A Desperate Wager (10 page)

It had been a rather strained day. After the discussion of the night before, Nate and Sarah had been completely civil and polite to one another, but the chilly atmosphere in the carriage had nothing to do with the weak spring sunshine casting a yellow glow over the budding trees and newly ploughed fields.

Sarah felt rather stupid having made such a fool of herself by not knowing anything about how men’s bodies worked.

But the whole thing just confused her. He claimed to be attracted to her but that just did not seem to make any sense. He had pulled her hand away when she had stroked….
that
. But he had been the one to show her what to do. Surely it would have not taken much to redirect her had she been doing it incorrectly.

Then there was the question of how to know if he just needed relief or if he was aroused because of her. This marriage business was altogether too bewildering for a lady who had never really been out in society. God help her once she started increasing. She would be in a terrible state.

And poor Nathaniel had been all but forced into this marriage by her father’s mad-cap, but strangely successful, scheme. Perhaps he would not seek solace in the arms of another. After last night, the idea of him in another woman’s embrace made her burn with jealousy.

Now she sat by the fire in their room at the inn as Nathaniel read his book in the seat opposite her. Having removed his cravat, coat, waistcoat and boots, he looked so handsome, yet scandalous, in just his shirt, breeches and stockings. But he seemed not to care. He seemed comfortable.

She worked away at her embroidery, avoiding his gaze and glad that his reading meant she did not have to converse with him. She really could not think of a single thing to say. A brandy sat on the table beside him and he sipped from it regularly. Soon she would have a conversation with him about his alcohol consumption, but not yet. Things were too strained and they might break if she heaped another problem on their delicate relationship.

H
e yawned—a deep, aching yawn which seemed to come from his very soul. He stretched his arms and legs. And suddenly she was yawning too.

“
I think it may be bedtime,” he said. “I dismissed Tilly for the evening and told her I would help you undress. I hope you do not mind.”

“
She looked dreadfully tired,” mused Sarah, her breath catching at the thought of his hands on her naked flesh again. He had only booked one room for them at the busy inn, so she knew he would be spending the night with her again. “Where is Caesar?”

“
With Bellamy. He grumbles about the dog but he absolutely adores him.”

Nate laid his book on the small table beside him and walked the three steps across the hearth to her. He reminded her of a cat creeping up on a bird, taking its time but ready to pounce at any moment. Something clenched in her private area at the sheer masculinity of her handsome duke. She wanted his kisses again, to feel his hands and lips roam across her body as they had done the previous night. She wanted to hear his moans of pleasure.

For all she seemed to have done nearly everything badly last night, there had been moments when he appeared to enjoy their coupling.

He lifted one foot, then the other removing her slippers and stockings in a most sensuous way, all the time holding her gaze. She licked her lips and the fire suddenly seemed too warm. She had not felt most of his touch, only when he had loosened her garters. But the reverence with which he removed the garments was the most erotic thing Sarah had ever witnessed. How much more would she be feeling now if her damned legs worked.

Raising himself up to her level, he placed a delicate kiss on her lips. He hummed as he pulled away, as if one kiss could never have been quite enough. Nathaniel then removed her hair pins, placing them on the table at her side. Once her hair hung loosely over her shoulders and down her back, he ran his hands through her red locks, scrunching his nose in annoyance as a missed pin plopped onto the wooden floor.

“
Will Tilly scold me if I do not plait your hair?”

“
Probably. It was terribly tangled this morning.”

“
Hmm, then after we make love, I shall clean you and braid your hair and help you into your nightgown.”

“
Make love?” She had been prepared to sleep in the same bed as him, but she had not imagined they would do such things in a room in a coaching inn.

He sighed deeply and his brows knitted together in consternation. He lifted her knuckles to his soft lips and kissed first the right ones, then the left.

“Sarah, I know I did not acquit myself particularly well last night. I was awkward and unsure of some of the logistics given your injury, but I promise it will get better for you. I know I was selfish and took my own pleasure and that your pleasure was merely happenstance but as I get to know your body and your limitations, I can make it as good for you as it was for me.”

“
It was good for you?”

He gave her a funny look.
“God, yes. At the end, I completely lost control.”

“
I thought it was not good and you were just getting it over with. Especially after I hurt you.”

He ran his hand through his hair and scowled.
“I have not been very good at explaining this, have I? You did not hurt me. Had you kept… pleasuring me, I would have disgraced myself. I would have spilled my seed there in your hand. And while that in itself is not an issue, I wanted to be inside you when it happened. It was, after all, our wedding night.”

She shook her head. Understanding that she had done nothing wrong per se and that she had not hurt him, but still not understanding his reactions.

“If it helps, I enjoyed last night. I was confused and assumed you did not enjoy it, but the things you did to me were exciting and made me feel more alive than I have felt since the last time I was able to gallop on a horse.”

He looked astounded. His mouth gaped slightly and his gaze held hers intensely as if he was trying to read something in her eyes. Then his brown eyes seemed to darken and a smile curved his lips.

“Exciting, eh?” He pressed a kiss just below her ear and with a sigh, she moved her head to give him better access.

“
Very,” she breathed out. Was this the feeling she was meant to have? The heavy weight of anticipation in her chest, the fluttering of her stomach muscles, the desire to rip his shirt from his back and press her lips to his chest?

