She decided not to question him now. That would be a foolish thing to do, for there was hunger in his eyes. He looked ready to devour her, and it made her bones turn to jel y, because whenever he had that particular look in his eye, the sex was more passionate and satisfying than ever.
She realized at that moment how much of a captive shestillwas—ensnared by the undeniablepullof his sexuality.
When he looked at her with those voracious eyes, nothing else seemed to matter. The whole world simply disappeared.
A flashing moment later, he was there at the corner of the bed, taking her face in his hands and pressing his mouth to hers. She was astounded by how quickly she could plunge into this role as his lover and forget everything else. It had beenallshe could do, over the past few days, to distract herself from these feverish urges and desires.allhe had to do was come to her, command her to disrobe, and she obeyed.
He moved to the door, locked it, then returned to stand before her like a conquering warlord. “Lie back,” he said, and she lay down crosswise on the bed.
He tore off his jacket with rough impatience and tossed it to the floor. His fingers moved in a blur of motion down the button fastenings of his waistcoat, which he threw on the floor aswell.
Amelia leaned up on both elbows. Watching him rip the loose shirt off over his head, she could barely comprehend her desires.
She wanted to prove that he belonged tohernow—that her power to enchant and possess matched his, and that he was just as much a captive as she.
Bare-chested,stillin his breeches, he came down upon her in a fiery heap of masculine flesh. He lifted her shift—al this while kissing the tops of her breasts where hercollarhadfallen open. Desire burned in her depths, and soon her shift was off over her head. Nude at last, feeling no modesty, and baffled by this unhindered passion, she wiggled beneath him.
“You are mine now, Duncan,” she found herself saying.
He drew back and stared at her. “Aye.” Then he kissed her deeply and flicked his tongue over her nipples. Amelia moaned while he continued to lick and suckle and use his lips to blaze a trail of pleasure down her quiveringbelly.
She parted her legs and cupped his head in her hands.
He inched lowerstill, and suddenly his face was in the damphollowbetween her thighs, probing the depths of her womanhood with his lips and tongue.
She gasped with delight, her breath catching in her throat.
Her blood quickened in response as he pushed ahead with his face, devouring her hungrily. He slid his hands under her bottom and lifted her off the bed to gain better access, and Amelia shuddered with pleasure.
He glanced up, and for a split second their eyes locked together. He moved up to mount her, then reached down and released himself from his bulging breeches.
A moment later, he was inside, thrusting and plundering, claiming her completely.allshe knew was that she belonged to him, body and soul, and from this moment forward nothing could save her from thisall-consuming desire to win his heart, and to make this marriage a true one.
* * *
A few hours later, Duncan woke to a quiet knock at the door. He turned his head on thepillowand saw that Amelia was sleeping peaceful y, so he slipped out of the bed, making sure not to wake her. He walked naked to the fireplace where the enormous flames were dancing in the hearth, warmed his hands for a moment, then picked up his axe, which was hanging against the stones on the hook where the poker was normal y kept. Stealthily, he crossed to the door and opened it.
Richard Bennett was standing there in the corridor. “She’s mine. Give her back.”
Without hesitation, Duncan stepped forward and cut Bennett down.
Duncan backed up, watched Bennett sink lifelessly to the floor, and felt a dark and sinisterswellof satisfaction move through him.
He woke with a start and sat up in bed.
Amelia wasstillsleeping soundly beside him.allwas quiet, except for the raindrops beating against the window.
His heart was racing. He glanced across the room at a few dying embers of fire in the grate,stillglowing faintly. He placed a hand on his chest and felt again the wretched satisfaction he had experienced when he’d watched Richard Bennett die.
Disturbed by the dream, Duncan glanced uneasily at Amelia, rose from the bed,pulledon his clothes, and returned to his own bedchamber to sleep the rest of the night alone.
Chapter Nineteen
A week later, Duncan made love to Amelia on top of the covers with the bed curtains closed. They were surrounded by velvet, cloaked in darkness, and he gave himself over to the senses of touch, smell , taste, and sound. He lost himself in the ecstasy of her mouth, in the clever stroke of her tongue up and down the length of his passions, and in the sound of her hungry moans as she devoured his boundless desires.
He simply could not get enough of her.
He closed his eyes and ran his hands through the silky locks of her hair and wondered if it was possible that she might one day succeed in removing him from thathellish black abyss of death. He’d not had any dreams of violence over the past week, yet it hardly seemed possible that it could continue this way—that he could live the rest of his life outside of that wretchedness, or that he deserved this pleasure.
