Reckless Viscount (28 page)

Abbigael’s stomach fluttered and she nearly moaned because she had every confidence he could do just that.

“But my control is worn thin and I am afraid I may have to settle for many and varied routes to reaching the peak this night.”

His mouth, when it took hers, was devouring.

She reached for him, bracing her hands on either side of his muscle-wrapped ribcage as she pressed herself full length against him. The feel of his hard chest, rippled stomach and tense thighs holding firm as she leaned her weight into him was heady and empowering. She knew she could do anything and he would support her and lift her higher. She undulated against him, rolling her hips with instinctive rhythm and felt his beautiful erection hot against her stomach. The memory of how he had felt in her hands filled her with another rush of pulsing need.

He trailed his fingertips with indulgent purpose down the hollow of her backbone, teasing chills from her skin as he passed her shoulder blades and followed the gentle inward slope of her low back. At the very base of her spine, he didn’t hesitate to delve the tip of his finger into the shadowed crevice between her buttocks. He eased his touch lower and lower, sliding closer to the moist heat between her thighs.

Abbigael tensed, eager to feel his fingers where she craved their magic most. She shifted her legs apart, but it was not enough. Noting her silent plea, Leif slid his hand over the curve of her buttocks, pulled her flush against him and finally reached her sensitive flesh beneath.

She gasped from the simple pleasure of his strong fingers pressing against the slick folds of her sex. When she had touched herself, the sensation had been an awakening as she learned the delicate sensitivity of her own body. But that was nothing to what it felt to be touched by the urgent hand of her lover.

Her back bowed in his arms and she arched herself into him, trying to push herself more fully against his fingers.

Heeding her desirous demand, he slid his fingers along her flesh, teasing, tempting, circling close but not touching the bud at the apex.

She arched more deeply, moaned her need into his mouth and bit at his lips.

He chuckled and the sound vibrated against her breasts, raising her nipples to hard peaks. Everything he did increased her sensual craving. He released her mouth and pushed her head gently to the side to expose the length of her throat. The instant his tongue touched the spot below her ear, shockwaves of delicate sensation rippled across her skin. His lips suckled the skin of her neck and his teeth grazed the ridge of muscle along the top edge of her shoulder. At the same time, his fingers continued to ease and increase the ache in her sex.

Her breathless plea mingled with the harsh rasp of his breath and he lifted her leg to wrap it around his hips. Then, with the grace of a predatory animal, he thrust his hips and the length of his erection eased between her legs to glide full length against her sultry core. The hard heat of him pressing intimately to the center of her need left her gasping and shaking. Taking her buttocks in his hands, he tipped her hips toward him then pulled back only enough to thrust forward again. This time, his smooth tip angled upward and he pushed into the slick heat of her body.

Abbigael was stunned by the delicious possession. Her head fell back and her eyes closed as she reveled in that moment of full surrender as her body accepted his invasion and adjusted to the thickness and length of him reaching to her womb.

Holding her by the buttocks, he withdrew himself almost completely from her body then thrust forward again. And again.

Her muscles melted and she clung to his shoulders for support as pleasure spread through her in warm blasts with each forceful advance.

He held her fast to him and she wrapped herself around him. With easy strength and grace, he lifted her and laid her back on the mattress, coming down with her. His weight was wonderful and his movements a steady driving force that brought her ever closer to the rapture she sought.

Their breath and sweat mingled. Their steamy sighs and pleasured groans were captured in open-mouthed kisses.

As her limbs tensed around him and her body seized with the onrush of climax, she opened her eyes and saw his face above her. His handsome features were stretched and taut. His kaleidoscope eyes stared into hers as he watched her reach her pleasure. With a primitive, snarling curve to his lips, he arched his head back and gave in to his own release.

But it was not the end.

Abbigael discovered through the night what he had meant when he promised to provide experiences that were
many
and
varied
. She learned unexpected lessons about her own sexual desires and just how far her sensual boundaries lay as he introduced her to love-play that released all inhibition, shredded any sense of vulnerability and pushed her to explore sensations she never would have imagined possible.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Consciousness was calling. Leif shifted and felt a sudden heavy onset of claustrophobia. Tight bands crossed his abdomen and wrapped around his chest.

Something was trapping him to his bed.

He cracked open his eyes and squinted against the last of the morning sunlight that poured around the edge of his curtains. He turned his head away from the offensive brightness and found himself doubly trapped by the sight of his wife curled peacefully at his side.

Her slim back pressed against his ribs and her head rested on the curve of his upper arm. The length of her hair spread over his chest and stomach like a silky veil. The ends were tucked securely under his opposite side as he must have rolled over on it in his sleep.

Unwilling to disturb her, he remained unmoving for a while, listening to the rhythmic flow of her breath. He felt calmed and stricken at the same time. The moment was peaceful in a way he hadn’t experienced…ever.

His thoughts traveled through the details of the night before and a strange discomfort settled in his gut. He felt nauseated.

Last night had been exceptional. And that disturbed him.

He had given more of himself to the woman beside him than he had ever given to anyone before. Even early on, when he had been green and eager to please, he had never opened himself so much to the intimacy of what sex could be. He hadn’t realized until just now that lately he had been playing the game with only the necessary physical faculties, allowing his internal involvement to withdraw further and further.

But last night, he had been present and invested in every moment. He had wanted Abbigael to experience all of the beauty and wonder he could provide. There was just no way he could have anticipated what that would do to him in turn.

