Earl of Sin (Lords of Scandal 6)

“What should I call you then?” She placed her hands on his shoulders.

He raised a brow as her body fit against his. He drew in a deep breath, breathing in her scent. She smelled of vanilla and wildflowers. Without thinking, he dropped his nose into her neck, surrounding himself with her. “Call me Cole,” he said. “It seems far more fitting for my wife than Sin.”

Her lips grazed his shoulder, soft and tender. “Cole,” she repeated. Then again. “Cole.” The second one came out as almost a sigh.

He loved the sound more than he could express with words. It shivered down his spine, settling in his groin and tightening both his chest and his cock. “The way you say my name. It makes me want you so much. I—”

Her lips travelled to his neck. “Cole,” she murmured against his skin, so the vibration of her voice echoed down into his soul.

Pulling back, he turned his head to capture those lips with his own. It was a simple kiss, the joining of two pairs of lips, but somehow, it was so much more. The touch spoke of feelings no words could. His passion for her, his growing conviction that he loved her, but also, under that, his fear. What if something happened to her? “Mary. We’re not married yet. I…” He didn’t know how to say that since Clara’s death, he hadn’t been with another woman. The intimacy had been more than he could bear.

She skimmed her hands across his shoulders in a light touch. “I’ve never been with a man.” She kissed him then. “We don’t have to do any of that today.”

He straightened, looking down into the exquisite palette of her face, the ache inside him intensifying. Inwardly, however, he berated himself. She’d loved and lost too, and she needed something from him now. The way she touched him, the way she’d sighed out his name. This wasn’t just about him. “What is it you would like to do?”

Her lip trembled as it parted. “I just came to check on you. I know my family can be rough. And then…” She drew in a breath searching his eyes.

“Then?” he asked.

She gripped his shoulders tighter. “I’ve never experienced any passion at all really. I just…”

Sin understood. And he knew just what to do.

Chapter Eleven

Mary thought she might be going to hell for her wanton behavior. Never mind her thoughts. Those were naughty.

But Cole had tucked her against him, the hard feel of his body making her insides turn to jelly. Even more exciting was the stiff man parts pressing into her much softer belly. She ached with desire to know more, to experience the passion he effortlessly brought out in her.

He brushed his thumb across her lips and then he dropped his mouth to hers again. This kiss ignited the fire inside her as he slanted her lips open and brushed his tongue against hers. She held tight to his shoulders, her knees threatening to buckle.

But, apparently, he wasn’t done with her. A thick carpet lay under their feet. With his hands tight about her waist, he guided her back until they were both on the floor, her on the carpet and him perched above her, his mouth still locked with hers.

Then his hands began skimming down her body. He cupped her breasts, tweaking her nipples before he moved lower across the flat of her stomach, around her hip and down her leg. She wore a light muslin gown, with the weather so warm, and very little underneath so that when his fingers grasped her he

m, he was able to easily lift her skirts. Her pantaloons were rather sheer and his fingers skimming along the fabric were almost like he was touching her skin and goosebumps broke out all along her flesh.

He slid his lips across her jaw and down her chin. “I can’t wait to see you in my bed,” he whispered close to her ear. “I’m going to strip off every stitch of clothing and kiss every inch of your skin.”

Heat, warmth, and wetness was flooding between her thighs and, as if he sensed that, his hand sought out the area. Finding the slit in her pantaloons, he trailed his fingers through her curls and then gently along the slit of her womanhood, causing her to let out a gasping moan. He smiled against her neck. “Do you like that?”

“Yes,” she didn’t hesitate in her answer. “Oh yes.” She still gripped his shoulders and she started kneading the skin in her restless want of more.

He brushed the flesh again and again, her head beginning to toss from side to side until he finally parted her soft folds and slid his middle finger through them again. Her hips bucked and she said his name again. “Cole.” It was a plea, a cry for more, the neediness coming through in the high pitch of her voice.

“Yes?” he chuckled, caressing his hand up and down again until he found her opening and suddenly, slid a finger inside her channel.

She gasped in a breath, feeling both needier and more complete all in the same breath. As the heel of his hand pressed against her sensitive nub, she rocked against him. “Oh,” she moaned. “Cole.”

“Say my name again,” he spoke against her neck. “Say it over and over and I’ll give you everything you want.”

She blinked her eyes open. “Everything?” Hope filled her chest, making her lighter. Would he give her his heart?

“Everything, love,” he answered, pulling out and pushing back into her.

She closed her eyes again. In this moment, she would pretend. Pretend that it meant something he’d used the word love. Make believe that he’d meant his heart as well as physical pleasure. “Yes,” she hissed. “I want everything.”

Her words nearly undid his last shred of control. He wanted everything too. He wanted to bury his cock deep inside her. He wanted to hear her moan his name in pleasure when he did. But mostly, he wanted to tuck her against him and keep her there, warm and safe forever. And that was the problem.