Page 12 (1/2)

"You knohat you can do"

She sed hard, and stared up at him He was so tall, so broad of shoulder that he dwarfed her until she could see nothing around him But her fear did not come from that In fact, it was only when she ith Marcus that she felt truly safe No, her fear came froet existed And there he stood, so damn confident and predatory He felt none of the uncertainty that she felt Libertines never did, shielded as they were by the knowledge of their undeniable charm and appeal If only she could boast such assured sexuality

A slow smile curved her lips as the solution to her dilemma presented itself in a flash of comprehension How could she haveand unsure how to respond in the face of such an overwhelrown up with the best exae these situations in her own household She would simply do what William or her father or Marcus himself would do

"Very well, then You can meet me in the bachelor quarters of Chesterfield Hall for your fuck" The crude word stuue and she lifted her chin to hide her disco your pardon?"

She arched a brow "That’s what I can do, correct? Spread s until you sate your lust? Then you’ll tire of nited the heat in her veins Ies froainst the sudden rush of desire

The intense predatory look of his features softened "Christ, when you present it in that ether in a rueful frown "What an ogre I must seem to you at times I cannot remember the last time I felt so chastened"

The faintest trace of a s up to press against the elaborately e down, caressing the rippling expanse of his sto her of how delicate the balance of poas

Marcus caught her wandering fingertips and tugged her closer Staring down into her face, he shook his head "I presume you’ve conceived of so his palaze darken "I intend to give you what you want Surely you won’t coht then?"

Her eyes widened "Good heavens Again today?"

Laughing, he relented, his e in hiance, replaced by a boyish allure she found hard to resist "Very well then" He stepped back, and offered his arm "And you are correct, I surely won’t complain"

Chapter 8

Marcus paced before the fire in the Chesterfield guesthouse and tried to recollect his first sexual encounter It had happened a long tio and the rushed tumble in the Westfield stables had passed in a blur of sweaty skin, prickly hay, and gasping relief Still, despite the less than clear remembrance of that afternoon, he was certain he’d never been as anxious as he was at the presentescorted Elizabeth hoo, he’d rushed ho ever since

Doubt twisted his stomach into knots, a sensation wholly unfamiliar to him Would Elizabeth coht, desperate to taste her and feel her beneath his hands?

Standing, Marcus tossedaround the beautifully appointed bachelor quarters While he would have preferred to have Elizabeth once again in his own bed, he would take what he could get and gladly

The Aubusson rug was soft under his bare feet as he arment but his breeches, astonished and not a little disconcerted by his haste to press his bare skin to Elizabeth’s

The outer door opened, and then shut quietly Marcus stood, and ainst the jamb in an effort to appear nonchalant and less needy than he felt Then Elizabeth turned the corner and his breath caught Against his will, his feet moved, one in front of the other She paused, her luscious bottoht between her teeth Dressed in si elaborateness, her face scrubbed clean of both powder and patch, she was a vision of casual youthful beauty

"Where have you been?" he growled as he reached her, his hands gripping her waist and lifting her against him

"I--"

He crushed her response with a kiss She stiffened at first, and then suddenly she opened for hiroan escaped, as the heady taste of her flooded his mouth Fierce but sweet, her kisses had always driven him to madness

A loud thump momentarily distracted him, and he pulled back to discern the source of the sound Lying at their feet was a s Hawthorne’s journal?"

"Yes," she said, in the breathy voice that betrayed her arousal

As he gazed at the book on the floor, Marcus was surprised at the jealousy that rose up within him Elizabeth carried another man’s name She had once been physically joined to so frorin He was not some foolishly besotted lad, selfish in his desire for the affection of a fair ers with hers, and tugged her into the bedroom

"I came as quickly as I could," she said softly

"Liar You debated internally for a moment, at least"

She smiled, and his entire body hardened "Maybe a ardless" He wrapped his arhed, the cold wariness of her features instantly transformed "Only because I knew if I didn’t, you would probably co his face in her neck, he chuckled and groaned at the same time Under other circumstances, as painfully aroused as he was, he would have rolled his lover over and mounted her In this instance, however, he was determined to find a way past Elizabeth’s defenses Sexual satisfaction was not his only aier

"You are correct" He stared up at her "I would have fetched you"

Her hand touched the side of his face, one of the rare tender gestures she bestowed on hi look, stunned hiant You do realize that, don’t you?"

"Of course" He sat up and settled her against the pillows Then he reached for the bottle of wine he’d set on the nightstand, and poured her a full glass

Elizabeth licked her bottoaze as she accepted the libation "You are half naked It’s … disconcerting"

"Perhaps if you disrobed it would be less so," he suggested