“No…” She shook her head as her heart raced, the excitement building. “You are only saying that because you saw me with Lord Grundon. Your hate for him, that is the reason.”
“Perhaps,” he said. Then, slowly, his other hand moved to the side of her face. “But is that such a bad thing?”
“And what if I say no to Lord Grundon? Lord Ironvale? Everyone? What then? Will you realize that you do not care? That all this was, was jealousy.”
“Maybe,” he said as his hand cupped her face so that she could not look away. He stepped in closer, pushing her against the closed door. “But if it is not, then is that not worth finding out?”
“For you, maybe…” Her body trembled. “But I do not want to be used by you.”
“Just as I do not want to wake up one day and wonder if I made a terrible mistake…” He breathed as he leaned in close so that she felt his warm breath on her lips. “A mistake that there is still time to fix.”
“And what mistake is that?”
“Letting you go.”
His lips were on her before she had time to decide if she wanted them. And then when they found her lips, she knew that she did.
The kiss was like a fire lighting her from the inside. It rose quickly and swept her body, consuming her completely so that it was all that Celestine could do to keep some semblance of control. His hand cupped her face, his other squeezed her hand by her side, and their mouths opened as their tongues danced and played.
Edward stepped forward, his large body crushing her against the door. She lifted her leg slightly, bringing it around his side as if to trap him. Their kisses became hungry and ravenous, moansescaping them, the sense that the world was about to end so they best taste one another completely before it did.
“I have missed these lips…” Edward moaned between kisses. “I have missed you…”
“You had me,” she said as she leaned her head back so that he could attack her neck.
He did just that, licking and sucking and kissing her bare skin so that it sent ripples of pleasure and heat through her. “No, I never did…” He growled as his hand slid from her face to the back of her hair. He grabbed it, pulled back, and she cried out in pleasure as she shut her eyes. “Now, I do.”
“And…” She whimpered as his lips started toward her collarbone. “… what are you going to do with me…”
“Everything.”
Celestine and Edward’s right hands were still wrapped together. She could not say who moved first, whether it was her or him. But as Edward sucked her collarbone and pressed his body against hers, his hand moved to her waist, then to her dress, and before she knew what she was doing, her leg lifted and she was guiding his hand between her thighs.
Her thighs trembled and quivered as his hand slipped upwards. A wetness grew between them, buffeted by an intense heat. Herentire body shuddered and shook, and while Celestine knew how wrong this was, she simply did not care.
She wanted this. There was no denying it. All week, she had fought against her feelings, denied them, called herself a liar. But now that she was in Edward’s thrall, she never wanted to leave.
“Edward…” she moaned as she felt his fingers trace her lips. “I… this is not…”
“I told you already…” He started to kiss up her neck again. “I am not letting you go again.”
“But then what… argh,” she whimpered as his fingers pressed against her lips, teasing her, stroking her like a fire he was trying to coax to its full heat. “What will you… oh, God…”
Two fingers slipped inside of her.
Celestine’s eyes widened and she went to cry out, only for Edward’s mouth to smother her. He kissed her intensely and with unbridled passion. He kissed her to shut her up, to tame her, and to let her know that she belonged to him. He kissed her because he could, and because she wanted it.
His fingers slid deep inside of her. Her body seized, tightened, and then relaxed just as he started to curl them. They stroked her walls, and each time that they did, spikes of pleasure the likes of which she had never known swept through her body.
Her knees buckled and she might have collapsed, was Edward not pressed so tight against her.
“You will not marry Lord Grundon,” he growled as he continued to stroke her. Her breathing turned heavy, quick, and he moved his fingers to match. “You will not marry anyone.”
“I have…” She moaned. “No… choice.”
“You always have a choice…” He licked her right ear and then his lips wrapped her earlobe. He tore at it before attacking her neck again.
“I… there is nothing… I cannot…”
