A Most Demanding Mistress (Fashionably Impure Book 2) (3 page)

“
But
you said—”

“
I
was over cautious. I told you to have faith in me. Well, I must have faith in
my love for you.”

Suddenly, the import of everything else he’d just told her
evaporated.

Only those last few words mattered.

“
Your
what?” she said, hearing the trembling in her own voice.

“
My
love for you,” he said.

She could only gape at him, as though he spoke a foreign
language.

“
I
love you so much and I need to make you happy. I need to protect you.”

She sat there, stunned. Yes, they shared a grand passion but
could he really
love
her?
Just so recently he had seemed to despise her.

She tried to keep a reasonable perspective but her heart
leapt ahead of her, wanting to believe…

He took her hands. “Let me purchase you a house of your own.
Let me give you a coach-and-four and living expenses each month.”

Yes, there was an undercurrent, a treacherous, wild surge of
joy that threatened to overtake her better sense.

The intensity of it made her mouth dry at the equal amount
of fear that surged through her with each thudding beat of her heart. She could
taste the metallic flavor of that fear in her mouth.

He was offering her everything she wanted.

More then she had ever dared allow herself to even dream of.

Such things were too good to be true. Such things could
leave an unwise courtesan broken hearted.

A courtesan did not allow herself to fall in love her own
protector.

A courtesan certainly did not allow herself to love anyone
with the passion that warmed her blood for this man.

She had fallen in love with him when she had not been paying
attention. She’d been distracted by her mother’s needs and the Winterton’s
threats and her own fear and disgust over what Froster had expected from her.

She hadn’t had time or the presence of mind to think clearly
about the whole situation with Adrian and her having fallen in love with him.

She should say no.

She should turn and run and never look back.

“
Be
mine, Miranda.”

The longing in his voice called to her.

Tore into her.

She swallowed back a moan and resisted the urge to shake her
head.

She should run… She must, but sincere affection and
adoration in his eyes— those breathtakingly beautiful eyes—continued to
transfix her.

She couldn’t have taken her gaze from his to save her life.

“
Please
be my mistress, mine and mine alone.”

Chapter
Two

Miranda let her gaze linger over the elegant, chiseled
features.

Adrian had made a challenging enemy.

Now, he made a formidable lover.

He promised everything she had ever wanted.

And all that she really needed…

A slight smile still curved his mouth, accentuating his full
yet firm lips.

How utterly delicious those lips had felt on her own.

God, she wanted him more than was wise.

Cared for him more than was prudent.

A wise girl wouldn’t take such a risk. But then again, who
could possibly be prudent in the wake of such feelings as were coursing through
her?

“
Oh
yes—” The words startled her. “Oh Adrian.” She attempted to press her lips
together but she couldn’t hold back. “I have loved you and been too afraid to admit
it. Even to myself.”

Craving overwhelmed her. She couldn’t wait. She leaned up
and put her mouth to his.

He grasped her shoulders.

The suddenness, the strength of his grip sent thrills through
her. His mouth moved over hers, strong, firm, with just the right touch of
lushness.

As delicious as she had remembered.

She opened her mouth.

The taste of brandy overwhelmed her.

He had been
drinking
?

Concern welled within her.

But the sweetness of his tongue sliding against hers swept
the thought away.

He groaned in his throat, the sound rumbling into her own
chest. He pulled her closer.

She thrilled at the sensation of contained male power he
displayed. She pressed her herself closer and grasped at his shoulders
fiercely.

Heaven help her.

She couldn’t touch him enough.

Couldn’t get enough of his touch in return. How she burned
to feel his bare flesh on hers!

She released his shoulders, reached up and took the edges of
his banyan and pulled them apart. With hands that trembled with her hunger, she
caressed the hard-muscled expanse of his bare chest.

He clasped her wrists then held her hands immobile. He
pressed one to himself. His heart beat strong, rapid beneath her palm.

She licked her lips.

He stared down at her, his eyes glittering with desire a
moment before he leaned forwards then he gave her the briefest of kisses on her
forehead. ”I want you to stay here tonight.”

“
Of
course I am going to stay tonight.”