She wanted his touch very badly. It was as if that one night had opened a bottle of the sweetest perfume and she had no desire to place the stopper back in it. He pressed her knees apart and moved between her thighs, lifting her gown
. He moved closer to the seat. He tugged her to the front, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Was he going to lift her to the bed? She could feel him pressing against her sex, and a whimper escaped her—not one of fear, but one of wanton need.

Nate wrapped his arms around her, unbuttoning her dress then tugging it off her shoulders.
He started on the laces of her stays. All the time he nuzzled her neck, his day beard rasping on the soft skin, his lips soothing where the bristles had scraped. She clung to him, desperate to explore him but unsure of herself—afraid of appearing gauche and unskilled.

As the restrictive stays loosened, Sarah gulped in a large breath. The ribbon on her chemise was untied and the garment began to hang. Nate trailed his lips down her chest and over the rise before running his tongue over her taut nipple. She gasped in surprise. Had it been this good last night?

“Damn, your breasts are perfect.” He sucked and let go with a pop. He captured her nipple again with his lips.

Sarah pushed one hand down the back of his shirt, desperate to feel his flesh now. His muscles were hard
, and she felt the rumble in his chest as he groaned against her other breast. That tension was back in her belly and lower, as was the need to have him touch every part of her. He unbuttoned his shirt, still licking the pert nubs.

As he helped her pull her arms free of her clothing, he pulled away and surveyed her
. Then he tugged his own shirt over his head.

“
Put your arms around my neck,” he growled. She did as she was told and he drew her to her feet abruptly, pushing her clothing down so that it pooled in a small pile of cotton and muslin on the floor.

To
her complete astonishment, he grabbed both her thighs at once and lifted her to straddle him before stalking to the bed. She had never been manhandled in this way. Had she not been clinging to his neck she would have fallen. But there was something about the way he prowled towards the large double bed that sent desire coursing through her. She could learn to like being manhandled if he was the one doing it.

Her breasts
pressed against his slightly hairy chest, and she breathed in his scent. She dropped a kiss to his shoulder, not wanting to break the closeness.

He dumped her unceremoniously on the bed, pushing her knees apart and kneeling on the floor between them. He kissed one thigh, then the other. She knew they were not light caresses
, but she could only feel a whispery touch. It made her shudder. He kissed again, higher up, closer to the apex and her most intimate area.

“
Nate?” He did not respond, but he smiled momentarily before kissing just below the triangle of auburn hair, on the flesh that ached for his touch. She sucked in a breath as his tongue extended and he licked the soft flesh, sending need spearing through her.

“
Nathaniel!” she gasped, but he was licking through the crease, urging the tension into her body a hundred fold. She raised herself, craning her neck to witness this phenomenon. He really was licking and kissing and suckling her
there.
And it felt wonderful.

She had known there was some feeling in that area, but Nate seemed to be pulling the sensations out of her, toying with them and offering them up to her as a gift. She needed to move. She had to respond. Her body was urging her.

He lapped eagerly at her flesh and she could tell from the relaxed set of his eyes that he was enjoying kissing and licking her there.

“
Nate, can you put my thighs on your shoulders?” He raised his gaze to hers, a wolfish grin on his face. His chin glistened, and he licked his lips as if enjoying a delicious repast.

“
Really?”

She wondered for a moment if she had been too forward
, but his growl of assent told her he was both intrigued and delighted. Lifting first one leg, then the other, Nate settled back to his task, his arms spread slightly to hold her legs where she wanted them.

Sarah pushed her hands under her bottom and pressed up. She moved herself slightly and Nate mumbled appreciatively. She did it again—then again—then again. They seemed to find a rhythm
, and the tension began to build.

She arched her back as best she could
, her eyes rolled back in her head. It was the sweetest of tortures, and she groaned out her need for something more. More height, more heat, more of Nate.

“
Harder,” she moaned. He responded appropriately. Good God, what had she become? This was intense and amazing and completely wanton, but it was far too good to get him to stop. If this was the kind of behaviour that sent her to hell, then she would greet Lucifer himself with a smile.

She pressed on. And then he slipped something inside her. Fingers
, she presumed. She felt them this time. Still a bit faint but definitely more than she had felt last night. He thrust his digits in and out of her to the same tempo that he licked and kissed her swollen, needy flesh, stroking her expertly, murmuring between the flicks and sweeps of his tongue. He seemed to be enjoying it too. She was close to that bliss she had felt last night.

“
Oh Nath…an…iel… I…”

Blinding light seared behind her eyelids as her body surrendered to the wave of elation that coursed through it. She went rigid, but was vaguely aware of a pulsing down where his breathy whispers of encouragement and fingers worked their magic. Her own fingers dug into the mattress, holding her taut, cramping at their misuse. She held for a long moment, gulping air into her lungs and trying to come to terms with what had just happened.

When he lay on the bed, pulling her hands from under her and wrapping her in his embrace, she realised she had no memory of him laying her legs back on the ground or standing up.

“
I did not expect that,” she managed, and he chuckled.

“
I am sure your governess never told you about the marriage bed.”

“
I would be surprised if my governess knew of such things.”

“
Sometimes it is the buttoned-up spinster types that have the wickedest pasts.”

“
Hmm, perhaps.”

“
Sarah.”

“
Hmm?”

“
Are you ready for more?”

“
More of that?”