A Scandalous Bargain (The Pretenders #2) - Darcy Burke Page 0,76

rose up, offering herself to him. Greedily, he took her nipple between his lips. He nipped at the hardened tip, pulling a deep, erotic moan from her.

He quivered with need for her, his body taut and hungry, his cock hard and ready. It wasn’t just that it had been a long time before tonight, but that he’d gone forever without her. Until now. He suddenly wanted to go back in time, to relive the past five years with her instead.

But that was impossible, and he had no idea what the future held. That left tonight. He would savor every moment.

She released his cock and ran her hands up his chest, her fingers massaging his flesh. He sucked hard on her, unable to get enough. She ground down against him, her sex wet with desire.

Thomas reached between them and teased her folds. He pressed her clitoris, then speared his fingers into her sheath. She was so tight around him. He released her breast and cupped her nape to kiss her again.

“Please,” she begged. “Now.” She whimpered and breathed his name, the sounds an aural seduction.

Putting his hand over hers, together they guided his shaft into her sex. He went slowly at first, closing his eyes in ecstasy at the spectacular sensations shooting through him. Eager to claim her, he thrust up, hard and deep, burying himself completely.

He held the back of her head as his other hand stroked her backside. “Look at me, Beatrix.”

She opened her eyes, the lush green glowing amidst the warm, chocolate brown. Holding his shoulders, she moved over him, her thighs trembling against his.

He pumped his hips, clutching her body so he could drive into her. Looking into her eyes, he felt an overwhelming sense of joy, of rightness. He kissed her and increased the pace of their joining. Her fingers dug into his flesh.

Before he lost himself, he dragged his hand around her hip and slipped it between them. He flicked his thumb across her clitoris. She gasped into his mouth, and he snagged her lower lip with his teeth. Her muscles clenched around him, drawing a low, shuddering moan from his throat.

He held on as long as he could, filling her as she rode the wave of her release. When she started to ease, her body melting against his, he let go. He pulled her up and turned his hips, his seed spilling to the side.

As his orgasm raced through him, he was shocked to feel her hand curl around his cock, stroking his flesh as he spent himself. He struggled to catch his breath. She was still partially astride him, her legs straddling his lower thigh. He clutched her hip with his right hand, his fingertips splayed across her backside.

“My God, Beatrix. You are a wonder.”

“So are you.” She leaned down and kissed his cheek, his jaw, the hollow beneath his ear. Moving behind him, she burrowed beneath the covers, pulling them up as she snuggled against his side. He felt her breath on his back as her hand splayed across his rib cage.

Thomas closed his eyes, relishing her warmth and the utter peace of this moment. His body slowly stilled, as did hers. That joy he’d felt earlier coursed through him with even greater strength. He almost didn’t recognize what he was experiencing. He was completely overwhelmed, almost robbed of rational thought.

What was happening? Was he in love with Beatrix? He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that she made him smile, he thought of her with ever-increasing frequency and intensity, and when he wasn’t with her, he strategized ways in which he could be. And for a man who was supposedly mourning his dead wife, this was difficult.

Right now, the fact that he’d had a wife or perhaps just Thea in particular seemed so far away. Another life, perhaps.

Except it had been his life. He’d been so desperate to find happiness and love that he’d barreled into a marriage he thought would give him both.

Was he doing the same with Beatrix?

He thought back to when he’d courted Thea. He’d originally been interested in Miss Jane Pemberton. But then his attention had been diverted to Thea. Her brother had told him that Miss Pemberton had already bestowed favors of a physical nature on another gentleman. Thomas had been so intent on finding a pinnacle of honesty and kindness that he’d turned his focus to Thea instead.

Then, just recently, he’d learned that Chamberlain had spread that vicious lie about Miss Pemberton with the singular