Ecstasy

Chapter Fifteen

Raven woke disoriented. The crackling fire looked familiar, however, as did the masculine bedchamber. She was alone, she realized, lying naked in Kell’s bed at the gaming house. The same bed where she’d spent her abduction.

Heat flooded her entire body as she recalled the mindless passion between them last night. She’d behaved just as wantonly as her first time in Kell’s arms, only last night she hadn’t had the excuse of being drugged.

Flushing, Raven sat up and saw her ruined gown draped over a chair along with her other garments. When she climbed from the bed in order to dress, she found herself wincing at the unaccustomed aches and twinges from too much sensual indulgence.

Then she caught sight of herself in the cheval glass. She looked like a woman who had been deliciously ravished all night long and who was more than eager to repeat the experience. Her hair was a wild tangle around her face, her lips bruised and swollen, her nipples rasped red from the attentions of his hot mouth…

Raven closed her eyes, remembering Kell’s exquisite lovemaking and the explosive desire he had aroused in her. The memory was a wild hunger in her-

A soft rap on the door made her snatch up her gown to cover her nakedness.

It was Emma, carrying a tray. “I’ve brought you breakfast,” she said with a cheerful smile, “or luncheon, really.”

Raven glanced at the brocade draperies, which were still shut against the morning light. “What time is it?”

“Nearly noon.”

“So late?” She blushed, feeling unexpectedly flustered to have been caught in Kell’s bed like this, by his mistress.

“Kell thought you needed to sleep. Your groom-O’Malley, is that his name?-was here at the crack of dawn, looking for you. He wanted to make certain you were all right. But Kell assured him you hadn’t been abducted again.”

Absurdly Raven found herself stammering. “I suppose…you are wondering what I’m doing here…”

“Not in the least,” Emma replied, setting down her tray on the small table near the hearth. “You are Kell’s wife, after all.”

“But still this is awkward with you being his…”

Emma’s eyebrows shot up. She studied Raven a moment before understanding dawned. “Did you think I was his paramour? Oh, Raven, Kell and I are not lovers, nor have we ever been. I have no claim to him.”

Raven stared, frowning. Had he deliberately misled her about the nature of his relationship with his beautiful hostess? She thought back to what he’d said about Emma knowing how to satisfy a man. He’d never actually declared in so many words that they were lovers, but he’d certainly implied as much, never taking the trouble to deny the accusation…

Relief and vexation roiling though her, Raven muttered an unladylike oath. She would have a few choice words to say to Kell about his deception when she next saw him. If not for her jealousy, she would never have agreed to share his bed last night-

Emma interrupted her vengeful thoughts with a faint, self-deprecating smile. “I admit I would have welcomed such an arrangement with Kell,” she confessed with surprising candor. “In fact, when he rescued me from my former situation, I offered to become his mistress, but he declined, claiming I was acting out of gratitude. He wouldn’t take advantage of my vulnerability. But if he had shown the slightest encouragement…” Her gaze focused on Raven. “I think you are very fortunate to have captured his interest,” she said softly, then shook herself out of her reverie. “Come, put something on and enjoy your breakfast before it grows cold.”

Raven felt herself flushing again, both at her state of undress and this strange turn of events, discussing Kell’s romantic inclinations with another woman. Rather than argue, however, she found a brocade robe of Kell’s in the wardrobe and settled before the hearth to eat. When she invited the hostess to join her, Emma hesitated only a moment before sitting in the adjacent chair.

“If I may,” the hostess murmured, “I have a question to ask you. It concerns his grace, the Duke of Halford.”

“Halford?” Raven repeated curiously as she sipped her hot coffee.

“Yes. Last night he…expressed an interest in seeing me again. Would you mind terribly if I were to agree? He seems in need of comfort after…well, after losing you to Kell.”

Swallowing her surprise, Raven shook her head. “No, I would not mind in the least. I have no claim to Halford.”

“I wouldn’t accept a permanent arrangement,” Emma remarked, “even if he offered. Kell pays me extremely well, enough to allow me a large measure of independence, so I can choose the gentlemen I see. But being alone as I am…well, it sometimes gets lonely.”

Raven felt a pang of sympathy. She understood loneliness; she’d known a great deal of it since her mother died, a feeling that had only been exacerbated since her marriage.

“I know Kell suffers from loneliness as well,” Emma said softly, “even though he would be the last to admit it. That’s why I am so glad he has you. I hope you will be spending more time here, Raven.”

