Page 77 of Broken

She closed around his shaft and Giles groaned. His fingers rubbed her spine and down to her bottom. She shifted so she knelt more comfortably and increased the pace of her movements and the strength of her jaw.

“Dear God, you have a talent for this, but if you don’t lift your head, Ghost, you’re going to get quite a mouthful,” Giles growled.

But she wanted everything he could give. His breath became frantic. He arched to fill her mouth and warmth gushed over her tongue, forcing Lilly to swallow quickly.

* * *

“Do you know that you hog the blankets?” Giles asked a while later as he massaged a particularly tender spot into submission.

“Sorry. I did not realize.”

Giles pressed a kiss to her spine. “I’ll have to learn to be more aggressive in my sleep if I want to stay warm.”

“Ah, in a little while you won’t have to worry.” Lilly smiled despite her sadness. She was determined to enjoy everything that Giles Wexham had to offer. Including the bad part of saying goodbye.

“What if I want to worry? I like taking care of you, Ghost.”

Lilly stilled, wondering what he was suggesting. It wouldn’t be marriage. It couldn’t be. “Then I think you should lie back down until the sensation passes.”

“If you married me, you could be very comfortable.”

“I’m comfortable now,” Lilly squeaked.

“But this interlude cannot last, darling.” He brushed his hands more lightly over her skin as he was finished. Lilly was afraid to turn over. Giles must be drunk. Sober, he wouldn’t contemplate such a change in his life.

“That is not a very good reason.”

“Marriage to me would protect you, and give you every comfort you might desire. If you haven’t noticed, we are very compatible in bed.”

“I could be comfortable in Wales, too. I have considered Papa’s original plan and have decided it has some merit. If I live my life carefully, and rest often, there is no reason a country house wouldn’t be acceptable.”

“Did you change your mind about letting someone else touch you?” Giles didn’t sound happy and, reluctantly, Lilly rolled over. His jaw was clenched into a stubborn line Lilly wasn’t familiar with.

“No,” Lilly confessed. “No one else will ever touch me as you do.”

That seemed to appease him for a moment. “I’ve compromise you, Lilly. I’ve already done it many times since you came to stay, but by now the whole staff knows where you spent last night. They will send him here. It is only a matter of time before your father comes knocking on that door.”

Lilly hadn’t counted on that. She had assumed Giles had been as discreet as before. “Are you sure you want to do this, Giles?”

“It’s the only way I can look after you.”

Giles rolled off the bed and strode to his dressing room. He must be unhappy she had resisted his plan, simply because he wasn’t ready for their affair to end. She was a bit stunned that he thought to marry her to keep her in his bed, though.

Giles had told her that he would not marry, and she had believed him. Lilly had accepted that condition. She had allowed him to tempt her in order to satisfy her own growing curiosity, but had no belief that anything further would come after the pleasure she expected.

But yesterday Giles had stolen her, deposited Lilly in his own room, locking them in while she recovered. What had come after in his bed had been wonderful. He did appear to care for her. Perhaps it would be enough to keep him by her side at least for a little while. Lilly doubted she had the ability to keep him satisfied for long, though.

When she slipped into the dressing room, she found him partially dressed, so she ran her hands across his bare back, marveling at the hard muscles under his skin, and slipped her fingers down toward his backside.

“Are you trying to tempt me back to bed?”

“Is that a possibility?” Lilly grinned. She would miss their scandalous conversations too.

“I could promise it was. But we will have company soon, and I would prefer to be at least partially dressed for the occasion of asking your father for your hand in marriage.”

Lilly glanced down at her forgotten nakedness. “I would prefer that, myself.”

“But you look so lovely, just as you are,” Giles teased, glancing her over with appreciation and lust brightening his eyes. “If you open that wardrobe door, you will find Mrs. Osprey provided some fresh clothing for you. You are going to have to at least agree to a betrothal, you know. There is no other way.”