“So then, tell me now,” he challenged.
Constance opened her mouth, but nothing emerged but a sound of frustration. She lifted her chin, intent on gaining control of herself, as she didn’t like this feeling of utter helplessness. It hadn’t been in her nature since she was fifteen and the choice of her future had been taken from her with a brief, carnal interlude in a dingy, dirty alleyway. She’d been naïve back then, imagining that what she’d just done wouldn’t irrevocably change her entire life, that her mother, who enjoyed the same copulation, would welcome her into the fold, rather than cast her out into the land of the wolves. Since then, she hadn’t allowed herself to fully trust in anyone.
For her own security, she couldn’t start now.
“It doesn’t matter,” she returned evenly. “I merely stopped by to tell you that if you choose to engage in any liaisons, then you will have to leave this house. I will not abide rumors to run rampant about my ‘cousin’ and his nocturnal activities.”
Instead of being remorseful, or perhaps confess to any misdeeds, his gaze heated as it locked with hers. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you were jealous.”
She laughed. “My, but you are arrogant! As if I would care one way or another what you did with who—”
She broke off when his hand lowered and he wrapped his palm around his thick girth. He began to move it up and down the length while keeping his focus entirely on her. “So, I suppose it wouldn’t bother you if I pleasured myself in front of you?”
Her breathing deepened, but she said, “Not at all.”
His jaw tightened as his pace quickened. She was fixated on his shaft and the shining bead of moisture that appeared at the tip. She wanted to fall to her knees and lick it away, and then take him fully into her mouth until he released himself inside of her, where she could swallow all that he was willing to give her.
The impulse to act was so strong that Constance had to let her nails bite into the tender flesh of her palms as he continued to stroke.
A sheen of perspiration broke out on his forehead and his chest rose and fell as he grew closer to an orgasm. He stared at her the entire time, until he threw his head back as the spurts of his ejaculation burst forth.
It was the most erotic thing that Constance had ever witnessed.
Her lower body thrummed with the urgent need of her own release, but she wasn’t about to perform in front of him. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of doing so.
As he grabbed a nearby cloth and began to clean himself, he said, “I would have preferred to have your mouth there.”
“I’m sure you would,” she said woodenly. Dear God, she had to get out of here, or the sight of his moderately hard cock would drive her insane. She didn’t even care about an answer to her question now. In truth, she’d nearly forgotten why she was even there.
She headed back for the door, but before she could open it, Devin had a hand there, holding it in place.
“Let me go.” Her voice was breathless and she detested that he could hear it.
“Not until I see your pleasure.”
She shook her head. “That won’t happen.”
He rubbed his newly erect member against her backside, and even through her gown and petticoats, she could still feel it. She couldn’t hold back a moan. “Damn you,” she whispered.
“I was damned long ago, my angel. It’s you who is giving me a second chance to live.” He grabbed her skirts and started to pull them up. He kissed the side of her neck. “It’s only fair, Constance. I love to see you when you’re in the throes of rapture and since I know you won’t let me take you to my bed tonight, I have to content myself with this.”
Constance was trembling with need, her hips yearning to roll with release.
“Please. I’ll get on my knees if I must…”
It was the soft plea that made her hand drift lower.
“That’s it. Touch yourself, my angel.”
She closed her eyes and allowed her fingers to delve where she yearned for Devin the most. He held her dress as she started a familiar rhythm that she knew would carry her over the edge of oblivion.
It didn’t take more than a few deft strokes before she was moaning. Her head lolled back against Devin’s shoulder and he wrapped his free arm around her midsection to keep her upright, as already her legs threatened to give way. The pressure built and rose until finally, it crested and her body convulsed.
“Yes, that’s it,” Devin crooned in her ear. “You’re magnificent, Constance.”
Although seeking her own pleasure wasn’t a foreign sensation, Constance had never known her heart to beat so fast and hard before. It threatened to burst out of her chest.
But then, she had never been cradled in the arms of a man like Devin before.
