When he grasped her upper arms and drew her closer to him with a groan, the room settled as it was before. His tongue swept into her mouth, and he slid his hands down until he grasped her hips. He broke away long enough to lift her into his arms and carry her over to his desk. He shoved everything out of the way, the inkwell upsetting and spilling, but he didn’t care. He was focused only on her—on this moment—and nothing more. He set his mouth at her neck and began to suckle gently as he lifted her skirts and settled himself between her legs.
Only when he was starting to unbutton the flap of his breeches did he force himself to think rationally. “No.” He stepped back. “I won’t use you in this manner. As if you are the whore you claim to be.”
She looked at him, still sprawled out on his desk, her face a flurry of passions. After a moment, clarity also returned to her expression. “I don’t feel like that when I’m with you.”
Alaric closed his eyes for strength. “I am trying to be honorable for you. It isn’t right that I should expect more from you when we shared but one night together.”
He didn’t hear anything more than the rustling of her skirts, so he prayed that meant she was leaving the room, where he could take care of his personal agony in private.
When he felt the brush of her hand along his breeches, his eyes flew open. He glanced down where his cock was straining to be free. Without a word, she started to unbutton the front flap. He swallowed hard. He knew he should tell her to stop, but he couldn’t seem to make his throat work properly.
His breath caught when she slowly bent down on her knees. Her eyes darkened and for an instant, he wondered if he was indulging in a fantasy.
When his erect cock was revealed to her gaze, she licked her lips, and Alaric’s entire body tightened in response. Those lovely lips opened, and she slowly put her mouth on him. Every second he waited for that blessed moment for her to take him fully felt like an eternity. When she had eclipsed all of him, he grasped the back of her head. His heart pumped rapidly as she started to withdraw. She reached the tip, and then slid her mouth forward once again. She was driving him mad.
“Faster,” he panted.
She obeyed, and she soon started a rhythm that made him incoherent. His hips started to move in time to her advance and retreat, His teeth ground together. The feeling of her wrapped around him was so intense, so powerful, it was like nothing he’d felt before. He could feel his body preparing for the sweet release to come. “Don’t stop,” he begged without shame.
Her movements became relentless after that, and the sight of her beautiful head bobbing back and forth on his straining cock became too much. With a guttural groan, he let go, allowing the pleasure to claim him. She greedily took everything that he offered, until he was replete.
Afterward, he closed his eyes in pure bliss. He knew that he would never be able to be with anyone else again. Marlene was everything—and more.
She got back to her feet as he tucked himself away. He ran his thumb over her cheekbone and leaned forward to give her a chaste kiss. “I can’t wait until this evening when I can take my time giving you the same pleasure.”
He could tell the moment she started to withdraw from him. He wanted to pull her back to him, but he forced himself to let her go.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” she choked out. “If Hector dared to use my passions against me, he might try to do it again. The only way I can stand strong against him is to push aside my desires. I have to resist them.” She looked at him with pleading eyes. “And you.”
Alaric wanted to deny her claim, but he had to admit the truth of her words. Although he had a protection spell over the manor, that didn’t mean she couldn’t be manipulated. It had happened more than once already.
He reluctantly gave a formal bow. “I will respect whatever decision you make. As I said before, I won’t force you to do something you don’t wish to do.”
Chapter 12
Marlene was grateful for Alaric’s calm acquiescence. The last thing she wanted to do was decline all that he was offering, but she knew that she must. Even if they found a way to defeat Hector, she had no idea what the future might hold for her—for either of them. She didn’t want to allow her heart to fully engage, and then become broken if Alaric didn’t make it through the fight. She knew she would be devastated either way, but if she didn’t fall in love with him, she might be able to find a way to pick up the pieces of her shattered world and start anew.
Since she didn’t want to think about something so unsettling, and in order to turn the conversation to more neutral territory, she sat down on the settee and asked, “Did you learn anything when you went into the village?”
His expression was pensive as he walked around and sat behind his desk. As he moved, Marlene took note of the muscles in his thighs and buttocks as he did so. She quickly glanced away to compose her racing heart, and then returned her focus to him as he sat in his chair and steepled his hands before him on the desk. “I could feel that Hector had passed through, but his presence was faint.” He snorted. “No doubt he was hiding somewhere in the shadows while he pursued you in the woods.”
Marlene swallowed hard and hugged herself. She was still highly unsettled about what had happened out there—and her strong reaction to it. But rather than focus on that, she asked, “Did you go see the bookseller?”
“I did,” he confirmed. “But I found nothing of import there. The man you had told me about was not the gentleman behind the counter this day. He was middle-aged and balding with a decided paunch.”
A shiver passed over Marlene’s skin. “Do you think it could be Hector, since I had a vision there that day?”
His bright, blue eyes held her in a steady regard. “I have no doubt he is behind it, but he has the ability to control minds from anywhere he might wish. Manipulation was his strength within the circle.”
“And you have yet to replace his position within the coven. You said you were strong enough without replacing him, but aren’t there certain… rules that a witch must follow””
His lips twitched slightly. “I see you aren’t as ignorant about my kind as you led me to believe.”
She dared to shift in her seat. “I once had a fascination for anything to do with the universe, astrology, and even the spiritual because of the visions I had when I was younger.”
His brow furrowed. “Yes. I have been pondering that time in your past.” He got up and began to look among his bookshelves. He selected a leather-bound tome with a plain, black spine. He set it on his desk, and once he had resumed his seat, he waved a hand over the top, and gold lettering clearly appeared, although she couldn’t quite make it out. He glanced over at her and explained, “This is a spell caster book that I keep close at hand, but one that can only be opened by me.” He turned it around and leaned back in his chair. “Tell me what you can see here.”
Curious, Marlene got up and moved to the opposite side of his desk. At first glance, she shook her head. “It’s in some sort of odd language.”
