Chapter Thirty-Four
Devlin saw the anger and indignation settle in her eyes at the thought that someone was possibly trying to frame him and had waited over twenty years to do so. No one had ever, at least not since his parents were alive, been so indignant or angry on his behalf. Simply knowing that Sophie cared enough about him to feel that way satisfied a spot deep within.
But it also terrified the hell out of him. The only other people to have ever cared so much about him had been his parents. And when they died… It was dangerous caring about people; he’d learned that the hard way. But with Sophie, he was finding it more and more difficult to remember that.
Contrary to what she claimed, he knew she wanted love. They all did. But love was something he didn’t believe he was capable of giving any longer. He’d shut that part of him down so long ago…
She deserved more.
Just looking at her, he felt his heart stop for a beat. Standing there in her serviceable white dressing gown, her golden hair cascading down to her waist and her eyes glowing a brilliant green, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
His fiancée. She was his. Perhaps that was why he felt this compulsive need to protect her, to possess her, for he always protected what was his, fiercely.
“How could someone try to frame you?” Sophie continued, walking the few steps over to where he was perched. “We have to find out who is behind this! We must speak with your aunt.”
Devlin felt his body quicken at her nearness. He’d been with women well-versed in the art of seduction, but innocent Sophie in her simple white gown threatened to unman him. “She will not help us, Sophie,” he said softly, touched more than he could express by her concern. “Please trust me on this.”
“But we must do something, for I don’t wish for my fiancé to go to the gallows.” She stood in front of him, an expression of abject determination on her heart-shaped face. He could not help himself; he snaked his hands around her waist, pulling her in until her body was wedged between his legs.
She gripped his shoulders at the unexpected movement.
Leaning his forehead down, he rested it against her own. “You have nothing to worry over on that score. My one fear, though, is that I will not be able to protect you.”
She pulled back from him slightly and reached her hands up to cradle the sides of his face. “There is nothing to protect me from.”
He took a moment to just relax into her touch and breathe her in. “If someone is trying to frame me, and killing in the process, then as my fiancée, you are at great risk. What better way to get to me than through you? It would be the next most logical step.”
She brushed back some of the hair from his forehead, and he nearly hummed with pleasure at the contact. “Something tells me we are dealing with someone far beyond the bounds of logic.”
He closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of peaches and cream, with a hint of mint; the intoxicating smell of Sophie consumed him. He’d never been so attracted to anyone before, and he’d made it a point to surround himself with the most beautiful ladies. Of course, he’d never really kept any of them around long enough for him to see what was behind the facade. Perhaps it had been a mistake doing so with her, for he’d never even begun to care for any of those other women. “Should anything ever happen to you…I do not know what I would do.” He opened his eyes and found her solemnly watching him.
She smiled wistfully. “You would be fine. I know you would. You are a very strong man, Devlin. Look at all that you have accomplished. You have become one of the wealthiest men in England and not because of a family estate, but because of your own determination.”
A strange weariness came over him. “That is just the thing, Sophie. I always have been convinced that I could overcome any hardship. In fact, I have always prided myself on doing so. But in this instance, I fear I would not be strong.” He couldn’t believe he was admitting such a thing, let alone allowing himself to show such a weakness. He felt horribly vulnerable but couldn’t seem to stop himself.
He tried to find some semblance of reason and balance, but the words just kept pouring out of him. “I have never been terrified of anything before, but the very thought of losing you nearly suffocates me. There is this unbearable pressure in my chest even considering it.” He put his hand over his heart, feeling paralyzed as the foreign emotions threatened to consume him.
She reached down and laid her hand across his, her expression incredibly vulnerable in response. “There is nothing to be worried over. I am safe, and I shall remain so.”
“Promise me that?” he gruffly whispered to her.
She slowly leaned her face close to his own and gently kissed him on the lips. “I shall do my very best.” But then the corners of her mouth twisted down as worry filled her emerald eyes. “You have to promise me something in return?”
“If it is in my power, then of course I will,” he answered, certain that he would have promised her the world to return a smile to her face.
“If someone has a vendetta against you, then you, Devlin, are the one who is in the most danger.”
“I can look—”
She placed a finger against his lips, gently silencing him. “Please, you must promise me that you will stay safe, always. I fear that it is my heart that could not withstand it if anything happened to you.”
Devlin felt his throat tighten. “I promise.” He had never before felt such a sense of terror at the thought of losing someone. Without him realizing it, Sophie Wolcott had become the most important person in his life. Panic assailed him at the thought. How had that happened? She wasn’t meant to mean anything to him. He wasn’t meant to care this much about her. He was meant to enjoy himself physically with her when they got married, but that was all; then it would never matter when things fell apart, as they surely would.
Maybe that was it. Maybe he was confusing this deep physical attraction he felt for her as something infinitely more than what it actually was. Maybe he just needed to get her out of his system and then these blasted feelings would abate. After all, he was the Devil Duke, with a fearsome reputation for choosing and discarding women with abandon. Perhaps it was time to live up to the moniker.
Their eyes locked. Suddenly, the feel of her against him, with only a few layers of clothing covering her silky skin from his touch, seemed to push all thought and reason aside. He wanted her with a sense of urgency he had never before felt. He needed to claim her as his.
