Page 57 of Prescription for Sin

“That’s your master plan for seduction?”

"Forgive me,” he said in a dramatic haughty tone. “I had forgotten you're not like other women. For you, I shall whisper of science, of nerves threading through the human form, of the marvels of vaccination. I'll tell you of my father's water company and the poetry of statistics. Does such intellectual intimacy entice you?"

Before she could answer through her chuckles, his lips met hers again, clouding her mind with his heat and ardour. Emma decided arguing could wait. And when Everett removed his gloves and unbuttoned her cloak, his fingers making their way to her bosom, she ceased to think at all.

His touch was firm on her breast, kneading as he moaned his desperation, his hips pressing against her layers of fabric. He unbuttoned his overcoat and exposed his breeches within seconds. His surgeon’s fingers were warm against her skin as he pulled on the decolletage to reveal her breast. Emma shivered as her nipples puckered from the chill, and her creamy skin developed gooseflesh in protest. Then his hot mouth was on her nipple, the heat shocking her nerves, and every swirl of his tongue was felt acutely. Her skin sang with relief.

“Everett… That’s, um…” The words froze on her tongue as his warm fingers cupped her other breast, kneading and massaging her flesh with hunger. Then he pinched her nipple with his fingers, the surprise of it shooting pleasure through her body. She realised then how interconnected physical pain and pleasure were.

Everett slowed his movements to a snail’s pace, nipping at her nipples and kissing the creamy flesh of her breasts with light strokes of his lips. His mouth then traversed the cooled skin of her throat and ear, making her body hum with relief and pleasure. He pulled back and gazed down at her flushed face. His eyes were pools of tenderness, his head shaking ever so slightly as though he could not believe he had found her. With the sun behind him turning his hair golden brown, he presented fresh snow on his palm.

She arched an eyebrow in silent question. In answer, he pressed the snow gently to her lips, coaxing them apart. The crystalline flakes dissolved on her tongue, sending shivers through her body. When his mouth claimed hers again, the contrast between the lingering chill and the burning heat of his kiss made her gasp. His tongue swept inside, tasting of winter and desire, melting away every thought but the exquisite sensation of cold yielding to warmth. Each slow, deep stroke kindled a fire that spread from her lips to her core, drawing soft sounds of pleasure from her throat that Everett captured as if they were precious things.

Emma breathed a sigh of relief when his hand finally gathered up her skirts, though her skin protested immediately and trembled.

“Do you want the lesson to continue, Emma?” he rasped, grinding his steely rod against the apex of her thighs, now exposed to elements. “Tell me what you want.”

But before she could answer, he captured her mouth again in a searing kiss as if he couldn’t go another minute without kissing her, pouring all his desire into it. “Blast it, I want to bury myself inside you,” he whispered against her mouth. “No doubt you’d feel as sweet as you taste.”

Then he dropped to his knees in the snow, throwing her skirts over his head.

“Everett, you’ll catch a chill!”

“Not when I’m burning for you,” came his muffled reply.

Emma looked around to ensure no one was approaching. She then yelped at the ice-cold sensation on her cunny. Before she could say anything, his hot mouth covered her quim and began to lick. It felt as though his mouth was branding her sex, burning heat spreading to her belly. In that moment, his tongue licked her bud with one long stroke, drawing a long groan from her throat. Her thigh muscles contracted involuntarily, and Emma bucked her hips against his mouth. He was skilled, bringing her close to climax with each stroke of his tongue while his hands kneaded her ass with groans of appreciation. Sometimes his grunts sounded like frustrated protests, other times exaltations from arousal.

She knew when he finally gave in to his own need and freed his member. As he stroked his cock with vigour, his shoulders shook, but he maintained a steady rhythm on her pussy. Every stroke stimulated her exactly where she ached, and his moans became more urgent as hers did, sending vibrations through her core. Emma took one deep inhale, then screamed silently as she reached her euphoria with Everett’s mouth cupping her cunny, his tongue buried in her entrance. Lost in her ecstasy, she barely noticed when he rode his climax with her, his body jerking and mouth pulsing against her quim.

Everett rose to his feet, straightening out her woollen chemise and skirts while brushing snow off his trousers. He picked up his hat and shook it before donning it. Wordlessly, he proceeded to straighten her bonnet. When he finally gazed into her eyes, she suddenly felt vulnerable and frightened. This man meant so much to her, brought her so much joy, but he could also devastate her with one word, one action. She could cope with the cut of a scalpel, but she couldn’t begin to comprehend what she would do should his words slice her heart.

But she said nothing, and he beamed at her, making everything better. Just this once, she would let herself believe in fairy tales and happily ever afters, even if her prince came with complicated motives and a talent for disrupting all her careful plans.

Everett interrupted her reverie by picking her up in his arms and carrying her back to the path. They said nothing but only allowed themselves to feel every gaze, every brush of their hands, and the numbing cold that now conjured up different thoughts all together.

Everett stood before the library fire, letting its warmth seep into his bones even as cold dread settled in his stomach. The familiar comfort of book-lined walls offered little solace tonight as moonlight spilled through leaded windows, casting long shadows across the floor. He heard her soft footsteps in the doorway but couldn’t bring himself to turn, afraid his face would reveal too much.

“I wasn’t sure you’d come,” he managed, his voice steadier than he felt.

“Neither was I.” Her voice came from near the door, the distance between them an almost physical ache.

He turned then, letting his carefully maintained mask slip for once. Let her see the truth of him, the weight of secrets he’d carried. Her eyes widened slightly at whatever she saw in his face, and he realised how lost he must look, so far from the confident physician she’d known.

“What I’m about to tell you…” His voice roughened. “You must understand, I never meant for any of this to happen.”

She moved closer, drawn perhaps by the raw honesty in his voice. The sight of her approaching made his heart leap even as guilt twisted in his gut. “Tell me,” she said.

The confessions poured out like poison from a wound. The death tolls, the faulty pipes from compromising quality, the coverup that reached into Parliament itself. With each revelation, he watched the horror dawn in her beautiful face, hating himself for putting it there.

“And you?” The words seemed to cost her. “Where do you fit in all this?”

“I was sent to stop you without my knowledge.” He forced himself to meet her gaze, to let her see the truth in his eyes. “To find cause to discredit your work before you could prove the connection. But then I met you—brilliant, dedicated, fearless you—so I pretended to help him by stealing your research while, in fact, I was protecting you.”

He stepped closer, drawn by some magnetic pull between them. The familiar scent of her made his head spin. God, how had he let himself fall so deeply?

“I can’t let them destroy you,” he said softly, willing her to understand everything he couldn’t quite say. “You must believe I am on your side, Emma.”

Tell her about the marriage ultimatum, his conscience prodded. Tell her everything. But looking at her now, seeing trust war with doubt in those remarkable eyes, he couldn’t bear to give her reason to question his feelings. To let his father’s manipulation taint what lay between them.