Jacquie ’Alessandro - Confessions at Midnight

"That's quite a few words. All of which I liked…"

Her words drifted off into a vaporous sigh when he leaned down and drew a nipple into his mouth. While he'd spoken the truth, it would have been far more accurate to say no woman, ever, had felt so good. Tasted so delicious. Ever.

She threaded her fingers through his hair and arched her back, offering more of herself, an invitation he instantly accepted. He drew the tight bud of her nipple deeper into his mouth while his free hand skimmed down her back to cup the enticing curve of her bottom, urging her closer. His hand wandered lower and hooked beneath her thigh, lifting her leg and settling it high on his hip. His fingers glided over her sex and a growl vibrated in his throat.

Lifting his head, he looked at her flushed face and closed eyes. "You're so wet." He slipped two fingers inside her and she gasped, then groaned. "So tight and hot."

And he was so damn hard and she felt so damn good and he'd wanted her for so damn long. He simply couldn't wait any longer. Bloody hell, he was practically shaking. Slipping his fingers from her body, he scooped her up in his arms then gently laid her on the couch, following her down with his body. Settling himself between her splayed thighs, he propped his weight on his forearms and leisurely rubbed the head of his penis along her wet cleft, watching every nuance that passed over her flushed face.

"Open your eyes, Carolyn."

She dragged her lids upward and their gazes met. Her eyes were glazed with arousal, but she somehow seemed more focused on the act itself rather than who was making love to her. And he wanted her aware, very much aware, of who was making love to her.

"Say my name," he demanded, his voice hoarse, muscles straining with the effort to hold back.

She blinked, then studied his face. After several long seconds she finally whispered, "Daniel."

Something that felt like relief washed through him. He slipped just inside her, then paused. "Say it again."

"Daniel."

He glided in another inch. "Again."

She reached up and sifted her fingers through his hair. "Daniel." Arching beneath him, she repeated, "Daniel… Daniel."

With a groan, he thrust deep. His gaze never leaving hers, he slowly withdrew, gritting his teeth against the erotic, tight pull of her body. Then he stroked her deeply once more, the slow, slick glide into her wet heat peeling away another layer of his control. Again and again he sank into her, each thrust deepening, quickening. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, meeting his every movement. His lungs burned with his rapid breaths, every muscle straining with the effort he expended to hold off his release until she climaxed. The effort damn near killed him.

The instant she arched beneath him, it felt as if lightning struck him, sizzling and exploding through his entire body. Shudders racked him as he drove hard and deep, pounding into her, spilling what felt like his entire soul into her pulsing heat. Tremors still shook him when his head fell limply into the warm curve of her neck and he fought to catch his breath. He wasn't certain how long it took him to find the strength to lift his head. A minute, or perhaps an hour, he didn't know. Couldn't consider anything beyond absorbing the incredible feeling of remaining buried deep inside her snug heat. And another sensation he couldn't name other than to know it felt as if he'd been punched. In the heart.

Finally he lifted his head to look down at her. And froze.

She lay beneath him, staring up at seemingly nothing, tears running from the corners of her eyes.

Guilt smacked him like a brick to the head. Bloody hell, he'd done it again. Completely lost all control. Only this time he'd-

"Carolyn… God, did I hurt you?" He made to move off her, but her arms and legs tightened around him, holding him in place.

She shook her head. "No."

Unconvinced, he gently brushed away the moisture beneath her eyes, but it was instantly replaced by a fresh supply. "Why are you crying?"

Instead of answering, she said, "Thank you."

"Thank you? For making you cry?" Damn it, he felt like a first-class cad.

She nodded. "Yes. I… I never thought I would make love again. Never thought I would want to. You made it… extraordinary. And for that, I thank you."

Relief nearly overwhelmed him, and everything inside him seemed to shift. "Extraordinary," he repeated softly, his gaze roaming her face. "That describes it-and you-perfectly." Indeed he couldn't recall ever speaking truer words. Because making love with Carolyn was… different. He'd surrendered a part of himself, of his control, to their lovemaking that he'd never given up before. A part of himself he hadn't even known existed until it was no longer his.

