Chapter Sixteen
At some time during the night, Sylvester had lit candles in the chamber. The light from the candles bathed his countess’s silvery hair in glorious hues, and he couldn’t help stroking the heavy strands of hair that drifted over the pillow. She lay sprawled provocatively, appearing tuckered after he had taken her four times already, her eyes heavy-lidded with arousal, anticipation, and perhaps a bit of exhaustion. The sight of her was stunningly erotic.
“I’m not done with you,” he murmured, coasting his hand over her tiny waist. She was curved out in all the places a woman should be and then some.
Her gaze softening, she reached out and trailed a finger over his jaw around to his mouth, where she slipped her finger between his lips. He sucked her finger into his mouth, then she pulled it away and licked her wet digit in a slow, sensual glide. His wife was wanton, and a growl of approval slipped from him. He pressed a kiss to her brow, down her nose, and then lightly across her lips. Her flawless, unmarked skin tasted sweet. And he couldn’t stop kissing, licking, savoring. What he should do was release her lips, turn her over his knees, and blister her backside for daring to plan a scandalous rendezvous. Instead, he kissed her over and over and over, ravishing her delightful mouth. He tasted the dark, rich desire trapped within her as she responded with shocking sexuality. Even in their present state of debauchery, his wife seemed so innocent still.
She felt so right in his arms. Sylvester claimed her lips in a ravishing kiss, hoping to convey the desperate ache in his soul for her. “I love you,” he said, his words falling mere inches from her lips. She looked up at him, her eyes glazed, her lips pink and parted, her eyes glittering with love. A whisper of a kiss feathered over his jaw.
“I love you, my earl, entirely with my heart and soul.”
Her voice wrapped around him. Needing to be inside her, he pushed his hand between them and touched her swollen flesh. She was damp but not wet enough to take him, and he wanted to be connected with her more than his next breath. He leaned back, gripped her hips, splayed her thighs wide, and dipped his tongue into the hot silken depths of her quim, and his countess grabbed his hair and cried out. Daphne’s response was half scream, half sob. Her taste and flavor exploded on his tongue, and several licks and nibbles later she was shivering and keening her pleasure. Sylvester flipped her so she lay on her stomach and then pulled her slightly on her knees. Unable to resist, he bit into the soft, firm globes of her buttocks, and she purred.
He smiled and shifted upward, blanketing her delicate frame with his much larger one. He braced on his elbow, tucked his cock at her wet, tight entrance, and surged slow and deep inside her, taking her with a gentleness and depth of emotion he hadn’t thought possible. Her fingers clenched in the sheets below her, and wild cries tore from her throat with increasing frequency. It became harder to be gentle, and before long he was riding her roughly with almost mindless fervor.
“Oh God, Sylvester!” she cried, convulsing on his cock. Her muscles gripped him tighter than ever, and he groaned at the exquisite feel of her. Sweet Mercy. He pulled back and returned with a swift, deep penetration. She screamed and bucked beneath him, unraveling for him again.
It had never been like this. Her passion was vibrant and sensual and exciting. He was delighted just knowing the pleasure she experienced in his arms. He felt intoxicated by her responses. What felt like hours later, but was surely only minutes, his pleasure peaked, and he surrendered to his need with a hoarse groan as he emptied deep inside of her. She gasped when he gently withdrew from her, cleaned her with his handkerchief, and then pulled her into the crook of his arms.
It was a long while before either one of them could breathe evenly.
“How did you know where I was?” she asked with an indelicate yawn.
“I got a note from Rhys Tremayne with the encouragement of Georgiana.”
“I’m glad they interfered.”
He grunted softly, and he felt her smile atop his chest. “My sister…” He cleared his throat.
“Sylvester, I—”
“I trust you, in your honor and how much you love me,” he said, stroking her shoulder with his fingers.
She attempted to squeeze him in a fierce hug. “Thank you.”
“Viscount Danbridge callously seduced my sister and abandoned her years ago. She fell with child, and she hid the evidence of it, gave birth in the country, and gave her daughter up to a kind couple. That is what your father uncovered.”
He could feel his wife’s heart, a beating mess against his chest. “There is no whisper Alexandria is not Hartington’s daughter. Not that it matters; she is a wonderful.”
He smiled at her swift and uncompromising acceptance. “There was no announcement of her birth, and to several close family and friends, she simply appeared in our lives as a baby. We’ve worked hard to ensure her birth isn’t suspected, but there is always the chance society may uncover the truth.”
“What did my father do?”
“He made his demands. I fought against them, so he sent Hetty a threatening note, promising to reveal all. Hartington had just declared for her, and she had not told him her secret. Her shame and fear were so great she tried to take her life. I found her, barely alive.”
“Dear God.”
Her hand slid down his chest in soothing motions as he told her of the fight his sister underwent to find her joy. Her courage as she rose above the shame she felt, the beauty of Alexandria. They spoke for long hours in a manner they had never done before. Of the past, their families, and of the future, and he hid nothing of himself from her. Eventually he heard her even breathing, slow and rhythmic, and knew she’d finally drifted off.
Six years wasted, but no more…
Holding her close, he pressed his face into her hair and breathed in her wonderful scent. He would never let her go, and he would love her completely until breath left his body. With that promise, he allowed his eyes to drift closed, Daphne a loving and comforting weight in his arms.