Scoundrel Ever After (Secrets and Scandals) Read online

  Her confidence filled him with awe. He wasn’t sure he’d ever deserve her, but he was going to try his damnedest.

  She tugged on his hand. “Stand up. Please. You can’t make love to me from down there.”

  Just because he was giving up his criminal activities didn’t mean he had to abandon his wicked nature, at least not when it pertained to giving her pleasure. He clasped her ankle beneath her gown, eliciting a gasp from her. “On the contrary. I can make spectacular love to you from down here.”

  Her cheeks pinked and he hoped she never, ever stopped blushing.

  “I can see you’re trying to puzzle that out.” He slid his hand up her calf, his fingers sliding along her flesh until he wrapped his hand around her knee. His thumb found the curve at the back and she twitched as she’d done with her elbow. “You’re ticklish.”

  “A bit,” she said breathlessly.

  “Back up to the bed.” He inclined his head.

  With one small step back, her buttocks hit the mattress.

  He let go of her hand and slid his hand up her other leg until he was lightly clasping both of her knees. “Now, be a love and lift your nightrail.”

  She pulled the cotton up to his hands, exposing her ankles and calves.

  “Very pretty,” he said, appreciating the view. “Higher, please.”

  The garment climbed slowly, revealing inch after tantalizing inch of her thighs. His hands followed the movement, all the while caressing her softness. She paused just before revealing what he wanted to see most. He looked up at her, saw that her eyes were a mix of desire and trepidation. She wanted this, but didn’t precisely know what “this” was.

  He grasped her thighs firmly but gently. “I shall stop whenever you ask.” She nodded in response. He pushed the nightrail up to expose her mound and the delicate chocolate curls. “Beautiful.”

  She still held on to the nightrail and didn’t try to lower it. He traced his hands down over her hips and slid them between her thighs. “Open wider, my love.”

  Her legs trembled as she followed his command. He pressed a kiss to her inner thigh, a chaste brushing of his lips against her smooth, pale skin. But then he caught the scent of her arousal and he couldn’t help himself. He opened his mouth and deepened the kiss, licking at her and drawing on her flesh, while his hands kneaded her. She slumped against the bed, which was why he’d positioned her there. He’d meant to put her on the edge of it, at least, but he hadn’t gotten there yet, and damn, he might not.

  His cock raged but he ignored his own wants, beyond wanting to give her pleasure. For that was what he most desired—to show her the wonders of her body. He glided his hand up to her entrance and grazed his thumb along her pink flesh. She twitched again, but her thighs opened farther. Good girl.

  He wanted to bury his tongue in her wet heat, but he urged himself to go slow. They had all night—no, they had a lifetime—before them. He used his thumb to stroke her, gently at first so she could become accustomed to his touch. When she grew slick, he found her clitoris and flicked it softly. Her gasp made him smile against her thigh, where he continued to lave kisses upon her flesh.

  When his mouth was just below her sheath, he slid his finger inside of her. She was tight, but there didn’t seem to be a barrier as there had been with his first experience—his only virginal partner. Was Audrey not a virgin then? He’d assumed she was, but there had been the blacksmith’s son. Jealousy knifed through him.

  “Audrey,” his voice sounded dark and pained, “have you done this before?” He looked up at her, his breath halting.

  Her gaze locked with his and there was panic reflected in their blue-green depths. “I—” She nodded. “Not like this. Geoffrey, the blacksmith’s son, he . . .” She looked away. “You know.”

  Ethan stood and cupped her face, forcing her to look at him. “Did he rape you?” Rage coursed through him.

  “No, though I did think we were going to wait until we were properly wed.” She rushed to add, “I didn’t want him like I want you. He was a means to an end and I liked him well enough. I didn’t realize there would be more to it until I met you, that I would feel so . . . hungry.”

  Laughter threatened Ethan’s fury. “I’m going to hunt down that prick and tear him apart.”

  She frowned at him. “No, you’re not. You don’t do that anymore. Besides, he didn’t hurt me.” Her eyes softened. “Are you disappointed I’m not untouched?”

