Page 89 of Tempting the Earl

His cock gave a warning pulse. Grasping her hips in his hands, he lifted her. Then he positioned himself and thrust upward, claiming her with a dark, guttural sound he wouldn’t have thought himself capable of making.

She answered with a sultry moan as she held fiercely to his shoulders and arched back in abandon. Dropping his head to take one pink-tipped breast deep in his mouth, he rocked his hips beneath hers. Plunging and retreating in short, deep thrusts.

His climax was too close. He tried to push it away, not wanting the moment to end.

But it couldn’t be denied.

One more hot, luscious pull of her body on his and he lost it. Releasing her breast, he turned his face into the curve of her neck. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him secure as his body shook with the power of his release. Vaguely, he heard the telltale catch in her throat as her inner muscles convulsed around him, signaling she’d reached the pinnacle a third time.

Chapter Thirty

He returned to reality by slow, almost torturous, degrees.

They both lay sprawled on the bed. Her warm body pressed along his as the night air gently cooled his sweat-dampened skin. She teased his lips in a lovely caress of her tongue as she softly smoothed her palm over his chest and belly, then his thighs, then up along his lax arms, finally bringing him to full awareness.

“Colin,” she whispered sweetly against the side of his neck before pressing a kiss beneath the edge of his jaw. “No time to sleep, I’m afraid. Dinner’s in less than an hour and we should probably make some effort toward appearing presentable.”

Dinner.

With Caillie and Mr. Thomas.

He’d completely forgotten.

With a harsh growl, he lifted himself in a rush and rolled over on top of her.

Her laugh was light and playful. And her smile was warm and undeniably satisfied.

“You look...pleased with yourself,” he noted, trying to hold back his own smile.

She only grinned wider. “Pleased with myself. Pleased with you,” she said as she slid her hands through his hair before clasping them at his nape. “That was...” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Recalling the ferocity of his behavior, Colin wasn’t sure he wanted her to finish.

“Glorious,” she breathed on a sigh.

Colin didn’t realize how tense he’d become until he suddenly relaxed, sinking into her softness, reveling in the beauty of her gaze and her smile. He lowered his lips to hers, sipping gently from her lips until she made a soft sound and deepened the kiss by slipping her tongue between his teeth.

Against every instinct within him, he lifted his head and broke the kiss. “You’re right. We have to get ready for dinner.”

“Nay, we dinnae,” she replied emphatically as she hooked a slender leg over his hip. “I’ve changed my mind. Let’s cancel dinner. Better yet, Caillie and Mr. Thomas can simply dine without us. The two of them seem to get along famously.”

A feeling like hope bloomed in his chest at her words. “They do, don’t they? I owe Caillie a huge debt. Though I doubt I’ve ever been so terrified as I was when you told me she was missing, if she hadn’t gone to Thomas, there’s a very good probability we’d never have seen him again.”

Ainsworth smiled. “Aye, the lass is proving to be rather adept at manipulation.” She narrowed her gaze thoughtfully. “I’m not sure if I should be proud or verra, verra worried.”

Colin chuckled softly. “Proud, I think. You’ve raised a clever and confident young lady.”

The woman beneath him stiffened as her lashes swept over her gaze. “Aye.” Her tone was suddenly heavy and grave. “And now I must accustom myself to losing her.”

“Losing her?” Colin took her face in his hands, forcing her to look up at him. “What are you talking about?”

Though she met his gaze, her eyes were guarded. “It was inevitable. I kent it the moment I saw you in my hen yard. Caillie belongs here. With you and her other brothers. She loves all of you so much already. And she loves London.”

His frown deepened, but he didn’t bother stopping it. “And how does any of that indicate you’d lose her?”

She sighed in exasperation. “Come on, Colin. Faeglen will never be enough for her now. She’ll need a proper governess, someone to teach her all she’ll need to ken for her come out. I cannae give her what you can. What she deserves. It took me a while to accept that, but I cannae deny it any longer.”

Although he was pleased she no longer saw reason to resist the connection he wished to forge with Caillie—and his other siblings—the tone in her voice was uncharacteristically defeatist. His stomach clenched.

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