A Rakehell's Heart Page 5

  “So,” she said. “We’re going to do that now? Make love? Is there lots of blood involved?”

  His eyes widened. “Not lots. Almost no blood, darling, if any. I suppose I’d better explain what’s to go on.”

  “Yes, please.”

  And he did, parting his dressing gown to show her how his body was made, and touching her gently beneath her shift to indicate how her body was made, and the place he’d join with her. As his male organ grew in his hand, she thought the entire thing far-fetched.

  “It will be so tight,” she pointed out. “Far too tight to feel pleasurable.”

  “It won’t be tight. Well, only in the nicest way.”

  His eyes had developed a sort of tension as they spoke together. Her body had developed that tension also, a readiness that made her feel wide awake.

  He turned to look back at the canopied bed. “I suppose we must consummate this marriage like dutiful royals. It’s a ridiculous business, isn’t it?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Is it?” She’d been suspecting so ever since he’d begun his talk.

  He took her face in his hands and kissed the worry from her eyes. “No. A poor joke. It’s a lovely business, if you’ll but trust me. I’ll do my best to make you feel good.”

  “How?”

  “You’re full of questions, Cassy, but it’s too complicated to explain any more, except in the doing of it.”

  She liked that he called her Cassy, since she’d never had a nickname in her life, not until now. It made her feel closer to him. When he held out his hand, she took it without trepidation and followed him to the bed. He took off his dressing gown and draped it over a nearby chair. She stared, she couldn’t help it. How different he looked from her. And yet, how pleasing...

  “Would you like to leave your shift on for now?” he asked, pushing back the covers.

  “I... I don’t know.”

  “It might be nicer to lie together skin to skin, so we can warm one another.”

  Cassandra already felt warm from the blush consuming her body, but the idea of nakedness was appealing, especially with the way he was looking at her, like she was the most enticing seductress in the world. “I suppose I’ll take it off.”

  He knelt up in the bed to help her undo the delicate buttons at the neck. His male member, his cock, as he called it, pointed at her in an off-putting way, but she pushed that thought aside as he caught her gaze.

  He helped her pull the silken garment over her head and discard it, then he moved over so she could lie beside him on the bed. He took her in his arms so she was enveloped in his strength and heat. His fingertips strayed over her shoulders, down to the tops of her breasts.

  “How lovely you are,” he said, and she felt a rush of pleasure. He wasn’t only saying it to be courteous. She was almost sure he meant what he said. She thought she ought to say something complimentary in return.

  “I think that you...” She ducked her head beneath his chin, overcome with shyness. “You are exceptionally kind. And you seem to be very good at this thing we’re about to do. At least so far.”

  Goodness, what a stupid thing to say, but he didn’t laugh at her. She was grateful for that.

  “What you must remember is that it’s very much like dancing,” he said, stroking her hair. “Trust me to lead you. Give your body to the rhythms when they come.”

  “What rhythms?”

  His fingers brushed over her nipples in a light touch. “You’ll see.”

  *** ***

  Gideon was trying to go slow. He was really, truly trying. The problem was, he’d never gone slowly at anything in his life. He’d especially never gone slowly with a willing woman in his bed. Her dark eyes were wide with curiosity. She trusted him, she wanted him, which fired his blood even more.

  But he must take his time. He must bring her along with him, as Adele had advised. Blasted virgins. Why did they have to be so awful and so desirable at once?

  “Darling, come closer,” he said, drawing her toward him and resting a hand at the base of her spine. She pressed against him, all restless legs and shaky, tentative touch. He kissed her and stroked her back in an effort to distract her from his stiff cock lying along her belly. She ended each kiss before he would have willed it, and looked in his eyes, searching them in her innocent, hapless way.

  He responded by nudging her onto her back. He held her shoulders down—not too hard—and licked and nibbled the velvet expanse of her skin, dropping kisses over the racing pulse at the base of her neck. She moved against his palms as if to resist, but she wasn’t really resisting. When he released one shoulder to run his fingertips over her nipples, she made a breathless sound.