She shook her head. “It’s unlikely, for I’ll be leaving town soon. I plan to celebrate Christmas in the country with my grandfather.”

“Oh, is Kell accompanying you?”

Raven hesitated. Her grandfather had expressly written in his last letter that her new husband would be welcome, but she hadn’t mentioned the invitation to Kell. “We haven’t discussed it yet, but I doubt he would want to go.”

“I do hope you can persuade him. It would do him a world of good to be with you.”

Raven wasn’t certain she wanted to persuade him, for sharing a holiday with Kell could only lead to more intimacy and complicate their relationship further.

And yet…Emma was no doubt right about his loneliness. She had sensed that in him almost from the first. Beneath his air of disdainful detachment, he was hiding more pain and loneliness than he would ever reveal. She just didn’t know if she wanted to do anything about it.

She had started to cut a bite of ham when the door opened and Kell walked in. As Raven glanced over her shoulder, he met her gaze, and heat crackled between them like a bolt of lightning. Raven found herself suddenly breathless.

An instant later, he dropped his gaze to survey her attire. The rakish gleam in his dark eyes told her clearly that he recognized the dressing gown she wore, and that he knew she was naked underneath.

Raven flushed and swiftly tucked her bare feet beneath the hem.

His attention turned to Emma. “I have a fencing match in a short while, and I need to dress.”

“Then you will wish me to leave,” the hostess said with a smile as she rose.

When the door shut behind her, Raven found herself unexpectedly tongue-tied. After their passionate encounter last night, she wasn’t certain what to say to him.

Kell, however, seemed perfectly at ease as he went to the bureau and fetched a length of starched linen for a cravat. “What of your plans for the rest of the day?” he asked Raven casually. “I can drop you at home on the way to my match…unless you prefer to remain here?”

The thought of staying here in his bedchamber made butterflies dance in her stomach. “No,” she said at once. She needed a bath but that could wait. “I intend to go home-but I should get dressed…”

She started to rise but Kell stayed her with a wave of his hand. “You have time to finish your breakfast.”

Raven sank back down in her chair, relieved that she wouldn’t have to dress in front of him. She applied herself to her food, but when Kell stood before the glass to tie his cravat, she found herself covertly watching him, fascinated by this routine male task. Then she realized what she was doing and averted her gaze. It was such an intimate act, a wife watching her husband dress…

“You seem to be extremely fond of fencing,” she remarked, anxious to break the private mood.

“I am. Beyond that, physical exertion tends to burn off sexual frustration.” He gave her a wry glance over his shoulder. “I’ve been fencing a good deal of late.”

Raven could feel her cheeks flush with heat.

“I wonder, did O’Malley teach you to fence?” Kell asked when she was silent.

“No, only to shoot.”

“And to cheat at dice.”

The mention of cheating brought to mind her own grievance with him. “I am not the only one to resort to duplicity when it suits me. You were plainly dishonest last night when you led me to believe Emma was your mistress.”

Kell raised an eyebrow. “Am I to blame if you leapt to such an erroneous conclusion?”

“Certainly you are to blame,” Raven retorted. “If not for your deception, I would never have agreed to…to what you proposed.”

His grin was slow and unequivocally rakish. “To satisfy my sexual needs, you mean?”

“Yes…that. I consented only to keep you from lusting after other women when you are supposed to be showering me with the attention due a new bride.”

“I hope you don’t intend to back out of our agreement now.”

“I would have every right! My decision was made under false pretenses.”

Having finished tying his neckcloth, he drew on a simple leather waistcoat. “I don’t see that the circumstances have changed since last evening. Regardless of Miss Walsh’s status, if you want me to show you fidelity, the surest way is to honor your conjugal obligations.” He gave her a penetrating glance as he fastened the buttons. “That’s more than you’ve promised me, vixen. I don’t see you offering to give up your fantasy lover for my sake.”

Raven’s brows drew together. “The situations are not at all similar. Having an imaginary lover cannot be compared to taking a real live mistress-which legally could be considered adultery.”

“Some men might consider it more insulting,” Kell said softly, “being cuckolded by a fantasy.”

“You know very well why I resort to fantasy.”

“I think I do. You’re acting the coward.”

Raven gave him a genuine scowl this time. Biting back a tart retort, however, she managed to say with remarkable calm, “I don’t intend to let you provoke me. And in any event, I won’t be able to see to your…carnal needs for much longer. I will be leaving at the end of next week to join my grandfather for the holidays.”

