Bridal Favors - Engaged in Wickedness by Jade Lee Read Free Book Online Page A

sir. I am the one wronged here."
    "Yes," he said solemnly, though humor still rippled through him. "Yes, you have been wronged repeatedly by me. And yet you still dare me to do more. Why Gwen? Most men would have taken your virginity by now. Is that what you want?"
    "Of course not!" she said. Her tone was fierce but he saw fear in her eyes.
    "You know what you are doing," he said softly, the realization hitting him broadside. "You know what you risk every time. And yet you cannot stop yourself." He had known men bent on their own destruction before. Through drink or violence, they steadily dared the fates to kill them. And eventually the fates won. Eventually the men died, some quickly, some horribly, but all of them found their end.
    He watched as her barriers crumpled. If they were in public at a ball somewhere, she would likely have turned away with a laugh. She would have found a way to hide her reaction. But she was trapped beneath him, almost naked, definitely vulnerable. And the tears that flooded her eyes would not stop. She didn't gasp or sob or do anything he was used to from his overly dramatic relatives. The tears just leaked steadily down the sides of her face.
    His heart melted. More than his heart. At that moment he gave his soul to her. For her use or abuse, whatever she needed. He gave it all to her.
    "Don't cry," he whispered, as he released her wrists. She didn't move, didn't even sniff, and he was the one to wipe her tears away. "We will find an answer. I promise."
    "You don't even know me."
    Right here was his moment. Right now he should confess how much he had watched her, studied her, made it his mission to know as much about her as he could. But he couldn't force himself to confess. Not when he was so close to learning the truth about her, the things that could not be learned by watching from afar.
    "I know that you are as brave as you are beautiful. I know that you are wild in the best and worst possible ways. And I know I want to protect you from yourself if you will let me. And even," he added ruefully, "if you don't allow it."
    "How?" she asked, genuine curiosity in her tone. "How would you protect me?"
    "By marrying you," he said. He didn't know where the words came from. He certainly hadn't intended to declare himself. And her violent reaction told him better than anything that he had erred badly.
    It took a moment for his words to sink into her. But the moment she understood what he'd said, what he'd vowed to himself weeks ago, she reacted with her whole body. She fought him. With all of her strength, all of her will, she threw herself into bucking him off her, into scratching his eyes out, into drawing breath for a scream he couldn't let her release.
    He kissed her. It was the only way he could think of to stop her screech. He failed. She still released sound, but he muffled it as best he could. He needed both hands again, grabbing hers and hauling her wrists high above her head. And still, his weight held her down, but it was a near thing. She was fighting hard and she was amazingly strong.
    But in the end, she stilled. The violence of her attack became passion in their kiss. Her hands grew slack while her tongue dueled with his. His hunger returned a thousand fold, and it matched her fury. He ground his organ against her, and he felt her gasp in response. Her legs shifted open, her hips pressed up into him, and without even breaking their kiss, he lifted up off her enough to rip her night rail apart. It all happened so easily.
    She broke their kiss in shock, and he took his cue to look down at the bounty that was Lady Gwen. High pointed breasts, caressed by the firelight. Creamy skin, narrow waist, and curls touched with red further down.
    He slid lower on her body, using the motion to tear apart the last of her gown. Her body was completely exposed to him then and he feasted on her breasts. She responded with all the passion in her, crying out as he sucked on her nipples, writhing beneath him