Unless you want more, she thought.
He put his arm around her nape, lifting her up to meet his lips. This time, she wrapped her arms around his neck, opening to him. She offered herself to him in the kiss.
And his mouth opened upon hers, hot and inviting. Dear God, he tasted of sin and unfulfilled longings. Amelia kissed him back, and he nipped at her lips, coaxing her into more.
The swift heat clenched her, pouring over her body until she wanted to touch him. She needed to feel his skin upon hers, his weight pressing her back.
But he withdrew at last, tilting her head away. “Good night, Amelia.”
Her body was already aroused, wanting more than just a kiss. But she acquiesced, focusing her attention on the opposite seat. It gave her the chance to think about how to go about this, how to break down the walls of ice that were shutting her out.
But when she adjusted her head back upon his lap, she grew aware that her husband was not at all immune to the kiss.
His body was tense, his fists clenched as he stared out the window. It was as if she’d upset him somehow, and she wasn’t certain if it was the prospect of driving through the night…or a physical frustration.
To test her theory, she adjusted her head against his lap, and he let out a slight hiss of air. From the blunt thickness of his erection, he still wanted her.
Amelia tilted her face up to look at him. It was dark, and only the faint flare of the oil lantern outside let her glimpse his face.
“You’re hurting,” she whispered. “And I don’t know why.”
He remained quiet for a while. “It’s nothing you should worry about.”
Her hand moved to touch his rigid flesh. “Is it because we didn’t—”
“Yes.” He took her hand away from his lap and muttered, “Now go to sleep.”
Thatwas impossible. Though she knew almost nothing about joining with a man, she thought again about Toria’s advice. Frowning in the darkness, she thought about the challenge of what to do. Her mind conjured up the forbidden image of the night when she’d sat atop him in the chair. Though he’d only touched her, it was possible to do more in that position.
Her imagination went wild, and at the thought of taking command, she started to grow moist between her legs. She thought of his hands touching her breasts, and without asking, she took his palm in hers and brought it to one erect nipple.
David obeyed her unspoken request, stroking her breast and lightly pinching the nipple with his fingers. An echoing ache clenched deep inside, and she longed for so much more.
He was tempting her, arousing her so much, she lifted her head from his lap. What she was about to do was brazen, unthinkable for a lady. But she was past the point of obeying the rules. She wanted her husband inside her, and there were hours before they would arrive anywhere.
“Don’t speak,” she ordered, kissing him deeply. She reached for his trousers and began to unfasten the buttons, one by one. It took only seconds to unfasten his drawers and free his hot length from the small clothes. Somehow, in the darkness, it was easier to be bold. Though she was still intimidated by this, the thought of him being in pain was worse. Especially when she could do something about it.
She straddled his lap, hitching her skirts up. Her heart was pounding fiercely, but she wrapped her hand around his thick length, stroking from the base to the tip.
He caught his breath, and it encouraged her to try it again. Her hand grew slick with his heat, and she guided the head of him into her wet entrance.
The earl shocked her when he pressed his hips upward, holding her bottom. “Feeling impatient, are you?”
“I don’t really know what I’m doing,” she confessed. The sensation of being filled so deeply was both thrilling and frightening. “I was afraid you would refuse. But I know you need this.”
He held her waist and lifted her slightly before giving a shallow thrust. “I do, yes.” His voice was deep, and in the darkness, it was overwhelming to be this intimate with him. “But I wasn’t going to bother you.”
“It’s not a bother,” she whispered, gasping as she felt the thickness of him invading and withdrawing once again. “It’s my duty, as your wife.”
“Like buying me waistcoats?” he said, while his shaft was embedded within her. The coach rumbled along the road, and the motion of the vehicle created subtle vibrations. She could feel her breathing transforming, growing more shallow. His hands moved up to her breasts, caressing the tips, and she found herself moving against him.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Nothing more than that.”
It was such a lie, but she didn’t want him to think she was falling in love with him. If he believed this meant nothing, then perhaps he would one day see her as a wife instead of a stepmother for his daughter. His heart belonged to someone else, and she didn’t know if he would ever let go of Katherine.
She rose up on her knees, sinking down, and was rewarded when he thrust deeply. It was a new sensation, but he kept holding her down, forcing her to endure the tremors of the rocking coach.
A wildness rose up in her blood, and she was hardly able to bear it. She gripped his hair, finding the rhythm she wanted, and he countered by reaching below her skirts to touch the fold of flesh that had brought her such pleasure earlier.
