Becoming Mrs. Benedict Page 7

  “Oh, I want to give it to you. You have no idea how badly that is truth,” he says, dipping his lips close to mine.

  His thumbs slide around to my front and he drags his palms up along my ribs, his fingers leaving a trail of heat in their wake on my back. I’m pretty sure he’ll give in this time, and I am further convinced when his lips crash against mine. Through his trousers, just like always, I can feel how my proximity affects him. And when his hands are a little higher, his thumbs brush against the underside of my breasts and I moan into his mouth.

  I am seconds away from climbing up his hard body and pleading for him to make love to me against the brick of the garden wall.

  “Ella,” he grumbles as he breaks our kiss and pushes me slightly away from his body. “You’re killing me.”

  Undeterred, I attempt another tactic. I rub my palm over his length through his pants and his cock bounces to life.

  “You don’t play fair, angel,” he groans without stopping my assault on him.

  “Perhaps it is because I’m no angel, Alcott,” I purr as I stroke him.

  “I will make love to you if you forget all of this mess and come to Havering with me.”

  His proposed deal causes me to take pause.

  He is propositioning me with an alternative to protect me in exchange for giving me what I want. My womb aches at the idea of finally having him—of finally seeing if he can ease the unrest in my head and body. If I can’t feel something while with Alcott, I shall be doomed, because I am incredibly attracted to him. If it turns out to be as it was with William, I won’t know how to carry on.

  And that thought frightens me.

  “I’m scared,” I tell him with a quiver in my voice. “What if I still don’t like sex, even with you?”

  His brow rises as he smiles smugly at me. “Not possible, darling. When I finally get to have you, you won’t know which way is up because I’ll turn your world upside down. I shall play your body as if it were an instrument especially designed for my hands and tongue. Together, we will harmonize and make love to only a song we can create.”

  I lean forward and kiss his confident lips. “Like when we made our own dance?”

  “You couldn’t be more correct.”

  He deepens our kiss, and I lose myself in all that is him. When he showers me with his affections, it is easy for me to forget everything that plagues me.

  “Do we have ourselves an agreement? Shall we make some amazing love and then I will take you to see your sisters?” he questions against my lips.

  I nod as I sling my arms around his neck and climb him like a pole. Since day one, I have wanted to attack him, and now, I can. I’m finally allowed the opportunity and I cannot wait any longer. He groans, but his hands find my arse and he holds on to me.

  “Not here. I am going to make love to you in the bed.” His words are lost in my mouth as he walks us out of the garden and through the door into the house. As we enter, he tears his lips from mine. “Divert your eyes,” he calls out in warning in case Gretchen or Gerald are nearby.

  I giggle like a madwoman and steal his lips again. While he blindly leads me back to the bedroom, we manage to run into only a few pieces of furniture along the way. Within moments, we’re next to the bed he lets me sleep curled up against him each night, the door kicked shut upon our entering.

  He peels my arms off his neck and playfully tosses me onto the bed. I expect to see a smile, but he peers down at me with a serious look, making no moves to remove his clothes.

  “Are you sure about this? Because once we do this, it cannot be undone. I know that, the moment I make love to you, my heart is going to thread itself with yours. If this is simply a ploy to fix your heart and you lose interest, I will be brokenhearted, Ella. Do you understand? I want to do this because I want and care for you. Do you feel the same about me?”

  I nod slowly. “Alcott, I’m terrified. I’ll admit that. But I have a craving for you I don’t understand. It possesses me. A part of me worries I will be disappointed—that it will be like it was with William and that I will never be able to be loved or to love anyone. A part of me worries I am forever broken. However, the other part of me, the one that still has hope for a normal life, knows that this is more than a physical union. That part of me knows that this is a way for your stronger heart to connect with mine and, together, they shall beat as one. You once asked me if I trusted you, and the answer was always yes. I still trust you. I’m ready to go forward with you.”

