Page 18 of Scandal’s Daughter

“Please don’t,” she whispered, clutching at his arm as he looked down at her, seeing desire in her eyes just as fierce as his own. If he was any kind of gentleman, he would stop now.

“Please, love,” he begged, kissing the corner of her mouth. “Let me touch you.”

She swallowed and stilled, and though he hated himself he was driven to continue, seeking out the tiny nub of flesh that would bring her pleasure. Caressing, touching her so, so gently, he felt her breathing hitch as he returned his lips to hers, kissing her again. Tenderly this time, he explored the silky warmth of her mouth as her breathing grew more ragged, as her body twitched and shifted beneath him.

“Do you like that?” he whispered against her mouth as he slid one finger inside her, caressing still with small, careful movements.

“I ...” she began and stopped, staring up at him, fear and desire tangled together in her eyes. He watched her as the pleasure began to build, as her eyes grew hazy and she moaned, small, urgent sounds that made his own body tighten further.

“Let go,” he urged, desperate to see her pleasure. He would have this much from her at least, before he left. “Let it take you over.” He spoke the words against her skin as he slid another finger inside her and felt her body respond. She was slick and hot, and he was so desperate to sink inside of her and find his own release, but he continued to stroke and caress as her body sang with tension. She clutched at him, one hand pulling at his hair as her head tilted back and she arched beneath him. Her body clenched around his fingers as she bucked and gasped and cried out and desire sang through him as he watched her come apart in his arms.

***

Georgiana fought for breath, gasping as pleasure and panic rolled over her in equal measure. She no longer knew what kind of creature she was, and felt betrayed, somehow, by her own skin. She had known he was going too far, taking too much and yet her flesh had demanded that he continue as he invaded her most intimate places.

She knew now, how it was he had gained such a reputation. For even as every argument for good sense had been put forth by her poor, desperate mind her body had rejected them with no more than a feeble protest passing her lips. Even now, with the traces of pleasure still fizzing in her veins and her body languid and sated, it wasn’t enough.

There was a strange, dull ache inside her, a hollow feeling that hungered for more, for him. Instinctively she knew this was ground she could not set foot upon if she didn’t want to end her days alone. If she gave herself to him, she would be ruined and no matter that the desire to do just that burned like a brand inside her. That she couldn’t do.

She tried to sit up, to push him away but he was too heavy, and she stilled, suddenly afraid. Not afraid of him, but afraid of what she would allow him if he continued to persuade her in such a fashion, for she had no defence, no argument to pit against such voluptuous enticements.

He was staring down at her, such need in his dark eyes that her heart began to thunder as it just had when he had mastered her own flesh.

“Please, Beau,” she begged, feeling tears spring to her eyes. “No more, please.”

She looked up at him and saw the desperation, the raw desire to take her, fighting with whatever care he may have for her. In the end he rolled away and lay on his back with a curse and she let out a shaky breath.

“I want you,” he said, his voice heavy with all the same sensations that rolled over her skin at his words.

“I want you too,” she whispered. “But we cannot be together, and I must be a virgin when I wed. I can’t ...”

“I know!” he shouted. She jumped, shocked by the anger in his words. Without another word she sat up, intending to leave now, while she still could but he reached out and grasped her hand, yanking her to him so she fell across his chest. “Would you leave me now?” he demanded. “Leave and not come back? Is that what you intend?”

She gasped at the fury in his eyes and shook her head, even though she had thought just that. This was too dangerous, he was too dangerous. “N-no ...” she stammered.

“Liar!” The accusation made her jolt with alarm, but she had no time to react as he rolled her onto her back once more, finding his place between her legs. Grasping her thigh, he pulled it around his hip and pressed himself against her, rocking against her tormented flesh. She could feel the hardness of him sliding over her as he moved and desire blazed to life beneath her skin like a spark hitting kindling, devouring it all in a fierce burn that left nothing behind but ashes.

“You want this,” he said, his dark eyes treacherous with passion. “You want me.”

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, I do.” She blinked up at him, willing him not to take it any further. For even as she knew she would struggle to deny him, it would break her heart to know he held her so cheap.

She saw the moment he realised it in his own eyes. With regret he moved away, though he pulled her with him and held her close in his arms.

“It’s like a kind of madness,” he said, his voice rough. “I’ve never known it feel this way before.”

“Truly?” she looked down at him, wanting to believe she wasn’t like all the others. But wasn’t that what all the women before her had thought, that they were different, special. But he would leave her the same way he had left each of them. Moving onto the next challenge, the next conquest.

He grasped her face in one large hand and she saw desperation in his eyes. “I feel like I will lose my mind when I leave you.”

She tried to smile at him, but her heart was too numb to make it work as it should. “I’d settle for your heart,” she replied, tracing a finger over his lips.

“You have it,” he said, and the words were angry and urgent. “You have it all.”