  “What is it?” he said against her ear. “What’s the matter?”

  “It only feels so...”

  “So good, like last night?”

  “When you do it now...when we’re both unclothed, and so close together...” Her hips inched forward, sending a jolt of pleasure through his cock.

  “I know,” he said, suppressing a groan. “It’s exciting to be so close, and so naked together. That’s the fun of being a husband and wife.”

  He stroked her nipples for several more minutes, thrilling to every gasp and sigh. Her curious eyes went half-closed in pleasure, then opened wide when he pinched one of her sensitized peaks. He held her gaze, smiling. Pinching harder.

  “Oh,” she said.

  “How does that feel?” he asked, returning to softer caresses.

  “I don’t know. How is it supposed to feel?”

  “There’s no hard and fast rule, but I’d like you to feel that you can’t get close enough to me. That you want my mouth everywhere.”

  He wanted to kiss her everywhere. He held her shoulder again, and this time traced her nipple with his tongue rather than his fingertip. It was far more pleasurable to do it this way than over her nightshift. Based on her squirming reaction, she must have felt the same way. Her fingers rested on his hair, then wove into it so he felt an increasing pull.

  Say what they might about virgins and their wedding nights—so far, he was the only one who seemed to be suffering any pain.

  “Sir, do you want...” She could barely speak, as he was having his way with her other nipple. “Shall I put my mouth everywhere on you?”

  “Eventually,” he said. “Not tonight, but soon. Mouths and fingers are a lover’s most useful tools.” He thought a moment, reminded by his throbbing organ. “Well, aside from the more central ones.”

  Her hazy eyes narrowed in confusion.

  “My cock,” he said with some strain. “And your pussy.” He traced a palm down her front to nestle over her soft triangle of fur. He hoped he was going slowly enough. He couldn’t wait another moment to touch the silken recess of her mystery. Her virginity. No, no, don’t plunge your fingers into her. Oh, she’s wet. She’s ready. No, don’t go too fast.

  “Do you ever touch yourself here?” he asked, parting her folds, searching for her sensitive pearl.

  “No. I—it—it was not permitted.”

  She let out a gasp as he found his mark and swirled a fingertip over the swelling flesh. Not permitted? She’d only know that if she’d found her way to this “misbehavior” at some point. The idea pleased him, his virginal princess fighting the temptation to finger her pussy in her narrow convent bed.

  “It’s permitted now.” He demonstrated his assertion with gentle, teasing strokes. Her hips bucked in the same rhythm as his finger, as if he played her like an instrument. He was coming to understand in the course of this slow seduction that she was a very sensitive instrument. He thought, if he learned her nuances well, she could play wonderfully rousing tunes.

  “Mm.” Her hand moved to his shoulder, gripping him. “That doesn’t hurt at all.”

  “Good. That means you’re ready for the rest.”

  He’d been ready ages ago. It took all the willpower he possessed to slide his fingers deeper, to trace them around her slick opening without frightening or forcing her. He held her gaze and slid the tip of one finger inside.

  “Feel how wet you are,” he said, easing his finger in and out. “That means we’re meant to be together in this way. It means that you want me. And this...” He shifted so the head of his steel-hard cock pointed at her opening. “This means that I want you.”

  He gritted his teeth as she moved gingerly upon his finger, her face a mask of concentration.

  “You see how your body is made for me?” he said. “You’re made to take me inside you.”

  “You mean, your...your big thing?”

  “My cock,” he reminded her. “Yes.”

  “Oh.” She let out her breath in a rush as he added another finger. “Well, Sir, I’m not sure it will work.”

  He was quickly reaching the end of his tether. He had to move her toward acceptance, or risk traumatizing his new bride. “You’re stretching for me, don’t you see?” He moved his fingers in and out, through her wetness. “It doesn’t hurt, does it?”

  “Not precisely. But it feels strange.” She squeezed around his fingers and he barely suppressed a hiss of frustration.

