Chapter Twenty-Six
It was close to midnight when Althea left her chamber. She held the candle high, her heart thudding. She’d thought of little else but this once she’d made up her mind. How foolish she’d been to be concerned about the opinions of others which had only served to keep them apart. She was prepared to risk her heart, to have this one time with Flynn, even though a future together seemed doubtful. He would go abroad at the king’s command, and she would return to her life in London once it was safe to do so.
When she reached his bedchamber door she faltered. Brookwood had accused her of being a poor lover so often she’d feared he’d been right. She’d taken no pleasure from the act. An urge to rush back to her bedchamber made her take several steps away down the corridor. But with Flynn, it would be different. Whenever she was near him, she wanted to touch him. She didn’t know much about pleasing a man it was true, but she wanted to try. “Coward!” she murmured and swiveled on her heel, walking back to grasp the door latch before she lost her nerve.
The enormous master bedchamber lay in darkness. Her candle barely lit the way across the carpet to the heavily carved, four-poster bed hung with crimson bed hangings. Flynn’s dark head lay on the pillow. She could hear his slow deep breathing. She would not wake him. With the plan to return to her cold bed, she retreated disappointed, while her body ached for his touch.
“Althea, is that you?” Flynn’s voice came out of the shadows.
“How did you know? I might have been a robber.” She came forward, the candle wobbling in her hand.
He sat up. “Robbers don’t tend to wear attar of roses. Is something wrong?”
The sheet fell to reveal his impressive chest, naked to the waist. The last of her inhibitions fell with it. He slept unclothed, she remembered and shivered with anticipation. Her confidence grew, and she boldly moved to the bedside. “No, nothing’s wrong, Flynn. I want to share your bed.”
His sleepy gray eyes widened and sparkled with warmth. “You are sure?”
“I am sure.”
“The fairies haven’t been whispering in your ear?” he asked with a laugh, his brogue growing heavier.
“Ireland has fairies?” she asked breathlessly. He was making this hard for her, and she’d begun to shiver.
He lifted the covers in invitation, revealing a further glimpse of his lean, finely muscled body. “Mm. None of them are particularly well behaved, but if one has brought you to my bedside, I am not about to complain. Quick, get in. You’re cold.”
“I need you to warm me,” she whispered. She set the candlestick on the dresser, then slipped her dressing gown from her shoulders. She had wanted him, perhaps since they’d first met, but it hadn’t seemed right until now. Flynn had crept beneath her defenses like no other man. She trusted him with her life and her heart. With an intake of breath, she pulled the nightgown over her head. She stood before him naked.
“Althea.” He reached out and drew her into the bed with a long, audible breath. “You’re so beautiful.” His voice filled with passion, sent heat racing along her veins.
Althea leaned into the welcome warmth of his arms as he pulled her beneath the covers. She breathed in his male smell, aware of the long, warm body beside her. She bit her lip on a rush of remembering, and she stiffened as her boldness deserted her.
He sighed when she moved to place space between them. “This is not merely gratitude, is it?”
“Certainly not.” It was her own driving need which had shocked her. She poked his side with a finger. “Do you think this is how I repay those who do me a kindness?”
With a laugh of pure joy, Flynn gathered her close, and his welcome warmth returned, making her aware of their differences, her body soft, his hard with muscle, bone, and sinew. “For a moment, I thought I was dreaming,” he murmured, his breath hot against her ear. “You’re like an angel with your hair down. If this is a dream, I don’t want to wake.”
“I don’t feel like an angel,” she said with a small laugh. Her desires were anything but angelic.
With a sharp intake of breath, he took her mouth in a passionate kiss, his hands stroking over her hip to cup her derriere and bring her closer, against that part of him which told her how much he wanted her. “I’ve ached for this.” He drew back to study her face. “Not your submission, never that, but for you to want me.”
“Oh, I do want you, Flynn.” How very true that was. He trembled when she ran her hand over the smooth skin on his chest, her fingers toying with the tuft of soft, dark hair. “So very much.” But her doubts still lingered. “I fear I might disappoint you.”
His eyes were gentle, understanding. “And I think I know why.”
“I failed to satisfy Brookwood.”
He huffed out a laugh. “What a liar that man was.” His gentle fingers trailed feather-light over her throat and breasts, sending tingles through her body.
“I didn’t love him, you see.”
“He didn’t give you much reason to love him, did he?”
“He said I was cold.”
“Did he satisfy you?”
She shook her head.
“Did he kiss you here?” Flynn circled a pebbled nipple with his thumb, then bent to caress it with his tongue. He shifted to the other breast, pulling the nipple into his mouth, gently nipping and sucking.
“No…” She moaned.
“And did he kiss you here?” Flynn’s hand stroked down over her belly to the vee of fair hair between her legs and cupped her sex.
“Certainly not!” Althea flushed and wriggled against his hand. When he teased at the nub, his gentle massage sent currents of exquisite feeling through her. He eased a finger inside her, and she moaned at the intense pleasure his hands produced.