In the past, after his passion was spent, he was never eager to linger. But with Carolyn, he felt as if he could stay on this couch, buried inside her the entire day. And just look at her. Brush back her shiny hair from her face. He felt a bond with her that he'd never before experienced. An unfamiliar warmth of… something that confused him. But that nonetheless couldn't be denied.

Bloody hell, how was it that this one time with Carolyn had reduced every other sexual encounter he'd ever experienced into an emotionless physical act? A sordid imitation of what it was supposed to be? How was it possible that out of all the affairs he'd engaged in, he'd missed out on this… whatever it was?

"Daniel?"

He blinked away his thoughts and refocused his attention on her. "Yes?"

Her bottom lip trembled. "You've brought me back to life."

His heart seemed to perform a somersault. He searched for his normal lighthearted postcoital persona and came up empty. "Which is precisely what is supposed to happen to Galatea," he said in as breezy a tone as he could muster. "The pleasure was all mine."

"No, it wasn't." She stretched beneath him and flashed a smile. "I feel absolutely marvelous. But I'm famished. Might your plans for us this afternoon include something to eat?"

"As a matter of fact they do. Now that you've had your wicked way with me, shall we get dressed and commence with my plans?"

"All right, although I'm rather disappointed that your plans require us to get dressed."

"You won't be when you see where we're going and what I've planned. But about that getting dressed bit?"

"Yes?"

He dropped a quick kiss on her lips. "Don't bother to wear drawers beneath your gown."

Dear lord, she wasn't wearing drawers.

Carolyn tried to concentrate on the bustling scenery as Daniel's elegant carriage traveled down Park Lane, but all she could think about was that she sat across from her lover and lacked undergarments. She stared at the people strolling through Hyde Park, yet saw none of them. Instead, she visualized closing the carriage's maroon velvet curtains, ensconcing them in privacy, then begging him to put out the relentless fire he'd lit within her.

What on earth was happening to her? She'd enjoyed a deeply passionate relationship with Edward, yet at the moment those memories seemed almost lukewarm when compared to this craving she felt for Daniel, which bordered on… ravenous.

"I have some news for you."

His voice yanked her from her erotic brown study and she turned to look at him. Rather than regarding at her with his usual teasing warmth, his dark blue gaze was serious.

"What sort of news?" she asked, forcing aside her lascivious thoughts.

"Gideon Mayne called upon me earlier today. He and Rayburn located Tolliver last night at his town house. The earl reeked of liquor and was passed out in his study. He was holding a pistol. They took him into custody."

"Thank goodness." Carolyn pressed a hand against her midriff. "He really did try to shoot you." A mixture of fear and nausea roiled through her at the thought of Lord Tolliver succeeding.

"Yes. And he nearly killed you instead."

She recalled the sensation of the bullet whizzing by her and shuddered. "Has he confessed?"

"No. He's insisting he's innocent. Says he never left his house last evening. Claims the pistol was meant for himself, to take his own life." A muscle ticked in Daniel's jaw. "According to Mayne, none of Tolliver's servants saw him leave the house, but as they all retired around eleven, neither can they verify that he didn't depart after that."

"It's hardly surprising that someone as unethical as Lord Tolliver has shown himself to be would lie about shooting at you," Carolyn said.

"I agree. I'll still keep my guard up, but I think it's clear we've got our man. I'd meant to tell you as soon as I saw you, but…" His eyes darkened. "… you distracted me."

She hoisted a teasing brow. "Hmmm. That sounds distinctly like a complaint."

He leaned forward and lightly clasped one of her gloved hands. Warmth skittered up her arm. "My only compliant is that we're not so occupied right now." He brushed his fingertips against the sensitive skin of her inner wrist, just above the edge of her glove. "You are… amazing."

"A word I could just as easily use to describe you, my lord."

He made a tsking sound. "Surely you haven't already forgotten that such formality is no longer necessary." As if to prove his point, he slipped one long finger beneath the edge of her glove to slowly stroke her palm.