“
I’ll
have a chamber readied and a meal sent up. Tomorrow I shall have my man of
business visit and draw up a contract that will entitle you legally to all the
things I have promised you.”

She barely comprehended his words. Then she frowned. Why
must he talk so much? “I don’t want to take a bath and then sleep in some cold
guest chamber.”

And in her current state of shaking arousal and
anticipation, she couldn’t have choked down more than a bite.

He studied her, his expression so tender, so serious. “What
do you want, my love?”

My love.

How his voice had caressed those last two words.

No two words had ever sounded so beautiful.

“
I
want to sleep with you, in your bed.” She heard the softness increasing in her
voice, it sounded like a stranger. A different Miranda. A younger, less
hardened Miranda. “I want to feel your body against mine. On mine.” She paused,
her voice becoming huskier now. “
In
mine.”

His hands tightened on her wrists. “Miranda.” His voice had
deepened, grown hoarse. “You make it hard to remain honorable.”

“
Honorable?”
She couldn’t have been more surprised.

“
I
don’t want you to think that you must submit yourself to me immediately just
because I have promised to protect and provide for you.”

A peculiar twisting sensation centered in her heart, not
exactly unpleasant, just unfamiliar. Her throat began to burn and tears pricked
at the corners of her eyes. She blinked, hard and swallowed against the
burning.

She would not cry again.

Surely she wouldn’t.

To cover her treacherous emotions, she forced a laugh but
the sound came out strangled.

His face wrinkled with concern. “What love?”

“
I
don’t want you to behave in such an honorable manner. I just want you.” She
swallowed again. “Here. Now.”

He groaned and tightened his grip on her hands. “God,
Miranda,
God
.”

“
I
just want
you
.”

He released her hands. Then he touched her beaded bodice,
caressing her breasts through the tight fabric.

Kissing her neck.

Thrills shot through her. She had hungered for his presence.
His touch. The pleasure of his attentions filled her with warmth that rivaled
the sunshine in the South of France.

She wanted more. Now. Immediately.

She wanted to feel his hands on her bare flesh. She reached
behind herself, arching her back and pulling at the fastenings of her gown.
Each time she arched and shifted, she pressed herself more firmly into his
hands. But she only had two fastenings undone.

On a frustrated groan, he released her breasts then reached
behind her. She felt him unhooking the gown, his hands moving with stunning
nimbleness.

Her dainty sleeves fell down her arms and the glittering
bodice fell away. Her breasts sprang free and she gave an exhalation of relief.
She wore no stays, no chemise under this gown, there was no room for extra bulk
that might create unsightly ripples or lumps. And it also gave her the added
benefit of displaying a subtle hint of her nipples.

Adrian leaned back, his gaze falling. She followed his stare
then watched him run his palm over her aroused, vividly pink peaks. Pleasure
sparked from where he stroked her and spread into her belly.

“
God,
Miranda.” His voice rang with reverence. “You must, surely, have the most
beautiful breasts in the world.”

He bent forwards and put his lips to her skin, just to the
side of her nipple. So he couldn’t see her smile. Warmth filled her and not just
from his kiss.

She loved hearing
this
man speak of her beauty.

So many noblemen had paid her outrageous compliments. She’d
even had poems written as a testament to her attractiveness. She’d grown weary
and then bitter hearing men’s accolades for there had always been an
implication in their words as though she owed them something. Owed them sexual
favors just because she had been born a commoner who also happened to have
grown to be a beautiful woman.

But no man’s praises made her spirits sing like Adrian’s
did.

He behaved as though each time she shared her body with him,
she gave him the most precious of gifts.

How strange that this man who had once despised her so
intensely would be the one to make her heart soar.

She touched his head and threaded her fingers through his
coal black hair.

Mine.

The word rocked through the entirety of Adrian’s being as
though he had shouted it aloud with all the emotion and sense of possession that
he experienced here, now, touching the beauty he had coveted for so long.

He hadn’t intended things to go this way.

He couldn’t think. Couldn’t call on one ounce of
self-restraint.

He could only touch.

And feel.

Emotions overwhelmed him. Not only lust. Or possessiveness.
But love.