Lowering his mouth to her own, he groaned at the feel of her pillow-soft lips. She opened her mouth to him, and he wasted no time in exploring her delicious depths. He tasted her with his tongue, slowly flicking it in and out and teasing the inside edges of her lips.
She tasted of peppermint. He deepened the kiss and pressed her against the length of him. He could not get enough.
At some point, he would have to, though. But not tonight. No. Tonight, he would get his fill of her, and then he would feel like his normal self once again. He had to, for the possibility of not doing so was something he didn’t want to contemplate.
…
Sophie gasped as she felt the hard expanse of him against her belly, while his mouth continued to explore and devour her own. Her legs felt weak as sensations of pleasure careened through her entire body, all of her previous worries gone for the moment with his delicious onslaught.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pushed her breasts tightly against his torso. The groan that rumbled through his chest gave Sophie a euphoric sense of her power over him. She gasped lightly as he yanked his mouth away from her own.
“Are you certain about this, Sophie?” Devlin panted, dragging a hand harshly through his hair. “We can stop now, if you want. While I still can.” A look of confusion overtook his face, warring with the passion still flaming in his eyes.
Satisfaction surged within her. Knowing that she was affecting him so and causing him to lose the last vestiges of his tightly held control was an intoxicating feeling. Perhaps he was actually beginning to care for her. Sophie wiggled her hips against his own. “I do not want to stop.”
“You are driving me insane,” he whispered against her forehead. “Do you know what you are saying? What you are asking of me?”
The ramifications of what she was asking him to do meant there would be no going back. “Yes. I do.” She stared into his deep blue eyes and slowly smiled. In that instant, she’d never been more certain about anything before. “You do, after all, keep reminding me that we are engaged.”
Without warning, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her over to the bed. He gently lowered her down onto the mattress before laying down next to her.
He caressed the side of her face. “Are you sure, Sophie? I do not want you to have any regrets.”
She reached her hands over toward his chest and started undoing his shirt, letting her fingertips brush over the bare skin underneath. Her hands shook slightly. Would she have regrets? Probably. But at this very moment, she didn’t really care. She wanted to know what it felt like to be a woman…to be Devlin’s woman. She bit her full bottom lip as an overwhelming sense of longing and desire for him tugged at her. “I am sure.”
He groaned as her hands slowly descended lower and lower, inch by inch.
“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” he roughly whispered into her ear.
She shook her head in denial as she undid the last of the buttons, then pushed the fabric back while skimming her palms along his broad shoulders. Sucking in her breath, she drank in the sight of his gloriously muscled chest. His skin was bronzed, and she could not resist running her hands across the masculine lines and planes of him. He felt so strong and firm underneath her hands.
She looked lower down to his taut waist, where the patch of hair led from his navel to the waistband of his trousers. She had never been more curious or aroused seeing the length of him straining against the cotton fabric.
He reached down and took her hand in his. He placed it over the material covering his manhood and guided her hand onto his shaft to slowly start rubbing it across the hard length of him.
“Do you see how you affect me, how you inflame my desire? All you have to do is touch me, and I am as hard as marble.” His voice was husky and oh so inviting.
Sophie gulped. He felt so smooth yet rock solid beneath the material. She’d never imagined such a thing.
Glancing up into his eyes, she saw the smoldering passion reflected back. He lowered his head again, taking her mouth in an undeniable frenzy of passion. She returned the kiss with equal fervor.
His hands moved dexterously, and before she realized it, the top of her gown and nightdress were unbuttoned, her breasts and waist exposed to his hungry eyes. She should have felt vulnerable, but all she felt was desired. And an all-consuming yearning for him.
“So beautiful,” he murmured, trailing hot kisses down the bare column of her neck.
She moaned as he reached a hand up and cupped her breast, kneading it gently. His fingers began caressing the nipple, softly rubbing it until it formed a hard peak. A sensation of delight coursed through her. Goodness, she could easily get used to this pastime.
His mouth broke free from her neck and moved down to her breast. He took the hard nipple into his mouth and began sucking upon it. Sophie unabashedly urged her bosom closer toward his mouth, arching her back in complete abandon. She felt deliciously wanton.
She whimpered as one of his hands slowly slid down the exposed skin of her stomach and gently tugged on the waistband of her pantaloons, slowly pulling them down over her hips until she was bared to his gaze.
She should have felt nervous, but the desire in his eyes as he beheld her gave her a sense of giddy confidence. Gently, she pushed him back against the mattress and turned onto her side. He was magnificent, the flame from the gas lamp sending gentle flickers of light over his impressive physique. A desire to touch and taste him everywhere gripped her.
Softly, she flicked her tongue on the hard peak of his left nipple. He groaned in response; it was all she needed to begin sucking it, using her hands to knead the rest of his bare chest. Tentatively, her hands moved lower, down to the waistband of his pants. An intense curiosity gripped her. She wanted to feel him, to feel the very essence of his manhood.
Releasing his nipple from her mouth, she trailed a path of kisses down his body toward his navel. When her mouth got to the top of his pants, she slowly began unbuttoning them, one by one.