  “Cassandra, sweeting, are you ready for me to come inside?” He moved, parting her legs wider, positioning himself over her.

  “Oh.” He could feel her shivering. “Yes. All right.”

  She closed her eyes, going tense. Damn. She’d had too much experience of men as brutes, as bullies, to trust him now.

  “Stay with me, darling. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  He took her hand and held it tight, bracing her as he pressed his cock against her entrance. She was hot and wet, but God, so small.

  “Remember how we felt together before,” he said, dropping kisses along her shoulder, even as his cock ached to drive inside. “Remember how we’re meant to be together? That warm, excited feeling you had?”

  “Yes.”

  Despite her small, frightened voice, he could feel her reaching for those bodily memories. He traced her nipple, then kissed her trembling mouth, widening her thighs with his hips at the same time. He brushed his swollen cock between her pussy’s folds to prime her, and was rewarded with another of those whimpers she gave whenever he stroked her just so.

  He gazed down at her, at her wild, unbraided hair spread over the pillow. His dark princess, the princess he hadn’t particularly wanted, now seemed to him the most exotic, arousing creature in the world. He felt a soul-deep need to breach her virginity and make her his. “Hold tight to my shoulders, Cassy, and I’ll make you my wife.”

  When he finally thrust inside, it was not as violent or as difficult as he feared. He held her hips and aligned his body to hers, and pressed into her slowly, inch by inch, stopping now and again to muffle a gasp with a kiss. He hurt her a little, yes, he could feel it in the tautness of her shoulders, but she didn’t try to close herself to him, or push him away.

  “Yes, darling,” he breathed. “I’m moving inside you. How wonderful it is.”

  “How tight it is.” It was a mild protest, considering how impaled she must feel. He withdrew, thinking grateful thoughts for the generous women who’d schooled him in bedcraft. He would use that knowledge to make this encounter a fulfilling experience for her.

  “Is that everything?” she asked. “It didn’t hurt too much.”

  “It’s not everything.” She was as ignorant in these matters as he was experienced, which made this whole thing very difficult. “We’re just getting started, but I promise it gets better,” he told her. “And the hurting is over, so fear not.”

  *** ***

  Cassandra squeezed on her husband’s cock, amazed by his reaction, his sharp, intense gasp. “How does it feel to you?” she asked.

  “Horrible and wonderful.” He shook his head, laughed softly, and kissed her chin. “No, not horrible. The wrong choice of word. It’s more like tension.”

  “Yes, I feel that too.”

  It wasn’t bad tension, but it wasn’t comfortable either. He was so large in general, she shouldn’t have been surprised that he would feel large inside her. The only surprising thing was that he’d managed to make it fit. When he moved in her, even a little, her whole body reacted, and yes, she felt a tension she’d never fathomed before. She wanted to move, but she didn’t know how. She wondered if he felt the same.

  “Goodness,” she whispered as he withdrew from her, then came in again. “This is so...”

  She had no word to describe what he was doing, because it was so new. He left and drove in again, starting a rhythm. What had he told her? Give your body to the rhythms when they come.

  He surged and withdrew, slowly enough to make those sparks and jolts course through her body, but powerfully enough to take her breath. He pushed deep in her, but it didn’t hurt. In fact, it felt exciting. She tried to move as he did, arching her hips, meeting his thrusts with a little twist of her own.

  “Yes, good girl,” he said. “That’s exactly it.”

  His words of encouragement made her bolder, as did his continuing caresses. When he pinched her nipples, she liked it. When he sucked them between his teeth, her body shuddered of its own accord, propelled by some inner demon that desired unfettered passion.

  No. There was no demon inside her. That was how the sisters used to talk, but she didn’t believe them anymore, because Gideon had proved all their lectures and warnings to be false. He wasn’t hurting her. In fact, with each thrust of his male part inside her, she felt closer to him. It was the loveliest feeling, tossing and straining in his arms. There was a tingling deep down in her center, in the place the sisters had warned her she must never touch. It grew stronger, throbbing, aching with a glorious intensity.

