Chapter 16
The moment Rob decided to kiss her, Harry shivered with anticipation. It was there in his hot gaze. His eyes shone with hunger and desire darkened his face.
It was the most thrilling sight she’d ever beheld and she longed to see it for the rest of her days.
He leaned across the coach and slid his arms about her waist. She let out a cry of surprise and as he pulled her over onto his lap.
Unapologetically then, he tilted her head back, his thumb tracing her jaw.
“You are going to drive me mad, woman.”
“They say it can be pleasant,” she whispered, loving the feel of being cradled against his hard body. “Madness.”
He growled softly then. Without thinking, she held on to him, determined not to be passive in this kiss. For, this was her last chance to have this with him, if what he said was true.
She gazed up into his eyes. “Let this be a moment that neither of us forgets.” She slid her hand to the nape of his neck, her gloved fingertips caressing his dark hair and urged his lips towards her.
He needed no encouragement. His mouth swooped down to hers in a wicked kiss. His hold tightened as his hands roved her back and waist. Her reason slipped away on a tide of fiery hunger. With every moment, the kiss deepened, intensified, until her eyes fluttered entirely closed and she was lost to sensation.
The feel of his coarse hair against her fingers was delicious and his hard strength against her torso was hypnotic, as was his spicy scent which only drove her further down the path of abandon.
His tongue teased her lips and to her amazement, she parted them. Slipping his tongue into her mouth, she gasped then tentatively met his tongue with her own. Her boldness seemed to drive him wild. For his kisses tossed her higher and higher in bliss, as if she had been lost to a storm of pure pleasure and there was no going back.
Thought gave way as her hands, of their own instinct slid down his back, and she arched her body against his.
His strong hand stroked her rib cage then covered her breast.
She moaned against his mouth.
Easily, he flicked her cloak over her shoulders then pressed open-mouthed kisses along her neck.
Her head dropped back as he nibbled the delicate skin of her arched throat. Holding him as if she was certain he might slip away at any moment, she did not draw back as he caressed the exposed curves of her breasts with his lips.
This. This was bliss. Heaven. It was what she had been waiting for her whole life. How could anyone turn away from this?
So, she smiled as his hand slipped to her skirts. She thought nothing of it as his hand cupped her calf and slid upward. Having been bold her entire life, going back never occurred to her. For once she set her feet upon a path, there was no retreat. Only discovery.
His fingers slid between her thighs.
She knew about this. She’d read about it in novels. Her upbringing had not been sheltered as many young women. Yet, the thorough education she’d received from her progressive mother had not prepared for the sudden shock of his strong fingers stealing upward, to the softest part of her thighs then circling over the most sensitive part of her body.
She dug her fingers into his shoulders, the immediate pleasure was so intense.
She could hardly make sense of what was happening except that she wanted it. Wanted him.
There was nothing for it. Rob felt right. He was the one her heart called for, her heart which could always be relied upon to set her in the right direction.
Yes, he was the one who would awaken her and she could imagine nothing better.
As his mouth covered hers again, swelling her moans of pleasure as he teased her to a place she had only ever imagined, she crashed upon an unknown shore.
Trembling, smiling, she breathed him in as wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her. Now, in this moment, she knew exactly what she wanted. And what she wanted was him and the feeling of absolute rightness that she had never felt with anyone else in her entire life.
After months, hell years, of holding himself on a tight rein, the control he’d kept himself under vanished. It utterly fled and the sight of her pleasure only drove him further into his madness. And she’d been correct. This madness was pleasure. So damned pleasurable.
The wild need that owned him now took over his every action and all he could see and hear was her own need. Her own desire. For him.
This was a taste of pure joy. Of escape. And he could no more turn from it than he could turn back the setting of the sun.
So, as he stroked her, his fingers caressing the wet heat between her legs, that wetness a sign of her desire for him. He adjusted her on the cushioned seat, sliding her skirts further up her thighs until they pooled at her hips.
Given the thin silk, they shimmied up easily to her waist. Her chemise was no barrier to her core and he pulled her to straddle his lap.
At any moment, she could resist or turn away.
She did not.
In fact, she grabbed hold of him, her eyes wide, chest lifting and falling in rapid breaths.
Barely with a thought, his fingers worked his breeches free and his cock freed from the tight fabric to rest between her thighs.
He groaned. Perfection. She was perfection.
And her face, her beautiful face, with her mischievous eyes looked down upon him, expectant.
Slowly, he rested his hands on her hips and angled her so that he rested against her slit.
Her eyes widened as he began rocking against her.
“Tell me to cease,” he breathed as any sense of right, or duty, or reason abandoned him. “Tell me.”
“I—I cannot tell you what I do not wish.”
And with those words, whatever last shred of reticence vanished and he thrust into her delicious, tight, heat.
A cry tore from her lips and she tensed against him.
Panting, she moaned. “It hurts.”
And then, the entire world stilled as the enormity of what they were doing crashed down upon him.
Of course it hurt. She had never done this before and, somehow, he had allowed himself to throw away all consideration for the repercussions of this. All because he had been holding on so tight, for so long, that once he’d let go he’d lost all sense of self.
But there was no way around this now. He’d gone too far and there was no going back.
So, he held himself still and held her gaze.
“Harry,” he said softly, determined not to ruin this for her. “Kiss me.”
“Pardon?” she panted, straining against him.
“Kiss me,” he urged as he stroked his hands gently over her lower back then along her thighs, trying to ease her tension.
Slowly, a little at a time, she began to relax and she did indeed kiss him. She kissed him as if she owned him and that both terrified and possessed him. With the tangle of their lips and tongues, once again, she sighed, leaning into him.
The feel of her body pressed against his, of their oneness, took hold of him. And all he could think of was being with her completely in this moment.
And as he rocked against her, his fingers sliding between their bodies, teasing her. She moaned with need.
His own hunger began to wind him tighter and tighter. As soon as he felt her muscles tighten around him, he gasped her name and, at the very last moment, he pulled free of her. Ecstasy unlike he’d ever known blazed through him as he came against her thigh.
As the waves of it washed over him, the pleasure gave way to dread. For to his horror, despite the perfectness of their bodies together, he’d allowed passion to rule his decision and that was the very worst thing he could have ever done.