He would do anything to bring this woman happiness. To keep
her safe.

Anything.

But he couldn’t restrain his own passions.

Just like all the other men of his family, he was weak.

Consumed by fascination with the fairer sex.

Lust for her beauty rivaled his love for the glimpses of the
woman he’d seen beneath her dazzling exterior. The woman whose deep sense of
empathy had comforted his youngest son’s nightmares of grief as no one else,
not even Adrian himself, had yet been able to do.

Disgust at his own weakness finally broke through the mad
rush of his hunger. He raised his head.

Her moan rang in his ears. A sweet protest.

Yet, he could hear the edge under the softness.

Her sensual hunger.

He could feel it thrumming along her flesh. Feel it in the
pebble hardness of her nipple against his mouth. He took that bud into his
mouth. She went rigid and gasped. He rolled his tongue around it. Her body
trembled and he couldn’t stop himself from sucking. The sharpness of her nails
dug into his scalp.

A sense of power surged through him. He sucked harder and
her nails dug deeper. He was damned glad she wore no gloves…

The lust pounding through his blood made him lightheaded.

He sucked and licked and squeezed and fondled her.

Her hips rocked up and down, with a swiftness and force he’d
not seen in any woman before her. He recalled how supple and firm her
well-developed body had felt beneath his. How tightly her legs had clutched his
waist.

She was nothing if not a fighter.

She lived solely for the fight.

She
thrived
on
the fight.

She was such a singular girl.

And she was his—all his.

Primal hunger consumed him. Made thought impossible.

“
Christ,”
he swore, reaching down and grasping her hem. He jerked her skirts up to her waist,
revealing her silk stockings. Garters, the same emerald green as her evening
gown, adorned her upper thighs, glittering with the same jets that her bodice
bore. The vivid green made the triangle of rich red hair between her legs all
the more enticing. “
Christ
.”

The word was more a groan of pained lust. He touched between
her legs, cupping her mons. She arched, pressing her warm center hard against
the heel of his hand. Her wetness flowed onto his palm. Her nub throbbed
firmly.

She was ready, more than ready.

He pressed two fingers into her slickness, going deeper
slowly.

She clenched him.

He moved his digits within her, keeping a steady pace
despite her sensual writhing and breathy little cries. He withdrew his fingers
and let his palm rest on her cunny once more.

Her eyes came open. ”Adrian?”

Her voice was hoarse with need.

He couldn’t ignore that need. But he had something he needed
to prove to her.

To himself.

He could be stronger than his lust. He could put his pure
affection and desire to protect her first and foremost.

He caressed her cheek. “I’ll make you come and then I’ll
call for a later supper and you can slee—”

“
Adrian!”
She clamped her legs together, imprisoning his hand. “I spent every night we
were apart, lying awake, longing for your touch.”

Passion resounded in her tone, her eyes shone with
sincerity. Elation warmed him. This beautiful, sparkling girl, who he had
longed for with such hunger, had also longed for him.

He could feel her need, throbbing in that little nub that
rose firmly against his palm.

Lust surged in his blood, in his cock, making his erection
harder than ever. “I longed for you too, my love.”

“
Then
why must you tease me now?”

“
I
know the past days, leading up to your appointment with Froster have been a strain
on you. You must be utterly exhausted.”

“
I
have been under a strain, but being here with you again, has revived my
spirits.”

“
You
will feel even more fit for love in the morning, after you have slept.”

“
Will
I?” She gave a laugh, the sound throaty, womanly resounding with desire. “Will
I even be able to sleep, I wonder?”

He could feel that seductive laugh vibrate through his body.
Her hand upon his stomach heightened his rising arousal, causing him to suck
his breath in sharply.

She laughed again, that same practiced, seductive
courtesan’s laugh.

He’d asked her not to use such artificial wiles when with
him. Yet, he could tell her desire was sincere. Her allure held him spellbound…

A courtesan’s calculated allure.

Calculated to please and enthrall a man.

A slight curl of cold unease threaded itself through his
belly.

“
I
couldn’t sleep away from you. Not much. I wanted this…” She grasped his cock,
boldly, squeezing him. “I wanted this too badly.”