  His smile is one of relief, and he begins tearing at his clothes with undeniable speed. Once his trousers are gone, I gape at his cock. I’ve never simply looked at one. It is an odd-looking thing with its bulbous head and veins. What is even odder is the way my mouth waters to taste it. I truly am insane.

  “It is ugly,” I tell him with a playful grin.

  He smirks as he crawls onto the bed on his knees. His eyebrow rises as he takes hold of it and strokes it. “They’re all ugly, Ella. Mine is quite handsome in comparison.”

  A laugh bursts from me. “Quite confident, are we?”

  “I’m confident that you may not think he’s a looker but you’ll love his tricks.” He winks at me as he spreads my knees apart.

  My body grows wet for him, and I squirm with warring thoughts of needing to close my legs or letting them drop farther open. Then he drags a finger across the place I’ve massaged and rubbed for an entire week. Whereas I couldn’t produce one inkling of pleasure, his barest touch sends sparks blazing through my veins.

  I close my eyes and whimper as I wait for him to enter me. But when something warm and wet slides between the lips of my southern region, my eyes fly open.

  “What are you doing?” I hiss when I realize he is tasting me there.

  His breath is hot, and it makes me crazy when he answers. “I am going to give you an orgasm you’ll never forget, dear. Now lie back and enjoy this.”

  I cry out when his mouth connects again with the place that throbs wildly for attention. My hands find his hair, and in an embarrassing move, I push him against me there. I need to feel him all over me—inside me.

  “Oh!” I shriek as his tongue goes into a frenzy of circling and flicking and sliding.

  I’m squirming and writhing as I either run to or from whatever it is he is giving me. Then the sensation from last week when his hand was upon me sneaks up on me and my skin breaks into a sweat as every muscle in my entire body tightens in preparation. I’m terrified yet eager to see what happens next. With every lash of his tongue on my body, I dive deeper and deeper into oblivion. And once blackness steals my vision, I slam my eyes shut.

  “Alcott, something is happening,” I gasp. It feels foreign and unusual, but I want it so badly.

  He doesn’t respond, only intensifies his actions.

  After one more flick of his tongue, I lose control. My body shudders as if a demon has crawled inside and taken over. I feel like I’m combusting from within and no longer have power of one single aspect of myself. And as quickly as it possessed me, it leaves.

  “Alcott,” I whimper when he pulls away from the part of me that is still pulsating and sensitive.

  His face glistens with my arousal as he flashes me a smug grin. “How was that?”

  I close my eyes again and attempt to formulate what it is that happened to me. “It was . . . It was . . .”

  “Magic?”

  “It was otherworldly.”

  He chuckles, and it reverberates to my core. I look up at him expectantly.

  “Are you ready for more?” he asks.

  “Make love to me,” I plead.

  Sitting back on his haunches, he seizes my leg and draws my foot to him. I gasp when he kisses my ankle. He begins a slow ascent up the inside of my leg, trailing kisses along the way. When he makes it to my pubic bone and presses a kiss there too, a mewl escapes me. This man makes me insane with his teasing nature.

  And then he’s back on a mission as he tickles the flesh of my belly with hi
s lips. The moment he arrives at my breast and his tongue tastes my nipple, I cry out.

  “So sweet,” he groans after he sucks and nibbles.

  I thought I was wet before, but now, I am positively dripping with want. “Why must you tease me, Alcott?”

  He continues his kissing until he has tongued his way up my slender neck and is at my ear. His breath is hot, and it sends shooting flames of desire right back to the place he drew an orgasm from moments before.

  “I tease you because it entertains me,” he growls, sliding his cock against the hair on my pubic bone. “And because teasing you makes me incredibly hard for you. Foreplay is every bit as important as the final act itself. You’ll soon grow to love the teasing, angel.”

  I absolutely love it no matter how torturous it is.

  “Kiss me,” I demand.

  He makes haste, and his lips are soon on mine. With each seductive dive of his tongue into my mouth, I arch my hips up to his to encourage him to continue what our bodies both want. His cock is slowly thrusting against me, but I desire so much more.

