Her Errant Earl by Scarlett Scott Read Free Book Online Page B

better, now this . She wanted, no needed, to
feel complete. Her core still ached with wanting more. In and out, his finger
pushed, delving inside her so deeply that she feared she’d burst again.
    “Are you ready for me?”
    She nodded, eyes still closed.
    “Look at me, Victoria.”
    Startled by his use of her name, she obeyed, blinking to
find his handsome face still perilously near to her bare breasts. Her nipples
were pink, glistening with the wetness of his kiss. She glanced lower, gaze
zinging to where his hand pressed between her thighs. Embarrassment hit her.
She turned her head away, staring instead at the drawn drapes over her window.
    It was the window where she’d held a constant vigil in the
early days of her abandonment, hoping to see him return. She’d never told
anyone, not even Keats or Maggie in one of the many rambling letters she’d
sent, bemoaning her loneliness.
    Suddenly, it all seemed too much, the mingle of pleasure
he’d given her with the awful hurt and fear he inspired. She stiffened,
uncertainty reeling her in. But the passion remained, soothing her traitorous
body into wanting him, regardless of the past. Confusing her.
    “Don’t pull away from me,” he ordered. His tone was firm,
allowing no opposition, marking him for the aristocrat he was. “I can bring you
pleasure like you’ve never imagined.”
    It didn’t escape her notice that he spoke of pleasure and
not of love. Had she expected him to fall at her feet like a lovelorn suitor?
The same man who had coldly told her he had no need or want of a wife? Perhaps
her heart was too fragile to allow him this breathtaking intimacy.
    He nudged her legs apart and came over her completely, his
manhood resting heavily against her, his knees at either side of her hips. She
didn’t want to see him, for if she did, she would give in. She laid very still,
eyes fixed on the drapes.
    “Look at me,” he insisted again. “Damn it, Victoria. I’ll
not force my own wife.”
    It wouldn’t require force, and she knew it. There was a note
of frustration in his voice, perhaps even hurt. He didn’t understand her, it
seemed, any more than she understood him. Or herself, for that matter. Her
resolve wavered. His body was a welcome weight upon hers, and she wanted him to
finish what they’d begun. She turned back to him, afraid that she truly did
love him after all.
    It was a crippling realization.
    His stare skewered her, hot and laden with promise. “Do you
want me or not, my dear?” As he posed the question, he once again teased the
bud of her sex, applying just the right amount of pressure to send more
pleasure washing over her.
    “If you promise to stay,” she blurted. She was very much
aware that asking something so monumental of her husband at a time such as this
was unfair. She also knew that she had absolutely no right to make any demands
upon him whatsoever, wife or no. Even if he agreed now, he could rescind his
promise later should it suit him. She was allowing him to see past her brazen
façade, and she wasn’t sure she ought to.
    He stilled, stopping the ministrations that had her wild for
him. “Pardon?”
    Had he not heard her or did he simply want to humiliate her
by requiring her to repeat her request? She faltered, caught in his gaze, not
knowing what to do. Finally, she decided to stay the course. “Will you stay
here with me?”
    William stared, his expression as impenetrable as his eyes.
“Is that what you want of me?”
    His hand was still between her thighs. Her heart beat fast.
“Of course.” It was, wasn’t it? Yes, it had to be. The last few days had done
much damage to her defenses, and she didn’t think she could survive yet another
abandonment unscathed.
    “I shall do my best by you,” he said, a note of almost harsh
honesty entering his tone. “I vow it.”
    You mustn’t think too much . Only feel.
    She wasn’t certain she could. Her mind was spinning faster
than the wheels on a runaway carriage. He