Lady Em's Indiscretion Read Online Free PDF Page A

contorted in rapture.
He renewed his caresses, sending a wave of almost unbearable
pleasure through her. She cried out for mercy and still he did not
stop. She had reached the peak; she couldn’t bear any more. If he
didn’t stop, she would . . . she didn’t know what would happen.
    She would lose herself.
    “Mark! I cannot . . .” She tried to free
herself, but he trapped her against him so she could scarcely
breathe. He kissed her neck so fiercely she was sure to bruise, and
yet she felt no pain, only intense pleasure.
    “You can. You are strong. You are
magnificent.” He moved his fingers within her, finding a new and
more sensitive spot deep inside and ruthlessly caressing it.
    She twisted in his arms, calling his name as
he forced her from one peak to the next. Her body—beautiful, as he
said it was—shone in the candlelight and firelight, safe in his
embrace, magical in its ecstasy. Motes of light danced around her.
She shuddered in a final climax. Light was all around her; she
became part of it, glowing for a moment before sliding into
mindless bliss.
     

 
     
    Chapter
Five
     
    Mark lowered Emmeline to the chaise. She
sighed, but her eyelids remained shut. For a moment, he drank in
the sight of her. So deliciously nude, perfumed with lovemaking,
silky brown curls tumbled around her. He was still hard as Jove,
but he would have to wait. It was no matter. She had come
splendidly alive in his arms; in her ecstasy, she’d become Venus
and the Three Graces all in one.
    She was his again.
    But she had had a long day of travel, even
before the exertions of their lovemaking. He could wait while she
rested. He got up and opened the nearby chest. It was too sultry a
night for blankets; a sheet would do. He draped it over her. She
shifted and curled up like a cat, her shape outlined clearly
through the sheet. He doubted there would be any sleep for him.
    He gathered up her tumbled clothing and
piled it onto the chest. His own clothes he placed on a nearby
table. Carefully, he moved the mirror back to its place, not
wanting Em to bump into it if she woke during the night. He snuffed
out the candles, leaving the room illuminated only by the fading
light of the fire. Then he glanced up at the skylight above him.
The sky was a deep, velvety blue. The stars were just coming out.
He gazed up at them and marveled at his good fortune. Em was his
again. He lay down behind her, wrapping his body around hers,
leaving the sheet tucked around her. With his hand resting softly
on her breast and her bottom in his lap, he was more than warm
enough.
    Sleep might not come, but he could think
happy thoughts until he could make love to her again.
    Tomorrow, he’d help her write her excuses to
the Lamfords. They would be annoyed. There would be a stir. It was
nothing they could not weather. Winning over her brother William
was more important. Together they would manage it. The Westhavens
would support them. Then a quick wedding, by special license, and
he’d have her at Denby Hall. It had been lacking a mistress for too
many years. Em would make it their home. Perhaps they would build a
folly of their own.
    Lost in plans for the future, he drifted
into sleep.
    * * *
    “Em! Em! Are you in there?”
    The voice and the tapping at the door
dragged Em up from a deep sleep. She opened her eyes. The moon
shone down through a high window. For a moment she wondered where
she was. Then, feeling Mark’s arm around her, she remembered. And
she recognized the voice.
    It was Will.
    She sat up, heart thudding in her chest,
suddenly and painfully awake. Mark sat up behind her, tightening
his arm around her. The door burst open, revealing her brother,
dressed for riding.
    His gaze widened as they all stared at each
other. All Em could think was that this could not be real. This was
not how matters were supposed to unfold.
    “Em! What the devil are you doing?”
    She pulled the sheet up around herself, cold
with fear at the anger in his voice.