Was she even breathing?
She bent one knee but lay back, exposed, staring at the ceiling and waiting for his next move.
Craving it with her entire being.
“Now touch yourself.”
“You mean…?”
“Show me what you would do if I wasn’t here.”
How would he know such a thing?
She squeezed her eyes together at the same time her fists clenched her gown tightly.
“You’re wasting my time, Beth. Do you wish to forfeit?”
And to think, she had been the one to dare him!
What he suggested was beyond anything she’d ever, not in a thousand years, contemplated. Then again, she’d thought the same thing on their first night. And each night after that…
She released her gown and moved her hand to between her legs. Daring, reckless, and feeling oddly empowered, she tentatively brushed at the soft curls of hair.
A warm hand wrapped around her ankle and he stroked the skin there with his thumb.
“That’s my girl.” The excitement in his voice emboldened her.
Who was she? Not the Bethany her family knew her to be, that was for certain.
Her own arousal soaked her fingers, and then her palm. She ought to be embarrassed, mortified.
His rasping breath excited her imagination. What did he see? What was he thinking? What did he want?
“Triston.” She thrust her hips forward, widening her knees, moving, sliding.
“So beautiful. So perfect.” Chase’s hand slid up her thigh. When his fingers penetrated her opening and stroked her inside, she splintered in half, and then in half again and then into a million pieces. White lights flashed behind her eyelids as her climax rolled through her.
When she finally landed on earth once again, Chase was lying beside her, his hand holding hers in the most intimate of places.
“A minute to spare.” He kissed the skin near her ear.
“Bollocks,” she uttered, not really bothered to have lost this particular bet.
Even though her eyes were closed, she could feel him watching her.
“I’ve been thinking.” His voice sounded far too alert. Next, he was smoothing her gown to cover her modestly and then propping himself up on his elbow.
“Is thinking really necessary?” Bethany smiled, her eyes still closed and her breathing deep and even. Two minutes more and she would have been asleep.
“Quite.” His hand rested on her abdomen, just below her breasts. “Blackheart believes we can pass my sisters off as distant cousins. He says he knows of at least two other prominent families who’ve done just that.”
He had taken her idea to heart! She opened her eyes and met his stare. “Your mother isn’t the same person she was a decade ago,” she suggested carefully. “And although she would realize the deception, I’ve no doubt she’ll accept whichever reality suits her.” Bethany didn’t want him to feel pressured to do anything he might regret. She would never forgive herself if she was wrong.
But Chase’s eyes were thoughtful and serious. “I hadn’t realized how much I was hurting the girls.”
“You spoke with them about it?”
He shook his head. “No. But they think I’m ashamed of them. I want to protect my mother, but I’m hurting them in the process. I had myself convinced that they didn’t mind. I was wrong.”
