Page 22 of Once Ruined, Twice Shy

After a moment’s hesitation, he extended it towards her. She held it softly, examining the pits in the skin, the white scars and whorls of darkened flesh, particularly on the undersides of the fingers and his palm. He had his war wounds too, just like Frederick.

She kissed the scars, then relinquished Conall’s hand. “Does it hurt?”

“It aches. Even though the flesh is healed, the bones beneath are in a distressed state. I’m learning how to manage the pain, but I’m also training my left hand as a substitute in case of need. I even fence left-handed now, and ride one-handed too.”

She allowed her eyes to travel slowly up his torso, enjoying every mounded muscle and curve, until she met his gaze. Reaching gingerly for his eyepatch, she traced her fingers over the puckered skin at the edges. “May I see this as well?”

He grinned. “As I said before, this is the last thing you will ever get off me.”

Her focus snagged on the grin. Then his mouth changed, hardened. He leaned into her, one arm enfolding her, and kissed her. She went still, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder, letting him move his lips over hers.

This was how it began. Him naked, her, almost. The commodious bed, the sultry air, the titillating fragment of breeze that wafted across her bare arms and neck. She knew the drill. Yet this time, she suspected, would be very different.

“Kiss me back.” His voice was a low growl.

She complied immediately, her hand tangling in his hair, pulling his head close for maximum pressure, for maximum penetration when her lips parted, and his tongue delved into her mouth.

The heady unreality of desire enfolded her, and she drank greedily from Conall’s mouth, her hand dropping to his smooth shoulder again, then tracing his collarbone and the smattering of hair on his chest. Then, remembering what Frederick had liked, she broke the kiss and trailed her tongue down Conall’s breastbone and over his small male nipples. She sucked and nibbled delicately at each in turn until she was rewarded with the sight of an encouraging bulge under the covers, below his flat stomach.

“No.” He lifted her head and kissed her softly. “You don’t need to seduce me. I want you with my entire being but now is not the moment to take you. Let this be about your pleasure, not mine.”

With that, he pushed her down onto the bed and kicked the covers to its foot. She lay on her back, exposed, her shift rucked up above her thighs. He settled astride her, his magnificent erection massaging her mound, and the softness of his balls teasing her thighs. She quivered, as need speared through her.

When he ran his hands slowly up her flanks, she lifted her bottom to release the shift. After a brief entanglement, he freed her of it, leaving her vulnerable, open, wanting.

Then he lowered his head and drew his hot, moist tongue over one yearning nipple, eliciting a gasp from her. She ran her hands down his back, relishing the satiny surface of his unblemished skin. While his mouth dealt with one nipple, his fingers toyed with the other, and his free hand spanned her belly, stroking the creases either side of her mound, teasing and tantalising.

“You are delicious.” His voice enwrapped her like a hot summer’s day, making her shudder in delight. His expert stimulation of her nipples had her clenching and unclenching her thighs in response, as her head rocked back and forth.

Suddenly his lips were gone, and his body had shifted further down the bed. He was stopping already? She gave a mew of disappointment.

He looked at her, smiling that wicked, feral grin again. “Move your legs apart, I pray.”

It wasn’t fair—she couldn’t touch him when he was all the way down there. But she obliged and was eternally grateful that she had. He knelt, his hair brushing her feminine curls, his fingers parting her folds. Then his tongue delved in and spread heat over every inch of the delicate skin.

When he found the small nub of flesh hidden in the engorged folds, a tidal wave of sensation buffeted her. Frederick had never done that. Her body heaved up, her breath coming in quick pants as Conall’s fingers slipped inside her, and began a rhythmic stroking.

No, this was too much. It wasn’t right. She wanted him, all of him, craved the joining he had not yet given her. But it was too late. His knowing fingers had taken her beyond pleasure and into ecstasy, where she rocked and cried out softly until the intensity of his touch was almost a pain. She peaked, as ripple after ripple of unearthly delight rolled over her, shipwrecking her on the shores of her own pleasure.

It was some time before she was able to speak again. “Now you.” Breathlessly, she reached for him and grasped his erection.

He removed her fingers gently. “No, my darling, not yet. This is meant just for you.”

“Nonsense. This is for me. Let me please you.”

He closed his eyes and groaned as she grasped him again, putting into play everything Frederick had taught her. Soon Conall was moaning and rolling his head, thrusting his hips against her as she increased the pressure and the friction.

He didn’t join with her, but when he found his climax and spilt his essence, she knew an enormous sense of power and satisfaction. He had believed himself in control. She’d proved him wrong.

She played with his hair while he lay spent on top of her, drowsing in the all-consuming aftermath of physical satiation. After a while, he roused himself and cleaned them both with the washcloth. Then he pulled the covers over their naked bodies and cradled her head on his shoulder, holding her close.

“Miss Normanton. You are the most incredible woman I have ever met. I beg of you, stay with me. Don’t be tempted away by another man.” His voice was uneven, as was his breathing. She sensed she had stormed the bastion of his body—and won. But it would take more than love-making to keep him—she knew that from bitter experience.

But why spoil such an earthshattering moment? “I won’t leave you, Conall Methuen. Josephine was the utmost fool.”

And she hoped, as she closed her eyes and snuggled closer, nothing would prevent her from keeping her promise.

Chapter 13