“Some men are selfish in bed, sweetheart. A man and woman should satisfy each other.”
“They should?” It embarrassed her that she was so ignorant.
Flynn’s warm lips followed his hands, making her shiver and yearn and clutch his shoulders to draw closer. “I want to hear you cry out with pleasure,” he said, lifting his head, raw need in his eyes, his voice a soft growl. “And when you lie sated, I promise to let you sleep.”
Her lips quivered in a smile. “How thoughtful of you.”
“Then I shall wake you with the dawn and introduce you to more pleasure.”
“Oh, Flynn!” she murmured. She understood him now, what made him who he was, his vulnerabilities, his strengths, and his fears. And she loved him.
Flynn’s mouth covered hers in slow, drugging kisses. Sighing against his lips, Althea surrendered to his masterful seduction.
*
Dawn light flooded through the gap in the curtains. A deliciously rounded, naked body was tucked beneath the curve of his arm.
“Althea?” Surrounded by a halo of pale hair, she looked very appealing, rosy, and warm. He grew hard watching her, breathing in her essence and the perfume she used, mingling with the lingering tang of sex. They had made love again during the night. Once she’d lost her fears, Althea had been a generous and passionate lover. He’d delighted in every moment and dreaded having to leave her.
Her blue eyes opened and a smile widened her lovely mouth. “Good morning. I recall you promised to tell me all about Irish fairies.”
“I’d rather make love to you.” He began to stoke down over her stomach.
She gasped and wiggled. “Fairies first.”
He kissed her, then leaned back on the pillow, his hands behind his head. “Well, let’s see. First there is the Dillahunt.”
“What are they?”
“They appear around midnight on feast days and festivals. Horsemen clad in a black cloak, always atop a snorting, wild steed galloping across the land.”
“How impressive.”
“And headless.”
“What? No.” Althea giggled and hit his chest. “You are trying to scare me.”
“You did wish to know, my lady,” Flynn said with a half-grin. “Shall I go on?”
“Yes, I’d like to forget about Dullahans. Tell me about some more.”
“Then there’s the cluricaun. They have the power to steal or borrow from humans and enjoy causing mischief by raiding wine cellars at night. They’ll steal dogs, sheep, goats, and even fowl, and ride them across the countryside.”
“Well I never.” She giggled and nestled into his side. “I don’t like the sound of them either. Aren’t there any pretty fairies?”
“Oh yes,” he said with a chuckle. “That would be the merrow. They love the sea like mermaids but have legs instead of a fishtail. And they’re beautiful.”
“That’s more like it.”
“You have to be careful when dealing with a merrow. Can’t trust them,” Flynn said with a laugh. “And don’t get me started on banshees. They might look like a young woman or even a hooded crow. If you hear them wail, someone is sure to die. Fearsome they are.”
“My goodness, you Irish are a terrible lot.”
Flynn rolled on his side and gathered her close.
“I must leave soon. I’d rather think this time can be better spent.”
“Oh? How?” She raised herself up on her elbows. The blanket fell away to expose her full, creamy-skinned breasts.
He drew in a breath as his groin hardened. “Allow me to show you.” Flynn pulled her back in his arms and rolled until she was beneath him.
Quinn knocked on the door. “Milord.” He called tactfully through the door. “As you requested, the carriage will be ready in an hour to take you to Dublin.”
“Dash it!” he murmured. “Thank you, Quinn. I’ll have coffee in the breakfast room when I’m dressed.”
Quinn scuttled off down the corridor, making a good deal of noise.
Flynn groaned and cradled her face in his hands. “I wish we had longer.” He pressed gentle kisses down her neck. “I need days, weeks, to make love to you.”
“I wish it, too.” She leaned back against the pillow, her hand on his nape, pulling him with her.
“When I return, my sweet, we will make up for lost time.” Flynn sought her mouth, his kisses hard and searching. He trailed kisses over her breasts, across her belly, and down.
“You’re not going to have time…” Her hands pulled at his hair. Then she gasped and clung to him. “Oh, that’s….”
Flynn twirled his tongue around the small bead as she writhed beneath him. Her body was slick with moisture, and she thrust her hips against him with increasing urgency. He couldn’t wait. He pulled her atop him, his hands on her hips, and with a groan of ecstasy, pushed his hard length into her warm, wet center.
Althea cried out and arched her back. Her full breasts bounced as she rose and fell against him, driving them both to the brink. When Flynn grew dangerously close to spending, he tried to pull away to spill his seed, but she kept him there, tightening her thighs against him, her hands on his chest as she held him with her gaze, riding him hard until they came together.
“I took no precautions. You might be with child,” he said while they lay as their breathing eased.
“No. The doctor said I was unlikely to have another baby.”
“Oh, my love,” he tenderly kissed her. He wiped away the tears on her cheek with his finger. “Deuce it, I must go, sweetheart. We will discuss this further when I return.”