Chapter Eighteen
Ridge had found heaven on earth, and it was Lady Isabella Resenfeld.
He’d waited all day for this moment of redemption for his tortured soul, and even though he knew he was tainting this angel with his very existence, he hadn’t been able to stay away.But he feared that if he took things as far as he wanted, he never would be free of her brilliance, that pure light that had pierced his darkened heart and steadily chipped away at the hard outer shell until it had started to fill him with lifeonce again.
Even with all these warnings clanging in his head, itdidn’t stop him from taking her lips in a kiss that left them both yearning for more.
He pulled back far enough to see those lovely dark eyes staring up at him, the amber of her gown highlighting the pigment around her pupils. She was tantalizing, and he wanted to explore every secret, hidden inch of her.
“Why did you stop?” she whispered.
He gritted his teeth, for he was quite sure his cockhad justturned to stone. “Your leg…”he trailed off, unable to think of any other impediment that would keep him from loving her.
She smiled. “It’s better now that you’re here.” She gently reached up and laid her hand along his jaw. The gesture was so simple, and yet italmostsent him to his knees.
“I shouldn’tbe here,” he murmured. “But I…had to see how you were.” He swallowed hard. “You can’t imagine how much I’ve tortured myself—”
She placed a finger over his lips. “Stop right there. You have nothing to apologize for. You did everything you could to get us out of there alive, and you succeeded.”
Ridge tried to collect himself, the tension inside of him threatening to burst apart at the seams. Finally,in desperation,hegripped her shoulders, his eyes searching hers forrecognition, or perhaps even judgment. “God, Isabella, don’t you understand?” he rasped. “It should have beenme. What if that bullet had imbedded in your leg, or gone just a little bit higher? You might not even be here right now.”He was breathing harshly now. “Do you think I could have lived with myself knowingthat—”
He broke off as she pressed herself against him.“And yet, I’m standing right in front of you.”She looked at him, but instead of censure, all he saw was…acceptance. How he ever imagined he could be worthy of such a woman was lost on him.“Make love to me, Ridge.”
Ridge groaned and pressed a hand against the small of her back, bringing her flush against him. He could feel every inch of her soft body, and while it killed him to say it, he had tomake sure this was what she wanted. “There’s nothing more I want to doright nowthan to take you over to that bed, but I have to know—”
He broke off mid-sentence as shewound her arms around him, her nails gently sliding along his neck.“Then I thinkthere’s been enough talkfor now, don’tyou?”
His cock swelled even more, if possible, for he’dnever felt like more of a man.His nostrils flared as his eyes dipped to the gentleriseof her breasts.“You’re absolutely right, my lady.”
This time when he kissed her, hewas relentless, teasing and taunting, until she wasclutching his shoulders. Her passionwould surelydrive him insane.
He broke off long enough to instruct her to turn around, and then he removed the knife from his boot andgently moved her long hair over her shoulder. Hesliced through the laces of her gown in one deft motion. As hergarmentfell to the floor,sheshifted until shefaced him once more.
He reached out and threaded his fingers through her hair, which shone with all the luster of gleaming copper.
While he still held the knife in his grasp, he went to work on her stays,deftlycutting the first string.
As he went down the line, from her breasts to her navel—snip, snip, snip—her breathing became more labored, until it also fell away. As she was left standing in her transparent shift and stockings, Ridge could see the rosy peaks of her breasts and the dark triangle of her femininity outlined between her legs. His blood was steadily pumpingheatthrough his veins;it would take a wealth ofrestraintto last longer than thirty seconds, but he would deny himself until she was fully satisfied.
He would succeed where Simon had failed.
Ridge tossed the knife to the floor and thenlifted her into his arms and carriedher over to the bed.He laid her down gently and then walked over and locked the door, ensuring that they wouldn’t be disturbed.
As he began to divest himself of his clothes, she bit her lower lip and watched himfrombeneath hooded eyes. He exhaleda long, slow breath, for it was a fight to gain control, the urge to sink into her delightful body almost more than he could bear.
Thankfully, the night was just beginning.
***
The hard planes and valleys of Ridge’s toned body fascinated Isabella. He was sculpted as wonderfully as any statue that had been carved out of marble, and when he kicked off his trousers and joined her on the bed, she greeted him with open arms.While his manhood had been rather impressive to see, its girth actually made her anxious about what was to come. Simon hadn’t been nearly as…endowedas Ridge, and yet, something told her that, even though she was no longer a virgin, things would be vastly different when they joined.
Pushing any further thoughts of that disappointing experience out of her mind, she allowed her gaze to drift over Ridge as he crawledupher body. The smile he bestowed upon her was filled with wicked promise as his hands slid down to the edge of her shift. “Let’s get this out of the way, shall we?” With that, he rent it completely in two.
Isabella didn’t even care that he’d ruined a shift, stays, and a gown. Shejustwanted him to hold her, to feel his hot skin next to hers, bare flesh against bare flesh.
But she couldn’t deny a certain bit of feminine nervousness when he glanced over her naked body. Although, that turned to pride when he whispered, “God, you’re so beautiful.”
Ridge’s hands were rough, proof of his turbulent past, but as heran his handsup her torso, theabrasive touchmerelyheightened her awareness of him. When they reached her breasts and he flicked his thumbs across their aching peaks, she arched her back inecstasy. “More,” she breathed.
