Libertine's Wife (9 page)

Waves of incredible pleasure washed
over her then. Her head tossed on the pillows as he continued his
arousing efforts. A tight, unknown feeling began to build within
her abdomen, making her go rigid. Her legs shook, heels digging
into the bed. She bit her lip to keep from crying out.

Suddenly something seemed to explode
within her. A dam of sensation opened up. She cried aloud then, her
hands sliding down of their own accord to wind in his auburn locks
that spilled over her thighs. She clutched his head to her as the
spasms overwhelmed her.

She urged him to her then, lips parted
and moving soundlessly. He grew more hurried, his tongue daring in
its quest. Her body was soon squirming and arching under his for
more. She sobbed aloud in pleasure as he wrung another similar
response from her in as many minutes, her legs clutching him to her
tightly.

Garret moved over her body swiftly,
settling between her thighs. She felt dazed as his long, throbbing
hardness pressed against her. The engorged tip slid inside, teasing
her slick passage. Her eyes widened as he entered her with one sure
thrust. His huge size stretched her, filled her to the hilt,
leaving no part of her to deny him.

Arianne felt delicious shards of
sensation as he moved within her. Soft delirious moans slid past
her lips. He was plunging deep within her tight, unobstructed
sheath with low groans of satisfaction. He brought her knees up
along his driving hips as he surged within her. She couldn’t ignore
how good it felt, her gasps of pleasure assuring him she enjoyed
it. He watched her face, looking down at her with a gloating
smile.

“
Does this give you fond
memories of another?” His rigid cock slid back and forth within
her. “Shall I give you new ones? I want no confusion over who is
fucking you right now, Lady Ravensford.”

Arianne closed her eyes, mortified at
his obscene taunt, shamed to feel her body tighten and grip his.
Her hips seemed to move of their own accord under his, arching
under him. His lips took hers in feverish desire. His hands gripped
the pillow around her head. His mouth cut off her cries of
rapture.

She kissed him back, her arms wrapping
around his neck, holding him closer. The feel of him inside her was
exquisite. The pleasure was unlike anything she’d ever felt. He
lifted his lips from hers, his green eyes filled with
scorn.

“
Are you still thinking of
your lover right now, Arianne?” Garret held himself above her on
his elbows as he continued to move. Her body shook around his. She
felt the incredible sensations building within her. “Did your lover
ever make you feel like this? Answer me, damn you! Did he ever make
you feel the way I do now?”

“
No!” Arianne choked out as
he moved faster, his hips driving harder between her thighs, her
words enflaming him. No, Julian never elicited such fervor during
their lovemaking. He was considerate of her and held himself back.
Those few times they made love were nothing like this. She could
hardly think of Julian as her husband pumped masterfully within
her.

“
Come for me, my deceitful
little bitch. Come for me,” Garret demanded raggedly as he
commanded her senses, his hands grabbing handfuls of her fragrant
hair, pulling it back in his quest to wring another response from
her. “Open wider to me, Arianne. Ah yes, that’s it, my sweet one.
Raise your bottom higher for me. Yes, that’s very good. Now move
with me faster, yes that’s it. Ah, God, you’re getting good at
this.”

Soft cries escaped her as the
sensations intensified. She obeyed him as he whispered to her,
telling her what to do. She seemed to splinter from within. His low
growls at her ear made her feel consumed by him. The sounds of the
headboard hitting the wall in hard, insistent thumps mingled with
his low, enraptured moans.

“
Come for me now, Arianne,”
Garret demanded harshly, his glowing eyes meeting hers as he
continued to push within her. “That’s it, give it all to me now,
you treacherous bitch.” Garret’s body stiffened. Her loud sobs of
ecstasy were muffled into his neck. He spilled his seed within her,
his sweat-slickened body going taut. He jerked above her then, his
gyrating hips stilled. She was breathing as raggedly as him when he
sank down upon her, his weight making it impossible for her to
breathe.