  Ethan slid his hands into her hair. “Never. I want you any way you’ll allow me. Don’t for a minute think you’re somehow a lesser woman—not to me, not to anyone. People have disregarded you for far too long. You are beautiful and strong, and the most desirable female I have ever encountered.”

  Her lips spread into a smile. “Would you mind going back to . . . ?”

  He loved that she asked him, even if she couldn’t say the words. And he hadn’t even started what he really meant to do. He kissed her deeply, his tongue probing the hot recesses of her mouth as he tipped her head back. She kissed him in return, her hands coming around him and digging into his spine.

  He drew his mouth from hers, but didn’t retreat. “Lie back.” He lifted her onto the bed and she reclined. He hastily removed his boots and stockings before climbing onto the bed beside her. He drew the bed curtains closed on either side, leaving the base of the bed open to the glow of the fire. He wanted to see her sprawled before him. Her dark hair fanned against the white pillow, her legs were slightly parted, bare up to her mid-thighs, where the nightrail had shifted when she’d moved.

  He caught her gaze with his and held it while he pushed her nightrail back up. And when his fingers teased her opening, her nostrils flared. Then as his middle finger slid up into her, slowly but effortlessly amidst her wetness, her legs parted, inviting him further. He buried himself as far as he could go, then withdrew gradually. Her eyelids fluttered and her mouth opened. He repeated the action several times, never increasing his speed. With each stroke, she reacted in some way. When her hips began to move, he took that as indication to go a bit faster. He thumbed her clitoris and she thrust to meet his finger.

  He kneeled between her legs and put his mouth on her. She gasped loudly, her body tensing. She was so hot and wet. He settled her thighs over his shoulders, opening her to his attentions. He licked her, savoring her soft, slick flesh. She cried out. Her muscles clenched. She was very close, and he’d only just begun his feast. He wanted to prolong this for her, but didn’t know if he could. With each lick and suck, her hips came further off the bed. Her cries became more erratic, more desperate. Her fingers tangled into his hair and she tugged when he closed over her clitoris and sucked hard. He pumped two fingers into her and felt her begin to spasm. Her thighs quivered and he heard his name spill from her lips over and over. It was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. At last he was Ethan, a man and a lover instead of Jagger, the criminal.

  Her orgasm rocked through her, and he kept up his lovemaking until he felt her go still. His own lust raged hard, but he rested his head against the softness of her lower belly and inhaled the lavender scent from her bath.

  “Ethan,” her tremulous voice broke the silence, “I had no idea. This is probably a silly question, but does that only happen when you use your mouth? Or, is it possible when you put your . . . your penis inside me? Geoffrey did that, but it didn’t feel like what just happened.”

  God, how he loved her innocence. His world had been full of corruption and decay for far too long. She was sweet and honest, and she was a balm to his soul.

  He rose and looked at her beautiful flushed face. “If a gentleman is a considerate lover, you would feel like that in any instance of lovemaking. Geoffrey sounds like an inexperienced, or perhaps just callous, ass.”

  “I see. What do you mean, any ‘instance’?”

  “There are many ways in which to find satisfaction with your lover. I could’ve just used my hand, but I’m afraid I was desperate to taste you.” He knew he was shock
ing her, but he couldn’t help but add, “Better than honey too.”

  She didn’t look away from him. In fact, her eyes narrowed slightly, perhaps as her desire began to ignite again. “And I could do that to you? With my hand, or with my mouth?”

  Ethan’s cock hardened to granite at the thought of her doing either of those things. “Yes.” The word was barely more than an exhalation.

  “Would you mind taking your shirt off? I like looking at you without it.”

  He was enjoying playing with her far more than he’d ever imagined. “You’ll have to remove it.”

  She gave him a saucy look, then brought herself up to kneel so that they were facing each other in the middle of the bed. She found the hem of his shirt and drew it over his head, Her gaze fixed on his exposed chest and then her hands splayed over him. “I never thought a man could look so . . . delicious.” She ran her thumbs over his nipples.

