Page 21 of A Lady Never Tells
Eden frowned and then turned away from him. What had he said? “Love…”
She jerked her head up. “I’m not your love.”
He stood and headed toward her. She backed away from him, but he kept forward. Her back hit a support beam that was in the middle of the cabin. Maxwell lifted his hand and cupped her cheek. She wouldn’t look at him, so he placed his thumb under her chin and lifted her face so that their gazes locked. “What if I want you to be?” he asked her.
She stared at him as if she didn’t understand his question. “I don’t know how to love.” Her honesty broke him.
“Of course you do.” He leaned down until his lips hovered over hers. “You feel this between us.” He lifted her hand and placed it on his chest. “My heart is open to you. Just say the word and we can have everything. Tell me you want me too.”
She shook her head. A tear fell down her cheek. He wiped it away. There were shadows in her eyes he wished he could erase. She had walked right into his heart, but he might never be able to convince her to be his. Eden had been through so much in her short life. He wished he could raise the dead just long enough to punish her husband for abusing her trust so thoroughly.
Maxwell had done a lot of things he regretted, but he would never regret falling for this woman. He would never love another. She was it for him. All he had to do was convince her of that fact.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” he told her. He could no more stop a kiss from happening than time from moving forward. Maxwell closed the distance between them and slanted his lips over hers. It was a slow, methodical kiss. He was testing her to see how much of him he would accept.
She opened her mouth on a gasp. Eden was as sweet as he imagined, and it with each move of his mouth over hers he knew one thing with certainty. This was like coming home. His heart beat for her, and he needed her.
If he could battle all the darkness from her life, he would. He’d do anything for her. She was his reason for breathing. Maxwell pulled her into his arms and deepened the kiss farther. Eden lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck. Nothing was holding that blanket up, and if he took one step back, it would fall.
God help him. He prayed to whatever god would listen for that blanket to fall. Maxwell wanted to make love to her, and he hoped she wanted that, too. He kept kissing her over and over again, until he lost all track of his surroundings. Finally, good fortune was on his side. The rain, her fall, it all had led to this moment, and he promised he’d savor every second of it. This woman captivated him.
Eleven
Eden barely held the blanket against her. She shook with need and was desperate to for this man. How could she have ever believed she would be able to resist him? He was everything she’d always wanted, but never thought she could have. That didn’t mean she was a fool, though. He hadn’t offered her anything. Not really. He’d been sweet and had said all the right words. Things he probably thought she wanted to hear. Truthfully, some of them she had wanted him to say. But he hadn’t made any promises of forever.
She wouldn’t make a suitable duchess. Not with the taint of scandal attached to her name. He would want someone that had far more innocence than she could ever present to the ton. Eden wished she could break this spell that she’d fallen under. He was her weakness. She couldn’t gaze upon him and not want things no true lady wanted. Her desperation for his touch was too much to bear.
He stopped kissing her and brushed the pad of his thumb over her lip. “You’re beautiful.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Pretty words that meant next to nothing... That was all he offered her, and yet, it was enough. She didn’t expect anything more than that from him. Should she give in and ask him to give her pleasure again? It might be the last time she could feel his hands graze over her heated skin or become lost in the luxury of his kiss. “Are you going to remove those wet clothes?”
He kept staring down at her lips. “If I do, I’m going to love you.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I’ll give you pleasure until you scream my name, and even that won’t be enough. If it takes me minutes, hours, or the rest of our lives, I’m going to savor every inch of you.” He leaned down and kissed her neck, then pressed his mouth to her ear. “Say the word, love, and I’ll ensure you don’t regret it.”
She closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. “Sometimes promises are broken,” she said in a hoarse tone. “Don’t make any you cannot fulfill.”
“I am not a boastful man.” His breaths heated her skin and sent shivers down her spine. “Rest assured, I do not make claims I cannot deliver.”
Eden leaned into him and inhaled his scent. He always smelled so wonderful, like sandalwood and spice. She was so wrong for him, and she prayed he wouldn’t regret anything. “I can’t be what you need.” She had to make him understand. “I…” Her voice broke as she considered her next words. “Another scandal will ruin my family.”
“There will be no scandal,” he said in a firm tone. “Trust me, love.”
Eden wanted to, more than anything, but she also wanted him. She couldn’t handle the endearments any longer. “Call me Eden,” she insisted. It was a far better word, one that gave her hope she had no right to.
The corner of his lip lifted into a wry smile. “As long as you call me Max.” he pressed his lips to hers in a quick kiss. “If we’re going to be intimate, we should use our given names. He whispered in her ear, “And I do want to hear you scream my name.”
She nearly moaned just from his words. It was time to take action. Eden stepped back and dropped her blanket. He inhaled sharply as his gaze roamed over her naked body. He reached for her, but she stepped out of his reach. “No,” she said. “Not until you’re as naked as I am.” She met his gaze and boldly ordered, “Remove your clothes, Max.”
He didn’t stop to question her demand. His shirt went first. Max wrenched it free and pulled it over his head and threw it to the side. He was such a beautiful man—all rippled muscles and broad shoulders. Eden wanted to run her fingers over all him and explore every inch of his glorious body. After he yanked his boots off, he pushed his breeches down and she gasped as his manhood sprang free. She’d remembered how large he was, and she licked her lips in anticipation. He hadn’t allowed her to taste him before, and she was desperate to now.
Slowly, she took a tentative step toward him. When he went to pull her into his arms, she dropped down before him, not allowing him the control he wanted. It was her turn to do what she wanted. She was inexperienced, but she could figure this out. He’d kissed her and brought her pleasure. When he’d first slipped his tongue in her sensitive folds, she’d gasped in shock. She’d never imagined such an act possible.
“Eden,” he groaned as she dipped her head. She cupped her hand over his hardness and then licked over his tip. He cursed, but didn’t stop her. “Bloody hell,” he said in a hoarse tone. She sucked him into her mouth and rolled her tongue over the sides, then slid him in and out several times. With each moan he made she got bolder and bolder.
Suddenly, he pulled free and then lifted her into his arms. He carried her over to a nearby settee and settled her down. “You’re a vixen,” he told her. “God help me. You’ve humbled me.” Then wickedness filled his gaze. “Now let me give you pleasure.”
“Max…” She moaned as he dipped his head and licked the sensitive nub between her things. She nearly bolted off the settee. He held her legs open and used that talented tongue of his over her core. Max kept licking until she writhed with a need so strong she thought she’d burst from the sheer pleasure of it. He slid his fingers inside her and sucked the bud into his mouth. A gust of pleasure overtook her and stars exploded behind her eyelids. She might have screamed as her climax overtook her. Eden couldn’t be certain of anything, but her throat was sore. She must have screamed.
He settled over her. His hard length was at her entrance, but he hadn’t pushed inside her yet. “Are you with me, love?”
