Page 48 of Loving Mister Stratford
Thatbrokehim.
If he were a man prone to imbibing in spirits, then he had no doubt he’d be three sheets to the wind at that very moment…but there was no stiff alcohol to be had in the house. Whether this was to his detriment or for the best, he had yet to determine.
He collapsed there in glowering silence, deflated and disheartened, when he heard the snick of the latch of the door behind him. It was a faint sound, but the quiet footsteps that followed were like the crack of gunshots behind his head. He knew the cadence of Odette’s every breath, every step. He hated himself for it, but he did.
Odette said nothing as she crossed the quiet room. The faint rustle of her skirts was deafening; the tap of her slippers on the floor before they were muffled by the carpet made his anticipating rise to a dizzying height. She continued to approach until she stood before him, blocking out the gasping embers of the fire and silhouetting her curvaceous form in the failing orange light. Though they were alone, the entire room seemed to hold its breath.
Would she strike him?
Lord knew he deserved it.
Would she cry and scream?
Simon knew that would be appropriate as well. Any husband who willingly abandoned his wife, especially so soon after their wedding, deserved as much, if not more.
Simon braced himself, but she didn’t move.
They waited in pregnant silence until Simon was the first to move. He sat back on the sofa with uncharacteristically poor posture and looked up into her face. Confronted by her slightly puffy eyes, he wished he hadn’t.
His heart ached with immediate force so strong it winded him. His mouth opened to tell her he’d made a grave mistake, but no sound came out.
He was struck even more dumb when Odette spoke instead.“I love you, Simon.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but it held the impact of a guttural scream.
“I love you,” she repeated.“And you leaving will not change the way I feel.” She inched closer to him and his pulse quickened in like.“I’ve experienced these feelings for a while, so don’t believe I am voicing them in a conceited effort to give you a reason to stay.”
Odette then lifted the hem of her skirts and stole Simon’s breath as she straddled his lap and stared down into his face. The warmth of her sex hovered just above his steadily growing crisis, her lush bottom rested on the fronts of his thighs with tantalizing softness as she braced her knees on either side of his hips. It took everything in him to not cup her bottom and pull her flush with him.
“I just need you to know. How I feel.” She placed her palms on either side of his head to rest on the back of the sofa.“And I need you to know that, though you have decided to leave, that will not change how I feel. About you.”
Odette leaned forward in increments until her lips grazed his. They rubbed back and forth in a delicate dance and he longed to tilt his head and extend his neck the millimeter necessary for the caress to evolve into a full-blown kiss. But he knew he shouldn’t. He couldn’t. It was one of the most agonizing experiences of his life, but Simon continued to hold himself immobile.
Odette’s lips ran a faint trail down his cheek, to the hard line of his clenched jaw, the tender flesh where it met his ear lobe, and then down.
He swallowed convulsively when her lips traced the curve of his throat, the hollow there. He had to fist his hands at his sides to not grab her and haul her mouth back up to his. His control remained intact by a dangerously tenuous thread.
“I love you.” Her breath against his throat sent chills through every one of his nerves.
“I love you.” Her tongue flicked out to taste his hammering pulse and he nearly groaned aloud.
“I loveyou.” His cock throbbed powerfully, straining against the falls of his breeches when she finally pressed an open mouth kiss to the underside of his jaw.
Simon’s head fell to rest on the back of the sofa. Odette read the invitation and continued peppering her sweet, teasing kisses on his sensitive jaw to punctuate her last word.
She finally pulled back and met his eyes, the dark blue orbs boring into him with ferocious candor.“If you must leave, leave and do your work. Accomplish great things. But come home soon. To me.” Her fingers brushed his hair back from his forehead and he was lost.
If only she knew how much he didn’t want to leave her.
If only she was aware how weak and powerful she made him feel; she could knock him over with a feather and, yet, he felt strong enough to lift a building when she looked at him like that.
Unable to resist any longer, Simon reached up and finally allowed himself to touch her. He threaded his fingers through her hair and tugged her down to force her mouth to meet his in a bruising kiss. To be fair, she accepted every one of his kisses and licks with her own, successfully whipping his desire higher and chasing away his last shred of reason.
His other hand flew to the lush curve of her bottom, gripping her there and pressing her more firmly to his awakening arousal. He helped her find a rocking rhythm that teased his body and worked her own into a blossoming frenzy.
Her sensuous moan shattered his reserve. He reached between their bodies and ripped open the falls of his breeches. Unable to resist, he brushed his knuckles through the wet, delicate folds of her sex, thrilled with the knowledge that she’d anticipated their mating and had already removed her stockings, garters, and drawers. He traced her nether lips with trembling fingers, groaning when she gasped as he located that secret pearl at the crux of her sex. She was already so wet and pliant, so ready for him she dripped with need. He could wait no longer.
Firmly grasping her hips in his hands, he positioned her above his reaching member. Notched into place, he simultaneously thrust his pelvis upward and pulled her down flush with him, entering her in one great, swift motion that stole both of their breaths. Her nails bit into his shoulders through the thin lawn of his shirt, but he reveled in it.
Their mating was fast and furious, so filled with desperate need that Simon was brought to the brink in an unnervingly quick amount of time. From the tightness of her sheath, the thick wetness coating both of them, her rapid gasps at each grinding thrust of their bodies, he could tell Odette was near to her climax as well.