  He gritted his teeth against a powerful surge of lust. “Careful, Audrey.”

  She lifted her gaze to his and gave him a saucy smile. “Don’t I get my turn?”

  Oh, God. She didn’t mean to put her mouth on him?

  She shrugged out of her dressing gown and cast it aside. Then she pulled her nightrail over her head and tossed it away, too. Her naked breasts were plump and pale in the firelight, their nipples pink and peaked. He leaned forward to taste one, but she pushed him backward until he was lying flat and had to stretch his legs out toward the pillows.

  Her hands trailed down his chest and paused at his waistband. Then she found the buttons of his fall and slid them open one by agonizing one.

  “Audrey,” he groaned.

  Her lips came down against his chest. She kissed and licked swirls around his nipples and then south along his ribcage. She opened her mouth and suckled him as she worked his breeches down his hips.

  She absolutely meant to mimic what he’d done.

  Her movements stilled with his breeches trapped around his thighs. He looked down and saw her contemplating his cock. It rose hard and proud, seeking her touch. Gingerly, her fingertip brushed the head. Ethan squeezed his eyes shut; the sight of her touching him was nearly his undoing.

  “I can use my hand,” she wrapped her palm around him, encasing him in her soft heat. If she stroked him . . . “Or I could use my mouth.” He felt something wet and delicate against the tip of his cock.

  He tortured himself and looked. Her tongue, pink and perfect, was laving him. He didn’t know where he found the ability to speak, but said, “Or you could use both.”

  “Oh!” She grinned up at him, her eyes narrowing seductively. “I see.” Her hand squeezed around him with the perfect grip, sliding down to the base and then back up to the head. Then her mouth came down over him and somehow, bewilderingly and amazingly, the tutor became the student.

  AUDREY HAD NO idea where she’d found the courage to do what she was doing. But maybe it wasn’t courage, it was simply need. She wanted to give him what he’d given her.

  She didn’t know if she was doing any of it right, but focused on doing what felt good. He was so hard, yet his skin was like the softest silk. And at his tip, moisture seeped out, just as she’d grown wet when he’d touched her. Their bodies, it seemed, while quite disparate, had their similarities too.

  When she’d moved her hand along his shaft, he’d moaned, so she took that as encouragement. She copied what he’d done to her, moving slowly at first and then quickening her pace. His hips thrust into her hand, and, strangely, she wanted to rotate her own hips in response.

  “Audrey, my breeches. I’m rather . . . restricted.” His words were clipped with an underlying desperation.

  She smiled, enjoying the power she never knew she possessed. She quickly divested him of his breeches and returned to her task—both for her own pleasure and his.

  She wrapped her hand around his sex and guided him to her lips. She slid her tongue down his length and drew him deep into her mouth. His hands twisted in her hair and his moans filled the room. She withdrew, then pitched forward again; this time his hips met her. He tasted of salt and man, something she never imagined she would’ve found desirable and yet she couldn’t get enough.

  Suddenly, his hands dragged her away from him. “Audrey, you have to stop.”

  She gazed up at him, sensing he’d been close to achieving what had happened to her. “Why? I want you to . . .”

  “Orgasm. That’s the word.” He grimaced like he was in pain. “I desperately want to come—that’s another word—but, I’d rather do it inside of you.”

  “Oh. Can’t you just do both?” She’d felt her own . . . orgasm building again while she’d been attending to him. She was amazed she could feel like that from what she was doing to him. But he was so beautiful and the sounds he was making spurred her own desire.

  He laughed. Then he reached up to cup the back of her neck and drew her down to kiss him. His tongue speared into her and all of a sudden she wanted exactly what he wanted—him inside of her. She lifted her head and looked down at him. “Show me what to do.”

  “Straddle me.” He put a hand on her hip and guided her into position. His sex nudged her opening, tantalizing her.

  She pressed down, seeking the friction of him against her. She gasped as his hand came up to her breast. He pulled on her flesh, tweaking her nipple. Sensation shot straight to her core and she swiveled her hips down.