And now he paid the price for it, feeling coldly stripped bare and internally shaking with a sense of dread and longing he hadn’t felt since he had been far too young to even wonder at the physical intimacies between a man and a woman.

He needed to get up. Get away.

With unbelievable patience, in spite of the panic that started to fill his chest, he released himself from the binding tresses of her hair then slid his arm free from beneath her head, making sure to replace it with a pillow. She never stirred from her slumber. Not when he moved about the room, hastily pulling on his clothes, or when he carefully opened the door to slip into the hall without even a glance over his shoulder. Somehow, he knew that the sight of her slim petite form curled in the center of his bed would not ease the squeezing compression in his chest.

It wasn’t until he stepped outside and took a few bracing lungfuls of London air that he felt himself again. He headed off in a brisk stride down the sidewalk. He had no destination in mind, just the overwhelming need to walk.

The gentle tapping was becoming unbearable. Abbigael just wished it would stop. She groaned and pulled the pillow over her head, but couldn’t block out the insistent sound.

Rolling onto her back in a huff, she pushed her hair from her face and scowled up at an unfamiliar ceiling. Her heart stopped with the realization that she was in Leif’s bed, in his home. Her home. She sat up in the bed and looked around.

She was alone.

And the quiet knocking at the door hadn’t stopped.

“A moment, please,” she called out as she searched around for some way to cover herself. Settling for the sheet off the bed, she wrapped it around her body several times before feeling herself sufficiently modest enough to open the door.

In the hallway stood a man who had to be at least a hundred years old. Though many years ago he had likely been a tall and stately fellow, he was now stooped and brittle. The ancient servant lifted his bushy brows with considerable effort and prepared his large square jaw for speech.

“Good morning, my lady. I apologize for not being present to greet you last evening.” Abbigael resisted the urge to step forward to hold the poor man steady as he slowly dipped his head in a dignified bow. “I am Langley, the butler.”

She smiled, finding a strange amusement in being introduced to the senior servant while wrapped in nothing more than a bed sheet.

“Very pleased to meet you, Langley.”

“I would not have interrupted your sleep, my lady, except that your things have arrived from Blackbourne House and I am unsure where you would like them. I do not believe a room has yet been prepared for you.” He gestured to his side with a gnarled hand. “Shall I have him bring it in?”

Abbigael leaned forward to peek around the corner of the doorway and saw a young man in Blackbourne livery trying not to appear strained by the weight of one of her traveling trunks in his arms.

“Yes, please,” Abbigael agreed quickly, stepping back to open the door wider and pull the sheet just a bit tighter around her.

The only thing she had to wear was her gown from the night before. Heat infused her cheeks and she glanced to where her evening dress lay carefully draped over the back of a chair along with the rest of her clothing. She knew she hadn’t bothered to lift the thing from the floor where she had dropped it the night before.

The idea of Leif taking care of her clothing filled her with warmth and a touch of discomfort. Had he also been responsible for having her possessions sent over? The Blackbourne servants must have been packing through the night, which meant the order had to have been given the day before.

Of course, it was natural to assume she would be moving to her husband’s house. It was just that she was so accustomed to taking care of herself. It was going to be a challenge to accept that her husband would likely be making certain decisions for her in the future.

Glancing at the empty bed, heat infused her cheeks as did a level of trepidation as she imagined him sliding from the bed and tip-toeing from the room while she slept. Where had he gone?

The footman deposited his burden in the only empty corner available in the small room and quickly exited. Langley stood just inside the door, eyeing the room with a thoughtful grimace.

“Perhaps I shall have the other trunks taken to the next room until a more appropriate space can be prepared for you.”

Seeing how the one trunk managed to crowd the limited space, Abbigael nodded her agreement.

“A prudent idea, Langley.”

The butler turned his long-limbed body with excruciating effort and stepped into the hallway, adding over his shoulder, “Mrs. Hempstead has asked me to advise you that when you are ready to break your fast, she can bring you a meal up here or serve you in the morning room per your preference.”

“Thank you, Langley. I shall come down, I think.” She bit her lip, debating for a moment if she should inquire into her husband’s current whereabouts. Pride won out and she kept her curiosity behind her teeth.

The noble butler gave another slow nod and Abbigael thought she saw a slight twitch in the slack muscles around his mouth. A smile perhaps.

“If I may presume to be so forward, my lady, welcome to the family.”

He turned without waiting for her response and began to shuffle down the corridor of the hallway, followed by the footman who struggled to slow his steps to match the pace of the senior servant.

After closing the door, Abbigael knelt down in front of the trunk, hoping it contained what she would need to complete a full ensemble. She didn’t relish the idea of traipsing to the next room in her sheet in search of stockings or some other necessary item.

A few minutes later she had reason to be grateful for the efficiency of the Blackbourne maids as she found everything she needed to dress for the day. Setting her clothing on the wooden chair next to the bed, she unwound the sheet from her body. Just as she freed herself and stood completely naked, the bedroom door swung open.

Startled, she spun around to face the intrusion, crossing her arms over her body in an instinctive attempt at shielding herself. As soon as she saw who stood in the doorway, the icy panic that had seized her fled in a rush to be replaced by acute sexual awareness as every nerve on the surface of her skin came wildly alive. She uncrossed her arms and let them fall to her sides.

Her husband had amazing timing.

He stood with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of the coat he hadn’t bothered to discard downstairs. His hair had been messed by the wind, giving him a dangerous look intensified by the riotous light in his eyes that dove straight to the center of her soul.