“Here?” Desire flashed in Ethan’s gaze, his hunger barely held in check. “Are you certain, sweeting? We could wait?—”
“We’ve waited too long already. I ache for you, Ethan, and want to belong to you fully.”
Obviously, he felt that same desperate craving, for he swept her into his arms, their lips melding in the heat of their kiss. He laid her on the sofa. She felt Sirena’s wimple crumpling beneath her, and she didn’t care. Because all that mattered was Ethan and their love, which knew no boundaries but the ones they chose.
The urgency to be one possessed them both. They vied to get closer, not bothering with the nuisance of removing their clothes. There would be time for that later—after this initial, overwhelming hunger was appeased. Ethan tossed up her skirts, and she moaned when he touched the wet, needy core of her.
“Devil and damn.” He groaned. “You’re ready for me, love.”
She was. When he unfastened his trousers, the sight of his huge, stiff cock told her he was just as ready for her. He fisted his rod, rubbing the wide head against her slit until she was panting, writhing to get closer, to impale herself on his thick offering.
“Make me yours, Ethan,” she begged. “I love you.”
“You’re mine, Xenia,” he said savagely.
He pushed, the stretch of his possession stealing her breath. Locked in the safety of his gaze, she felt no fear, only the wonder of discovery. All the stories she’d told about this act vanished from her mind as the reality of it consumed her…the heat, intensity, and flood of sensations. His burning claim pushed her to her limits, yet she felt the primal satisfaction of being filled where she’d been empty…of being one with the man she adored.
When he seated himself that last inch, they both expelled a breath.
“All right, love?” he asked hoarsely.
“I am more than all right, darling.” Drunk on happiness, she framed his hard, beautiful face in her hands. “I belong to you now, and you belong to me.”
“Forever,” he vowed.
He kissed her and began to move. With each thrust, discomfort blurred into new and intriguing sensations. Pleasure unfurled in the deep places where his body stroked hers, and she moved instinctively, seeking more of it.
“That’s it,” he said between harsh breaths. “Tilt your hips for me. Let me in deeper.”
She did, and he nudged a spot that set off sparks of bliss. He did it again, harder and harder still, and the sparks built into a flame. Pain became a distant memory as she clung to his shoulders, arching up to meet his thrusts, moaning his name.
“I knew it would be like this for us,” he gritted out. “Wild and hot, so bloody sweet. Can you take more, pet?”
“I want everything,” she breathed. “All of you, Ethan.”
With a growl, he slammed his hips, pushing her breath from her lips. She realized then that he’d been holding back. Now he drilled into her, his stones smacking heavily against her swollen folds. He found her pearl, strumming it while he plowed her with his massive shaft. She gasped as the fire at her center flared, spilling through her veins.
“That’s it,” he said thickly. “Come for me, love.”
With a cry, she did. Blissful spasms rocked her body, and she heard him groan, his thrusts growing faster. Then he roared her name, shuddering and inundating her with his hot pleasure. They were gazing at each other with dazed and breathless joy when the door flew open.
The rest happened so suddenly that Xenia felt paralyzed. Stuck in a dream where everything happened in an altered version of time that was fast yet slow. People stormed into the room, and before Ethan could fasten his trousers, he was yanked off her by a pair of brutes. One of them slammed a fist into his jaw. When he tried to fight back, the ruffian hit him again and yanked out a pistol.
“No!” Xenia scrambled to her feet.
“There she is, like I said.” The Abbess cowered as she addressed the leader of the gang. “You…you’ll let me go, Lady Jo?”
“You’ll go.” Lady Jo moved as she always did, with lethal speed that belied her elegant looks. She caught the bawd from behind, her blade at the other’s throat. “To hell, that is.”
The menace in her eyes was brighter than the flash of steel.
“But you promised…” the Abbess gurgled.
Scarlet pulsed from the bawd’s throat, her shocked gaze fixed on Xenia. Lady Jo wiped her blade on the dead woman’s dress before letting the body thud to the ground. She smirked at Xenia’s horrified expression.
“Miss me, daughter dearest?” she purred.
Gagged, restrained, and held at gunpoint, Ethan watched in helpless fury as Xenia was terrorized by her mother. Joanna “Lady Jo” Wardell’s cruelty was worse than what he’d read about in the papers, worse even than Xenia’s fear of her had implied. Lady Jo’s beauty, the only thing Xenia had to thank her for, made her viciousness seem worse. If looks were a measure of character, she ought to be a hag. Instead, she was willowy and delicate-looking, her gleaming red hair styled in a coronet. She wore an expensive burgundy dress, and jewels sparkled on her fingers and at her throat.
