Beneath the Major's Scars(53)
Zelah waited breathlessly, her eyes fixed on his face. Jasper had guessed her reason for refusing him. He had told her Dominic was very much in love, and all she had to do was to make him admit it. Now, as the minutes ticked by and she could discern nothing in his hard impassive gaze, Zelah wondered if Jasper had been wrong about his twin. Her hand dropped and she turned away, blinking back the hot tears.
‘So there it is,’ she said lightly. ‘I am a hopeless case. I have heard nothing back from the widow in Bath, so I must surmise I was unsuccessful there, too. Do—do you think your sister will write me another ref—’
An iron hand gripped her arm and swung her round. The collision with Dominic’s unyielding chest winded her, but the glow she saw in his eyes set her heart pounding.
‘You would take me, rather than Jasper?’
‘I will take no other,’ she answered him solemnly.
She saw the desire leap in his eyes, but also uncertainty. She prayed he would not reject her now.
‘Are you sure this is not just...pity?’ His voice was harsh, the words edged with bitterness.
Summoning all her courage she slipped her hands about his neck. ‘No, not pity. Love. I love you, Dominic. Let me show you how much.’
She pulled him down towards her and kissed his mouth. His touch was cool, wary, and she closed her eyes, willing him to respond. She felt rather than heard him growl, or was it a sigh? His arms went round her and he kissed her, working her mouth hungrily beneath his, forcing her lips apart, his tongue invading, demanding. Zelah gave way to her passion.
Her hands scrabbled with his jacket, pushing it off his shoulders. The waistcoat followed, but she had to break away to see how to untie the intricate knot of his neckcloth. Impatiently he pushed her hands aside and ripped off the muslin. He was breathing heavily and the crisp dark hair of his chest was visible at the shirt opening. Her hands shook a little as she tugged his shirt free from his breeches. He was far too tall and she could only gather it up and allow him to pull it off. The sight of his naked chest enthralled her. A dark cloud of hair ran down the centre of his chest and the shadows from the candlelight enhanced the rippling muscle. She leaned forwards to press her lips to the ragged scar that crossed his body, trailing kisses down its length as it passed across his breast and the hard undulations of his ribs to the soft, flat plain of his stomach while her hands unfastened the flap of his breeches, her heart jumping with pleasure and anticipation when she noticed how hard and aroused he was beneath the soft buckskin.
She pushed aside the material and began to kneel, intending to follow that wicked scar its full length, but Dominic stopped her.
‘This is unfair,’ he muttered, pulling her to her feet. ‘Let us take this slowly.’
Her body sang with anticipation as he undressed her, pausing to kiss each new area of skin as he exposed it. She gasped when he reached her breasts. She reached out for him, but he caught her arms, pinning them to her sides while his mouth circled and teased her exposed flesh until she was almost begging him to stop. Only then did he raise his head, a devilish gleam in his eyes.
‘Now you know how I feel when you touch me.’
As soon as he released her she threw herself at him, kissing him hungrily, tangling her tongue with his and pressing herself against him. It was not enough. There were too many layers of fabric between their bodies. In silent accord they hurriedly shed the remainder of their clothes until they stood before each other, naked and breathless. The glow in Dominic’s eyes burned into Zelah. She felt beautiful, powerful. Glorious.
With a growl he swept her up and carried her to the bed. The silk was cold as he laid her naked body down upon the cover, but only for an instant, and it was soon forgotten as he knelt beside her.
‘Now,’ he said softly, ‘where were we?’
She sat up and reached out to touch him, just below his navel. ‘I was about there.’
‘Hmm.’ He cupped her breasts, which tightened immediately beneath his hands. ‘You are a little ahead of me, but I will catch you up.’
She shifted around until she could place her lips on his abdomen, steadying herself by placing her hands on his hips, revelling in the feel of his smooth skin beneath her fingers, her mouth, her senses enhanced by the attention he was giving to her own body. Even as she made him groan with pleasure he was moving lower, his lips burning a trail across her body while his hands, the vanguard of his exquisite assault, caressed her thighs, preparing her for his most intimate kiss.
She wanted to please him, to worship his body as he was worshipping hers, but he was sapping her control. She tried to move her hips away from his pleasuring tongue, but his hands gripped her, holding her firm while he continued his relentless onslaught, rousing her to a bucking, crying frenzy that left her almost sobbing with the pleasure of it.
Dominic gathered her to him and she lay for a few moments in the shelter of his arms. Her senses were still heightened, she could feel his soft breathing, hear the stir of the breeze through the distant trees. The fragrance of lavender from the sheets filled her head, mixed with the musky male scent of the man beside her. The candles had guttered and died and they had only the moonlight now, casting its silver gleam over the tower room. She stirred a little, but when Dominic tried to pull the covers over them she stopped him.
‘No, I have not satisfied you yet.’
He chuckled. ‘There is plenty of time for that.’
Zelah sat up. ‘No, let me do this.’
He was still aroused, but she was pleased, and slightly awed, by the way his body reacted to her touch. It excited her and she could feel her body responding again. Dominic groaned and pulled her to him, his mouth seeking hers. His kiss reignited the fire and her body was soon burning with desire. He rolled over her and she opened for him, tilting her hips, inviting him to enter.
He pushed against her, deep and satisfying. She matched his rhythm as he gradually increased the momentum, each thrust carrying her closer to the uncontrollable excitement that was so alarming and yet so exhilarating. She clung on tightly, digging her fingers into his back, afraid she might faint with sheer pleasure. Then, just when she thought she could stand no more, he cried out. She felt him tense. Her whole body gripped him. He shuddered and her own body answered with a tremor of its own. It was a climax, a tipping point and she clung tightly, as if to let go would plunge her into some black and endless abyss.
Exhausted, they sank down together beneath the covers, Dominic wrapping himself around Zelah in a way that made her feel safe, cherished.
‘I hope you are going to marry me after that,’ he whispered, nuzzling her neck.
‘If that is what you want, Dominic.’
‘I have no choice. I love you too much to risk losing you.’
‘Oh.’ She struggled to sit up. ‘Oh, please, say that again.’
‘Say what?’
‘That you love me.’ Suddenly she felt very shy. ‘I have wanted you to say that for such a long time.’
‘Have you? Then I will say it every day from now on.’ He drew her towards him. ‘I love you, Zelah, with all my heart. No, you are my heart. You are my reason for living.’
He kissed her gently and, smiling, Zelah gave a contented sigh and snuggled down in his arms to sleep.
She awoke the next morning to birdsong. It was not yet dawn, but the lack of curtains or shutters in the tower room gave them no shelter from the grey light. She opened her eyes and found Dominic propped up on his elbow, watching her. The sight of his naked torso was enough to bring memories of the night’s activities flooding back. She put her hand up to his cheek and he turned to plant a kiss in the palm.
With a little shiver of pleasure, she slipped her arms around him. ‘Oh, I am such a lucky woman!’