Libertine's Wife (19 page)

Was she pretty enough for him? Did he
desire her? All of the things a woman attacked about herself for
failing to gain a man’s attentions besieged her then, making her
feel as worthless as she had before. Her lips flattened in
displeasure to think she was reduced to competing with chambermaids
for her husband’s notice. A gleam of outrage filled her
gaze.

She’d not compete! He could
have every maid in the household if that was what he wanted. She’d
not lower herself to grovel for his affections. If he wanted other
women, he was welcome to them. Why then did the voices taunt her
slyly?
You want him as they
do
, they whispered
.
Go to him. Take what you want.

Arianne pushed away all of these
disturbing thoughts of her husband and set about to answer her
notes. Within an hour, she managed to answer the twenty-seven
notes, using polite phrases to either confirm or decline her
acceptance to events. The pile he threw away deserved no replies,
he’d said. The lack of answer would be enough.

Arianne returned to her room to ready
herself for dinner. She selected a pale rose-hued gown. It was of
silk with underskirts of cream with small flowers embroidered in
it. The blonde lace trim at the round neckline was flattering. It
was one of her finest gowns, even if it was a bit aged.

Before Ginny helped her into her gown,
she stared at her image in the mirror, clothed only in a silk
chemise and muslin drawers. Her husband wished to select what she
wore under her gowns, did he?

A faint blush tinged her cheeks to
recall how decadent those silk ensembles were. His taste in such
things bordered the risqué. They were the naughtiest clothing
articles she could have ever conceived in her wildest imagination.
She was repelled in an instant, but a part of her was intrigued,
even aroused, by the sight of them.

Madame Dulaine hadn’t noticed how she
nearly choked to see the items in black satin and lace, reds, vivid
violets, and styles that made her question whether she could even
feel comfortable knowing what lie underneath her clothes. They were
made for a seductress. In her mind, only ladies of loose morals
wore such scandalous under things.

Once she was ready, she went below to
meet her husband. He waited in the foyer, smiling to see the pile
of return notes that were to be delivered the next morning. Arianne
joined him, feeling the approval in his eyes as they lingered on
every aspect of her appearance. It was disconcerting to say the
least. Those eyes seemed to tug every garment from her back in
those few moments.

“
You look lovely, Arianne.”
He offered her his arm, escorting her to the dining room. He was
seated closer to her, at her left elbow. The closeness alarmed her
as he pulled out her chair before sitting. Soon, she was distracted
as the servants swept in and began to serve. Each dish was laid out
for her. She felt his eyes once more before they were left
alone.

“
You will like this dish,”
Garret offered and speared a piece of fish with his fork and held
it out to her. “You must try it. Cook will want a full accounting
from Mrs. Phelps, who no doubt stands outside the door waiting for
your reaction.”

Arianne giggled as she heard an
indignant intake of breath outside the door, imagining Mrs. Phelps
hovering there for a review. She leaned forward and opened her
mouth, allowing him to feed her a piece of the flaky fish. It was
heavenly, crusted with dill. It made her sigh with delighted
appreciation.

“
Did you hear that?” Garret
asked loudly enough for Mrs. Phelps. They both smiled as they heard
her heavy footsteps walk away from the door and move across the
tiles in the foyer.

Garret spooned up some of another dish
and held it out to her. “You must try this. It’s one of my personal
favorites.”

Arianne allowed him to feed her another
taste of a dish, conscious of what such an intimate moment was
doing to her senses. The braised pork in a heavy orange and pepper
sauce was not to her liking. Her nose wrinkled and she took a drink
of her wine, coughing slightly.

“
It’s an acquired taste,”
Garret allowed, a smile curving his lips.

Arianne ate her meal, conscious of his
attentive behavior throughout. She responded to it. He was a
brilliant dinner companion, she recalled, remembering how
interesting she found him the night they met.

He regaled her with amusing tales of
his extensive travels that had her laughing soon. She began to feel
comfortable with him. He wasn’t as threatening to her now, even
charming as the evening progressed.

Desert soon arrived. It was a delicious
chocolate torte dripping with chocolate sauce and swirled in
raspberries. He insisted she try it. She could have sworn he
deliberately spilled it on her. A spoonful of the chocolate and
raspberry sauce landed in a clump upon her chest exposed above her
bodice.

Before she could attend to it with her
napkin; his long finger swept across the smooth expanse of her
skin, before bringing it to his lips. She froze, her eyes widening
as his finger returned, sweeping across her chest once more;
swiping away the sweet chocolate and fruit confection. Her eyes
were glued to his lips, seeing traces of chocolate smeared there.
The desire to lick it away made her flush slightly.

“
What were you just
thinking?” Garret asked quietly, never taking his eyes from hers.
“Tell me what it was.”

Her face grew hot. She felt
uncomfortable. The words refused to pass her lips. Years of
training and reminders of propriety kept her from saying such
things aloud. “It was nothing…nothing at all.”

“
Would you like me to do it
again?” He scooped up another bit of the desert.

“
Please, you mustn’t say
such things,” Arianne whispered and was self conscious of them
being overheard.

“
Tell me you wish me to
smear more of this on you,” Garret insisted urgently, his hand
going to the back of her chair as he leaned ever nearer. “You know
it’s what you want.”

“
It’s hardly appropriate,”
Arianne argued in discomfort, feeling trapped in her
chair.

“
I’m your husband, my dear.”
Garret held the spooned desert in front of her gaze. “We decide
what is appropriate for us both, Arianne. I would very much like to
eat my dessert off you.”

Arianne opened her mouth, but no sound
emerged. He tilted the spoon and the raspberry sauce trickled onto
her chest, a lone swirl streaming past the blonde lace. She gasped
when his lips descended to capture the flow before it stained her
garment. His mouth met the top of an ivory swell of breast in the
process, making her bite back a moan to feel his lips on her once
more.