  “I need to be filled by you,” I moan. It is the only way to articulate what I need.

  He groans. “My fucking God, your mouth does me in. Your talk is so foul yet you do it with such an innocent flare.”

  I slip my legs around his waist and latch on to it. “I want you inside me. I want your thick, ugly penis in my body.”

  We both chuckle at my words, but as he lifts up to grab his cock, we fall silent. His dark eyes find mine and ask permission. Then I nod, losing myself the moment he begins inching himself inside me.

  My body fully accepts him, as I am completely drenched with my arousal. There is no resistance like there was the first time I had sex. This time, with Alcott, he slides right in and I go dizzy with the exquisite sensation of the way he stretches the inside of my body.

  “I knew that, the moment I had you, it would be perfection,” he murmurs as he dips his mouth to mine. “The moment you showed up in my home in Havering, I knew. I knew you would become mine one day.”

  I gasp as he begins slowly thrusting into me. The entire world disintegrates around me and all that exists is Alcott, with his dashing good looks and playful demeanor. I’m lost in all that is him and I never want to be found.

  It is safe here in his arms, with not one single worry in my head.

  Not one single angry, vengeful thought enters my mind.

  Warmth and affection and desire fill my being.

  “I like this, Alcott. Our bodies seem to be as one,” I say in awe as I feel yet another glorious orgasm teasing me from unknown depths.

  “Our courtship was short-lived,” he grunts as he slides in and out of me.

  I frown. “Are you already bored with me?”

  He growls and attacks my lips. “No, I am going to marry you, sweet Ella.”

  His words ignite the climax that was on the horizon, and it obliterates every nerve ending in my body. As he pumps into me, he groans, and just as his body tightens up with his own orgasm, he goes to pull out.

  “No! I want you inside me,” I whisper as I dig my heels into his arse.

  The man must have been holding on by a tiny thread, because in an instant, he is coming deep inside me. His heat explodes into my body, and I revel in the blissful sensation of it. Once we both relax from our ecstasy, he rests on his elbows to look at me.

  “A fortnight ago, when William showed up in my bedroom, I actually entertained the thought of becoming Mrs. Benedict. How silly and naïve was I?” I question. “I was lured into a trap and abused by a monster. And now look at me.”

  He dips down and presses a kiss to my forehead. “Fuck becoming Mrs. Benedict. You will become Mrs. Dumont. I won’t let much more time pass without you becoming my wife, Ella,” he says in a gravely yet fierce tone, “A year ago, I attempted to do the honorable thing and court you properly. As a result, I sent you right into the lion’s den. I could have swept you away back then and made you my wife. Instead, I chose to make a life for myself first so that you would have a secure future with me. I was such a fool.”

  His cock softens within me and he slides out of me. With it, his come trickles out and soils the bed beneath us. Then he rolls us over to our sides and strokes my hair away of my face.

  “Alcott, you are not a fool. You’re the best man I know. The moment I laid eyes on you, I was completely smitten by you.” I smile and let my eyes flutter closed as he lazily drags his finger along my cheek. “And you came back for me. You found me when nobody else would or could. That makes you a hero in my eyes, certainly not a fool.”

  HOW I RESISTED HER for so long was beyond me. But now that I’ve had a sample—an exquisite taste—I’ll never be satisfied. I shall make her my wife upon returning to Havering.

  After a full day of rolling around in the bed and learning one another’s bodies, she passed out from our excursions. I’m tempted to wake her up with my tongue between her legs, but I must prepare Gerald for our travels tomorrow.

  I press a chaste kiss on her forehead and slide out of the bed. Upon grabbing my trousers from the floor, I pull them on and then saunter from the room to find the old man. I find him smoking his tobacco in the den. When he sees my disheveled appearance, he raises a white eyebrow.

  “Sir, it would seem you have been indisposed all day. With Ella, I presume? Did you finally give in to her incessant beseeching?” he chuckles.

  I laugh and shake my head at him. “That woman will be the death of me. However, it will be quite a pleasurable death—one would invite death in if that were the way he had to go.”

