“And why should I?” He spun back around and glared at her. “You pegged me perfectly with your assessment. James and I cut a swath through London in our younger days that you can’t begin to comprehend. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that he departed for his estate when I learned he was suffering from syphilis.”
She blanched, and he was glad for it. Maybe now she would see sense.
“I see you’re familiar with the affliction, and for good reason. It’s why you should steer clear of scoundrels and ne’er-do-wells like me. We’re all cut from the same cloth.”
She slowly shook her head. “You’re nothing like James. I knew from the first moment I saw him that he was a reprobate, yet it didn’t stop me from playing his dangerous game and getting burned. But you…” She dared to move closer. “Cain, you came here with the sole purpose of seeking redemption. Does that not make you a better person in spite of your past transgressions? If anything else, I’m the one who is in danger of suffocating in hell’s fire.”
He walked back to her and set his hands on her shoulders. “If there is one thing that’s ever been pure or virtuous in my entire, damned life, it’s you, Dove. You are the angel that I had been searching for to spare my soul.”
“But that’s just it.” Tears filled her gaze and it cut him to the quick. “I’m far from being an angel. I have my flaws.” She put a fist to her chest. “I’ve tried to fight against these… carnal urges inside of me, and yet, as much as I’ve prayed for them to go away, they remain. And they are strongest when you are near me.”
Cain dropped his head, and when he lifted it and looked back at her again, he was smiling. “My adoring, Dove. There is nothing wrong with these ‘carnal urges’ as you call them. We’re human, and they are a part of us. There is nothing shameful about passion or desire. It is perfectly natural.” He leaned his head against her forehead. “For years I abused that right, but ever since I met you, I’ve had no yearning for anyone else. You, alone, make my pulse pound and my blood sing in my veins.”
She pulled away from him and untied the strings of her bonnet, allowing it to fall to the floor. Her pelisse soon followed. “I want you, Cain. I want this. Please, don’t deny me this one request.”
His nostrils flared, and he cupped her face in his hands once more. “As if I could deny you anything you wanted.”
The kiss wasn’t gentle, but fiery and demanding.
Dove reveled in it.
Her mind kept screaming for more. She wanted to feel his hands on her naked skin. While James had done more than she had meant to allow, with Cain, she wanted it all.
Dove’s dress began to sag in the front, and she hadn’t realized that Cain had undone all the buttons down the back. She’d been too distracted by his mouth on hers, but she had to admit he was rather deft with his fingers.
Her undergarments swiftly followed until she was standing naked before him, other than her stockings and boots. She felt foolish and started to cover up her breasts, but he halted her movements. “No. Don’t.” He shook his head. “You have nothing to hide, Dove. You’re beautiful. Exquisite.”
Her breath caught as he abruptly caught her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed where he gently laid her down on top of the coverlet. There was a modest fire burning in the room to take off the chill, but Dove didn’t need anything save Cain’s love to keep her warm.
She watched as he straightened and began to unlace her boots. She loved the look of hunger in his enchanting eyes, as if he wished to devour every inch of her.
She clutched the quilt on either side of her, as after her boots and stockings had been shed, he trailed a line of kisses from her ankle, past her calf, until he nipped at the inside of her thigh. She knew she ought to be embarrassed that he was so close to her femininity, but she was just enjoying the moment, because she didn’t know if she would be granted anything more after a day like this.
She wasn’t naïve enough to believe that he would make her an offer just because they had lain together. After his vow was completed to her father, she fully expected him to continue on his way, but perhaps he would remember this time with her in a fond memory. She knew she would once the pain had receded to a dull ache in her chest.
At the first swipe of his tongue at her cleft, she moaned out his name. He didn’t tease her or allow the torment to linger but kept licking her with ruthless intent until her legs were trembling and something began to build inside of her. Suddenly, her entire body exploded with white light, as if she had just touched heaven itself.
Dove hardly recognized when Cain shed his trousers and covered her body with his. It was so hard and strong and deliciously male, that she wrapped her arms around his broad back, her legs around his torso, fearing that he would leave.
She could feel the tip of his manhood nudging at her entrance, and she lifted her hips to invite him in, but he refrained.
“Dove.” When Cain paused, she looked at him to see his face in torment.
“What’s wrong?” she breathed.
He closed his eyes momentarily, and when he opened them, they were bright and almost, haunted. “Did James ever… did he…” He uttered a curse, and she knew it was difficult for him to ask her such an intimate question.
She loved him even more than before, just for having a care for her feelings.
“No. It never got that far,” she soothed. “I’m still a virgin.”
“I’m very glad to hear that.” Relief was evident on his face and he bent his head to suckle on first one breast, and then the other, until she was panting beneath him. When she was quite sure that she couldn’t take any more, he entered her with a single thrust while she was pleasantly distracted.
Dove gasped, not sure what to think of this foreign intrusion, but it didn’t take long for him to start to move, whereas a new sensation started to hum through her veins. When he increased his rhythm, she closed her eyes as the pleasure became too much. She shuddered around him with a low moan, while he cried out her name and spent himself inside of her.
Afterward, as their breathing returned to normal, she felt the edge of his thumb caressing her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open and she met his gaze, which was filled with caring and a tenderness she hadn’t expected. Her heart yearned to hope, but her brain told her to think rationally. Just because they had shared this special moment, didn’t mean that he was prepared to confess his undying love.
“Are you well, my love?”
