Page 78 of A Night of Forever
—
Isobel relaxed into the familiar hardness of Arend’s embrace, her heart pounding and her pulse racing.
How was it possible that one smile, one touch, one kiss could leave her a molten puddle of yearning? Last night had only stimulated her appetite. Being held in his arms was heavenly. She clung tighter, knowing he was leaving tonight and heading to Deal without her.
She wanted to move slowly, to be more than just another woman he desired in his bed. But when he kissed her like this, all her good intentions dissolved like mist in the sun.
She was making progress. He hadn’t insisted that she stay behind when he went to Deal. And he wasn’t treating her as he had treated his other women—a night of pleasure, after which he would move on.
He can’t move on.You’re his fiancée,a little voice whispered in her head.
Yes,she thought, joy surging up through her.I am. I’m his, and he’smine.
When he broke the kiss she rested her head on his chest. “Please,” she said. “Be careful riding in the dark. Don’t do anything heroic until the rest of the men arrive.”
A shiver rippled through her body as fear gripped her. He would not listen. If he had a chance to confront Victoria alone, so as to spare his friends, he would take it.
She might never see him again.
“Arend,” she whispered. “Make love to me, here, now, before you leave me.”
He stilled under her. Even his chest ceased its rise and fall. When he finally moved, it was to stroke her hair.
“Ma cherie,”he said softly, “I promise not to let Victoria kill me.”
She shuddered again. “You can’t know that. She’s outsmarted us at every turn. I want a chance to know you.”
“You’ll have that chance, I promise.”
“Don’t.” She tugged out of his embrace. “Don’t make promises you have no idea if you can keep. We have a pact to be truthful with each other.”
“That we do.”
And she needed to be truthful with him now. “I’m afraid for you. Victoria wants to see you dead more than she wants to discredit you first.”
Arend’s lips curved, and he looked like the dangerous man he was, an enemy to be wary of, to fear. “She isn’t going to get her wish, I assure you.”
“Even so.” She had to make him understand. “I know you’re fearless. But your fearlessness is because you don’t value your own life, and it makes you vulnerable to mistakes. But I value your life, Arend. I value it very much. I care about you. I want you alive. Promise that you will wait for the rest of us. I don’t want you to risk being killed before we arrive.”
“I promise.” Reaching up, he brushed a dark tendril back from her forehead. “Perhaps I’ve found something that I do care about. A reason to live to a ripe old age.”
Warmth wrapped around her, and she managed to muster up a dazzling smile. “Then love me now, before we part.”
He hesitated.
“Do you no longer desire me?”
His eyes widened. “You have no idea how much I want you. But I also want you free to make a choice at the end of this hunt. The more often we make love, the greater the chance that you may get with child, and then”—his mouth went tight—“I can’t let any child of mine be born out of wedlock. I would insist on marriage.”
She wanted to say that she didn’t care. That she would marry him whatever the outcome. But she knew it wasn’t true. She still had doubts. Was this love? Or was what she felt for this mysterious, haunted man merely infatuation?
She needed to know his secrets. If it was impossible for him to get over whatever haunted him, he would eventually change, their relationship would change. He might withdraw from her, from the world, and she’d be left alone, but still tied to him. Marriage was for life.
Sense won. “Then I suggest we do something that does not involve the possibility of my getting with child.” And, running her hands down his chest to the placket of his breeches, she slowly knelt before him.
He did not stop her, but every muscle under her fingertips went rigid as she ran her palm over his lengthening erection.
He was huge, and the thought of loving him with her mouth sent excitement spiraling through her.
