“Tell me what ye like,” he purred, his fingertips slowly rubbing small circles upon that bundle of sparking nerves.
“That!” Anna gasped as his other hand smoothed over her bare breast and lightly pinched her nipple between thumb and forefinger.
She did not even think about the rest of the household as she cried out, surprised to find that the small shiver of pain intensified the surge of pleasure. Her thighs pressed together as if to contain the volatile bliss growing within her, desire pooling in her core, while Jeremy continued that tantalizing strum: just enough pressure, just the right spot, giving her what she wanted—even when she did not know what that was.
“Oh, God…” She grasped his shirt so desperately that her fingernails raked across his ridged abdomen, her mouth hungrily trying to savor his kiss as her body came alive. Alive in a way it had never been before, as though she had been wandering blindly through existence for all of her four-and-twenty years oflife, and now she was running with her arms out and her eyes wide open, seeing the bright beauty of the world in all its colorful glory.
Itwasa detonation. There was no other way to describe it. One moment, something was building; the next, pure ecstasy exploded, seizing her in a crashing wave so powerful that it seemed to take over her entirely.
She clung to Jeremy as she gasped his name, her nerves ablaze, her heart pounding, her lungs burning, her limbs trembling from the overwhelming wave of pleasure hitting her all at once. For all her years, she had no idea. On her wedding night, she had been scared of what might happen alone with a man, but there was no fear with Jeremy. There was only this: wave after wave of shuddering, electric bliss.
He eased his touch, his other arm wrapped around her as if to hold her together. Gradually, as the intensity faded and the pleasure relinquished control to her own mind and body, she melted into that tight embrace. Her forehead pressed against his, her grip loosening in his hair, her hand slipping from his shirt, breathless and satisfied in a way she had not realized was possible.
“There’s nay need for yer divides,” Jeremy said softly, as he grazed one last kiss to her lips.
He reached down and picked up the bath linen that he had dropped, carefully wrapping it around her. And as she sat there, still catching her breath, still trying to figure out why no one hadtold her that something like that feeling could exist, he slowly dried the last of the dampness from her skin.
Why is he being so nice? Is it to lessen the blow when he tells me that his mind is unchanged?She couldn’t bring herself to ask. Not yet.
When he was done drying her, he fetched her robe from the back of a nearby chair and placed it on her shoulders.
“Are ye all right, lass?” he asked, no doubt concerned that she hadn’t spoken for some time.
She caught his eye in the mirror’s reflection as she pulled the housecoat tighter around herself and rose to her feet. “Stop it.”
“Stop what?” he replied.
She could not look at him without the barrier of the mirror. “Being good to me.”
Without the rush of euphoria coursing through her, stark clarity pierced through the haze in her mind. Yes, that had felt amazing. Yes, she wanted more; she wanted to experience that feeling as often as she could. She needed to discover what else life had to offer, but… she could not be someone’s lover. She definitely could not weaken her position and leverage by being his.
And he does not want me here. This changes nothing.She was certain of that now. It was the only reason he was being so attentive; to appease her.
“Ye didn’t like it?” he asked, an eyebrow raised. “Forgive me, lass, but it sounded like ye–”
“It is not about whether I liked it or not,” she interrupted sharply, her breath growing ragged again.
Of course, I liked it! I liked it… too much. But never again.
“It is about the fact that you have come into my home and turned my life upside down, and then you… make me feel things that I cannot explain,” she continued, turning her back on him so she could slide her arms into the sleeves of her robe and fasten the belt. “But since you plan to marry me off to someone else, I?—”
“Never say that again,” Jeremy growled, cutting her off.
She whirled around, her robe like armor against any charm or misunderstanding. “It is the truth, is it not? It is what you have been determined to do since you met me. Are you now trying to tell me that this changes something? Have your plans altered?”
She dared him to correct her… and deep down, urged him to. After all, what they had done more or less fulfilled what he had said he would seek in a wife. Why not her?
Jeremy moved toward her, but she put her hands up, and he stopped. “I did not say that. Just… don’t say it. I can’t stand it.”
“Whyever not?” she replied. “Am I not allowed to speak the truth? If you no longer like the thought of me being married to someone else, then marry me yourself. If you do not plan to marry me yourself, then stay away from me. I am serious, this time. From now on, every room where you might find me alone will be locked to you.”
His black eyes burned in the dim light of the dressing room, a muscle twitching in his jaw, his face tense as if in pain. It could not be the scar on his hand; that was mostly healed. So, why did he look as if she had hit him?
“I won’t marry anyone, Anna. I won’t love anyone, care for anyone, be a husband, a family, to anyone,” he said thickly, attempting to approach again. “If there was ever a lass, it would be ye, but… just because I won’t wed doesn’t mean I will let ye belong to anyone else. Ican’tlet anyone else have ye. Not as long as ye stay here.”
Her name from his lips was a magical thing that tried to tap at the wall she had built around her heart, but it was not strong enough to break through. He would not marry: fine. She would not be someone’s mistress, someone’s secret lover. As such, it seemed they were at an impasse.
A pity, really, considering the wonder of what had happened just a few minutes ago. Yet, that was the nature of Jeremy, turning everything upside down, over and over.
