In reply, her arms entwined his neck in anaching tenderness that tore at his heart.
He began to move, slowly at first, a whisperof a caress, his manhood deep inside her. He groaned as the dormantsexuality of her lush body burst into full bloom. His controlshattered like a million shards of glass, nights of restraint hehad harnessed, now unleashed, his ardor mounted as she rose to meethis scorching need.
Nicholas matched her movements, thrustinghis fingers into the silkiness of her hair and lifting her hips tomeet his rhythmic thrusts. Her fingers dug into his shoulders andhe buried his face on the side of her neck, the pressure buildinginside of him unlike anything he had ever experienced. Exquisite.She abandoned herself to him, and with every forceful thrust, heclaimed her in a raw act of total possession, mindless ofeverything except the indulgence of granting them both completesatisfaction.
She arched, and her body vibrated withliquid fire. Nicholas taut above her, emptied his seed into her.Breathing hard, he rolled to the side, keeping her intimatelyjoined to him, and reveling in the sensation of her wet warmth, andthe brush of her lips against his neck. He cradled her in his arms,his hand drifting up and down her spine as she leaned her softcheek against his chest. His chin nestled upon her head and hisfingers buried in the golden waves of her hair. For a moment, heabandoned all the fears of the past and future, basking upon thewonder of the intimacy they had just shared.
She ran a fingernail across his abdomen.“Nicholas…did I?” She was too shy to ask if she pleased him.
He exhaled a long sigh of contentment,basking in male arrogance that she was shaken as much as he. Hekissed her head, the scent of jasmine mixed with the musky scent oftheir lovemaking permeated the air.
“Perfect,” he said.
“I can’t imagine such fulfillment. Is itlike that for everyone their first time?”
She was whirling through a haze of newfeelings and desire, and she wanted him to explain what she wasexperiencing. “Seldom.”
“Will it always be like this?” She squirmedcloser to him. Her innocent movements and conversation putprovocative thoughts into his head. No woman he’d known had everkindled this overwhelming surge of lust. Despite his wild desirefor her again, he seemed to revel in her struggle with futureanticipations of which he had no doubt.
“Better.”
She drew his hand to her lips and kissed thehard, lean knuckles. “Then I wager a game of chess and the winnerdemands the prize.”
Nicholas chuckled. “I shall not let youdistract me. You will find a worthy foe in the future.”
“Is that a threat?” Her eyes were wide anddared to taunt him.
“No, Alexandra my love,” he whispered. “Onlya vow.”
In the last months, he’d been kidnapped,imprisoned, set to be sold into slavery, endured a hurricane andsurvived on an island, and met an enchantress. Yet England, adistant, cloying shadow, called him to return. They would get offthis island. She gave him confidence in that notion. And she washis. He would face his father and damn the consequences. For now,he was rooted. He rolled her over onto her back and made swiftviolent love to her, more hopeful, more demanding than before.
ChapterFourteen
Night lent an intimacy to the cottage andhis body warmed with the remembrance of long, slow lovemaking, andthen falling asleep with her in his arms. His love burned forAlexandra, not just for this moment but stretched out before him ina million lifetimes.
Now with the birth of morning, Nicholasnuzzled his chin in her silky hair. How marvelously beautiful thosefew hours of storms that swept down from the heights, rain sluicingover the sides of the cottage, and unfolding a mantle ofbenevolence, cleansing the land and adding a dazzling sparkle toall things green.
Without a doubt, it was the very way sheloved him. Turning his darkness into light. Playfully dismissinghis pessimism. Mocking his doubt with her enthusiasm. Bucking herpassion against his stubborn nature. Making him feel strong andconfident. And all the while, her steadfast heart remained therefor him.
Except for his family and close-knitfriends, he’d been a loner and he could think of no one else hewanted at his side. Never would Alexandra doubt his abilities likeLady Susannah Tomkins. He grimaced. How could he have ever thoughtof marrying that shrew?
He brushed the glossy strands of Alexandra’sunplaited hair from her face. Under Alexandra’s guidance, he’dsoftened, found her laughter infectious. She was dependable,encouraging his dreams and aspirations. She had endured the mosthorrid of conditions, yet never gave up, looking at every hurdle asan adventure and opportunity.
While everyone in England yielded to histitle, she had never been impressed. Oh yes, she had sarcastic wit,enough to skewer the best of naysayers, which exasperatinglyenough, could rile his normally cool state of mind and snap histemper. He needed a woman who would challenge him.
Alexandra listened. She was non-judgmentalwhen he had confessed to her he had killed a man, even aware of thetragedy beforehand. Her integrity, her spontaneity made him lookforward to the magic of every day. She trusted him.
He crawled out of bed while she slept,shrugged on his breeches and retrieved the black pearl from hispocket. With twine, he weaved hitch-knots to fashion a band,perplexed by her humility. How she downplayed her beauty, dismissedher intelligence, and selflessness to the point of exhaustion. Sheavoided self-pity like the plague, her generous, intuitive, andunassuming nature making her dear to him.
Nicholas dropped the homemade pearl ringbetween her breasts. She lifted her eyelids and sat up.
“Oh, Nicholas. It is beautiful. Wherever didyou find it?”
He sat on the bed. “I found it amongoysters, lining the rocks along the shore. I believe it to be ofconsiderable value.”
She placed the ring on her finger, admiringthe iridescence. “I shall treasure this ring always.”
“Which leads me to a demand.”
