Chapter Twenty-Three

“Come with me, right now,” a low voice said in her ear the following evening. Madeline started at the sudden arrival of Jamie at her side, and then automatically put down her glass.

“What?” she asked, annoyed. “Where?”

“Last night, you issued a challenge to me, Lady Madeline,” Jamie said smoothly in her ear. “And I believe I have met that challenge, but it is a conversation that calls for privacy, rather than a roomful of people.”
“Have you?” She asked carefully. “Have you decided to trust me?”

“I’ve always trusted you. It just took me a while to realize it,” Jamie said honestly, and Maddy could see how difficult it was for him to admit it.

She watched him for a long moment, and then took a shuddering breath at the decisiveness of his tone. “Where?” She breathed, not quite believing she was about to leave the lord’s party with him – alone.

“I have an urgent matter of business in the drawing room, and desperately need your assistance,” he said evenly, his voice at normal levels again.

“What business, my lord?” she asked, her voice lilting with teasing, suddenly enjoying their pas de deux.

“I want to leave you in no doubt of my decision regarding my feelings for you, and so that business of which I spoke is about getting portions of you and I naked before I burst out of my trousers and embarrass myself in front of all these fine people,” he whispered with a devilish smile.

Madeline bit back a laugh at the imagery of that. “That would be impolitic.”

“Indeed,” Jamie said with a grin.

“When?” Madeline asked, hardly daring to believe what was about to happen between them.

“As soon as you can slip away unnoticed. I realize that may be a feat for you, as everyone has been watching your loveliness tonight, but do your best,” he said softly. “And quickly.”

“Because of that trouser bursting situation?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“I’m at your pleasure, my lord.”

“My god, I hope so.”

And then he was gone.

She watched him stride out of the room, her heart dancing a jig in her chest.

He had called her lovely.

Her heart could burst.

Anguished minutes later, Madeline was finally able to slip out the doorway of the ball room and away from the crush of people, and forced herself not to run towards the drawing room, which was conveniently out of bounds for the evening’s festivities – another dinner and dance at the estate. She noted a servant who appeared to be standing at attention, but which she suspected was actually a look out for his lord.

Clever boy, she thought with a grin.

Taking a deep breath and feeling a bit like a virgin about to enter the bridal chamber, she turned the knob and quietly entered the drawing room, closing the door softly behind her, then after a pause, locking it. The room was almost entirely dark, but for a small fire in the corner of the room. As he eyes adjusted, she could see the silhouette of Jamie by the mantel, and she crossed the room, coming to stand next to him, not yet touching him, though she ached to.

“I’m leaving for the next two days,” he said softly. “My steward and I are touring the nearby farms, and I couldn’t… I couldn’t stand the thought of not seeing you, touching you for another two days.”

“You seem to have risen to my challenge, my lord,” she said quietly. “But I want to hear it from your own lips.”

Jamie’s eyes locked on hers. “I love you, I ache for you, I trust you, I want you.” He watched her for a long moment. “Is that what you want to hear?”

“Yes,” she breathed. “Do you mean it, or are they just words?”

The look he gave her was all the answer she needed.

“And do you return the feelings, knowing what you know of me?” He asked hesitantly.

She nodded, suddenly not trusting her voice.

“Good,” he said softly.

“What do you want?” She asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“To smell you, to taste you,” he said simply. “To be inside you.”

She closed her eyes against the sensation his words had over her.

“Do you want that, Madeline?”

“Yes,” she replied simply.

Turning to her, he closed the distance between them, his lips pressing against hers so sweetly, she wanted to cry.

But a moment later, the kiss deepened, even as his hands began to roam over her, caressing her hips, her buttocks, up and down, up and down, and she gasped at the suddenness of his touch, at finally realizing what she has been aching for since that first searing kiss in the folly.

And if she was honest, what she has been aching for her entire life.

“Please,” she begged quietly. “Please…”

Not breaking the kiss, he steered them to the floor, laying her back on the soft rug, his body lying atop hers. His hands cupped her breasts through the fabric of her silk gown, and she hissed at the touch of his hands. With a less than subtle tug, he then pulled down the front of her gown, her breasts springing free, her nipples erect at the combination of eroticism and cool air in the room.

“Maddy…” he breathed, and released her mouth, only to capture a taut nipple in his mouth. The warmth of his tongue on her puckered nipple arched her back, urging him further, and she felt rather than heard a chuckle rumble deep in his throat at her wantonness.

He licked, and licked, and teased her nipple until she couldn’t stand the sensation, only to switch breasts, paying equal attention to her other swell. His hand cupped her breast, tightening it against his mouth, squeezing and teasing her until she thought she might burst from pleasure.

Without thinking, she thrust her hips up, wanting to feel the length of his body against hers, and he pressed against her, his solid erection pushing against her thigh.

Even as he continued the attention to her breast, his hand slid down her thigh, grabbing a handful of material and tugging up, up until she shivered at the cool air on her inner thighs.

His hand slowed, barely caressing the soft skin of her thigh before he looked up, his eyes meeting hers in the dim firelight.

