Page 76 of A Scandalous Bargain
She hated the sorrow in his question, worried she’d ruined this glorious thing between them. “I ensured my future—at least for the short term. I spent a fortnight in his bed. Long enough to earn the money we needed to leave and find our footing somewhere else.”
“My God, Beatrix.”
She let him go, but she couldn’t back away, not with the bed behind her. “I’ve disappointed you,” she whispered.
“Never.” He clasped the back of her neck and pulled her mouth to his. He kissed her with a raw tenderness that turned her knees to water. She clutched at his arms before she melted into the floor.
He put his forehead against hers and put his other hand on her waist. “I’m so sorry you had to do that.”
“But that’s the worst part,” she said, feeling more exposed than she ever had in her entire life. “Did I really have to? I wanted to improve our circumstances. I had an opportunity—he was kind and charming—and I seized it. I’ve done many things of which I am not proud.”
He looked into her eyes. “Would you take them back?”
“I…I don’t know.”
His fingertips pressed into her. “All those choices and experiences made you the woman you are today. I wouldn’t change a single thing.”
Beatrix’s breath caught and held. “Tom, I want you. If you want me too, will you stay?”
“I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything. Yes, I’ll stay.” He kissed her again, his tongue stroking gently against hers and then more insistently. Passion built between them once more, and Beatrix felt as if every part of her was on fire for him.
She pulled the hem of his shirt from his waistband, and then it became a frenzy of removing clothing—his shirt, her gown, his boots—until she wore only her chemise and he had only his smallclothes.
Tom pulled the pins from her hair, one by one, until it came down around her shoulders and grazed the middle of her back. He ran his fingers through the curls and gently tugged so that she dropped her head back. He kissed along her throat, his tongue licking the hollow at the base as he pulled at the neckline of her chemise until he revealed her breast.
Eyes closed, she felt his lips on her flesh, soft and searching, as he cupped her. His mouth closed around her nipple. Hot, wet sensation drove a gasp from her lips and sent a spark of need straight to her core.
His mouth and hand worked in concert, teasing her and tormenting her until she whimpered. “Tom, please.” She wanted him so badly. Needed him to ease her ache.
He laid her back on the bed and lifted the hem of her chemise, baring her thighs and then her sex. She opened her legs, but he pushed them farther apart, exposing her to him. At the first touch of his tongue against her, she bucked up. He curled his hand around her hip and held her fast as he licked along her flesh.
Beatrix clasped her head, an anchor to ground her in the coming storm. This was more than the touch of him against her, the sensations he aroused within her—there was a bone-deep desperation not just to feel, but to share, to open herself to him completely. She abandoned rational thought and surrendered.
His tongue penetrated her, and she moaned, her hips moving beneath him. He put her legs over his shoulders and replaced his tongue with his finger, pumping into her as he licked her clitoris, pushing her to limits she’d never even glimpsed before. It was more than a storm. It was an absolute overtaking of her body and mind. She was coiled and tight, utterly at his command. He owned her in that moment, his mouth and fingers driving her ever higher and hotter until she had no option but to combust.
She cried out as her release shattered her into a million pieces—all his. He was relentless, continuing his onslaught until the waves tossing her body began to slow. Then he withdrew.
Opening her eyes, she watched him strip away his smallclothes. She scrambled to her knees, legs shaking, and drew her chemise over her head, then tossed it to the floor.
He climbed onto the bed, his eyes molten silver, his lips parted, his jaw set in rigid determination. He knelt before her, his sex jutting out and grazing her belly. She reached between them and clasped the base of his shaft. His eyes slitted as he sucked in a sharp gasp.
Eyes fixed on his, she stroked him, slowly at first and then increasing her pace and the firmness of her grip. His lids fell closed, and he moaned. Moisture leaked from him, and she gathered it with her hand, using it to move faster over his velvet flesh.
On the next stroke, she reached lower and cupped his sac, her fingers massaging his balls. “Beatrix.”
Kissing her, he clasped her waist and lifted her. “Put me inside you,” he said raggedly.
She guided his cock into her sex while he held her steady. Slowly, they joined, her body sheathing his. She curled her legs around his hips as he clasped her backside and began to move.
He pierced her completely, sliding in and out of her with ruthless precision. Each stroke made her want to weep.
“Look at me,” he whispered.
She did, locking her gaze with his once more. It made the sensation even more intense.
“This is perfection,” he breathed. “Nothing will ever be this good.”
He kissed her again, his tongue tangling savagely with hers as he swept her back, pushing her to the bed beneath him. She managed to unfold her legs and not lose him. Settling between her thighs, he drove hard into her. She wrapped her legs around him and dug her fingers into his back, crying out as the ecstasy built to an almost impossible height.