“I know. Luttrell said as much in his letter.”

“What letter?”

“He sent me an invitation of my own, asking me to spend Christmas at his estate.”

Raven stared at Kell in surprise. “He did? Whatever for?”

“How the devil do I know? Perhaps because I’m your husband.”

“I suppose he wants to make amends for the shameful way he treated you.”

Kell made no reply as he shrugged into his tailored burgundy jacket.

“Well, do you mean to go?” Raven asked impatiently.

His expression remained infuriatingly enigmatic. “I haven’t decided yet.”

She wanted to hit him.

“I expect it would be good for appearances,” he added casually before she could erupt. “We could keep up the pretense of marital bliss and lay to rest once and for all the question of our union…about it being a love match.”

“Yes,” Raven replied with a troubled frown. “I imagine we could at that.”

“I’m presuming, of course, that we can refrain from indulging in anything more intimate than sex.” He shot her another arch look. “I believe I could manage it; could you?”

“I suppose so,” Raven said reluctantly, although with far less conviction than she felt.

Kell flashed her a crooked smile. “You needn’t be so afraid. Our agreement is for conjugal relations, nothing more. Merely a convenient physical arrangement.”

When she didn’t reply, he crossed to her. “I will see you tonight then.”

“Tonight?” Raven echoed, looking up at him in surprise.

“I intend to leave the club early and be home by midnight.” Bending, he gave her lips a brief, hard kiss. “I want you to be waiting for me. In bed. Naked.”

Speechless, she stared after Kell as he turned away and let himself from the room.

For the entire remainder of the day and evening, Raven wavered in indecision.

One moment she had every intention of refusing Kell her bed. It vexed her thoroughly, his assumption that he only had to command her and she would obey. And he had deliberately misled her about Emma’s status as his mistress.

Yet when Raven recalled the incredible passion they had shared last night, her resolve faltered. Why shouldn’t they enjoy each other physically? What would be the harm? If they kept their intimacy to a minimum, there would be little risk of falling in love with him. Was she really such a coward that she had to deny herself what little pleasure her marriage could offer?

Admittedly, she wanted Kell. In his presence she felt more alive than she had imagined possible. Like her fantasy pirate’s, Kell’s erotic touch excited her and challenged her restless soul.

As the evening drew on, Raven couldn’t quell her sense of anticipation at the night to come. By the time midnight struck, her nerves were screaming with sensual tension. A short while later she heard Kell in their dressing room.

When eventually he entered her bedchamber and shut the door behind him, her heart leapt. She had turned down the bedside lamp, but in the dim glow she could see he wore a dressing gown of black and gold brocade. Even across the room, his intense magnetism affected her.

He went to the hearth first and stirred the fire before coming to stand beside her bed. The heat of his gaze was just as arousing as it had been this morning; his first comment just as provoking and provocative. “Are you naked as I asked?”

Raven drew a sharp breath. “As it happens, I am,” she observed coolly. “But if you expect me to be your obedient servant, you can think again.”

His mouth curved in a sensual smile. “I cannot imagine you being obedient unless you choose to be. But I’m pleased that on this occasion, you decided to honor my request.” His gaze skimmed the outline of her body under the covers. “I have thought of you all day, vixen…” Untying the sash of his dressing gown, he let it fall open to reveal his own nude body. “As you can see.” His arousal stood pulsing and erect.

Raven’s blood began to race.

“Have you been lying here, thinking of me coming into you?” he asked in a rough-velvet murmur.

She couldn’t deny she had been doing exactly that, but she didn’t wish to give Kell the satisfaction of knowing it. Before she could think of a retort, however, he held out a black satin bag.

Raven suspected the contents even before Kell sat beside her on the bed and showed her. There were several sponges with thin strings attached, along with a small bottle of amber liquid.

“The precaution you requested,” he said as he wet one of the sponges.

“What is that?”

“Brandy.” He gently tugged down the covers to bare her body. “Open your legs.”

She shivered in the cool air, yet she didn’t protest when his fingers probed between her thighs. Instead she shut her eyes and let him press the brandy-soaked sponge deep inside her. The sensation was thrilling, and even more arousing when his thumb deliberately stroked the bud of her sex. Raven bit back a moan.

“I would say you are ready for me,” Kell said in approval. “Hot and wet and eager…”

When his fingers buried inside her, her hips arched up off the bed, but he left off teasing her.

