When she tightened around him, he watched mesmerized. She arched her back and gave herself over totally to her passion. Her uninhibited reaction was so incredible, so erotic to watch, he lost his battle for control. Incapable of further restraint, he plunged into her, pulsing for an endless, mindless moment, spilling himself into her warmth.

When his throbbing finally subsided he gathered her into his arms and rolled them onto their sides. They molded together in a perfect, breathtaking fit. She hugged him and nestled her head under his chin, pressing her lips to the damp skin of his throat.

Her tender kiss caressed him and his insides constricted with the "Elizabeth feeling." His breathing was still ragged and he forced himself to take slow, deep breaths. She laid her hand over his thudding heart and snuggled more securely against him.

God. She felt so damn good. And she was his. All his. A satisfied smile curved his lips. Smoothing his hand up and down her back, he waited for his pulse to return to normal.

It took quite some time for his heart rate to resume its regular speed and since she was so uncharact-eristically quiet, he thought she'd fallen asleep. He leaned back a bit, to look down at her, and was surprised when she raised her chin and looked directly into his eyes. Her golden brown gaze was serious and unflinching.

"I must tell you, Austin, that nothing in my studies of anatomy prepared me for the wondrous sensations we just shared."

Nothing in my previous experiences prepared me, either. He gently brushed a wayward curl from her brow, not sure what to say. Truth be told his wife had rendered him quite speechless.

She captured his hand pressing his palm against her cheek, then kissing it. "It was as if I were on fire, and you'd lit the match. Like I'd fallen off a cliff and drifted slowly back to earth surrounded by soft clouds. It felt as if our souls had joined." She shook her head and furrowed her brow. "Does that make any sense?"

He'd never felt anything that remotely resembled what he'd felt while making love to this woman. Never before had he been consumed by this wave of fierce possessive-ness. Or this incredible feeling of tenderness.

"It makes perfect sense," he said. "And it gets even better."

She looked startled then intrigued by his words. "Better? Heavens, how much better can it possibly get?"

"I'd be delighted to show you."

Elizabeth gasped in surprise when he rolled onto his back and she suddenly found herself sitting astride his muscular thighs. Looking down at him, her heart stalled. Dear God he was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen.

"It would appear that you have the upper hand wife," he said with a wicked half smile. "I wonder what you plan to do about it?" Linking his hands together behind his head he watched her with glittering, smoky eyes.

Her gaze traveled slowly downward, studying his fascinating male body. The whirls of dark hair covering his chest narrowed to a thin line that ran down his abdomen, then spread again as it continued lower.

Gazing upon that part of him, her breath caught in her throat. His arousal rose hard and erect, the sight utterly captivating and intriguing. She longed to touch him… touch that part of him… touch all of him. She slowly brought her gaze back to his heated stare.

"Touch me," he invited his voice a soft, raspy caress. "I'm completely at your disposal. Explore all you like."

She needed no further urging. Leaning forward she placed her hands on the undersides of his raised arms and dragged her fingers slowly down his body. Fascinated she watched his muscles flex beneath her touch. He groaned and gazed at her through half-closed lids, his eyes stormy and dark.

"Do you like that?" she whispered.

"Hmmm…"

Thus encouraged she allowed her curiosity to take over. Running her fingers through the crisp hair on his wide chest, she marveled at the combination of textures. Springy hair on warm skin over hard muscle. With each ripple of his muscles and each moan he emitted her confidence grew.

Eager to bring him as much pleasure as he'd brought her, she imitated his earlier actions. Leaning forward she kissed his chest and was rewarded with a sound that resembled a growl. Flicking out her tongue, she lightly caressed one of his small, flat, brown nipples. His groan let her know he liked that. Her tongue grew bolder, laving first one nipple then the other, drawing each one into her mouth and circling them slowly with her tongue. As his groans grew more lengthy, a surge of feminine satisfaction swept over her that she could affect this powerful man so.