Garret lay above her, in no hurry to
withdraw. She couldn’t look at him, her head turned aside in
desolate grief on the pillow. A lone tear slid unchecked down her
cheek. To be with anyone but Julian made her cringe in denial. To
have enjoyed it made it even worse. Her heart ached to think she
betrayed the man she loved.

Garret cared nothing for her feelings,
Arianne knew, devastated by his casual use of her. She was to find
her husband didn’t intend to stop after that either. After he
withdrew from her, he turned and stared down at her with an amused
look in his eyes. “I can see your lover was remiss in a great many
things, my dear.” He lay on his side facing her now, his long
finger tracing her narrow ribcage. “I will have to make up for the
man’s lack of finesse; I can see that. You might have opened your
legs a time or two, but I can tell you hardly enjoyed it. It’s a
shame you got nothing for the loss of your virtue.”

She refused to look at him, feeling
humiliated. He knew she never experienced such before him. Julian
never brought about such an intense completion to their joining.
While she found it pleasant enough, was even eager during the act,
it was nothing compared to what they just did. Knowing he was aware
of it too, made her feel even more out of sorts.

Garret laughed, a low, rich sound that
made her want to die in mortification as he lowered his head to her
breast, encircling and teasing the engorged peak until it
stiffened. His tongue stabbed at it and made her
tremble.

“
No matter, I will give you
long, lasting memories of this night.” He bit at her nipple gently,
making her jump under his mouth. “Easy, my dear, I’m far from done
with you yet. Your lover failed to teach you a great deal, from
what I can see. While I condemn his selfishness; I wouldn’t want to
ever be accused of leaving a lady wanting.”

Garret eased away from her breasts and
rose above her. He lifted her head off the pillow to take her lips.
His kiss was slow and taunting, his tongue invading her mouth. His
hands slid down and yanked apart her clenched knees, jerking them
up around his hips while he continued his onslaught upon her
senses.

Garret’s experienced, intrusive hands
were gentle despite his cruel words. He made her shake with
unabashed pleasure as he touched her. He caressed her with a
tenderness that belied his feelings. He learned every curve and
hollow of her body with aching slowness. He was watching her face
as he teased her until she was breathless.

Soon she was writhing under him, urging
him to her once more. Her nails dug into his back. He entered her
with a low moan in the back of his throat. The slow, hungry strokes
of his body within hers made her lose all control of her reactions,
biting down onto his shoulder.

Garret slowed then, his hips moving in
an unhurried pace. He watched her face flush and saw her lips part
with delight. He smiled above her, seeing her obvious pleasure. The
incredible tightening began once more, her body squeezing his
glistening cock like a vice. He seemed to know exactly what she was
experiencing inside. He moved with sure deliberation, hitting a
spot within her that made her body clench around his of its own
accord.

“
Say my name, sweet wife,”
Garret whispered harshly at her ear, “Say it, Arianne. I want you
to remember whose cock is in you now.”

Arianne squeezed her eyes shut at his
taunting words just as waves of the most incredible ecstasy washed
over her and left her reeling. His name was already on her lips.
Her legs wrapped around his waist, hugging him to her frantically
as the spasms hit her.

Garret shuddered as his seed shot deep
within her, his head thrown back. He sank upon her and sighed into
her neck, his big body pinning hers under him. He eased off her and
fell back against the pillows, his eyes closed, a smile playing
about his lips.

“
You have my warmest
compliments, Lady Ravensford.” He got his breathing under control,
his eyes sliding to her with a look of admiration in them. “You’re
much sweeter on your back than on your feet.”

She couldn’t respond, mortified at his
crudity. Tears sprang to her eyes to think something as glorious as
this was to be had with this hateful man. Even with Julian, she’d
never felt anything like this before. Those moments were sweet, but
hurried, with them mindful of being caught.

