Sylvia Day - [Georgian 01] by Ask For It Read Free Book Online Page B

they evoked. He pictured her face down on the bed, spread and willing as another man thrust into her from behind. His jaw ached from the force with which he clenched it, primitive feelings of claiming and possessing nearly undoing him. Pulling open the flaps of his coat, Marcus revealed the straining length of his cock within his breeches. Her steps faltered and then, with a lift of her chin, she continued toward him.
    “I am not an innocent to run screaming at the sight of a man’s desire.” Elizabeth stopped before him and set her hands on either side of his knees. Before him hung the voluptuous swell of her breasts, nearly spilling from the rounded cut of her satin-edged bodice. In evening attire, her bosom was pressed flat by her corset. In day wear, the restriction was far less severe and his gaze was riveted by the bounty displayed for his benefit alone.
    Never one to miss an opportunity, Marcus reached up and cupped the upper swell with his hands, gratified to hear the sharp hiss of her breath through her teeth. Her body had changed from the virginal ripeness of a girl to the fully curved figure of a woman. Squeezing and kneading, he stared at the valley between her breasts and imagined thrusting his cock through it. He growled at the thought and looked up at her mouth, watching in an agony of lust as she licked her lower lip.
    Then suddenly she straightened, turned her back to him, and reached down to the small table. Before he could order her return, she’d tossed a sealed missive at his chest and walked away. He knew already what he would find inside. Still, he waited for his breathing to slow and his blood to cool before turning his attention to it. He noted the paper, a popular weight and tint he’d seen before.
    Breaking open the unmarked seal with care, he scanned the contents. “How long have you had this?” he asked gruffly.
    “A few hours.”
    Marcus turned the paper over and then lifted his gaze to hers. Elizabeth’s skin was flushed and her eyes glazed, yet her chin was lifted at a determined angle. He frowned and stood. “You weren’t curious enough to open it?”
    “I’m aware of what it must say. He is prepared to meet with me and retrieve the book. How he worded the demand doesn’t much matter, does it? Have you perused Hawthorne’s journal since I gave it to you?”
    He nodded. “The maps were easy enough. Hawthorne had some detailed drawings of the English and Scottish coasts, as well as some colonial waterways I’m familiar with. But Hawthorne’s code is nigh indecipherable. I was hoping to have more time to study it.”
    Refolding the missive, Marcus put it in his pocket. Cryptography was a hobby he’d acquired after Elizabeth’s marriage. The task required intense concentration, which allowed him a brief respite from thoughts of her, a rare gift. “I know this spot he refers to. Avery and I will be close by to protect you.”
    Shrugging, she said, “As you wish.”
    He stood and stalked over to her. Grabbing her shoulders, he shook her. Hard. “How the hell can you be so bloody calm? Have you any notion of the danger? Or have you no sense at all?”
    “What would you have me do?” she snapped. “Fall apart? Cry all over you?”
    “A little emotion would be welcome. Something, anything to tell me you have a care for your own safety.” His hands left her shoulders and plunged into her hair, tilting her head to the angle he desired. Then he kissed her as hard as he’d shaken her. He backed her up roughly, forcing her to stumble until he’d pinned her to the wall.
    Elizabeth’s nails dug deeply into the skin of his stomach as she clutched at his shirt. Her mouth was open, accepting the thrusts of his tongue. Despite the lack of finesse, she trembled against him, whimpered her distress, and then melted into his embrace. She kissed him back with a frenzy that nearly undid him.
    Suddenly unable to breathe, Marcus broke away. His forehead pressed to hers, he groaned his