“Not so quickly,” he murmured with an edge of amusement. “Last night I did most of the work. Now it is your turn.”

When she opened her eyes to stare up at him in frustration, he shook his head. “You are supposed to be pleasuring me, wife, remember?”

Shrugging out of his dressing gown, he pushed the covers aside and lay back upon the bed.

Disbelieving his audacity, Raven raised herself up on one elbow but found her gaze riveted by the sight of him. His male nudity enticed her senses; he was beautiful, so beautiful she forgot to breathe.

“Well?” he taunted softly. “Do you intend to take all night?”

She cursed beneath her breath, trying to deny the pulsing need running rampant inside her. Yet his vital intensity was like a magnet, drawing her to him.

She let her gaze roam over him; over his erection that lay arched against his belly, over the powerful thighs and calves that were lightly dusted with hair…

When he saw where her fascinated gaze was fixed, he arched his back slowly, like a big sleek cat stretching, flaunting his manhood even more. “Are you afraid to touch me?”

“No, I am not afraid,” she lied. “Only vexed by your insufferable arrogance.”

Kell gazed at her steadily, the promise of sexual pleasure gleaming in his dark eyes. “Then touch me,” he demanded, his voice seductive.

Steeling herself, she reached down to brush his loins with her hand. His phallus surged eagerly against her fingertips, almost burning her.

“If you need instruction…” he said when she hesitated.

“I don’t.”

Defiantly, she rose to kneel over Kell and placed both palms on his hard-muscled chest, determined to make him swallow his taunts.

His skin was heated velvet when she caressed him, his muscles smooth and firm beneath her fingers. She ran her hands down his body, exploring his tapering chest, his lean waist, his flat belly…his towering erection.

He tensed when she stroked him there, but she didn’t stop. Deliberately she fondled him, applying the erotic methods she’d learned from the journal, the same exquisitely sensual methods Kell had used on her last night.

She suspected, however, that her assault was proving just as arousing to her as to him. She loved the feel of him under her hands, the way he pulsed and hardened to her touch, the way he seemed to relish the pleasure she was giving him. But she knew from the journal how she could increase the pleasure.

She left off stimulating him and reached for the brandy bottle he had left on the bedside table. One dark eyebrow shot up in question when she wet her fingers with the liquor, but when she touched him, Kell shuddered and gave a low groan of sensual pain. His response delighted Raven and sent her pulse thrumming in her veins.

“Does it please you when I do this?” she asked, her own tone provocative.

“You know it does.”

Bracing her hands on either side of his hips then, she bent to him, first trailing her lips along the huge, swollen length of him, then touching his flesh with her tongue, tasting the brandy, along with his own musky masculine flavor. When he drew a sharp breath, she closed her lips around the hot blunt tip.

In only moments his hips were flexing restlessly beneath the soft suckling of her mouth.

“Witch,” he muttered in a voice rough with need. “You had best stop before I spend myself.”

“Not yet…”

For several long heartbeats more, she pleasured and aroused him, until he was nearly writhing. Her sense of power swelled to bursting as he fought for control.

“Do you intend to make me beg you?” he rasped.

Raising her head from his straining shaft, Raven sent him a challenging look. “Would you really beg?”

“Yes…sweet mercy, yes. Please, my lovely Raven…”

“Well…” To give like this was ecstasy, but she wanted to take as well. She gave Kell a taunting smile. “Since you insist…”

Straddling his waist with her thighs, she leaned forward, deliberately letting her breasts lightly caress his chest. “I don’t believe you are hot enough yet.”

Her teasing made him clench his teeth. “Damn you, vixen… Any hotter and I will burst into flame.”

Indeed his eyes smoldered as she eased downward over his rigid sex, slowly impaling herself.

Kell shuddered as if it were almost more than he could bear, and her sense of power intensified. She loved having him fill her this way-and yet it wasn’t enough. She wanted him to participate in his own ravishment.

Bending, she grasped his wrists and drew his hands to her breasts, her hard nipples stabbing his palms. Immediately he understood her need and complied, rubbing the aching peaks. Raven gave a sigh of rapture at the exquisite sensations and arched her back.

She nearly moaned when his magical hands left her, but he only pulled her thighs wider, lifting his hips to thrust more deeply inside her.