The swift intake of his breath pleased her greatly as her hands brushed along the length of him. She undid the last of the buttons and slowly eased the material, along with his underclothes, down over his hips.
Her jaw dropped open as his manhood sprung free from its confines and proudly stood erect. She gulped. She had a fair idea of the mating ritual and what it involved; at least, in her travels to the countryside, she had seen the animals mate. But Devlin’s shaft was too big and looked near impossible to fit where she thought it was supposed to.
“I do not think this is going to work,” she hesitantly voiced.
He grinned and finished pulling his pants completely off. He also rid himself of his shirt before twisting on his side to face her. His hands reached up and gently pushed her dressing gown and nightdress from her shoulders. “It will work, my darling. You have no need to worry over it.”
Shrugging off her gown, she suddenly felt somewhat nervous now completely naked lying beside him. She folded her arms across her breasts.
He leaned across and kissed her gently on the mouth. “There is no need to be shy, my darling. You are exquisite.”
Sheer admiration was evident in his gaze as his eyes traveled down over every inch of her body. The look alone was enough to bolster her courage. She uncrossed her arms and exposed herself completely to his view. She’d never felt more vulnerable. But there was such a look of genuine marvel in his gaze that she felt filled with confidence, like she was the most beautiful woman in the world right at that moment.
She sighed as his fingers began caressing between her thighs. She could not help but rock her hips upwards and press herself more firmly against his hand. The delicious intensity building inside her was a feeling she could get very used to.
Sophie gripped his shoulders and gasped as he nimbly inserted two fingers inside her, while his thumb deftly rubbed against her little bud of flesh. The movement sent a shaft of pleasure surging through her body. She felt deliciously wanton and free.
“You like that, do you?” he whispered against her skin.
She could only nod as the pressure building within was getting to a fever pitch. Her body felt like it was on fire, the dampness between her thighs coating his fingers, ensuring the ease in which they pushed in and out of her passage.
His lips caught her own. The touch of his tongue flicking along the inside of her mouth, along with the magic of his fingers, was enough to send her over the edge. Her whole body stilled for an instant before she convulsed around him, shudders wracking through her entire being.
Before she could gather her breath, Devlin rolled on top of her, the solid weight of his body pushing her back firmly into the mattress.
He positioned himself at the junction of her thighs and, in one fell swoop, pushed himself inside her. He groaned aloud.
There was some slight resistance from her maiden head, but the wetness and heat of her passage seemed to minimize any true resistance.
“I am sorry, my darling,” he whispered into her ear as he held himself still above her in an attempt to allow her to become accustomed to him. “The pain should subside soon.”
Sophie arched her hips up toward him, pushing him deeper inside her. It hurt slightly, but she wanted him closer to her, filling her. She’d never wanted anything more.
He groaned. “I am trying not to hurt you.”
She wound her arms around his shoulders and pulled him down tighter to her chest. He was so warm against her. She felt safe and cherished, even if her head warned her not to become too attached to him. “You are not hurting me.” She again flexed her hips up to meet his. The tightness she had initially felt was definitely starting to fade.
He groaned again and slid himself deeper inside her. Slowly, he started to pull out of her passage. Sophie locked her legs around his waist.
“No, stay inside me,” she demanded. She wanted to prolong this intimacy with him for as long as possible.
Devlin managed a weak chuckle. “I could not make myself leave you for all the gold in the world. Just relax, my love. You will enjoy this, for I am determined to make sure you do.”
She slowly relaxed as she felt him slide back into her. He started a rhythm of gliding in and out of her passage. A feeling of complete abandon stole through her body again. She met him thrust for thrust, the delicious pressure inside beginning to build anew.
He plunged deeper inside of her and groaned.
“Oh yes, Devlin,” she cried out as her whole body tensed and an intense orgasm wracked through her being.
“Yes, Sophie. My Sophie,” Devlin growled a moment before he stiffened and then emptied his seed into her.
They lay there for who knew how long, Sophie reveling in the solid strength of Devlin pressed against her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and for that very moment, she was content. His. The possessive words sent a thrill of delight through her. Perhaps she would be enough to satisfy him, and he would be faithful? A niggling voice in the back of her head warned her she was being foolish and fanciful. But Devlin had all but admitted he needed her and didn’t think he could live without her. Surely, those were not the words of a philanderer?
But though he’d told her in a thousand ways that he desired her, no true words of love had passed between them on this, their first night together. Except for that one instance where he’d referred to her by the endearment, “my love.” But with his vast experience, the term itself probably held no true meaning.
Was this how her mother had felt about Sophie’s father? The same sense of blind belief that she could change her husband’s roving nature? That she would be enough, when other women had not been? Was that why she had constantly forgiven Sophie’s father for all of his indiscretions, because she believed he would eventually change and be faithful? But rakes rarely changed, which was why her mother had died of a broken heart.
Sophie would not allow herself to be as naïve as her mother had been, nor as forgiving. But just maybe Sophie was right in her assessment that Devlin wasn’t as much of a rake as Society made him out to be.
A part of her desperately hoped so.