand in her hair, his kiss becoming more forceful, his tongue thrusting with demand as his body ground against hers, pressing a hardness against the aching need between her legs. Clarissa shuddered in his arms, her nails digging slightly into his flesh as she pushed back, her legs parting of their own volition.

"Oh, God, Clarissa," Adrian breathed, pausing to press little kisses on her eyes, nose, cheek—basically anywhere he could find. "We have to stop."

"Oh, Adrian," Clarissa said, then stiffened and cried out as his hand slid between her legs and pressed her gown against the spot that was now aching so. Her attention was split between the pressure he was applying between her legs, and the kisses he was trailing down her throat and across her collarbone. She was tugging hard on his shirt, twisting it around his upper chest, and knew she was hampering him, but she wanted it off. She wanted to feel him.

"Tell me to stop," Adrian begged, pausing to rip his shirt up over his head before bending to again lick and nip and suckle at her breast.

"Oh," Clarissa gasped, her nails digging into his flesh. Her hips arched and her legs fell apart as he began to rub. "Oh, yes—please do not stop."

Adrian released a chuckle against her breast, and her body pulsed to the vibration. Then he left off and kissed her lips.

His hand slid from between her legs, and Clarissa moaned into his mouth in protest, but she stilled as he caught at her nightgown and began to draw it up until his hand could slip under the hem. Her legs quivered in anticipation as his touch glided up her thigh. They then locked instinctively around him as he reached her center once more, this time with no cloth to impede him.

Clarissa gasped again into his mouth, her body bucking then quaking with building tension and need. His fingers drifted over her damp, tender flesh.

"Just this. I will not make love to you, I promise," Adrian murmured, kissing the corner of her mouth. "But I have to touch you and taste you."

'Yes, just touching," Clarissa agreed, ready to allow anything if he just did not stop. Her hands were drifting over his skin, her head twisting on the bed as his mouth trailed down again to find her breast. It stayed there only a moment, however, before he shifted and moved lower.

Clarissa's bliss was startled out of her, and she stiffened up like a board when he suddenly shifted to kneel between her legs, his mouth replacing his hand. Shock and horror were her first reactions, and she grabbed for his head, trying to pull him away.

"I do not.. .You should not... What—Adrian!" she said uncertainly, some of her protest dying away as his tongue, teeth, and mouth moved over her. Her body began to respond, despite her mind's reticence.

Letting go of his head, Clarissa grabbed for the bed, clutching at the sheets in desperation. Her world had

begun to rock. She was vaguely aware that her hips had taken on a mind of their own and were thrusting themselves upward, eagerly meeting his kisses and caresses; then Adrian shifted, forcing her legs still so they couldn't interfere with his actions.

"Oh!" Clarissa stared blindly up at the shadows the candlelight cast overhead, her entire focus on the feelings within her.

"Oh!" She now knew why there were so many babies in the world.

"Oh!" She thought Adrian was the cleverest man in England, perhaps the world.

"Oh!" She suddenly understood the design of the universe.

"Oh!" There definitely was a God. "Oh!" Was that smoke she smelled? Frowning, Clarissa blinked her eyes several times, trying to clear away some of the passion clinging
stickily
to her thoughts and slowing her brain. She inhaled again, deeply, and definitely smelled smoke. Her gaze shot to the candle Adrian had lit, but it seemed fine, one little circle of light in her hazy vision.

It must be my imagination,
Clarissa thought vaguely, but she was having trouble thinking at all with Adrian doing what he was doing. Her legs were now trying to wrap themselves around his head, wholly uncaring of what she thought she smelled or where it might be coming from. Clarissa even realized that one of her hands had released the
bedsheet
and was tangled violently in his hair, urging him on as her body rode his caress.

Afraid she might be hurting him, Clarissa forced herself to release his hair and grabbed at the bed

again, but her hips still kept trying to thrust and twist, though they were helpless to do so against his hold. The tension in her was building to an unbearable level, and Clarissa's body was straining in response, her hands ripping at the sheets, her toes curled under, her head thrashing on the bed, her teeth clenched, wishing for something to bite—then she gasped in another breath and there was no mistaking the scent of smoke.

Clarissa stiffened, her head whipping around, trying to find the source. But before she could she was distracted again, a groan ripping from her throat as Adrian's teeth grazed the nub that appeared to be the center of her excitement. Her body vibrated, the tension pulling tighter, and Clarissa sucked in a breath on a gasp. She gave a choked cough as more smoke tickled her throat.

Trying desperately to think past the excitement and passion assaulting her, Clarissa pushed herself up to peer around the room. Her eyes found the blurred square of the door to her room and stilled. There appeared to be light on the other side, light seeping under the crack at the bottom of the door, and from that light she could see thick black smoke.

Clarissa instinctively reached for Adrian's head to get his attention, but he caught both her hands in his free one, using his weight to hold her legs in place as he continued his assault.

"
Adri
— Oh!" Clarissa gasped as he suddenly pushed one finger into her. Her body bucked and clamored for more, begging her to shut up.

"Adrian," she gasped with determination. "Fire. Burning."

"I burn for you too," he raised his head long enough to say, then bent once more to the task of driving her crazy.

"No. Oh . . . no." Clarissa tried again and was struggling to free her hands, but he had a firm grip, and her own thrashing just changed the sensations enough that her excitement was peaking again.

Her eyes locked on the light under the door, and on the smoke now billowing in, and she wondered that he couldn't smell it. But then, he was rather busy down where he was. Renewing her efforts, Clarissa managed to drag one hand free of his and immediately caught at his hair, tugging—and not kindly—as she tried to get his attention. Unfortunately, her body really couldn't care less what else was happening; even as she struggled to get him to raise his head, her hips were still thrusting themselves eagerly upward, and she had no doubt he thought her hair-pulling was just excitement.