“
Delicious,” Garret murmured
in appreciation as he licked his lips, his green eyes growing dark
with desire. His fingers now dipped inside his bowl to paint
chocolate streaks across her chest. “Do not stop me, this is
glorious.”

Garret licked across her chest, his
lips and tongue engaging her flesh so enthusiastically, he forgot
himself. His eager lips slid past the lace and hovered near a rigid
pink nipple. Her gasp as he took the turgid peak in his mouth soon
turned to sighs of delight. The fingers stained with chocolate held
her breast and caressed it as he suckled there slowly.

“
My…lord…we must stop!”
Arianne gasped, her eyes dilated with passion.

Garret’s answer was to apply more of
the chocolate sauce. He began to suckle so voraciously, she gasped
aloud, arching closer. She was appalled and thrilled at the same
time, her trembling hands sliding into his auburn hair, drawing him
closer. The thought a servant could come upon them at any moment
made it even more scintillating.

“
You taste better than
this.” His tongue darted out to swirl around her erect nipple
before enveloping it with his lips once more.

“
We must stop,” Arianne
implored, shaking as he continued, applying more of his desert to
her breast.

“
Do you want me to stop?”
Garret lifted his head, his green eyes glowing with passion. “Or do
you want me to put my desert in other places? What if I were to
lift your skirts and dribble chocolate between your thighs? Would
you enjoy that, Arianne? Would you let me toss your skirts up right
here, put my tongue inside—”

Arianne began to cough and sputter at
his words, interrupting him, choking on her own saliva. “It’s
wrong, Garret! We mustn’t!” she begged, her eyes filled with desire
and pleading.

“
Does it not feel good?” He
leaned down and sucked insistently at her breast once more, making
her weak to stop his scandalous overtures. He pulled at the
tingling peak with his lips before he looked up at her. “There is
nothing wrong with how you feel right now, my sweet.”

“
I can’t do this,” Arianne
whispered hoarsely and attempted to sit farther back in her chair,
a feeling of panic filling her at this game he played with
her.

“
Yes you can, my dear.” He
pulled up her skirt slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. “The
servants wouldn’t dare come in here. We have all the privacy we
need. And we have all the lovely chocolate too.”

Arianne was mortified at his
suggestion. She watched his long finger dip into the chocolate
sauce and move closer. She fought a maddening urge to allow him his
way as her eyes watched that finger slide ever nearer, felt the
silk of her skirt rising higher under the table.

Garret straightened suddenly, letting
her skirt fall, the fire in his eyes hardly diminished. He stuck
the finger in his mouth, sucking away the sauce. “That too, is an
acquired taste. I apologize if I startled you, my dear.”

Arianne more than wanted him to
continue. She felt decadent and highly-aroused, her breast still
tingling from his touch. A quivering in her limbs made her aware of
the wetness that formed between her legs. She was dismayed at the
naughty images his words conjured, but they persisted. She was hot
all over; an unbearable ache began to grow within her.

“
I’m sorry if I angered you
by making you stop, Garret.”

Garret looked at her quickly, his eyes
meeting hers with understanding lurking in their glimmering depths.
“I’m hardly angry. I don’t wish to distress you. You’re not ready
yet.”

There it was. His reasons
for not coming to her bed were his belief she wasn’t ready. While
she was touched by his desire to be considerate, his brief, heated
attentions reminded her of her own desires. Thinking of the maids,
she reared up at his incorrect assumption of her
readiness.

Did she need to encourage him she was
more than ready? Did he need to hear it? Did she need to whip up
her skirts and demand he make love to her? The thought of hopping
up on the table and giving into his naughty impulse was as strong
as it was perverse.

Perhaps she did need to tell him. She
was unused to sending such signals, waiting for him to initiate the
matter of their having relations once more. “I…am…n-n-not… unready
for us…to…to,” she stammered and saw his eyes blaze into hers. “I
waited for you to…uh…oh dear me…this is difficult,
Garret.”

“
You wait for me to come to
your bed?” His eyes darkened at her admission.

“
Yes,” Arianne said as her
eyes surrendered, filled with need as they met his. “I wish for you
to join me in my bed tonight, Garret.”

Garret took her hand and drew her up
from her chair, startling her as he hurried her out of the dining
room. It was obvious he thought she meant right at that moment. She
allowed him to lead her up the stairs, her heart hammering in her
chest at his obvious enthusiasm.

He opened the door to his room, his
eyes smoldering with such intensity she knew he felt the fierce
need too. “I don’t wish to sleep at all,” he warned her in all
fairness as he shut the door and approached, his eyes nearly
smoking as they met hers. “I can promise you will find no rest in
my bed this night.”

Arianne was on fire as his molten gaze
seemed to sear her skin, even the few inches that separated them
from touching. She was trembling as he reached out, his large hands
grasping her shoulders. She looked up, her gaze caught and held by
his.

“
Tell me you want this as
much as I do, Arianne,” Garret whispered, his eyes filled with
desire.

“
I have thought of nothing
else since you left years ago.” She looked away in obvious
embarrassment to tell him she’d pined for his
attentions.

A soft groan escaped him. He crushed
her against his hard chest, his hands shaking as they tugged and
ripped at her gown in his haste to undress her. She was shaking
when he finally let out a curse and gave up.

“
I need you now, Arianne!”
He yanked down his breeches, freeing his throbbing sex. “I’m on
fire for you. I cannot wait any longer. Don’t stop me, my
sweet.”

Arianne gasped as he lifted her and
carried her to the wall of his luxurious chamber, balancing her
upon his hard thighs as he pulled aside her skirts and ripped away
her muslin drawers. His rock-hard maleness sought her damp flesh
quickly.