  He smiles, but his features quickly fall. “Son, I am afraid I discovered some information.”

  My playfulness dissipates as I fold my arms over my bare chest and regard him seriously. “And?”

  The old man sets his pipe down and sips his bourbon. “Caulder’s men are all over the place looking for you. They haven’t quite pieced together that you work for Jasper, but they are close to figuring it out. I have ascertained that he has three fellows working for him through my investigations. Two you met the night we obtained Ella. The other is an unknown.”

  I nod and grit my teeth. “So I need to dispatch three men before I get to Caulder. Has he returned from France yet?”

  “He’s close,” he grumbles. “The moment he received word that his scheme had been foiled, he set back for London. I presume he’ll arrive tomorrow afternoon.”

  Fuck.

  “We need Caulder,” I say. “It won’t be difficult to take the three men out, but he’ll only find more to take their places. He’ll come after her or someone I care for. I cannot sit back and allow this to happen. We need to figure out where he’ll be when he gets back into town. If there were a way to spy on his goons, we might find out that information. However, my cover is blown. Do you think they made you, Gerald?” I question as I run a frustrated hand through my hair.

  He shrugs. “I can’t be certain. We could always invite them to the estate and take care of them upon their arrival.”

  I roll my neck and attempt to relieve the stress there. “We need to get to Havering. I can speak with my brother and Jasper—together, we can figure out what to do. Sitting here is unsafe for Ella. Do you know where those men have been spending their time? The same pub?”

  He shakes his head. “No, unfortunately. Last I heard, they were staying at the Rose Thorne Inn nearby. The pub next door, Edmond’s, is where they spend the most of their time.”

  I walk over to him and pour myself a glass of the amber liquid. “That’s too close for comfort. We’re within goddamned walking distance,” I grumble. “Nevertheless, once darkness is on our side, we shall set out and discover what we can.”

  Gerald nods his agreement. “And I will prepare an invitation for tomorrow after you and Ella set off for Havering. I shall take care of the men.”

  Cutting my eyes over to the old man, I raise my eyebrows at him. “Is that so? The two men I encountered are
bigger than I am. You are a fucking cockatoo compared to them. How in the hell do you plan on taking three men out by yourself.”

  He grins and picks his pipe up. Then he lights the end and takes a puff. “Never underestimate the strength and ferocity of someone small. What we lack in size, we make up for in heart and determination. Many giants have fallen by the hand of a mere, simple man. Didn’t you read about them in your storybooks as a small lad?”

  I’m already disagreeing with him. “Don’t do anything foolish, Gerald. I won’t risk your life for this. You have full access to the safe filled with Jasper’s weapons. Don’t hesitate to use them.”

  With a slap on my shoulder, he dismisses my worries. “I have lived for seventy-three years and am still doing quite well. You’re the one who needs to take the lovesick blinders off and do what it takes to protect the woman.”

  His words sober me. “It will be done, old man,” I grumble. “Meet me in the foyer in three hours. We’ll head to Edmond’s.”

  As I trace lines up and down her bare spine, I keep a wary eye on the clock on the chest of drawers. My hope was that she would fall asleep and I could steal off without her inquiries as to where I was going, for she would insist upon going with us.

  That just isn’t a fucking option.

  Now that I have made her mine over and over again, I can’t stomach the idea of her being anywhere near harm’s way. Even though she has promised to go to Havering with me, I fear that, if she discovers our lead, she’ll attempt to insert herself into the mission.

  It would be my preference, though, to not have to leave her warm, naked body. I would much rather stay here with her glued to my chest and my fingers dancing along her flesh.

  “Do you miss your brother?” she questions softly.

  I cringe at the fact that she is indeed not asleep and Gerald will be waiting for me soon. “Sometimes. He and I had a tumultuous relationship until your sister came along.”

  She smiles—her smiles are ones I don’t have to see to know they are there because I can feel them. The room warms and I can almost sense the joy radiating from her soul.