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Two hours later, Heather stood shivering in the front entryway of Drake’s home in Belgravia. As she allowed his butler to take her coat, she glanced around the dim foyer, wondering how many other women had entered into a sexual relationship with this handsome-as-sin aristocrat. And how many of them had he turned back out onto the streets when he tired of them?
She shook the thought away and tried to smile when he led her toward the stairs.
“I have half a dozen constables guarding the outside of the house,” he told her. “We’ll be safe here.”
“I trust you,” she assured him.
The person she didn’t trust was herself. Who was this person she’d become? Her life had changed entirely tonight. Allison was now offering her the family she’d always craved. She couldn’t believe that she’d left her sister on the night that she’d finally accepted her as an equal, just to run away with a man.
Not just any man, though. She sighed as he strode up the stairs in front of her, his body straight and strong. Soon, all her lies would come toppling down on her head. Was it so wrong to want just a few more nights of heaven before all of this was lost to her? Before this beautiful man started looking at her with disgust instead of soft longing?
Even Allison might turn her back on Heather when she found out she’d been part of the Citizens Committee, that she’d been part of that bombing, part of Drake’s kidnapping...
Squaring her shoulders, she decided not to worry about any of that right now. She’d made love to Drake twice now, but neither time had been in a real bed nor had they been able to relax and take their time. She wanted tonight to be perfect.
One last wonderful memory to take with her to prison...
She shivered again as they reached the top of the stairs, and Drake turned to her with a gentle smile. “I’ve had a room prepared for you, if that’s what you want. I know that the last few days have been difficult, and I would never presume that you want to stay in my room tonight. I just wanted you here with me.”
“Oh, Drake.” His consideration chased the last of her doubts away. She threw her arms around him and lifted on her tiptoes to press a swift kiss to his lips. “I want to stay with you. I want to fall asleep in your arms. There’s nothing I want more.”
A beautiful smile lit his face and then he kissed her again, hard and passionate this time, tasting of whisky and the promise of what was to come. “Come with me,” he said at last, taking her hand and tugging her down the hall to a door on the right.
The room they entered was obviously his, decorated in masculine tones of blue and green. The walnut bedroom set was massive, the bed at least twice as wide as the one she’d had at Allison’s. She drifted around the room, letting her fingers trail across the crushed velvet counterpane and shiny wood, glad that he hadn’t taken her somewhere frilly and pink, a room that had been decorated by his last mistress. She had no doubt that such a room existed somewhere in this house, but it seemed significant to her that he’d taken her here instead.
“Do you like it?” he asked quietly, still standing near the doorway, looking oddly vulnerable with his hands in his pockets.
“I love it,” she assured him, leaning against the foot of the bed, wishing she knew the proper way to seduce him. Some women seemed to be natural temptresses, but she’d never felt that she was one of them. But this man made her yearn to be a seductress. She wanted to keep him enthralled with her. She never wanted him to walk away.
He prowled across the room to her side, pulling her into his arms and just holding her tightly. “What do you want right now, darling? Would you like to just go to sleep in my arms?”
Heat stained her cheeks as she realized he was going to make her be the one to say it. Though she appreciated that he was giving her the option, she’d rather hoped that he’d want her so badly that he’d start stripping off her clothes the moment they walked into the room.
“I do want to sleep,” she admitted. “But first I want to make love. I want to know what it’s like to be completely naked with you. To fall asleep in each other’s arms afterward.”
He put a fingertip beneath her chin and tilted her face up so he could stare down into her eyes. In his, she saw unmistakable desire. For now, for this moment at least, he was as captivated by her as she was with him.
“I want that too, Heather.” He gave a rueful little laugh. “I want you so desperately, more than I ever expected to want anyone. It scares me a little.”
“It scares me too,” she said, stunned that he’d admitted any weakness to her. But perhaps that was why she cared about him so very much. He was a strong, powerful man, but when he was with her, he allowed himself to show his tender side. That sort of trust didn’t come easy to him, she knew, and she hated that eventually, he was going to learn that it was misplaced.
Releasing her, he gestured to a door across the room. “I have a bathtub big enough for two. Would you like to join me?”
“Yes,” she murmured shyly, even though the thought of bathing with him seemed very intimate. Perhaps even more intimate than making love.
He once again led the way to the bathroom, which was bigger than her entire suite of rooms at Allison’s had been. The sunken tub with porcelain tile in shades of blue was indeed big enough for two, so deep that she could probably swim in it.
He leaned down and plugged the tub, then turned on the faucet. It came to life with a startling explosion of water, which popped and gurgled for a moment before it became a steady stream.