  His hand moved between them. “Help me put my cock inside you. Audrey, look at me.”

  She’d blushed—for the thousandth time tonight—at his language, not because it was crude, but because she found it strangely . . . erotic. Her gaze met his and her body reacted to the stark desire in his eyes. “Yes.” She put her hand over his, but he shifted so that her fingers wrapped around his hot length.

  He parted her and thrust gently upward. “Guide me.”

  She positioned him and slid her body down over his cock. Thinking the word made her feel bold and powerful. Then he filled her and she didn’t think at all.

  He gripped her hips and held her on him for a long moment. But she wanted to move. She rose and fell, slipping over him like a well-made glove.

  His fingers ground into her skin. “You are so beautiful.”

  She looked down at herself, the firelight playing over her breasts and felt a moment’s shyness. But then his thumb was on that most sensitive place between her legs and she threw her head back and moaned. She widened her legs and moved faster.

  He increased his pressure on her and her orgasm built. She pitched forward and his mouth found her breast. His tongue and teeth teased her until she thought she might burst. “Ethan, I can’t—”

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and clasped her tight. Then he flipped so that he was on top of her, his cock never leaving her. He came up over her and fanned her hair out, his pause giving her a moment to catch her breath as she hovered at the edge of the cataclysm.

  He smiled at her. The glow of the fire made his eyes look like liquid silver. “What can’t you do, my love?”

  “Hold on. You make me want to let go of everything.”

  “Then let go.” He kissed her softly and pumped into her with swift precision.

  She arched up, meeting his thrusts and kissed him back.

  “Wrap your legs around me,” he said into her mouth.

  She complied and he sank deeper inside of her. One more thrust and she threw her head back against the bed, her eyes closing in ecstasy.

  He continued to move, which only intensified the sensations within her. There was light and bliss and an overwhelming satisfaction. She made awful, hideous sounds, but couldn’t help herself. Then he shouted and buried his face into her neck.

  They lay like that for several minutes. She loved his weight and size on top of her. As a taller than average woman, she rarely felt delicate or very feminine, but he made her feel both of those things. As well as desirable and . . . loved.

  He’d said he loved her. Did she love h
im in return? She wasn’t certain—her mind was still awhirl with everything that had happened, how drastically her life had altered in just a fortnight.

  He shifted finally and guided her underneath the bedclothes. Then he parted the drapes and stepped from the bed.

  She grabbed his arm. “You’re not leaving?”

  He smiled at her. “No. Just getting something for you to clean yourself.”

  How thoughtful. And how utterly mundane. Maybe they could have a normal life together. Yes, she thought they could. After seeing him at the orphanage with Fox, she knew there was a side to him that even he probably didn’t know—or was only just beginning to discover.

  He returned with a towel, which she used to clean between her legs. He waited patiently for her to finish, then disposed of the article after completing his own brief toilet.

  When he climbed back into the bed and closed the curtains, she yawned widely. She offered a weak smile, suddenly feeling bone-tired. “Pardon.”

  He lay on his back and drew her against his chest. She heard his heart beating and was already drifting off when he said, “Sleep well, my love. Tomorrow, our future awaits.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  DESPITE THE MOST satisfying sleep of his existence, Ethan woke early as always. It seemed he couldn’t escape his training. Sleeping late meant having your meager possessions stolen or perhaps your throat slit. There were plenty of occasions when he hadn’t risked sleeping at all.

  But all of that seemed so long ago, so far away now as he watched Audrey in slumber. Her dark lashes fanned against her cheeks, which were pale as porcelain. Her nose had a gentle, but regal slope. And her lips were dark pink and lush, cushioned against each other just waiting for his kiss.

  Her hair was a wild tangle of dark curls. He’d longed to touch it again, bury his face in its softness, and inhale her scent. But now that wasn’t enough. He’d been to heaven and back, and he was forever changed.

  Where would they go? America? The continent? Somewhere more obscure? Maybe an island in the tropics. He’d heard of men who owned plantations there. Or perhaps they needn’t go so far. Surely they could start anew in a remote area of Scotland or Wales.