Forsaking the Prize (The Wild Randalls 2)

“Oh no, my delicious, Lady Venables. I’m just pausing to savor perfection.”

Blythe frowned. What nonsense was he about? There were many more women in the world that could satisfy a man better than she could. She’d hardly been allowed to touch him as it was. He set his hands on the mattress, his lower body resting against hers where they were joined. He eased back and then slid inside her again. The sensation sent a tingle of tension through her limbs.

She dropped her eyes to his chest and then she touched where her eyes wandered. He had many small marks, perhaps scars from circumstances he wouldn’t speak of yet. She caressed each one in turn and then lifted her head to kiss those closest. All the while, Tobias slowly moved within her body. Not roughly as she’d half feared, half yearned for, but with a determined assault on her senses. When her lips found his nipple, he cradled her face against his chest and held her there a moment.

“God B, you take a man to the edge with those lips of yours,” he gasped as she licked the peak. He eased her head to the pillow, following her down and arranged them comfortably so he rested on one arm.

The ache between her legs intensified as she met his gaze. His slow coupling and scrutiny adding to her arousal. His fingers skimmed over her nipples, played over the softness of her belly, and then continued down to where they joined. Blythe tensed again as he slid his hand between their hips and touched a place desperate for attention.

Tobias smiled down upon her as he teased her folds and slid over a place so sensitive her back arched from the bed. Coupled with the slow slide of his cock within her, Blythe’s pleasure tripled. She locked one leg high around his hips and clung, searching for the right pressure and Tobias’ touch. When she found it, she jerked and shuddered, climaxing around Tobias so quickly she was taken by surprise. She buried her face against his hot chest as the wave slowly ebbed.

After what seemed an eternity, she lifted her face. Tobias wasn’t grinning. His jaw was clenched tightly, his eyes were closed, his entire body tense and stiff against hers. Suddenly he pulled out and pressed his face to her belly.

Blythe tangled her fingers in his hair, astounded at how easy sex between them had been, and how desperately she had wanted Tobias to make love to her tonight.

Everything else about their association had been a struggle. His manners completely at odds with hers. However, in bed they seemed to set those differences aside. She hadn’t thought of anything accept stealing a perfect moment for herself.

Tobias crawled up the bed and pulled Blythe against him without saying a word. He pressed a kiss to her hair and cradled her against his wide chest as if she was precious to him. She’d never expected him to be so gentle. She set her hand over his at her waist where they rested over her crumpled night gown. He linked their fingers together and held her hand in a tight grip.

“Tobias?”

“Shh, B. I’m trying to convince myself not to do that again.”

She twisted to look at him. “Do I have any say in the matter?”

He grinned and pushed her hair back from her face. His large hands held her gently. “Absolutely. Making love to you is very tempting. Arousing in the extreme. But I don’t want to ruin our lives with a brat of mine.”

Blythe stilled as a chill shot through her heart. She was a fool not to have considered that she could become with child after making love with Tobias. Her pulse raced again as the thought took hold. A child. Another child of her own to love and treasure. She blinked as the quick rush of hope brought heat to her skin. But Tobias thought fathering a child would ruin his carefree life. She closed her eyes as the disappointment slammed into her. She wanted the wicked pirate for herself and that meant everything that was possible between them: a future, a home, a family of their making.

She pushed the discovery from her mind and strove to find a lighter thought that wouldn’t ruin what little pleasure she’d found in his arms. Tobias had not found his own release yet and she should correct that oversight as soon as possible. “How could you ruin the evening? You’re not terrible at making love,” she teased.

Tobias had been very, very good indeed and she truly wouldn’t mind if he could make her climax like that again. But he would only be her lover. He had made her no promises beyond tonight.

He nuzzled her neck and continued to nip until he reached her collar bone. Although he clearly didn’t intend to find satisfaction for himself within her body, she wriggled against him—sliding her bare bottom against the hard length at his groin. His groan raised the hair on the back of her neck.

“Woman, you must have lost your mind to invite a devil like me to your bed.”

Blythe curled her arm over her head to hold his lips against her neck. “I thought you were described as a demon.”

“Devil, Demon. Whatever name you want to call me I’ll answer to.” He threw her over onto her back, stripped her of her nightgown, and settled part of his weight against her, holding her down. He pressed his lips to her throat, caught her hands and held them high above her head. “I’ll come whenever you call.”

He brushed his cock against her thigh and she shuddered. Perhaps teasing him wasn’t the smartest idea, but she did love his possessive touch on her body. He held her in place as he kissed and nipped her skin, and then widened her legs with his knees with an impatient jerk. His cock nudged against her curls and Blythe gasped as a rush of desire swept her. He held her hands against the mattress on either side beside her head. She couldn’t move, couldn’t touch his body. Tobias would have her exactly as he wished. Slow, fast, hard or gentle. Her body hummed in anticipation.

She slowed her breathing as he slid inside an inch at a time until nothing separated them. His mouth caressed her cheek as he started to thrust inside her.

A fission of pleasure curled her spine. She clenched her hands about his. His grip tightened as he withdrew and when he surged back in, Blythe gasped. Her breasts, nipples excited to hard little buds, brushed against his chest maddeningly.

Tobias set up a faster pace, opening her legs wider, sliding more of himself into her body. She ached with fierce need to touch him, but in this position she was a willing slave to his mercy. He gave her none. His thrusts grew faster, his flesh slapped against her thighs in a way she’d never experienced before. He rode her quick and sure, and Blythe reveled in his passionate lovemaking.

A tight coil of desire flooded her senses and she met him thrust for thrust. She clenched her sex around his length every other stroke. “Come for me, Tobias,” she whispered.

“No,” he groaned. His hips slammed harder against her until his thrusts became frenzied as he climaxed inside her body. He groaned and collapsed against her, releasing her climax, too. She squeezed him as she came, his name tumbling from her lips foolishly. She dragged in frantic breaths as she struggled with what had just happened. She’d begged him to come inside her. She could become pregnant with his child.

Blythe buried her face in his shoulder, replete but discontent. What would she do if the worst came to pass? Could she bear his child out of wedlock without her heart breaking? What if he ever discovered she’d loved him with more than her body tonight? What if he discovered he had claimed what remained of her heart?

~ * ~

Tobias resettled Blythe in his arms as she stirred in her sleep. He’d changed his plans for the future three times during the night, always coming back to the absolute necessity of making Blythe his wife. Patience be damned. Money be damned. He would marry Blythe as soon as banns could be called.