“I’m still not quite used to the luxury of having hot water whenever you want it. For too many years, footmen hauled huge pots of hot water up and down the stairs for Allison, and it took forever.” Allison’s new house had wonderful plumbing, but as a servant, she was still only allowed one hot bath a week.
“No more waiting for water to be hauled,” he said with a smile, shrugging out of his jacket. “Do you need some help undressing?”
The heat in her cheeks intensified if that was even possible. “Yes, please.” Usually, she wore clothes that she could easily get in and out of herself, but the dress she was wearing was one of Allison’s, loaned to her for dinner tonight, and she’d have a hard time taking it off herself.
Removing his waistcoat and unbuttoning his shirt, he tossed them on the vanity chair with his jacket, and then walked toward her bare-chested, giving her a fantastic view of rippling muscle with a dark patch of hair in the center that she couldn’t wait to run her fingers through.
“Turn around,” he murmured, his voice husky with desire.
Shivering, she did as he asked, then caught a glimpse of them in the mirror on the other side of the room. They looked good together, she decided, her eyes half-closed as he proceeded to unfasten her dress, pressing his lips tenderly to each inch of skin he revealed.
He let the gown fall off her shoulders to pool at her feet, then released her petticoats and drawers, removed her corset cover and corset, at last leaving her in nothing but her chemise and the sparkling amethyst necklace that Allison had gifted her tonight, insisting that she needed some jewelry of her own. She took a few deep breaths, having been laced tighter than she was used to all night.
“I don’t know how you ladies wear such torture devices,” he said, running his hands over the sensitive skin under her breasts where the corset had created deep ridges.
“I don’t either,” she said with a hoarse laugh, reveling in his gentle touch. “I live for the moment each night I can take it all off.” She couldn’t even imagine how nice it would be to have a man do this for her every night. No, not just any man. This man. The thought was almost too painfully beautiful to bear.
Bending down, he lifted the edges of her chemise and slowly pulled it over her head. Then he gently brushed her hair aside and removed her necklace, placing it carefully with the rest of her things and leaving her standing there as bare as the day she was born.
Her first instinct was to cover herself with her hands, but when she met his gaze in the mirror, she found him staring at her with such rapt adoration that she forced herself to leave her hands at her sides.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, still behind her, holding her gaze in the mirror as he cupped her full breasts, his hands dark against her pale skin. “I think this is the first time I’ve really gotten a good look at you.”
She endured his gaze for as long as she could, but then turned in his arms, still feeling shy and vulnerable. “This isn’t fair,” she said, trying to sound cheeky instead of terrified. “You’ve still got clothes on.”
He laughed and stepped away, his hands going to his falls. “Well, we can’t have that, now can we?”
He shoved his trousers and underclothes down his legs and then kicked them away, this time not bothering to fold them neatly but just leaving them on the floor.
She’d never had the chance to really look at him either, and what she saw now took her breath away. He was tall and broad, heavily muscled, his skin bronzed and free of blemishes. And between his legs...
She looked once, then gasped and looked away, then looked back again, unable to help herself. So that was what it looked like. Strange to think that she’d engaged in the sex act three times already, yet she’d not really gotten a good look at... She was embarrassed that she didn’t even know what to call it.
It looked fierce and demanding, thrusting up against his belly, hard and thickly veined. Looking at it now, she wasn’t quite sure how it had ever fit.
“It’s all right to look,” he told her, appearing very pleased with himself. “I like it when you look at me.”
“You’re very nice to look at,” she admitted, taking a few steps closer to him. “Can I touch you there?”
“I really wish you would,” he breathed.
She gingerly wrapped her fingers around him, stunned by the steely heat. She experimentally moved her hand up and down his length, loving the way he tensed and thrust into her palm.
Before she could go much further, he gave a choked laugh and turned toward the tub. “Hold on a minute. I don’t want to flood the whole house.” Reaching out, he turned off the faucet and she saw that while they’d been undressing, the tub had filled almost to the brim.
“Here, let’s get in while it’s still hot,” he suggested, stepping in and sitting down with his back against the far end and then holding out a hand to her. “Sit here in front of me.”
She stepped in, very aware of her nudity as she sat between his spread legs. He wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her back against him so that her back leaned against his chest, and she could feel his hardness pressing against the small of her back.
“There,” he murmured in her ear, his breath hot against her neck. “How does that feel?”
“Wonderful,” she said softly, enveloped by the heat of the water and the strength of his body. “I don’t know if I ever want to leave.”