The shame she felt now was made worse
by Garret’s amusement. She burned to recall his vulgar words while
he brought her to the height of passion, making her resent the
intense pleasure he gave her, knowing it was only for spite and
nothing more.

Garret was a tireless, demanding lover
as the evening passed, the candles gutted by the time he dozed at
her side. He’d ignored all of her half-hearted protests as he
unleashed unheard of pleasures on her. The revelations in his arms
shocked her. He tutored her body in every conceivable position he
could contrive. He opened her eyes to wondrous delights.

After she rested for a bit, he went
back to tormenting her flesh with his hands and lips. He removed
any doubt from her mind the rumors of his prowess with women were
accurate.

By the time he finished with her, she
felt branded by his possession. He awakened her senses. She felt
blatantly female now, and wholly aware of him. He wanted to punish
her for what she’d done to him the only way he could. He spared her
not a look as he got out of her bed in the wee hours of
morning.

Arianne snatched up the sheet to cover
herself, dismayed to know a tight feeling in her chest to see him
leave. Tears crept at her eyelids. She watched his tall, nude form
walk away to collect his clothes in silence. She bit her lip as he
bent, unmindful of presenting her his taut backside, and snatched
up his breeches.

Arianne wanted to cry as she watched
him yank them on, not sparing her another glance. She watched him
dress with a numb feeling inside. The hours he spent lavishing her
body with pleasure were felt in delicious aches from head to toe.
He seemed unaffected by it, oblivious. She wasn’t left one
lingering thought of Julian anymore, those images erased after her
husband’s sensual assault upon her body.

“
This will never happen
again,” Garret informed her quietly without even looking at her as
he slid on his shirt, buttoning it quickly. He grabbed up his frock
coat from the chair. “You have my name and my wealth to bring you
pleasure, wife. Enjoy it. You’ve earned it like the grasping little
whore that you are.”

Arianne felt the dam of her misery
break. She watched him turn to leave, tears falling in a torrent.
She rolled over and sobbed into her pillow, knowing she deserved
every bit of his scorn. She never felt so exposed and vulnerable
before, or dirty and deserving of such treatment.

Yes, Lord Ravensford earned his
reputation with women.

She lay outraged, her body burning from
his ardor. There was not one part of her that he overlooked in his
efforts to seduce her. She had no right to feel bereft as she lay
there in the aftermath, wanting comfort he refused to give
her.

Her husband wasted little time in
vacating her room, closing the door without looking back.
Bitterness was felt to know she could never hope to salvage
something from their marriage. Her husband had every right to his
hatred of her. His abandonment of her tomorrow was only the
beginning.

She felt cruelly used, then quickly
discarded. Even a woman of the streets probably received more
regard than she did at that moment. A fierce resentment was felt to
know it didn’t have to be like this.

Had she stood up to Eustace, she
wouldn’t be here playing out this lie. She despised her own
weakness and the reasons for it. Her brother used her almost as
surely as her new husband had, letting her know her lack of worth
and value.

~ ~ ~

Garret entered his study, disturbed to
know Arianne cried her heart out above. He tried to play the cad
and act as though he was unmoved. A woman’s tears always seemed to
bother him. He treated her worse than a common whore, he knew, and
despised his guilt for it.

He couldn’t deny how much he enjoyed
the last hours of despoiling his already-despoiled wife. The fact
she wasn’t a virgin was no surprise to him. He expected it, yet
still felt keen disappointment in a purely male way. Some unknown
man had already divested her of her innocence. He was duped by her
and her brother.

It was the only possible reason Eustace
pawned her off on him, that, and his need for funds. He could care
less if she had another lover before him. He dispensed with the man
who ruined her the last hours in her bed. Recalling her uninhibited
responses to him made him sigh in appreciation.

Garret poured himself a brandy and lit
a cheroot. He was dismayed to want to do nothing more than return
to her side. The desire to kiss the delectable curves of her body
until she wept with passion instead pulled at him then. Just
knowing how much he’d like to linger here made him
furious.