“Not tonight, love.” He chuckled darkly. “Now stop complaining and come on my fingers like a good girl.”
Before she could argue, he curled his fingers, touching some magical place deep inside, setting off quakes of bliss. As she trembled in the aftermath, he stood between her legs, pumping his massive erection. He was all power and discipline, all delicious male. She was beginning to understand her own power as well, which was complementary to his and no less potent. He brought her so much pleasure…and she wanted to give him the same.
She got onto her knees. Even though she was on the bed, he was still taller, looking down at her with hooded eyes, a sensual curve to his lips.
“Will you please spend for me, sir?” she asked prettily.
Hunger leapt like a flame in his eyes. “You would like to see that, would you?”
“Yes, please,” she said, as demure as any debutante.
Those lessons at old Southbridge’s have finally come in handy.
“Such a polite young miss,” he said, jaw clenched. “All right, then.”
His biceps flexed, his fist gliding faster and faster along that thick truncheon of flesh. She wouldn’t have dared to stroke him with such ferocity and felt breathless as she watched him, nearing his finish like a stallion at the Derby. His skin gleamed with a sheen of sweat, the shifting musculature beneath a sight to behold.
“You wanted it, Livy,” he gritted out. “Here is my seed.”
He aimed his cock at her breasts, and she gasped as the hot, milky streams lashed her skin. Groaning, he shot his seed copiously, covering her with his essence, the earthy scent curling her toes against the mattress. A droplet trickled down the slope of her breast, and she caught it with her fingertip. She swirled it over her nipple, shivering at the slippery, erotic feel. At the primal rightness of being marked by him.
“Bloody hell.” His chest heaving, Ben took her face between his palms, dropping his forehead against hers. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
She smiled tremulously. “I think it might be similar to what you do to me.”
“I am never letting you go,” he said fiercely.
“That is just as well. Because I am never letting you go either.”
They arrived at Charlie’s before dawn.
“We’re at Lady Fayne’s, love,” Ben murmured.
Cuddled up against him, Livy did not want to leave. Their night together had been magical. After making love, they’d both been famished. Ben had carted in the remaining supper, and they’d eaten naked in bed. They’d fed each other, Ben smiling at her voracious appetite. When sauce had dribbled down her chin, he’d licked it off.
Afterward, he’d lain atop her, courting her with slow, stirring kisses. Pinned by his sinewy weight, his hardness rocking against her mound, she’d found ecstasy twice, and the second time, he’d joined her with a ragged sigh, his pleasure a warm flood over her belly.
Having shared such precious intimacy with him, she feared the separation ahead.
“I don’t want to leave you.” She looked imploringly at her beloved. “There must be some way I can help—”
“We have been through this.” He cupped her jaw, his touch gentle yet firm. “I cannot concentrate on this dark business unless I know you are safe. I need to know that you will not be running around London, in disguise or otherwise. You will help me by doing as you are told.”
The unyielding set of his features told her that further argument was futile. She swallowed, unable to bear the idea that she might prove to be a harmful distraction.
“You may depend upon me,” she whispered.
He studied her, then nodded. “My plan may take weeks to come to fruition. During that time, we will not be able to meet. I do not want those scoundrels to know what you mean to me, for it could put you and my mission at risk.”
“I won’t see you at all?” she asked in dismay. “I’ll come to you at night. I’ll be careful—"
“No.” His tone had never held more authority. “If our relationship is discovered, the bastards could use you against me. You must stay away. Give me your word, Livy.”
Reluctantly, she did so.
“There is another thing.” He exhaled. “During this time, you may hear gossip about me. Rumors about my conduct. I give you my word that I will be true to you, and I ask for your trust.”
“I trust you,” she said.