  He slid his fingers between their bodies, to the sensitive spot at her center, and her thighs spread wider, opening for his touch. “Please, that feels very...oh...very wonderful.”

  Wonderful wasn’t a good enough word, but it signaled that she didn’t want him to stop what he was doing, and he didn’t. Between his kisses and his deft touch, and the fullness of his cock inside her, she recognized that some finale of sorts was coming. She understood the meaning of consummation, because need and want consumed her as she struggled to reach that peak.

  The bit of flesh he caressed grew hot with longing, and when he moved his hand, she ground her hips against him to feel that longing continue. Her nerves tingled madly as he drove into her. He went rougher now, harder and deeper, but she liked it. They were making rhythms together, as naturally as if they’d been doing it their entire lives.

  She pulled him into her, marveling at how the hard muscles in his buttocks bunched beneath her palms. He was striving to make her feel good. She loved his kindness and his strong, arching body...

  A climax arrived as she considered the power of his possession. All the pleasure he’d stirred up with his thrusting caresses exploded in a squeezing release. She clung to him, feeling herself transported to some other place. If this was what the sisters had termed “debauchery,” all her fear and anxiety had been for naught. Her body squeezed and wavered with bliss until the release had run its course.

  Then Gideon groaned, and she looked to him warily, but his stiffening and shuddering turned out to be his own paroxysm of pleasure. She could tell it by the contented noises that escaped his gritted teeth, and the broad smile he gave before he collapsed beside her.

  That smile sustained her as they lay together, saying nothing for a while. She was still naked—as was he—but she didn’t feel embarrassed. She felt close to him, and at peace.

  “That was lovely,” she said. “A lovely consummation. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He panted, a little out of breath. “I tried very hard to make it lovely.”

  She knew he had tried, which made her adore him. “It’s a shame we can only do it once.”

  He hauled himself up on one elbow. “What do you mean?”

  “Our marriage is consummated now. It was so delightful.” She spread her hands on a wistful note. “But now it’s done.”

  He chuckled. “You’re an innocent little goose, by God. Our marriage is consummated, yes, and we’ll need to deliver the sheets downstairs presently.” He showed the faint smear of blood on the bedding, the evidence of their joining. “But we’re free to couple as many times as we like for the rest of our married days.”

  “You mean we can repeat what we just did?”

  “Yes.”

  “Over and over?”

  He drew her against his body, pressing a kiss to her lips. “If you like, we can do it again in a few minutes. Only please, by your courtesy, give me a moment to recover my stamina. Bedding a virgin is a tremendous undertaking.”

  “You did very well,” she assured him. “You’re certain to plant plenty of babies in my stomach with such stamina. Though, hopefully, you won’t plant too many at the same time.”

  He chuckled again. “We’ll have a talk about that in the morning, for I fear you need more clarity in these matters.” He gave her a deep, forceful kiss that made the spot between her thighs start tingling with renewed vigor. “But that’s just as well. I’m more than happy to teach you everything I know.”

  Chapter Five

  Gideon awakened in late morning, yawned and stretched, and rolled against the drowsy princess sprawled to his left. For a moment, he was surprised to find her there, because he generally woke up alone.

  Not anymore. His wife had curled beside him after their last energetic coupling near dawn, and still remained, a sleepy bundle in his bed.

  Three days ago, it had seemed an impossibility to be a husband, to be married, even though, as the oldest child of the Hastings royal family, he had little choice in his life’s direction. He’d been primed for a politically expedient marriage since birth, which was probably why he’d always been so disinterested in a family life.

  But now his wife had a name, and a face. She had hair that looked even blacker and silkier in the day’s light. She had long, delicate lashes that twitched in her sleep, and lips that turned up slightly, even in repose. He knew now that when she opened her eyes, they would be deep black with dark green flecks, recalling earth and nature. His Carlisle princess, living a life so far away all this time, until he met her and married her in the space of three days.

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