Groaning deep in her throat, Clarissa fell back on the bed, her head twisting, and she screamed, "Fire!" as the tension finally broke and her body bucked with release. It seemed to go on forever, wave after wave of pleasure riding her, until she was left a quivering, limp mass.

Adrian raised his head, and through die blissful fog that had descended over her mind, Clarissa was aware of his shifting up the bed to lie beside her. He took her boneless body in his arms and held her, pressed a kiss to her forehead, then frowned, sniffed, raised his head, sniffed again and said, "Is that smoke?"

"Yes." Clarissa sighed, a smile feeling permanently affixed to her face. "The house is on fire."

"What?" She found herself suddenly dumped back

onto the bed as Adrian launched himself up and hurried to the door. He tried to open it, frowned, then tried again, using both hands this time, as if that would make a difference. When the door still didn't open, he felt its surface, cursed, and hurried back to the bed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I did try," Clarissa said. "I said, 'Fire,' and, 'Burning,' and tried to pull your head away."

"Oh, yes," he said. "I thought you were ... Never mind."

He glanced toward the window, then caught her hand and pulled her off the bed. "Come on; we have to get out of here."

Clarissa stood and nearly crumpled to the floor, but Adrian caught her and frowned. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"My legs are a little shaky," she admitted with embarrassment. "Just give me a moment."

"Oh." He hesitated, then scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the window.

"What are we doing?" Clarissa asked.

"The door is hot. The fire's right outside. We shall have to go out the window."

"Oh, dear," Clarissa breathed as he set her on her feet by the window and leaned to peer out. She wasn't the most coordinated person at the best of times. Even with her spectacles, she had proven slightly clumsy. The idea of trying to climb out of a window half-blind was not an attractive one.

'You will be fine. I shall help you," Adrian said reassuringly, then swung one leg out die window and straddled die ledge. She saw him reach out; then his lower body suddenly slid off the ledge and out of sight. Clarissa stepped up to the window and peered out.

The good news was that she couldn't see how high up she was. Clarissa hated heights. The bad news was, she couldn't see anything. Then she felt Adrian touch her.

"Take my hand. I shall help you."

"Okay." Clarissa took a deep breath. Grasping his hand, she held on tightly and settled sideways on the ledge, trying to straddle it as he had but finding her nightgown hampered the exercise.

After an embarrassed hesitation, Clarissa reminded herself that he'd already seen what was under the thing, and yanked it up to her thighs to manage the maneuver. She then turned to try to see Adrian, and was actually able to make out his frame. It helped that his shirt was snow white, whereas the sky and surrounding trees were dark.

"Just swing out to me and I shall pull you onto the branch." Adrian's voice was calm and reassuring, and Clarissa forced herself to concentrate on that and ignore her fears.

She swung her other leg over the ledge, then took a breath, tightened her hold on his hand and pushed herself forward. For one heart-stopping moment she swung in midair; then Adrian yanked on her, pulling her to him, and she grunted as she slammed into the branch he sat on. Clarissa started to slide downward, and for a second she thought she'd fall anyway, but then his grip tightened and Adrian pulled her against his side. She hung there next to him, her body crushed between the tree branch and his side, and nothing under her feet but air.

Adrian hesitated, then said, "I am going to lower you to the ground."

"I would rather you not," Clarissa murmured, clutching at his arm. "Can you not just raise me up?"

"Yes, but the ground is easier, Clarissa. We are not that high. Besides, if I did pull you up, we would just have to climb down. This way I can lower you to the ground and then drop down beside you."

Clarissa bit her lip and twisted her head to peer down at the yawning black blur below. 'You are sure it is not far?"

"I swear it is not. Your bedchamber is only on the second floor, Clarissa. This branch is just a bit lower than that, and once I stretch you down, your feet should almost be touching the ground."

"Oh." She sighed. "All right then, but please do not drop me."

Rather than lower her, Adrian suddenly lifted her a bit more, just enough that he could press a kiss to her cheek. "I will not drop you; you are far too precious to me."

Before she could react to his words, he shifted one hand to clasp hers, then leaned to the side and began to lower her. Clarissa clung to his hand and closed her eyes, sure she was too heavy and that he would drop her.

'You are just above the ground now, love. Let go and drop."

"Do I have to?" she asked unhappily, and heard his strained laugh.

"I am afraid so." That strain in his voice finally made up her mind. Taking her courage in hand, Clarissa released her hold. Adrian released her as well, and she started to fall, but a start was all she got before she landed with a jolt. She couldn't have fallen more than a couple of feet, if that.

"Oh," Clarissa breathed with relief.

"She's here!"

Relief fled as quickly as it had descended at that faint call. Clarissa whirled toward the sound of the voice, and thought she saw the figure of one of the footmen at the corner of the house. Biting her lip, she glanced up to see Adrian dangling overhead.

"Umm, Adrian," she said, trying not to speak too loudly but wanting to be heard over the snapping and crackling of branches overhead and the soft curses he was uttering as he tried to untangle his shirt from where it was caught.

"Just a minute, love. I shall be right with you." He grunted.

Clarissa glanced back toward the footman to see that he was hurrying toward her. . . and around the corner behind him came the whole household. And behind them came half the residents of the other town houses on the block. All of them were rushing forward en masse to see if she was all right.

Clarissa stared at the blurred faces as they approached, hardly aware of the murmurs of relief they were uttering. Then Adrian dropped to his feet before her, blocking them from view.

"There, you see? That was not so bad, was it?" he asked, slipping his arms around her and bending to press a kiss to her lips.