Raven quivered at the scalding hot feel of him urgently filling her, at the clawing need that began to build within her. It was terrifying and thrilling at the same time, how her tenuous control vanished while his only seemed to grow.

He took command then, tangling his hand in her hair, forcing her head down until her mouth met his in a feverish kiss. Raven clutched his shoulders while her hips helplessly rocked against his, trying desperately to assuage the hungry primitive ache.

His kiss burned her to near oblivion, while the vibrant fiery pleasure mounted to a sudden, startling explosion that made them both shatter. Her cry of ecstasy mingled with Kell’s groans as the powerful climax swept them both away.

Gasping for breath, Raven collapsed bonelessly on top of him, her hair falling around his face, a curtain of silk. Weakly his arms came up to encircle her, and he lay unmoving.

When finally she regained her senses it was to find Kell stroking her naked back, nuzzling her temple with his lips.

“Did you find that adequate?” she murmured when she could summon the energy to speak.

She felt him smile against her hair. “Unequivocally.”

Easing her off him, Kell drew the sheets up to cover their nakedness, then lay back and gathered Raven closer. Languidly she curled against him and shut her eyes.

It was a long moment before he broke the silence. “What do you call him, your fantasy lover?”

Raven stiffened at the question. “I don’t have a name for him.”

“What does he look like then?”

She hesitated. “Like a pirate. He has black hair and dark eyes.”

“As I do?” He rolled on his side, his gaze finding hers. “Should I be flattered?”

“I don’t think so. I imagined him long before I met you.”

Kell reached up to brush a tendril of hair from her forehead, but he seemed thoughtful when he spoke. “If I had a fantasy lover, I think she would be very much like you… Flashing blue eyes, a heart-shaped face, a beautiful, slender body with lush breasts…”

Raven stirred self-consciously as his voice washed over her, but Kell wasn’t done.

“She would know not only how to pleasure me, she would know how to make my body sing, to wring me dry and make me ache with need…” A smile flickered across his mouth. “Does your lover do all that?”

Moving away from him, she drew the covers to her breasts.

“Does he?” Kell repeated, his tone curious.

“Yes,” Raven replied defensively. “He does all that and more. He not only gives me pleasure, he makes me feel cherished, desired. As if I am the only woman in the world.”

Kell raised an eyebrow but his measuring gaze was entirely serious. “Is that every woman’s secret fantasy? To be cherished?”

“I wouldn’t know about other women’s fantasies,” Raven replied, deploring the turn their conversation had taken. “But I am perfectly content with mine.”

“Still, I should think the real thing would be more satisfying. An image can’t fill you like a flesh and blood man can. He can’t stroke your nipples like this…”

When Kell caressed her breast, Raven jerked back, away from his sensual touch. “Perhaps not, but neither does he incite a desire in me to commit mayhem, as you do.”

Kell’s lips pursed in a frown. “I confess, I don’t like the thought of you seeking pleasure from your fantasy lover.”

She gave him a sharp look of disbelief. “You cannot possibly be jealous of a fantasy.”

“No? How do you think a man feels when his lover…his wife…constantly dreams about another man? It arouses a primitive male instinct to do battle.”

Raven gave a sigh of exasperation. “It is not a contest, Kell.”

“What if I were to make it one?”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “Nothing. Never mind. Why don’t you go to sleep?”

He shut his eyes as if prepared to do just that, but Raven made a sound of protest in her throat. “Kell…I think you should sleep in your own bedchamber tonight.”

His eyes opened. “Sleeping together is too intimate, is that your assumption?”

“Yes. We agreed merely to carnal relations, nothing more.”

“Very well,” he said easily, surprising her. “If you insist…”

Rising from the bed, he scooped up his dressing gown and shrugged into it. Then he bent and pulled the covers up over her shoulders, tucking her in. “Sweet dreams, vixen.”

He didn’t seem at all angry that she had ordered him from her bed. Instead he pressed a chaste kiss to her temple and left the room.

Raven frowned, somewhat bewildered and more than a little suspicious that he had been so accommodating.

Had she questioned him, however, Kell would not have told her his intent. It would be foolish to rekindle Raven’s resistance by revealing his plans.

He was set on taking over her fantasies.

Her decided preference for her dream lover had roused his new resolve. Irrationally or not, it incensed Kell that Raven had another lover, however illusory. Whether driven by male pride or simple jealousy, he wanted to be the only man in her life. He intended to be the only man in her life.

It would be a challenge, but he meant to win her away from her imaginary lover.