“Are you sure about this, Maddy?” he asked, a touch breathless. “Because I’m not sure I can stop at this point, that I’ll have the restraint to…”

In answer, she thrust her hips again, pressing her center against his roving hand. He groaned, and then shifted until he could slide her panties down her thighs, allowing her to kick them off indelicately.

“I want to taste you,” he said and she stilled for a moment. “Has any man ever done that to you?”

“No,” she admitted. “It’s… it’s wrong…”

“Believe me when I tell you it isn’t,” he replied, and in demonstration, he slid down her body until he was kneeling between her thighs. She wanted to hide herself, to push him away, even as his fingers slid upwards until just one finger glided against her wet folds.

It was her turn to groan as he traced that finger up and down her slit, paying special attention to her clit, making her writhe at the sensation of it circling around and around, spreading her wetness in preparation for him.

A moment later, he ducked his head, replacing his finger with his tongue, the warm wetness tracing her heated folds, then licking around and around her hardened clit. She arched at the feeling of him, even as she felt him tease a finger inside her, exploring her as his tongue sent ripples of fire through her belly.

Unconsciously, she grabbed at her own breasts, pinching her nipples to match the pleasure he was causing her, his tongue moving faster now, suckling at her clit while another finger joined the first, push in and out of her folds.

“Oh my god, Jamie…” she breathed, and he stopped for a moment.

“Say that again.”

“What?”

“Say my name,” he commanded, and she obliged him breathlessly as the speed of his fingers increased.

“Jamie, god, Jamie, yes,” she barked hoarsely, feeling her release already building, a blessed orgasm approaching, an experience she had only felt once or maybe twice before in her entire life. “Please, bring me…”

“Beg me,” he ordered, and she wanted to laugh. At this point, she wasn’t above begging.

“Please, please…” she said, releasing her breasts to push his head closer against her center. “I want… I want to come,” she whispered, feeling like a hussy, but secretly reveling in her newfound sexuality.

“Do that pinching of your nipples again, and I might come before I ever get inside you,” he said raspily.

With a grin, she grabbed her breasts again, their eyes locked as she teased herself. His tongue continued to lave her clit, his eyes watching her breasts, then watching her eyes. “Look at me. Look at me when you come. Now.”

And with a final thrust of his fingers, she did – she came and came, shivering in release that lasted for what felt like hours, her walls clenching at his fingers.

With a groan, he sat up and unbuttoned his trousers, freeing his throbbing erection. Eagerly, Madeline reached out and grasped him, already guiding him towards her. “Let go, or I’ll go before I get inside you. And I want to come inside you.” She obediently dropped her grasp of him, and he shifted to lay his body on hers.

Easing himself forward, he rubbed his cock against her folds, slicked himself with her moisture and begged any available gods for control.

He knew it had been a long time since she’d had a man inside her, and he didn’t want to hurt her.

But as he slid inside, control seemed to go out the window, and he guided himself to her hilt, causing her to emit a small squeak of pain and pleasure.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered against his lips. “I’m not sure I can…”

He waited a few seconds for her to adjust, and when she bucked beneath him, set up a rhythm of thrusting back and forth, nearly pulling completely out of her before sliding back home, deeper and deeper each time.

“I can’t believe I’m inside you,” he grunted, and she nearly laughed. “I’ve wanted this since we were kids.”

“Liar,” she spat back, perspiration on her brow. “You never noticed me.”

“I did,” he argued, even as he caressed her inner walls with his cock. “Believe me.”

“And to think I always wanted you too.”

“Liar,” he grinned, then kissing her again, ending conversation between them. He gently slid in and out of her, his lips tracing a line from her temple to her neck and back again, even as she writhed beneath him, urging him to take her – more, harder, faster.

“Jamie,” she said softly. “Stop holding back. I won’t break.”

“I…” he choked out. “I’m… I have to hold back. I’m not sure I can…”

She cut him off with a well timed thrust of her hips, sinking him deeper inside her, and his tenuous hold on his control snapped.

Faster and faster he pumped inside her, feeling his release building, closer and closer…

Bending his head, he captured a nipple in his mouth, and biting down, finally let go, coming inside her. At the contact at her breast, he felt her release as well, her body grasping and tightening around him.

His arms unable to hold his weight any longer, he collapsed against her, both of them panting in exertion.

After several long moments, he slid off her, and laid beside her on his back, reaching out to grasp her hand in his tenderly. “Maddy, that was…”

“I know.”

Their breathing slowed, and Madeline sat up, tugging at her gown, covering herself again, suddenly feeling shy. “I fear I’ve messed up that exquisite hairdo, my lady,” Jamie said lazily.

 Madeline laughed heartily. “I would imagine so, my lord.”

“Your panties…” he gestured weakly to the scrap of fabric beside them.

She picked them up and with a wicked smile, threw them at Jamie. “They’re yours, now. Carry them with you for the next two days. So you don’t forget me.”

“I could never forget you, Maddy. Never,” he said huskily, pulling her in for another deep, soul-searching kiss.

31803/50000