He chuckled and hugged her tightly. “Let’s just stay here forever then.”
Relaxing against him, she let out a deep sigh, feeling utterly at peace. Bad things still threatened outside these walls, but for the moment, she was safe. Even more than that... she was happy. She was fairly certain that she was happier than she’d ever been in her entire life.
Reaching past her, he grabbed a sponge off the table beside the tub and soaped it with a bar of lavender soap. “Can I wash you?”
She nodded wordlessly, and he slowly began to slide the soapy sponge over her skin, at first concentrating on her arms, but then moving on to her breasts. She watched the sponge move across her, the feel of it against her sensitive nipples almost more pleasure than she could bear. A deep ache started deep inside her, and she knew now that he was the only thing that could fill it.
His mouth pressed against the side of her neck, kissing her hotly as he moved the sponge even lower. “Spread your legs,” he said, guiding her left leg over the rim of the tub.
She did as he’d instructed with her right until she was completely open to both him and the hot water.
“So beautiful,” he whispered, kissing her neck again, moving her heavy hair over one shoulder so he had better access.
Then he moved the sponge between her legs, rubbing it deliciously over the petals of her sex, until she was panting and moving against him, desperately chasing the feeling he’d given her before.
When it finally crashed over her, she cried out; she couldn’t help herself. This time was even more powerful than before, racing through her veins until her whole body seemed to spasm and then release. She fell back against him, letting her legs fall back into the tub, trying to catch her breath.
“That was incredible,” she managed at last. “Every time we’re together, you make me feel even better than the time before.”
“Good.” He kissed her temple, and she suddenly became very aware that he had not yet had his release.
“What do you want me to do for you?” she asked shyly, turning her head to look at him.
“Let’s just finish washing up,” he said hoarsely. “What I want is best accomplished in a bed, not a tub.”
Admiring his self-control, she turned all the way around, sitting cross-legged at the other end of the tub. “Then let’s hurry.”
He nodded fiercely, and they both rinsed off. He stood first, getting out and wrapping a towel around his lean waist. Then he turned and offered her a hand, helping her step out and then handing her a towel as well.
Her hair was still mostly dry, so she quickly toweled off her body before hanging the towel over a chair and scampering into the big bed. He joined her moments later, then turned to face her, propping his head up with his arm as he gazed at her.
She reached out and ran her fingertips over his dear face, touching every one of his features, thrilled to finally be able to do so. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, seeming to enjoy it.
“If someone would have told me a week ago that I’d be naked in a man’s bed, I never would have believed it,” she said with a soft laugh. “But I feel comfortable with you.”
“I feel comfortable with you too,” he said, opening his eyes again and catching her hand, kissing it, and then letting it go. He drew her closer until their damp naked bodies were pressed together from chest to toe. She was very aware of how much bigger than her he was, and she’d never felt so feminine.
Cupping her face with his warm palms, he kissed her with so much tenderness it took her breath away. His full lips played gently with hers, learning every curve of her mouth before his tongue began to tangle with hers and the kiss went from something sweet and tender to hot and full of desire.
She kissed him back, twining around him, rubbing her hands up and down his broad back, even daring to touch the round swells of his bottom, loving the way his muscles flexed beneath his skin.
His hands roamed her body as well, leaving trails of fire in their wake. The carnal sensuality of being able to touch and be touched without restraint was even better than she’d imagined.
At last, he pulled away and threw off the covers, his dark eyes hot with desire. “Can you get on your hands and knees?” he asked, his voice rough. “I want to take you from behind.”
She had a sudden vivid image of watching a stallion cover a mare, the raw brutality of it, but did as asked anyway, her whole body shivering with desire. As soon as she did, he moved behind her, rubbing his hands along her bare bottom. “You’re so gorgeous like this,” he told her, his voice rough with desire. “I love the way you look here.”
Then he rubbed his length against her damp core, sliding it against her several times before nudging it inside her, then driving deeply until he was completely seated.
She gasped at the fullness but instinctively seemed to know what to do when he began to move within her. The power of his thrusts was so primal that the shimmering sensation began within her almost immediately.
Soon she was crashing over the edge again and then he joined her, crying out and shuddering deep within her. They stayed locked like that for a few moments before he pulled out of her and collapsed on his side of the bed, patting the place beside him.
“Come here, darling,” he whispered. “Let me hold you while we sleep.”
Exhausted both mentally and physically, she crawled up beside him, pillowing her head on his chest as he pulled the blankets around them.
Had she ever been this warm in her life? She doubted it. Safe and secure, she fell asleep in Drake’s arms.