Austin clenched his jaw and prayed for strength. When he'd invited Elizabeth to explore his body, he hadn't realized what sweet torture he'd suffer. His painfully aroused body ached to be buried inside her, begged for release, but if he gave in to his raging need he'd no doubt scare her. And he'd definitely disrupt her wide-eyed exploration of his body, a double-edged sword to be sure. He didn't know how much more he could stand but he bloody well didn't want her to stop either.

He somehow managed to keep his hands linked behind his head but his fingers were numb from gripping them together so tightly. Until tonight he'd considered himself a man of extreme self-control-his mind ruled his body, not the other way around. He was always able to defer his gratification for as long as he pleased.

But not tonight.

Not with Elizabeth's gentle hands running over him. Not with her soft tongue caressing him. Not with his arousal straining, rock hard and about ready to burst. Not with-

Her fingertips brushed over the head of his arousal and a sizzling bolt of desire shot through him.

He gritted his teeth and clamped his eyes shut as her hands softly caressed him, moving up and down over that part of him that ached and throbbed for her. Desire washed over him in ceaseless waves, drowning him in a sea of sensations. If she didn't stop soon, he was going to explode in her hands. Seconds later she wrapped her fingers around his shaft and gently squeezed and he knew he was done. A man could only take so much.

He could take no more.

Emitting an agonized groan, he flipped her onto her back and buried himself in her with one deep, powerful stroke.

"Austin!"

"God I'm sorry." He couldn't believe that he'd just plunged into her with all the finesse of a green boy. And all because he couldn't help himself. Couldn't control himself. Holding back was beyond him. But, he realized with deep chagrin, if he'd waited any longer to sheath himself within her, he would have disgraced himself in a way he hadn't since he was a lad. Some force he couldn't control and didn't understand had him firmly in its grip. Dropping his forehead onto her brow, he fought to control the uncontrollable.

She surrounded his face with gentle hands. "Did I… displease you in some way?" Her voice held confusion and worry and Austin would have laughed at her ludicrous question if he'd had the breath to do so.

"No. You pleased me greatly. Too much," he whispered his voice a hoarse rasp he didn't recognize. He began moving within her, his strokes long and forceful. "Elizabeth… wrap your legs around me."

She brought her long limbs up and clasped her ankles together behind him. She matched him stroke for stroke as he drove into her, faster and faster, harder and higher until he was lost in a vortex of sensation. He heard her murmuring his name over and over again, felt her pulsing around him, squeezing him in her velvet warmth.

Completely lost, he drove himself into her again and again, his heart slamming against his ribs. His climax pounded through him, so strong that the force of his final thrust nearly drove her into the headboard. He collapsed on top of her, his head falling limply into the crook of her shoulder. Perspiration dampened his skin, and his ragged breathing burned his lungs. He couldn't have moved if his life depended upon it.

After several moments she shifted beneath him and he somehow managed to lift his head. He looked down into her beautiful eyes-eyes soft with tenderness that reached inside and touched his heart.

She brushed her fingertips across his lips. "You're wonderful," she whispered.

Her words flowed over him, surrounding him, and his heart rolled over. You're wonderful. Words he'd heard before from the lips of a satisfied lover, but this time he somehow knew they were different. Because of who said them. And because he sensed she wasn't talking about his lovemaking skills.

You're wonderful. No other woman had ever spoken them to him and meant him. That he was wonderful. Hell, he knew he wasn't, but pleasure rushed through him just the same.

A sense of… what was it?… enveloped him. Well-being? Yes, but something else. Some other feeling he couldn't quite place enveloped him, leaving him warm and content. It took him a moment to realize what that feeling was. It had been so long since he'd felt it, he didn't recognize it at first.

It was happiness. She made him happy.

But he forcibly reminded himself that there were still unanswered questions about his wife. There were secrets about her past that she hadn't shared with him. And their marriage was only one of convenience.

But it would be so easy to believe otherwise.

Chapter 13


Robert stood in the drawing room at Bradford Hall, his ears still ringing with the shocking news the magistrate had brought. Half his face was blown off, impossible to identify, but he was clearly a Runner. Wore the red vest of Bow Street. Looks like a robbery, but we '11 have to conduct an inquest. Gave your groom quite a turn, finding the body like that. We '11 need to notify his grace immediately.