His thoughts were scrambled and all he could think of was how he wanted to drag her to the floor and?—
Out in the hall, the sounds of footsteps interrupted the moment, and they both blinked as if waking from a dream.
She swallowed hard before speaking. “Patrick, I think.”
“Aye.” Julius rubbed his neck, relieved that in this one instance he had not savaged her like a beast. Audrey had a terrible effect on his self-control, but the knowledge that the servant was nearby was sufficient deterrent to quell the ravening beast within.
Later that evening,Audrey was once again seated by Julius’s bed. She tucked the end of the fresh bandage, her eyes on the hard angles and curving muscles of his chest. Sensation tingling low in her loins as her pale hand reached out to hover over him.
She dared not look up to see what Julius was doing. Abruptly, she made her decision, and lowered her fingertips to trail them down his chest. He felt at once hard, as she scraped over the curling chest hair, and soft.
Julius hissed, and her gaze flew up to meet his. His lids were heavy, and she was gratified to find languid heat reflected in his eyes. “Are you seducing me, Audrey Gideon?” His voice was rough, as if he struggled to focus.
Audrey hesitated, then nodded. All afternoon she had been thinking of their imminent parting, about the unknown future awaiting her, and she had discovered something about herself. Licking her lips, she replied, “I find that … I think I will regret … if I do not …”
Flames flared in the depths of his green-brown irises when he reached up to grasp her by the wrist. Gently, he brought her hand up to his mouth to kiss the vulnerable spot on her inner wrist. Audrey was riveted, gasping when she felt the flicker of his tongue where his lips were pressed.
They stared at each other, scarcely moving—scarcely breathing.
Julius’s lids came down, concealing his molten eyes. “This time, we are alone in my room. I have resisted the temptation thus far, but—Audrey, I do not have the strength to stop if we begin. You must walk away now. Until we … Until we have an understanding.”
She did not know what that meant, but she knew she had considered her options and she refused a lifetime of regret that she had never lain with the man … the man she …
The man I love!
Audrey blinked at the revelation, somehow surprised at her dismay. It was not so astonishing. Julius Trafford was a handsome and unique gentleman. Surely dozens of women over the years had fallen for the intriguing glib charm, but it was his loyalty and his acceptance of her which had drawn her in as a moth to the flame.
His light grip, and the warmth of his breath teasing over her wrist like a lover’s caress, made her ever more certain that she wanted to divest herself of clothing, to feel his naked body pressed against her. Just the once. Just so she could know his touch. This might be their last night together—the last time they were alone. The coming days were going to be hard for her. She would be found guilty of doing …this… even if she had not.
Nervous, she placed the forbidden envelope on his abdomen. “I … brought prevention. It is a condom.”
His eyes flew open, and he emitted a despairing groan. “I know what an English frock coat is. And you should not have—” Julius’s gaze shifted to her leather valise on the dressing table. “Your magic bag?”
Audrey nodded, biting her lip and wondering if she had made a mistake, but, if she had, it did not prevent the desire to lean down and lick the flat disc of his nipple to taste if it was salty. She stared at the tawny skin, sorely tempted. “Papa kept a supply in case someone needed them.”
“Are you … sure?”
She tugged her hand loose, lowering it to rest on his chest and marveling at the heat emanating against her palm. With far more confidence than she possessed, she ran it down, over thebandage, to pause over his midriff where the sheath rested and feel the ripple of his muscles as he tensed.
Julius shook his head, his hand coming over hers to hold it in place. “My father always said one should honor the requests of a lady.”
With that, he put the French letter aside. Sitting up, he swung his legs over the side of the bed to rise. Still holding her hand, he pulled her to her feet and lowered his mouth to hers. Their lips were hungry when they met, fusing together as if they were one. His arms came up to lash her to his half-naked body, and he coaxed her lips to part. Her head was pushed back, but his fingers threaded through her hair to provide support. He tasted of honey and tea, with a hint of spice, the satin warmth of his tongue exploring her mouth causing her crave him with feverish need.
Audrey squeezed her thighs together to relieve the agitated pulsating between her legs, enjoying the crush of her breasts against his bare pectorals. She squirmed, moaning in ecstasy, when his free hand reached down to cup her buttock and press her to his pelvis where she could feel the rigid evidence of his desire against her belly. She brought her own hands up to marvel at the hard muscle and youthful strength of his broad shoulders, kneading his warm skin with curious fingers as their kiss deepened.
She growled—growled!—in protest when his lips left hers, but then gasped at the swirling headiness of feeling his mouth trail across her jaw to find her earlobe and suckle it with a light nip of teeth.
Audrey bucked in astonishment, thrilling excitement cascading through her veins to pool and quiver between her thighs. There was a muffled laugh from Julius as his hands bracketed her hips, tugging her gown up to hitch her up against his hips, her skirts bunching around her thighs.
Understanding his intent, she brought her knees up to brace against him, a weightless feather in his powerful embrace. Sensation pooled at the apex of her core as his erection pressed against her most intimate of areas and she undulated against him to relieve the accumulating pleasure discomfort, discovering that his heated length ratcheted it ever higher.
The tantalizing scrape of his stubble against the tender skin of her neck thrilled her to new heights of pulsing desire, as he plumped her breast through the cotton of her gown and shift beneath. Her nipples puckered to painful points as instinct drove her to grind her pelvis against his loins, to chase some sort of release to the exquisite agony gathering between her legs.
Julius growled in the back of his throat, striding forward to pin her up against the wall. Her head fell back, and she keened when her pelvis pushed ever harder against his. Grabbing her hand from his shoulder, he raised it above her head, threading his fingers through hers while his mouth found hers in a hungry, drugging kiss. Lips, tongue, and teeth clashed as they sought a mutual fusion of bodies, her thoughts swirling with him. His scent, his taste, the feel of his hard body against hers, the contact of his rough palm against hers.
Audrey moaned in distress when Julius yanked his head back, panting as his blazing gaze seared a path into her heart. “We must slow down, Audrey. You are too inexperienced for where we are heading.”
She could barely hear him over the rushing, pounding blood in her ears, overcome by a riot of new feelings in places she had never paid mind to. He waited for her to comprehend his words until she swallowed and blinked in acknowledgment.
